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

Pathway to the Taoist Temple.

We hoped for good weather and that was what we got for the third day of our stay in Cebu. The sun was bright but not beaming and the skies were clear. It was the perfect opportunity to head up to the Taoist Temple in Beverly Hills Subdivision, the center of worship for Taoism, the religion that follows the teachings of ancient Chinese Philosopher, Lao Tze. Since this tourist spot is inside a subdivision, the fastest way to get there is by taking a cab, but the commuter’s way would be to take a multicab to JY Square Mall and then ride one of the  motorcycles (habal-habal) up to the temple.

The the temple consists of several Chinese pagodas that house the worshiping areas where you can pray to the different Chinese gods of Taoism for guidance. You can also do a ritual to ask the gods to grant you a wish. The area also has a multipurpose hall with a stage, which, I assume, is used for events and celebrations during the Chinese new year.

Entrance to Fort San Pedro.

Although the Taoist Temple is open to tourists and non-worshipers, there are a few restrictions upon visiting the site which were made clear to us by manong guard at the gate. You can only take pictures of the exterior of the temple, the images of the gods are also off limits to camera lenses, and you are not allowed to use tripods. The whole compound of the temple is a sacred worshiping area and everyone is strictly asked to keep the noise down to whispers.

There was one spot we missed when we were at downtown during our first day at Cebu. That was our next destination as we headed down the steps of the Taoist Temple. From Beverly Hills, we took a cab down to Plaza Independencia at Cebu City’s Pier Area to visit Fort San Pedro, a military structure built by indigenous Cebuano laborers under the command of Spanish conquistador, Migel Lopez de Legazpi and the then Spanish government of Cebu. This triangular-shaped bastion aimed to repel Muslim raiders and was later used by Filipino revolutionaries near the end of the 19th century.

Dried seafood sold at Tabuan Market.

Also inside the Fort San Pedro is the Region IV branch of the National Museum, which was closed at the time of our visit so did not get the chance to see what it had to offer. Like all ancient Spanish strongholds, the fort is surrounded by cannons and watchtowers used to spot and fend off incoming threats. This structure is just like a chip off Intramuros but without the establishments.

After taking some pictures with the cannons of Fort San Pedro, we thought it was time to go buy some pasalubong. What else is Cebu famous for but the danggit, squid, and other sun-dried seafood that you can buy at Tabuan Market. A warning though, this is one smelly market and the smell sticks to you and your clothes that you have to take a bath and change clothes afterwards.

To us Pinoys, stinky food is good food. Tuyo, tinapa, and itlog na maalat, are part of our morning meals, and we totally enjoy it. Danggit,fresh from Cebu, is one of the delicacies that everyone wants as pasalubong from Cebu. But there was one food item I was curious about, the tapang isda (fish jerky). It’s the same fish as the danggit but marinated in a tapa mixture and then sun dried. (We tried it back here in manila and it was delicious. It is soft, chewy, and stinks less compared to the crispy danggit.) I definitely recommend this food.

Imperial Hotel.

A quick shower at the hotel rids us of the remnants of Tabuan Market and ready for the road trip back to Mactan Island. Our destination, the guitar guitar factories and we might as well stop by Imperial Hotel to check out their water recreation facilities. The Imperial Hotel is probably the most luxurious of all the hotels in Cebu, even surpassing The Hilton  at Punta Engaño.

Marigondon houses the premiere guitar factories, such as Alegre Guitars, in Cebu. The music pieces here are of top quality which is also reflected in the price. Sad that I was not able to buy one for myself. You can probably buy one of these cheap if you do not look like a tourist like we did or, if you know somebody in Cebu, let them buy you the instrument. I tried one of the guitars and the sound was exquisite. Even the baby guitars resonate clean notes even with its small sound box.

We hired a tricycle to take us around Marigondon because this is the boundary of multicabs and taxis are scarce at these parts of Cebu. After touring around the local communities and beaches, we found ourselves back at Marina Mall eating at Tong’s Seafood Restaurant where we raided the buffet table. The food was good and inexpensive. Oh, and they serve oysters, too. Perfect ending to a long day.

