Kidapawan Cathedral

Here’s a borrowed pic from my friends’ friendster account of the Kidapawan Cathedral. 

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SM Travel Lounge

When in Cebu, are you looking for a place to leave your baggage, go for a clean toilet, buy a ticket and take a cold shower? You dont need to check-in in a hotel but this all can be done at SM Travel Lounge. This is SM’s service specially for transit travellers who just want to roam around the mall to eat and have a last minute shopping while waiting for their flight.

The first Travel Lounge I’ve been to was at SM Iloilo, conveniently located beside the Airport terminal van and the last time was at SM City Cebu. This is perfect for seabound passengers because of its close location to the pier. For a minimum amount of P100, one can leave their bags and take a refreshing cold shower (shampoo, soap & towel not included). 

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Bustling Cebu Ports

Cebu is an exciting starting point for other island adventures in the country because of their bustling seaport, from Cebu you can go to other islands like Negros, Siquijor, Panay, Leyte and Samar. During my Siquijor trip, I discovered that there are still many people who go shipping instead of flying perhaps because it is a cheap way to travel. Cebu ports probably had 5000 or more passengers each day.

From what I know, Cebu seaport is divided into 4 piers. Pier 1 mostly has trips in inter-Visayas destinations while Pier 4 caters to bigger ships like Super Ferry or Negros Navigations enroute to Manila. I can only share my experience at Pier 4. Youn will never run out of destinations, everyday there are scheduled trips everywhere in the Visayas. 

Purchasing ticket is very easy, there are many seats available. After have the ticket, you will be asked to go to the xray machine. Its like an airport although the security is not very strict. Ocean Jet passengers will have the comfort of airconditioned room while other passengers will stay at gym-like holding area. I suggest to the local officials that they make Cebu port a tourist friendly area, they should also clean some garbage around. Cebu has a lot of potential as the tourist hub in the country.

I personally enjoyed the seaport, its like an airport withships and large vessels. Cokaliong lines looks very great among other lines. My trip to Bohol was courtesy of Ocean Jet and to Siquijor was FJ Palazio Shipping Lines. Other ships I saw were Lite Ferries, Supercat, Cebu Ferries and Negros Navigation. In Cebu, backpackers or budget travellers will really enjoy island hopping to different provinces.

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Siquijor Beaches

One of the best things in Siquijor are their beaches and its everywhere and its free. You can just drop along the coastlines and then swim freely to the open. There are no entrance fees, just bring with you a piece of blanket, drinks and food and your ready to go. However, there are also number of resorts that offes cheap accommodations. 

CORAY CAY RESORT

The sand here reminds of Boracay, its so fine however there are dry leaves scattered all over the sand and there are floating debris in the sea. I hope they regularly clean their shore. 

COCO GROVE RESORT

The beach is also great here, the sand is not as fine as the previous beach above, the front desk staff are not much friendly though. 

SALAGDOONG BEACH

This is the best beach for me in Siquijor, the view is awesome. The rock formation reminds me of Koh Samui or El Nido. The water is blue and clear, its still unspoiled. The sand is quite rough, along the shores here are small pebbles. 

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Siquijor Secrets

Siquijor was my last stop during mty 9 days holiday in Central Visayas region. It is famous for its mystical traditions like witchcrafts, black magic and ghosts stories but I discovered that it is the Philippines’ best kept secret island destination.

Siquijor is an island province south of Dumaguete and Cebu. Being the 3rd smallest province in the country, it has big tourist attractions to offer. Beachbums will surely love the islands unspoiled white sand beaches and azure waters. History geeks will be enthralled by their old churches and nature lovers will surely be amazed by its natural wonders like springs, waterfalls, caves, magroves and hills and finally divers will surely be wowed by its diverse marine and aquatic life.

HILLTOP  

Hilltop restuarant (not sure of the name) is located in Larena. When I got there, there were no people in the resto and the seats were not arranged, probably the resto is still closed. 

ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH and BELL TOWER 

Perhaps Siquijor’s most iconic landmark is this church, many tv films have done shooting here and recent famous visitor was Korina Sanchez who featured the island on her show Rated K at ABS-CBN. 

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White Sand Bar, an Oasis in the Sea

The Manjuyod Sand Bar is one of the best place to go in Negros Oriental, the sand bar sprouts when the tide is low, covering a 7 km of white sand beaches and is sorrounded by pristine blue green waters, truly an oasis in the middle of the sea.

To get to Bais City from Dumaguete, ask the tricyle driver to take you to the North bound bus terminal in Dumaguete although you can try the Ceres Bus terminal near the public market. 

  Most buses at the North Terminal are non-airconditioned. Right now, roads towards the north are under contruction and delays are inevitable and it is expected to be completed in 2-3 months.

