Queen city of the south, That's where we are heading this time. We'll tour around Cebu City and experience it. A little geography lesson, Cebu (the province) is in Central Visayas have 3 independent cities, namely, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City and Mandaue City. The airport, Mactan-Cebu International Airport is located in Lapu-Lapu City, which is in Mactan Island. Ok, I won't bore you more with the geography stuff.
Anyways, we rented a multi-cab for this tour from my friend's contact, We got it for PhP 1500 (and my friend added some tip), which is PhP 215 each person for the seven of us. You can also ride a taxi if you prefer a DIY tour. The multi-cabs are Cebu's version of the jeepneys in Manila. Just a little smaller.
We started the tour with this historical structure from the Spanish Era. Fort San Pedro is a triangular shape fort and is very small. Inside the fort are some historical stuff. There is an entrance fee of PhP 30 for adults and 20 for students (tax not included).
Next to our tour is oldest Roman Catholic church in the country (according again to Wikipedia), Basilica del Santo Niño (Minor Basilica of the Holy Child). Portion of the church has been affected by the earthquake in Bohol last October 2013 so they are still undergoing some repairs. At the back of the church are some stores that sells some religious items, which reminds me of Quiapo.
At the gates of the small chapel, there are some ladies that are offering prayers. If you tell them your name, they will immediately start praying and offer 10 candles on the cross (each one is designated for something, like health, career, love-life, etc) and when they are done, they will charge you 100 PhP for it. I thought that the lady was just asking my name so I told her my friend's name, so yeah she prayed for my friend and I had to pay for it.
Another heritage church in Cebu and just a few away from the Basilica, is Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. There was a wedding at the moment we got there.
On our way to our next place to see, we did a short look at the Heritage of Cebu Monument. This one reminded me of the Bonifacio Memorial Shrine in Manila.
Next stop is in Beverly Hills (subdivision), Cebu Taoist Temple. Located on a higher ground, the temple has a scenic view of Cebu city. The temple is a place of worship so visitors should observe silence. Picture taking in some location especially in the altar are not allowed. The temple also have a souvenir shop that sells a lot of lucky charms (quite expensive though).
A few walks away is another ancestral house. This one looks like a house in a horror movie but it's actually a museum that have lot of antique stuff inside. They have an entrance fee of PhP 50 by the way.
Lapu – Lapu Shrine: Located in Lapu-Lapu City in Mactan
Tabo-an Market: Pasalubong market for dried fish, mangoes and other local products
Colon Street: Aside from a busy crowded street with major establishments, this is the oldest street in Cebu
Lechon Restaurants: Don't miss to try Cebu's famous lechon (see my CnT and Zubchon post here!)
So that's Cebu. Busy and crowded streets, rushing people from work and school, flooded roads and heavy traffic, feels like I'm just in Manila. But still, it's a great city with rich heritage and have a lot to see! But still, This is a great city and have a lot to see!
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| Cebu: Queen City of the South |
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| Marcelo Fernan Bridge connecting Mandaue City to Mactan Island |
Anyways, we rented a multi-cab for this tour from my friend's contact, We got it for PhP 1500 (and my friend added some tip), which is PhP 215 each person for the seven of us. You can also ride a taxi if you prefer a DIY tour. The multi-cabs are Cebu's version of the jeepneys in Manila. Just a little smaller.
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| Customized Multi-cabs are the main transport here in Cebu |
Fort San Pedro
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| Most photographed part of the Fort |
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| Fort San Pedro, Cebu |
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| Sto. Niño on top of the entrance |
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| Left image: Spanish flag during the battle of Manila, Right image: Pictures of the Founding of Cebu |
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| PH Flag at the fort's balcony |
Basilica Del Santo Niño
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| Top image: Basilica del Santo Niño, Bottom image: Pilgrim Center of the Basilica |
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| Devotees and some stuff you'll see in the Basilica |
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| Prayer candle lighting station |
Magellan's Cross
Just a few steps away from the Basilica is Magellan's Cross. This is my first time to see it. I only see the cross on some post cards and text books before. Apparently they are also doing some repairs on the cross at the moment. |
| Magellan's Cross, undergoing some repairs |
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| Those candles are the offerings from the prayer ladies. They're not lighting in though |
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| Time for some group shot! |
Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral
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| Church facade |
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| The bride and groom. Where's the reception? |
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| Close-up shot of the Altar |
Heritage of Cebu Monument
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| The monument shows historical events and landmarks in Cebu |
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| I'm not familiar with some of the statues, I need to review "Sibika and Kultura" (is it still in the curriculum?) |
Taoist Temple
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| Gate of the Taoist temple's parking area |
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| Dragon Lion (I guess) Statue |
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| View upon climbing up to the temple |
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| Temple roof, really reminds me of Dragon Ball Z |
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| Cebu Taoist Temple |
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| Group picture outside the temple, taking pictures inside are not allowed |
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| Other stuff you can see in the place |
Casa Gorordo Museum
This 19th century house is the home of Cebu's first Filipino bishop, Juan Gorordo. I saw a creepy photo of him when he died in this house. Check this article from filipiknow.net. |
| Casa Gorordo is now a museum, picture taking inside is not allowed |
Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House
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| Scary looking old house but a lot to see inside |
Sky Experience Adventure
Touring around Cebu wouldn't be complete if you did not try any Sky Experience activities. For me, this is the best part of the tour. See my Sky Experience post here! |
| Sky Experience in Crown Regency |
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| Elevator to 37th Floor (Sky Experience) |
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| All set for window cleaning! |
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| Crown Regency Tower as seen in our hotel |
Other places you could visit
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| Cebu's Famous Lechon with "Puso" Rice |
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| I <3 Cebu! |
I live in Cebu but have never tried any of the Sky Experience activities tsk tsk.
ReplyDeleteMulticabs (which are also jeepneys but smaller) ply Mandaue-Mactan, Mandaue-Talamban and the provincial routes. Those that ply routes around Cebu City are mostly regular-sized ones (like the ones in Manila).
You should try it some time, it's really thrilling :)
DeleteI see. Most I've seen in our trip are multicabs though, or I probably don't give attention to the regular-sized ones haha