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, Day4: T’was Nice to Know You, Cebu

Lunch at Golden Cowrie.

The weather was so much better at our second day in Cebu and it was such a nice day to go around the city.I know I said we were on vacation, but apparently somebody had to be at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino for a meeting. So, with a couple of alone hours in my hands, I thought I’d just hang and get some breakfast at Asiatown IT Park, one of the premiere business districts here in Cebu. IT Park is where you will probably find the most of the tech savvy Cebuanos since most of the buildings here are occupied by IT corporations, comparable to Eastwood City, Libis.

The Golden Cowrie is a traditional Filipino restsurant where you get to eat on trays covered with banana leaves. The food is really good and inexpensive, miles away compared to the sutukil we went to the first day. Our lunch consisted of baked scallops (yes, again), pinakbet, green mango salad with dilis, clam soup, and vegetarian bicol express, and we had our bellies full with great food.So, after a couple of strolls, hanging out and reading magazines at a coffee shop, and staring at the beautiful Cebuanas passing by (you can find a lot of them here), my wife and her friends finally picked me up and we headed out to lunch. And I just had a huge cup of macchiato.

Edge Coaster.

The Edge Coaster is a two-seater cart that goes around the edge of the 37th floor of the hotel, giving you a full view of Cebu. The thrill in this ride comes when the cart tilts up to about 50 degrees so you are practically staring 37 stories down to the streets below. Those with weak hearts have the option to tilt the coaster back to a lower angle using a lever. The coaster does not move on a steady pace, it gradually slows down and speeds at certain points of the ride.There were two things we always wanted to try if we ever get to Cebu, which can be found on top of one of the premiere hotels along Osmeña Hi-way. Crowne Regency features two, what you may call, thrill rides, the Edge Coaster and Skywalk Adventure.

Skywalk Adventure.

The day was drawing to a close and our friend is also headed back to Manila so we decided to go have dinner at the Marina Mall near Mactan Cebu International Airport. We had such a good time that we all worked up an appetite and at first glimpse, we headed towards Krua Thai for some tom yum soup and crispy catfish salad. Along with spicy shrimp, it was the perfect closer to our day.As if staring down from a skyscraper was not enough, we also had to walk around the edge of the building. The Skywalk Adventure is a 15 minute tour around the side of the 36th floor of Crowne Regency. During these fifteen minutes, you can sit and stand on one foot at the edge of the platforms. Some sections of the platforms are made of clear fiberglass so you can look down an look like you are hovering stories above the ground. All these and other activities are done with a safety harness secured on your back and you have a guide to assist you. It was overall a fun activity for a group who seek a unique experience.

Lapu-Lapu Shrine.

This was the first time I stepped on historic Cebu. My wife, she has been here several times on business trips so she never really got to explore the land. Before coming here, we checked out a couple of blogs and iteneraries online just to have an idea of where to go and what to do. But, with an EZ Map on hand, we decided to just wing it because we thought most of the iteneraries were so ambitious and absurd. We were going on a vacation and not running the Amazing Race.

Landing on Mactan Cebu International Airport, we went directly to the nearest tourist spot, the Lapu-Lapu Shrine and Magellan Shrine at Punta Engaño. These monuments were erected in honor of Datu Lapu-Lapu, a Muslim king who defeated Spanish soldiers and killed explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Battle of Mactan in 1521. There is no entrance fee to enter the park but there are donation boxes where you can help with the maintenance of the tourist spot.

Basilica Minore del Santo Niño.

Since it was also lunch time, we thought we should grab a bite at one of the sutukil restaurants around the area. Probably the first dining mistake we made was to eat at a tourist destination where the food was expensive and the food could have been cooked better. Nevertheless, we still love seafood and it was a good lunch of baked scallops, sinigang na lapu-lapu, grilled lapu-lapu, seaweed salad, and a shellfish cooked adobo-style.

