Blightfire's Nook: The Queen City of the South

Taking a quick break and reflection is the ultimate purpose of my short span vacation in Cebu City. Although I survived a tough February work, I still need to get my myself back in to my both feet.

After a quick struggle because of my indecision's, I finally managed to realize that I really wanted to become a travel blogger (in some way). It was just, the fact of the matter is, each and every travel needs a lot of money. Although I've been arranging some of my travels in a tight budget, I just can't decide where and when should I be traveling, and how I can manage my time from work & travel.

Map of Cebu

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To start over, according to Wikipedia:

The City of Cebu (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Sugbo, Tagalog: Lungsod ng Cebu, Spanish: Ciudad de Cebú) is the capital city of the province of Cebu and is the "second city" of the Philippines. With a population of 866,171 as per the 2010 census, it is the fifth most populated city in the country.Cebu is significant center of commerce, trade and education in the Visayas region.

And to note, it's my family's ancestral province. The entire clan managed to stay at the city of Catmon located at the uppermost part of Cebu (please refer to map above).

Magellan's Cross

Basilica Del Sto Nino

Danggit Hills at Tabo-an Market

The Travel:

Okay. So we took a flight utilizing the promo of Cebu Pacific Air. I'm with my Ate (well, I never had one so I'm really grateful that I have my ate-in-law to come with us) and we embarked the plane at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA 3).

Upon arrival at Mactan International Airport, we immediately rode a local Metered Taxi and we told the driver to drop us at Sampaguita Suites branch near Plaza Independencia and Magellan's Cross.

The Tour:

And after an hour of quick breakfast, we managed to have a taxi driver which caters a tour at the local city of Cebu, and he has more places to promote so we hired his tour services.

Uphill Taoist Temple

This is the first time I've been to Taoist Temple. It was located at the northern part of Cebu City in Lahug. I've been to Lahug before, although we stayed at DepEd's eco-tech. It was year 2009 during the Angat Kabataan Cruise and Camp where I served as art of the Marketing and Documentations team as spearheaded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

The temple is located at Beverly Hills (famous for being the homestead of Cebu's rich people) and is pre-owned by Chinese. The temple is colored in red, just like the real Chinese red colored traditions. It's a must see place for first time Cebu travelers.

Forgive me for the few pictures. There are a few restrictions inside.

The Journey to Sibongan, Southern Cebu

After exploring the Taoist Temple, we then rode again to the taxi and drove all the way to Sibongan, Southern Cebu. It's my first time to go to the southern part of Cebu, and it was all worth it. Our destination: Monastery of the Holy Eucharist - which is an unbelievable sight for religious people.

Also, we happen to see the location of the second upcoming Mall of Asia in the Philippines, which is the SM Seaside City, with approx. 39 hectares of land to be built by Henry Sy. To add some spices, Henry Sy also made a church dedicated to Saint Pedro Calungsod, the second Filipino Saint.

The Hidden Kingdom of Sibongan - Monastery of the Holy Eucharist

Quite frankly, I was absolutely AMAZED (A-M-A-Z-E-D) by the location and architecture of the church. It was, (whew!) a hidden Kingdom along the hill. I say, WOW. Their patron is Mama Mary, which the church is handled by Sisters (because it was a monastery).

I just can't simply describe the place. It was absolutely breath-taking. Please feel free to look at the pictures below.