We have been to the historical spots, seen an overview of the island from the top of Crowne Regency, seen how the famous guitars are made, and bought pasalubong from Tabuan Market. There was nothing else left to do but to relax and enjoy the rest of Cebu City before our flight back to Manila.
One should also not miss the opportunity to sample the famous lechon Cebu. You cannot experience a place without tasting the local food. So, for lunch, we had everything that is lechon, plain lechon, lechon paksiw, and dinuguang lechon. Servers can easily tell the tourists because they often ask for sarsa or sauce for their lechon while locals dip it in a mixture of vinegar and spices. Surely, it tasted better with the vinegar.
We spent the rest of the day hanging out at SM Cebu where we got a couple more souvenirs. We really did not want to go around looking for souvenir shops near tourist spots because vendors can smell tourists from miles away and we did not want tourist prices and haggling is not really our thing.
Cebu is no different from Manila. It is highly developed and is one of the centers of international commerce in the Philippines. A lot of IT companies have made Cebu one of their main hubs for offshore employment. Bigfoot Studios, an international video production company, has also made erected one of their homes in the island of Mactan. The big three malls, SM, Ayala, and Robinson’s has also invaded as the local entertainment hotspots. These make Cebu one of the biggest business locations in the country.
We got to know Cebu more through riding the multicabs with their crazy drivers. Seems like swerving, cutting, and speeding are thought of as skills rather than nuisances in the streets. Cebu is also prone to traffic jams during rush hour and they may have more malls than hospitals. The nightlife is also not that different from what we are accustomed in Manila, especially at the red light districts.
So why go to Cebu? First of all, Cebu is a piece of Philippine history preserved in a modernized island. This city was the first to make a stand against foreign invaders and the first to be successful through Datu Lapu-Lapu. Secondly, each province and city in the Philippines has something unique to offer like Cebu’s amazing beach resorts (we will be spending more time in these parts when we come back) and skilled guitar makers. And third, there are just so much to see and experience outside what we are so accustomed to. The Philippines does not consist of just Metro Manila. It has 7,107 islands. Why not visit a few of them?
Related blogs:
- Taking in Four Days of Cebu, Day 1: Strolling Downtown
- Taking in Four Days of Cebu, Day 2: Atop Crowne Regency
- Taking in Four Days of Cebu, Day 3: a Temple, a Fort, and Smelly Food