One way to get familiar with a place is not to take taxi rides to go around. If Manila has jeepneys, Cebu has multicabs to take commuters where they need to go. The multicabs around Mactan are smaller and a little bit more cramped than the regular-sized jeepney. But once you reach Mandaue, you’ll find that the multicabs here are almost the size of minibuses. Commuting not only saves you a lot of taxi fare but also allows you to be familiar with the streets and landmarks.

The Heritage of Cebu Monument.

After we checked in at a hotel near downtown Cebu City walked towards our next destination, Magellan’s Cross, the Christian cross planted by the Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in the Philippines in April 8,1521. From there, we only had to backtrack, using our trusty EZ map, and stroll along the other tourist spots like the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño (buit on the spot where the image of the Santo Niño was left behind by the explorers of the Magellan expedition), Raja Humabon Monument(a shrine dedicated to Raja Humabon, one of the Muslim chiefs of Cebu who recognized the power of the king of Spain), Cathedral Museum of Cebu (the museum of the Roman Catholic Archdioces of Cebu), Colon Monument (a monument erected at the end of Colon street, the oldest street in the Philippines, which named after Cristobal Colon, a.k.a Chistopher Columbus), Heritage of Cebu Monument (also called the Parian Monument, depicts the history of Cebu from the time of Raja Humabon to the beatification of martyr Pedro Calungsod), and Casa Gorordo Museum (a house formerly owned by four generations of the Gorordo family which was later turned into a public museum by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation).

Aside from these tourist spots, we also got a glimpse of the life around downtown Cebu. It was much like the streets of Quiapo and Recto where there are street establishments selling all kinds of whatnots from furnitures to electribics, and street vendors peddling street foods and exotic merchandise. Cebu is not much different from what we are accustomed to in Manila. The clouds did give use a little drizzle as we were strolling but we were able to buy an umbrella from one of the local supermarkets. And so ends day one of our Cebu adventure.

Related Blogs:

• 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
• Taking in Four Days of Cebu, Day 4: T’was Nice to Know You, Cebu

Both my parents grew up practically in the same town, in Camiling, Tarlac. We have relatives both in the town proper and barios so we always have a place to stay whenever we visit the province. Being one from the big city, I wasn’t so fond of my lolo‘s house back then. There was no electricity so they use gas and oil lamps at night, no TV, and the toilet was out back in the middle of the backyard. Needless to say that I preferred to stay with my cousins in the town where Knight Rider was on the boob tube.

Thinking about it now, I would have loved to stay in that old house again. I could remember things that the youngster me couldn’t appreciate back then. The night was so peaceful there that you can hear almost every creepy crawlie nearby. It had a huge tamarind tree at the backyard and a cotton tree at the front where you can see birds nests on the branches.

The only memory I have of my Lola Bingbing was at her wake. I could remember my Lolo hugging the little toddler me while oceans of tears flow from his eyes and all I can think about at that time was what the hell was going on. As far as I can remember, that was the only time I saw him at his worst.

I love my Lolo and he loved us more. Whenever we visit, he shows us the simplest things that can give you the greatest happiness; Rides on his karitella and pasagad pulled by his kalabaw, walking to the farm passing along some duhat and siniguelas trees that you can freely pick from, and even the joy of watching stars on a moonless night.

I miss my Lolo Dining and I’m sure he’s also missing all of us, specially his grandchildren. And wherever he may be, I know he’s looking down and watching over us.

My wife is an event coordinator with events like The Eraserheads Reunion, Josh Groban, Maroon 5, Alicia Keys, Paramour, and Timbaland concerts under her belt. 29th of June, one of her colleagues contacted her for some assistance on the inauguration of PNoy, and she unreluctantly accepted the rush job since it was a simple project. She was then referred to Danny Daez who needed people to install electrical wiring for 122 units of Iwata air coolers that will be scattered all around the Quirino Grandstand.

