What to do in 2 days in the Queen City of the South --- Cebu
1. Since you’re traveling with a promo-fare ticket, miss your flight. You may rebook your flight by lining up at the Cebu Pacific ticketing booth at NAIA 3 and pay more than your 2-way flight. For just one way.
2. Go home and sleep for 3 hours as soon as you got rebooked. After all, you’re bound to Cebu in just 4 hours.
3. Leave your alarm clock (celly) inside your bag and scramble for the doors when you wake up, gasp, LATE again for your flight.
4. Thank the heavens because you actually made it into this one.
5. Wake your friends (who are hung over from last night’s binge drinking at the Blu Continental bar in Marco Polo) as soon as you get to the hotel. Whine that you want to swim.
6. Swim.
7. Stuff yourself to death at Café Marco. They do have the best buffet this side of the country, IMO.
8. Get a cab going to Tambuli Beach Resort. Prepare PhP 300 for one way. Ask Manong taxi to come back after a few hours to pick you up because it’s not at all easy to find a cab going back.
9. Pay PhP 350 for the entrance (daytour) and 50 for a towel and shower use. Shampoo and soap included.
10. Have fun in the sand. Or swim and get a bad sunburn. It’s 12 PM, after all.
11. Use the 300 (from the 350) for consumables. Beer goes well with sun and sand.
12. Head back to the hotel and get a massage at the Marco Polo Wellness Zone. The Hilot treatment is a surefire way to make you fall asleep with their excellent therapists. Get lulled in the heavenly goodness.
13. Fight the feeling of antok, revel in the smell of massage oil and eat something. By now, you really must be starved!
14. Hukad sa Golden Cowrie (Served at Golden Cowrie) is a good choice. They serve an array of really delish gastronomic delights, with which my favorites are:
a. Baked Scallops
b. Adobong Talong
c. Imbao (Halaan soup, totally reminds me of my mom’s cooking!)
15. Take a bath and meet friends from Cebu. Be snap-happy.
16. Have a few drinks with your roomies as soon as you get back while watching PBO on cable. The best!
17. Have another sumptuous, sumptuous, sumptuous breakfast at the hotel. After all, you will head back to Manila in a few hours.
18. Sleep because you didn’t get enough sleep.
19. Check out.
20. Go to SM Cebu. A bag of unsalted danggit is about PhP 118 (SM Bonus), a pack of otap is Php 93.00 (Shamrock), a pack of Barquiron (yum!) is about PhP 63.00 and a pack of 200gm. Dried mangoes (Guadalupe brand) is Php 98.00. Indulge!
21. Get into the airport real early for fear of the traffic. Eat barquiron while waiting.
22. Ugh. Back in Manila. Back to real life.
Some of my suggestions if you're going to Cebu:
1. DO try their famous lechon. It's everywhere. Even in SM.
2. If torn among Tambuli, Portofino or Maribago, I'd say Tambuli. Value for money and better beachline.
3. DO try the Sky Adventure in Crown Regency Hotel. 1 ride and entrance fee costs a little less than a thousand. Inclusive of snacks.
4. DO explore The Terraces in Ayala Center Cebu. Great restos such as Hukad (see above), Roma Mia (Italian/pasta), Sunburst and Bigby's.
5. Bring tons of sunblock. If the weather in Manila is incredibly hot, expect the same in Cebu.
6. Book yourself a day in Bantayan Island, Moalboal, or Hinulutungan.
7. There's more to Cebu than otap. There's a whole range of dried mango products, danggit, barquiron, turones and products from neighboring provinces. Explore.
8. Most of all, ENJOY.