DAY 1: Cebu Nov 23, 2010 (part 1 of 2)

Another mala-amazing race experience sa airport dahil we were originally booked at 5:25am flight via airphil. This time dahil ayaw na naming maulit ang cdo experience na bumili ng panibagong ticket, we checked in at terminal 3 around 3:15am dahil walang traffic from marikina. Ni hindi na namin napansin ang boarding time sa ticket namin na 3:45am dahil nausog pala ang flight namen one hour earlier, kaya habang nasa cr e naririnig na namin na ni-lalast call na kaming lima. =p buti nalang hindi pa sinasarado ang pintuan ng eroplano at dinaanan pa kame ng shuttle express sa pagtawid ng runway =p

Lesson of the story? I-confirm a week before ang flight, na ginagawa naman namin pero hindi kame maka contact ni irene sa hotline nila. I got a text ng change ng sched beforehand but it was for a different flight.

So pagdating ng Cebu airport, nag confirm na kame ng flight pauwe. Lo and behold, may change of schedule den kami from 2:30pm flight from tagbilaran to manila, nalipat pala ng 11:25am. Buti nalang hindi uminit ang ulo ko dahil natawa ako sa sinabi ni kuya sa office ng airphil "keri na yang pauwe niyo mam" =D

We got a taxi sa Cebu airport (p385 fixed rate) to Gran Tierra Suites. Since hindi pa check in time, buti nalang pwede nang magiwan ng gamit dun. at nagbreakfast muna kame sa aming happy place.. jollibee! haha =)
We got 2 rooms @ gran tierra (good for 5 pax) for around 2500 ata. Big room, clean cr, comfy bed, cable tv, water dispenser, winner dito. =)

We weren't able to hire a taxi to tour us around the city, so nag commute lang kame. First stop is the Magellan's Cross, one of Cebu's most important historical landmark. It was far from what i imagined, but the beautifully painted mural that depicts the cross' planting, more than compensated my expectations. 

Across the shrine is the Basilica del Sto Niño Church. Mass is on going when we got there so patago lang yung pagkuha ng pictures but you'll be amazed with the structure. Don't be fooled on it's exterior because inside is a big House of God. The altar is well made, with matching big lcd screens sa gilid.

Beside the church is the Basilica del Sto Niño Museum (p10 entrance fee). No picture taking allowed inside though.There are replicas of the Sto Niño, old manifesto and pictures where you'll be transported back to the colorful past of Cebu's Christianity. 

A little walk farther, we got to the oldest and smallest fort in the Philippines, the Fort San Pedro (p30 entrance fee), and we were treated to a beautiful historical scenery which served as a prison for local rebels and America Barrack some hundred years back. We had fun taking pictures since the backdrop gives you a feel of the Spanish-ish era and the landscape was beautifully restored as close as to how it used to look like.

We hailed a taxi (p150) to our next stop, which is located in a wealthy residential suburb, the Chinese Taoist Temple. Picture taking is strictly prohibited inside where the altar is located. You have to climb the 99 steps (it is said to be 300m above sea level) to see the breathtaking view of the different parts of Cebu. 

Food deprived and quite exhausted already, and since it was lunch time, we decided to head back and have our lunch at CNT Lechon place, a popular 2 storey restaurant just across SM Cebu. It did not fail our expectations, the skin crispy, the lechon newly cooked and chopped infront of you, for only p750, we got ourselves 1.5 kilos of lechon, 7 rice, and 5 bottled softdrikns, we left the place very full and happy =)