Into Cebu
If you like your music live, your fish fresh and your beaches icing-sugar white, Cebu could be the answer. Emmie Poon kicks back in the Philippines.
A flying fish splashes into turquoise waters, breaking the silence on a blindingly white beach on Badian Island, Cebu. All is calm and quiet as the sun warms my back and I dip my toes into the clear water contemplating a swim. Within seconds a beaming Filipino man comes leaping across the manicured lawns. “Maam, maaaaaaam!” he sings. “I bought you a fresh towel and some bootieeeeeees as the coral is sometimes sharp!” Not only am I in paradise, but I’ve got the friendliest people on earth waiting on me hand and foot.
Cebu is a melting pot of paradoxes. Stunning white beaches nestle next to crumbling shantytowns, Portuguese churches sit opposite Chinese temples and local menus feature everything from stir-fried noodles to paella. Less than a three-hour direct flight from Hong Kong, the Philippine island is a welcome break from sticky city life, not only for its idyllic beach resorts but also for the amazingly vivacious and ever-warm people.
What to Do
As Cebu airport sits just outside Cebu City, most visitors will pass through the capital of the region. Although on face value the rickety city may not be a beach-starved visitor’s idea of paradise, it is worth spending a morning exploring the city before heading to one of the luxury resorts.
The best way to get about the city is to hop aboard one of the brightly colored horse-drawn traps, which rest under the trees in front of Fort San Pedro. Alternatively, jumping on a jeepney is an experience in itself. These vibrantly decorated minibuses dart about the city stopping whenever a passenger knocks on the roof.
Magellan’s Cross, which marks the spot where the first Filipinos were baptized, is a great place to start exploring. Today the cross and the neighboring Basilica Minore del Santo Nino are awash with devout local Catholics who descend everyday to pray, picnic, socialize and shop for prayer beads and religious icons.
In a true reflection of the multicultural Philippines, just ten minutes’ drive from the church is the Taoist Temple. Located in the upmarket Beverly Hills area of Cebu City, the dragon-adorned Chinese temple sits on a hillside offering great views. It is famous for its unique fortune-telling system. Visitors ask the gods a question then throw wooden tiles onto the floor; the shape of the tiles when they fall determines a “yes” or “no” answer.