Through mobile communication, Danny Daez and my wife coordinated the scope and terms of the project. It takes a lot of effort to organize a team in such short notice but my wife pulled some strings that made it possible. The selling price they agreed upon was Php75,000. Danny Daez was insitent that he would pay the whole amount after installation and he is sure that everything works properly. However, a service of this magnitude requires a downpayment of at least 50% upon delivery because manpower will already be utilized during installation. So, the agreement was then a downpayment of Php32,500 upon installation and the balance of another Php32,500 after successful testing.

The problem with cramming projects like this is that you don’t have enough time to construct a strong memorandum of agreement. We only produced a simple letter of agreement about the terms of payment without much detail, thinking that this was a simple project and, maybe for the reason of good first impression or intimidation, Danny Daez introduced himself as a former classmate of PNoy so my wife pushed through with the agreement in good faith.

This is one of those time that first impressions fail you. At the eve of the inauguration, after the installation of all the electrical wiring, Danny Daez failed to pay the downpayment which was supposed to be payment for the team’s meal, transportation, and other miscellaneous expenses. The day of the event came and no testing was conducted by Danny Daez’s crew. Suffice to say, the service and equipment were used during the inauguration and my wife’s team was expecting to receive the full payment for the project, both downpayment, which was only received hours after the event concluded, and balance.

My wife came home past 12 midnight, more than 12 hours after the event concluded, with a lonely cheque for Php32,000 and a heavy heart. Danny Daez refused to pay the remaining balance on the account that two of the Iwata air coolers did not function, without any concrete evidence that the malfunction was caused by the electrical wiring. On a bird’s eye view, Danny Daez refused to pay for the 99% working electrical wiring. Can you just imagine if my wife agreed on his first condition to make a full payment after successful testing?

It may be that Danny Daez already had the intention to escape payment for a service that takes a lot of manpower to complete. He probably is a good businessman for spotting the loopholes of an agreement but I don’t think he has the capability to feel empathy to those people who worked on this project, which was no easy feat. Refusing to pay for even 75% of the price, which my wife negotiated after the event, entitled Danny Daez to be blacklisted on any events group. It is a small world and we meet almost the same people in whatever industry we are in.

We are just a middle class family, we rent a two-storey house in Paranaque, and we don’t own a car. We do not intend to acomplish anything other than to display the importance of a good contract and awareness on our business dealings. After this experience, I adviced my wife to refrain from any future transactrions with Daniel A. Daez and Stable Builders, Inc., and warn her other colleagues and events production groups to do the same.

Hopefully, this will post will serve as a warning to all of us to be vigilant to white collar con artists like Daniel A. Daez.

During our trip to Boracay last October, I had an opportunity to talk to someone who knows Ka Freddie, Rory Mendoza. Rory was our, you may say, vacation agent at that time. She got us the best deals on lodging and activities while we were on the island and she pointed us to the right directions where we could find great food. And, incidentally, she is one of Ka Freddie’s close acquaintances. Rory is also one of the local celebrities being one of the DJs of Radio Boracay.

Talking to her, I actually got a tiny glimpse of what Ka Freddie was like outside showbiz, kind, outspoken, and opinionated. Rory did agree nor disagree with what Ka Freddie had to say about Charice and Arnel, but what she would have advised him was that he should have just kept it low profile and not go public with it. It is his opinion but, as she said, “artists should support each other.” To this, I totally agree. Being a public figure does not devoid any of us the right to our own opinion but we should also consider that all eyes and ears are concentrated on you when you appear in television.

For more than a decade, Hideo Kojima has enthralled us with his Metal Gear series, which was one of the few video game titles that has endured the fast-paced evolution of technology. However, could Kojima be a one-trick-pony, galloping around the same carousel for the past decade? Is there nothing else he could offer besides Metal Gear?

Metal Gear is first game title Kojima released for the MSX2 home computer in 1987. The game is centered around a special forces opreative codenamed ‘Solid Snake,’ whose mission is to stop a nuclear equipped walking tank known as ‘Metal Gear.’ Ever since then, Solid Snake has been the foundation of the Metal Gear series, which identifies itself as a strategic stealth missions game.

