Playing Tourist in Cebu: What To Do & Where To Go

It has not been more than a couple of weeks since my last “trip” and already I feel the soles of my feet itching. It wants to go somewhere… anywhere. Come to think of it, I think I spent most of my Christmases in my home base, or around it. I wonder if I should try to spend it elsewhere in the future…?

A few days more and it’ll be Christmas Day. Then several days more, another year begins. Time sure speeds by, so fast, sometimes it’s hard to keep up. I suppose there’ll be another round of introspections on “the year that was” for most of us (I know I will), with some major re-evaluation to be done (hah! I KNOW I WILL). Before all that goes down, however, I think we all deserve to stop for a bit, enjoy what’s left of the Christmas season. Let the thinking and re-evaluation take place once the holiday dust has settled.

This trip to Cebu was during the middle of this year, and yeah, yeah, I know, I kinda fail at being prompt or early when blogging about my trips. But I have an excuse for that. It means I can relive those days while talking about them. And be pleasantly surprised at how vividly I can still remember them.

Back in Cebu

Cebu City is the Queen City of the South and reportedly has become a favorite destination among Koreans, even celebrities, for a getaway, mainly for its beaches and resorts. I admittedly would not put it on my list of places-to-go, though. But I have been given several opportunities to be in the area, and since it has been handed to me, it doesn’t hurt to play tourist, right?

So in this post I will be talking about the “usual routes” or destinations that a typical tourist in Cebu would check out.

Of course, there’s Magellan’s Cross. Although many rumors have come forth about the whereabouts of the real, original cross that the Portuguese and Spanish explorers (led by Ferdinand Magellan) brought to Cebu when they “discovered” the islands, the symbolic cross placed inside the octagonal kiosk remains a huge draw to tourists.

And why not? Not only does it signify an important time in the country’s history (Philippines’ discovery, if you can call it that), but it also marks the birth of Christianity in these islands.

And then there’s the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino, or the Church and Convent of the Sto. Nino, just a few steps away from the Magellan’s Cross. So it’s convenient for tourists, because they’re practically close to each other, you can hit two birds with one stone.

When I first visited this place years ago, there was major renovation going on on the facade of the Basilica, which meant I wasn’t able to fully appreciate how it looked like. This time I was able to see how beautiful it looked, and with the blue sky as a backdrop too!

If you didn’t know by now, the Sto. Nino, or the Child Jesus, is a much loved symbol in Cebu, and even the subject of most of their major feasts. This Church is certainly a major destination, because it also happens to be the “home of the orignal and oldest religious relic in honor to the Holy Child Jesus” in the Philippines.

By lining up, you can go around the encased relic and touch it, pray to it, give your petitions… No photos were allowed, though.

When it comes to food in Cebu, you HAVE TO TRY their lechon (or roasted suckling pig), and one of the most famous names when it comes to Cebu lechon is CnT Lechon.

There are several branches around the City, and some even in malls, but in our experience, the mall outlets run out of lechon even before evening.

So we made it a point to make the trip all the way to the main CnT Lechon resto at Rama Avenue for lunch. I honestly pigged out. No pun intended.

Of course, let us not forget pasalubong, or omiyage, or goodies/delicacies to bring home with you. One name comes to mind: Shamrock.

We went to the main store of Shamrock at the Capitol, which is just a few blocks away from the Sto. Nino Church. It felt really good to be able to remember where it was, meaning that no matter how sucky my memory is, some useful things are actually retained. Of course, I still had to make inquiries with some nice locals, but hey, give me a pass, will ya.

Usually, the default Shamrock products to buy are the otap and piaya. Personally though, I prefer stocking up on their baked polvoron.

And why not check out the Taj Mahal of Cebu? Well, at least, that’s what they call the Temple of Leah.

I didn’t know about Temple of Leah until a few weeks before this trip, when my colleagues told me that we should make it a point to check it out. Other than the association with celebrity Ellen Adarna, I just knew that it was a “monument” built by a rich man for his beloved wife named… well, Leah.

It takes a lot to get there, haha! There are shuttles, but there are also private vans plying the route, and that’s what we took. It basically takes you up the mountain, so you can choose which mode of transport you prefer. There were even motorcycles that can bring you there, if you’re game for that.

There was an entrance fee of Php50.00 per person.

BUT! No one told us it was under renovation too, so we couldn’t go inside and take a photo with the golden sculpture of Leah Adarna, the grandmother of Ellen Adarna. We can only stand outside and make out a bit of it.

The place is huuuuuuuge. Even if the main hall was closed, the other areas weren’t, so we just entered and took photos.

But man, he surely must have adored his wife so much to have built this monument for her. (I’d like to believe that, yes. And just so you know, I’m a cynic. For the most part.)

Sculptures, arched ceilings, geometric patterns on the floor… and Marshiee.

The Temple of Leah is perched atop the mountain, overlooking most of the City far below. At that elevation, it was a bit cooler, but still with that characteristic warm humidity of Cebu.

The 10,000 Roses Cafe is a bit out of the way, on the island of Mactan. Without traffic, it takes an hour and a half drive to get there from Cebu.

We took a cab going there, since we didn’t have our own car, and since we’re a group, we just split the taxi fare. Which was a bit steep, if you ask me.

It is, first and foremost, a cafe. And it is said to serve sumptuous fare. But when we got there, we weren’t really all that hungry, and we also had other plans for dinner. We only went there for the roses.

A field of roses.These are not real roses, mind you. They are LED roses… or more like LED bulbs inside artificial white roses. And there are 10,000 of them. When all lit up, they make quite a sight.

I saw photos of them in the daytime, and they did look like a bunch of white roses on abnormally long and straight stems. We intentionally came here at night to see it all lit up.

Apparently, the owner of this place, an interior designer, was inspired by the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and made this. I’m not quite sure how, though. But then again, I went to the DDP a couple of times, but I can’t say I’ve made a complete circuit of the place.

Incidentally, there is an 11,000 roses place now, at the Thunderbird Resort in La Union. I only stumbled upon that info while watching the local news this past week, which partly pushed me to make this post, haha!

During our few days’ stay in Cebu, GrabCar was a godsend, but unless you are in a group, it could be quite draining on the pockets. Maybe it’s the heat that I could not get used to, because usually I’d be OK walking around, but combine the Cebu summer heat with the heavy traffic and the crazy humidity, and I’d choose to spend money on cab fares instead.

There are a lot of city tours you can snag while you’re in Cebu. In fact, a simple inquiry with the hotel you’re staying at, and you can probably even get to hire a van or a similar vehicle for a tour for the day. I know for a fact that there are still numerous places in the Queen City of the South that I have not seen, and I can only hope for the chance to go there again, and check them out.