Queen City of the South

I've always wanted to go to Cebu, finally happened last Christmas season. This is the farthest I've been in the Philippines! Cebu is really different from Manila or Makati or any other cities in Luzon... Cebu is clean and shiny. Haha! Yes, it is shiny. From the airport to the streets. She doesn't have pot holes on the roads. Traffic is tolerable. Cebuanos are I think more disciplined. There, I've said it. They have concern in the city that they live in. Wishful thinking #1: Sana ganito sa buong Pilipinas.

When daylight faded, I experienced being Under the Southern Lights... when the mood is right. It was just breath taking! I loved loved loved it. :)



Food?
Cebu food is superb. Don't forget to pass by CNT Restaurant if you want to taste the authentic Lechong Cebu! It's really malasa (flavorful).... you don't need Mang Tomas or any dipping sauce. Grub it as it is, you can never go wrong! *drooling...
Wishful thinking #2: Sana lumabas tong lechon from my monitor.



Yayoy's Bar and Grill is like a local version of Gerry's Grill or Dencio's. Their menus are quite similar. Taste of food hmm.. so, so... I mean it's great! (Libre kasi. haha! :) ) Seriously, it is OK! Thumbs up! Masarap! They have a live band playing when we were there and it's true, Cebuanos/nas are really great singers.



Danggit. The ever famous dried fish from Cebu. I brought some kilos or so back home. Perfect breakfast viand. Haay... i just have to to this again. Wishful thinking #3: Sana somebody will knock on the door with a plateful of sinangag, tomatoes, red egg and danggit. I think I'm hungry.



What to do?
Explore Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Mactan.

If you are a guitar enthusiast, you need to buy one from Cebu. We visited 2 guitar factories there, I was like a kid on a candy shop. I don't know what to try first. Alegre Guitars sounded well, so I finally bought my first black, medium sized, matte finished acoustic guitar, Sam. I didn't mind hand carrying on the our way back home.
It's all worth it, worth of my sweaty palms.



Visit Magellan Shrine, this where you'll find the invader's resting place. You can also see how SEXXXEH our hero Lapu-Lapu is. Haha! In front of he's statue is the actual sea where the warla between, I mean the war between Magellan and Lapu-Lapu happened (Battle of Mactan,1521.)



Basilica Sto. Nino de Cebu. An old yet a very famous church... Here rests the image of Sto. Nino which was given by the Spaniards. This.....Oh God, I need my elementary history books. Basta, This church is very rich in history and culture. It also taught me the only Cebuano words I know... "Maluoy sa kana mo." which translates in "Maawa ka sa amin." in Tagalog. This phrase should be familiar to you, yes... its from a church song in which this phrase is sung over and over. Haha, kaya ko namemorize yung Cebuano words.




Also in front of the Basilica, is Magellan's Cross. All along I thought this cross was massive! Like the one in Bulacan but it's not. It only stands at roughly 15 feet high.



I just have to put this on my blog.... I'm just proud to be the first ex-FF Dietitian to visit Fitness First Cebu! Haha. Oh well, A strong mind is a strong body.
But, to be well is your choice. Don't just try to be healthy, aim for wellness. Brought to you by Gardenia Nutrition and Wellness. :)

Caylabne Resort

We had our team building last March, here at this old resort in Cavite. Sabi ng "friend" ng office mate ko, panahon pa daw ni Marcos yung resort. It shows naman! Old and musky.

Great thing about this resort is the shore line, it's quite huge! From the water to where the cottages are at, it's approximately less than a 100 meters of white sand. Nevermind that it's not a natural white beach. Two thumbs up for activities like beach football and Frisbee.



How to get here?
Take Carmona exit from SLT, then it's a long way to Ternate, Cavite. You'll be passing GMA, Dasmarinas, Trece Martirez to Naic. Then follow the signs, where's your sense of adventure.
Getting there by public vehicle, that i do not know.

What to do?
Swim but, make sure you wear your Godiva Sunblock with anti-jellyfish sting.:D There are lots of dikya. Too bad! There's banana boat...or just loiter around the resort. Camwhore, if you want to.

Food?
They have a restaurant there but you need

a hell of a lot of money.

I'm not sure if they let guests bring their own food and beverages.
This blog isn't helping, is it?
Crap.



Because of the jellyfishes and the heat from the afternoon sun (and all the testosterone carrying homosapiens), we decided not to take dip. We laid back and just had coffee in this restaurant that i'm talking about.Because we had

a hell of a lot of money.

hahaha! BUT!!! Before you come here, please be aware of monkeys. Effin monkeys at the dining area. I think they're pets,free to roam around. I mean they can say hi to you, they're just at the next table. Serious. Oh em nyi. It ruined our house music tambay mode time. It was a good laugh,though!



Caylabne..hmmm..sorry but it's not a must see. Not unless you have to join a company outing. So Hr peeps, you know what to do. Peace out.

Tamaraw Beach

If you want to escape from the uber crowded white beach and enjoy your private-beach like experience, head to Tamaraw Beach.




Thanks to my ex-client, Richard Grennan, who told me about this place in Puerto Galera. It's shares the shore line of white beach, it's the only place on the other side of the cliff (right side of white beach).

How to get here?
From Manila ride a bus going to Batangas City pier.
When you reach the pier, look for Manolo Shipping Lines. They'll take you straight to Tamaraw beach.
If you checked in a resort at White beach, walk going to the left part of the beach, at the end you'll see an Italian restaurant. Go pass that, and follow the path going to the rocky part of the beach. just walk! and walk and walk. Viola, welcome to Tamaraw beach. ganda noh?:)

Rates?
Just check their website www.tamarawbeachresort.com

Food?
The resort has a small restaurant, they offer lutong bahay meals (home-cooked meals). A little bit pricey,so what we did, we bought from the ihaw-ihaw (grilled) stations at white beach.(100Php per kebab) and most of the times we ate at white beach! (99Php per meal, rice all you can)

Night life?
Nil. we enjoyed ourselves here, we played poker and got drunk. guests ware not as much that time, the beach/resort was all ours nga... kaya masaya.

Things to do?
Beach bum. Trek to white beach. Wait for kuya,who makes the big waves! waves swell up to 2-3 feet, big enough for us who just sit along the shore line. :D