‘Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots’ was the most ground-breaking title of the series. Backed by the power of PlayStation 3 and Blue Ray technology, the game broke new boundaries in stealth espionage gaming. The graphics was state-of-the-art, details were amazing, has a dramatic storyline, and the action was wildly intense. This was Kojima’s best work yet and, as he announced during E3 2009, would be the last Metal Gear title he will be directly involved in. However, Kojima will still help in the development of two Metal Gear titles, ‘Metal Gear Solid: Rising,’ which will be the first Metal Gear title on the Xbox 360 and will also be released for the PlayStation 3, and ‘Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker,’ which will be released for the PlayStation Portable and PSP Go coming 2010.

The Metal Gear series so far:

1. 1987 – Metal Gear (MSX2)
2. 1990 – Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX2)
3. 1998 – Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation)
4. 1999 – Metal Gear Solid: Integral (PlayStation, Windows)
5. 2000 – Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (Game Boy Color)
6. 2001 – Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PlayStation 2)
7. 2002 – The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 (PlayStation 2)
8. 2002 – Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Xbox, PlayStation 2, Windows)
9. 2004 – Metal Gear (Mobile Phones)
10. 2004 – Metal Gear: Solid Snake (Mobile Phones)
11. 2004 – Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GameCube)
12. 2004 – Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PlayStation 2)
13. 2004 – Metal Gear Acid (PlayStation Portable)
14. 2005 – Metal Gear (PlayStation 2)
15. 2005 – Metal Gear: Solid Snake (PlayStation 2)
16. 2005 – Metal Gear Acid 2 (PlayStation Portable)
17. 2005 – Metal Gear Solid 3: Substinence (PlayStation 2)
18. 2006 – Metal Gear (i-revo)
19. 2006 – Metal Gear: Digital Graphic Novel (PlayStation Portable)
20. 2006 – Metal Gear: Portable Ops (PlayStation Portable)
21. 2007 – Metal Gear: Portable Ops Plus (PlayStation Portable)
22. 2007 – Metal Gear: Bande Desinee (DVD)
23. 2008 – Metal Gear Solid Mobile (Mobile Phones)
24. 2008 – Metal Gear Acid Mobile (Mobile Phones)
25. 2008 – Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots/Metal Gear Online (PlayStation 3)
26. 2008 – Metal Gear Online: Gene Expansion (PlayStation 3)
27. 2008 – Metal Gear Online: Meme Expansion (PlayStation 3)
28. 2009 – Metal Gear Online: Scene Expansion (PlayStation 3)
29. 2009 – Metal Gear Solid Touch (iPod Touch, iPhone)

Before Metal Gear, Kojima worked as an assistant director for ‘Penguin Adventure,’ a sequel to ‘Antarctic Adventure. The first game he actually developed was ‘Lost Warld,’ a platformer that stars a femal wrestler released in 1986. The game however was rejected by Kojima’s superiors in Konami, where most of his ideas were ultimately overlooked because of his lack of programming experience.

Before the release of ‘Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty,’ Kojima produced the game ‘Zone of the Elders’ for the PlayStation 2, which is also an anime franchise in 2001 and ‘Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand’ for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. Both titles were not as successful as Metal Gear.

Clearly, Kojima hadn’t had that much success outside of Metal Gear. However, Kojima promised that he will not retire as a game developer and will continue to produce games until the day he dies. Currently, Kojima is collaborating with MercurySteam to develop a remake of a video game classic Castlevania, titled ‘Castlevania: Lord of Shadows.’  The remake will be in a full 3D environment and will feature action sequences never before seen in any of the Castlevania titles.

The 59-foot mecha, Modeled after the RX-78-2 mobile suit, is built on a steel frame with fiberglass reinforced plastic, has a movable head, and emits lights and mist from 50 points on its body. The exhibit opened July 11th and will last through August 31st.

This beats every master grade kits I have. If I see a life-size Transformers Bumblebee in America, that would be friggin’ awesome, too.

A mistake or wishful thinking?