Bais City is a small-sized city in Negros Oriental and a 2 hours away from Dumaguete. The city is famous for their dolphin watching. If you wanna go whale watching, you have to contact first the tourism office for the organized tour. The tour costs P3000 for 10 people and since I travel alone, I could not pay for that amount so what I had in mind was to visit the Sand Bar instead. The dolphin tour also includes the visit to the Sand Bar after.

Gladly I was able to ask the tricycle driver if where I can hire a boat going to Sand Bar alone. He brought me to this fishing village in Bais. I rented the whole boat for P500 and it was very worth it. I love the Sand Bar, its a must see destination.

The small boat doesn’t have amenities like life vest and a shade so I prayed that nothing will happen since I don’t know how to swim. It is also being used to go fishing in the open sea.

 The Sand Bar was just an amazing place, I was totally impressed. From afar, there’s are cottages that one can rent but it can only be used if you book on a resort in Manjuyod.

For about 30 minutes, I was the only 1 in the oasis until a boat full of Japanese tourists came and a bunch of locals from the nearby town celebrating a birthday. They were very friendly, they invited me to join their feasts. 

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Twin Lakes of Negros Oriental

 Negros Oriental boasts itself for being a top eco-tourism destination in our country. One can find here, stunning white sand beaches, world class dive spots, dolphin watching and other natural wonders like caves, waterfalls and lakes. 

One of the most visited tourist spot in Negros Oriental is the Twin Lakes of Balinsasayaw and Danao. 

To go here, hire a habal-habal or a motorcyle from the starting point along the coastal road of San Jose. Ask the jeep driver to drop you to the exact spot. Trailing to the top was an adventure itself, I enjoyed the mountain hills, dirts and dust and I find a magnificent view of the sea. 

In the middle of the road, there’s steep slope going down. One single mistake of the driver can cause your life. You will really fall from the mountain. Its a good thing that you hire an expert driver with a conditioned motorcycle. 

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Dumaguete City Boulevard

The Rizal Boulevard in Dumaguete is a popular place among the locals and tourists. One can just walk along the long seaside strip and feel the breeze of the bay. Also located along this area are posh restaurants and beautiful hotels.

It was called Rizal Boulevard because Dr.  Jose Rizal, our national hero made a stopover here from his exile in Dapitan. The place is popular for family gatherings and important city occasions as their main venue. At night, the place also comes alive, the lights are beautiful.

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Dazzling Dumaguete

Dumaguete City is the largest and the capital of Negros Oriental province. It is also nicknamed as “City of Gentle People”  and the “Motorcycle Capital of the Philippines” because of the number of motorcycles here similar to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Interestingly, I noticed that there are more motorcycles than cars in the city. 

The best way to move around the city is through walking, Dumaguete is a small city, everything is within reach like malls, parks, hotels and the famous Boulevard. Another option is to hire a motorcycle and drive yourself around the city. 

Unfortunately, I don’t know how to drive motorcycles, so the next means of transportation is riding tricyles. Every town and cities in the Philippines have different shapes, sizes and the number of passengers carried. In Dumaguete, tricycles can accommodate as much as 3 passengers. Some drivers are really difficult to negotiate, when I asked some of them, to take me to somewhere, they just leave without any words, so I guess they don’t know the place. Example, most drivers dont know where is the bellfry or the Siliman Marine Lab. 

DUMAGUETE BELLFRY, ST. CATHERINE CHURCH, QUEZON PARK

The Bellfry is now the Dumaguete’s most popular landmark, it was built to protect the citizens againts pirate attacks or intruders. It also holds a small grotto beneath the tower where devotees can pray and offer candles. Beside the tower is St Catherine Cathedral, the city’s largest church and a popular historical site. It was also built along with the tower. The city is dominantly catholic because of Spain’s influence in the city. Meanwhile, fronting St Catherine Church is Quezon Park. 

PROVINCIAL CAPITOL

Right after, I proceeded to Negros Oriental’s Provincial Capitol located along the long North Road. Beside the capitol is Negros Oriental State College (NOrSU). Other schools towards the north is St Paul College of Dumaguete. 

SILIMAN UNIVERSITY

But the most popular destination of Dumaguete is Siliman University noted to be the best university and has the most international recognition among any other universities in the Philippines. It does not only attract local students but as well as foreign students. It has a very humble beginning and presently holds upto 5000 students with complete facilities from libraries to football fields to a marine laboratories thus making it Center of Exellence. 

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Cebu to Dumaguete by Bus

It was already 5:30 when I woke up at Sugbutel, without any bathroom break not even have time to brush my teeth, I immediately packed my things up and rushed to Cebu South Terminal to catch a bus to Liloan, Santader, the southernmost town of Cebu Island hopefully to catch a bus. Luckily, I arrived just on time at 6:00am, the Ceres bus was about to leave and was full of passengers.

The trip was about 3-4 hours because of the stops from different stations, if only I was early I should have catched the 1st trip or the direct trip to Liloan. But anyway, I slept the whole trip until the bus conductor rose me when we reached to our destination. One way ticket costs P155.

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