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Visitors to Cebu won't ever have a dull day, says Nazir Keshvani
FLYING into Cebu, depending on which side of the aircraft you're seated, you will swoop over the brilliant azure seas of the Philippines. There's a beautiful mountain spine running the north-south length of this long, relatively narrow island.
Its landscape differentiates it from Sibu, an island that is pronounced the same way but situated in Malaysia. While both are fringed with soft sands and turquoise waters, Cebu, the Philippines, is steeped in colonial heritage.
The capital of the eponymous province, Cebu is the country's oldest Spanish colonial city. It has several historic landmarks, including the original cross planted by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. The cross is now housed in a roofed kiosk in Magallanes Street.
Magellan's Cross in Cebu Magellan's Cross in Cebu
Downtown Cebu is dominated by Colon Street, which is the oldest street in the Philippines, dating from the 16th century. Today, it is lined with stores, shopping malls, office buildings and movie theatres.
Get to know the place and you'll discover why business travellers and families come back again and again. Cebuanos (as the residents are termed) are laid back, chatty and hospitable, they will charm and entertain you relentlessly. Everyone has time. Lots of it.
Transport is a carnival. Brightly-painted jeepneys, tricycles and buses in gaudy, hallucinogenic hues, careen across the roads. You will also spot gaily caparisoned calesas (horse-drawn carriages) and hubel-hubels (motorcycles that carry pillion passengers).
And here in the Philippine south, if you get caught in traffic, simply jump out and tuck into some baboy lechon (grilled pork), especially around Talisay City, adjoining Cebu City to the south, or chicharon (chicken or pork skin crisps).
In Cebu City, there's much to do and enjoy. The old and more colourful parts of downtown Cebu around atmospheric St Nino and City Hall are fun to browse.
Hop on a calesa and trot off. Colon Street is a lively artery of commerce and entertainment. Giant shopping malls abound like Shoemart (among the biggest in the Philippines), Ayala Center and the Gaisano Country Mall.
A pleasant vantage point from which to see the city is Cebu Taoist Temple. It's situated on a hill 300m high and has an entrance that looks like the Great Wall of China and a giant dragon statue on the lawn.
The hilltop Tops is also a good lookout point. With some foaming San Miguel and munchies in hand, you can survey Cebu City, Bohol and the mountains to the north. The beaches are splendid, too.
Don't miss these sights
Cebu is the gateway to the Philippines, Asia and the Pacific. It lies in the heart of the Philippine archipelago; in the crossroads of domestic and international air and sea travel, and it is a good jumping-off point for island-hopping to the tropical islets of the central Visayas region.
Tarsier monkey
Bohol island province is one of the loveliest in the Visayas group and lies south-east of Cebu. The tarsier - the large-eyed, insect-eating monkey which, fully grown, is smaller than a child's fist - can be found here.
Here, too, are the world-famous Chocolate Hills, a surreal series of 1,768 hills that resemble scoops of chocolate ice cream; they were formed from the weathering of coral deposits formed when the land was submerged. The hills can be viewed from an observation deck.
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From TODAY, Living – Weekend, 29/30-Aug-2009
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