I heart Cebu
I just got back from Nailon Beach Resort, which is in the suburbs of Bogo City, four hours north of Cebu City.
It’s not a white-sand beach like the other beaches in Cebu that I’ve gone to, but the resort is pretty enough to lift one’s spirits. I stayed in a room by the beach. The room opens into a balcony where you could sit and talk the whole night with the sea in front of you. It’s perfect if you have a special someone with you.
more pictures here
Anyway, it’s one beach down on my list. I drew up a list earlier this year of places in Cebu that I would like to see.
Among others I’ve gone to Olango Island, famous for the migratory birds it protects, and Malapascua Island, famous for its dive spots and white beach. Malapascua is the less developed version of Boracay. In fact, people call it “little Boracay.”
These are the remaining Cebu beaches on my list:
1. Bantayan Island - Bantayan is perhaps the most popular out-of-town seaside destination among Cebuanos. I’ve been meaning to go there ever since I don’t know when, but every time a group organizes a trip to Bantayan (I never go places on my own. That would be lonely), something always comes up and I am left behind.
3. Badian Island - Just heard about this island from officemates. I thought it would merit a visit.
4. Moalboal - My officemates went there on a whim a few months ago, and I hear the beach is pretty. I forgot the reason why I wasn’t with them. I was probably cramming a deliverable.
5. Catmon - I heard about Catmon from my housemate who has a backpacker boyfriend. I usually tag along as the official third wheel during out-of-town trips, but they forgot about me when they went to Catmon.
6. Plantation Bay - We are going there on the 24th. Yipee!
6. Bohol - I’ve been to Bohol, but I didn’t get to see the place as a tourist. I was there in 2002 to visit my father’s relatives in Tagbilaran and Panglao, but all I got to see was the city.
I want to go to the beaches of Panglao, especially the famous Balicasag Island, where my paternal grandmother is from. I want see the Chocolate Hills and Hinagdanan Cave. I want to eat lunch on the floating restaurant in the Loboc River. I want to pet a tarsier.
I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to live in Cebu. There is so much to discover and experience, from the beaches to the food to shopping to the centuries-old churches. Every weekend (well, almost), I head off to some random beach or place or town, and yet after close to 21 months, I find that there is still so much to see.
I don’t scrimp on my travels because that would defeat the purpose of why I earn. I try to do well at my job because I want to earn, and I want to earn because I want to have something to spend while I’m young. Besides, you don’t have to spend so much on trips. I’ve gone to the northernmost tip of Cebu on the back of a motorcycle, and then slept in the sand when I got there. That was already perfect for me.
Comments
Is this for real??? You actually <3 Cebu?
Oh. My. God.
Naduduling lang ako no?
*rolls laughing on the floor*
totoo yan. to the point na if i have to leave, i would cry for the friends i have made and for this city that has been my home since 2006.
hi, aileen, kainggit naman… my daughter always tells me that before we go out of the Philippines to see beautiful places, we have to go first to the beautiful places of our country.
Awwww. Well, I guess I’m glad one of us likes the place.
To be honest, I miss the people more than I miss Cebu. I’m not a beach person so I can’t see what Cebu has to offer besides some really nice people.
bing: she’s right. i’ve also been seeing places out of the country. dun ko na-realize na i didnt know much about my own country and unahin ko muna ang mga lugar sa pinas.
jen: you miss the people?! now it’s my turn to ask kung naduduling ba ako. hahahaha.
yung food ba, di mo na-miss? abaserria, casa verde, aranos?
you are blessed.
methinks i should come up with MY list of to-go-tos. balak ko pa man din iconquer ang buong bansa. wahehe.
i am.
yang nasa list ko sa cebu pa lang yan. meron pa akong ibang list na para sa buong bansa.
just let me know if you need a tour guide or something.
ay, stox. sobrang ganda ng bohol. panalong panalo. ang laki ng nagastos namin pero sobrang sulit. shet.
someday pupunta rin ako.
mas maliit naman siguro magagastos ko kasi nasa kabilang dagat lang naman ang bohol.
hello Aileen =)
I’ve always wanted to go to cebu. I’ve been to Bohol though very beautiful and fun place =)
I hope your wish will come true someday.
hahaha. di ka naduduling. i miss the people. well, *some* people anyway. hindi ko lang talaga trip ang lugar ng Cebu kasi i don’t do beaches. and the city is just too small and panget. (okay, wag niyo akong batuhin for saying that! that’s just how i see Cebu.)
i miss the food, too! i miss abaseria na nga and dessert factory.
see, i knew you would miss abaseria. hehe. tagal ko na ding nakakain don. may advantage din naman ang maliit na city lukring. mura lang ang cabs.
when i went to manila last month (yung nag-banahaw) ako, nanibago na nga ako sa ingay and traffic eh.
Friends,
Miss Cebu has always been one of the biggest events in town to look forward to each year. This year’s pomp and pageantry will take place come January 14 (Wednesday night at
at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino’s Pacific Grand Ballroom… to be telecast live on Studio 23.
Two of the aspirants are members of A.D. Models Philippines (managed by friend Dexter Alazas), the same agency that takes care of Miss Earth Karla Henry. They are Candidate #12 Kris Janson and Candidate # 9 Michelle Iva Eguia (Isa). Both are equally gorgeous yet qualified to be crowned as Miss Cebu 2009.
One of the special awards to be given out during the coronation night will be Miss Internet (or something like that). Hence, I’m inviting as many people as far as this generic message goes to vote for the one candidate who deserves the award more than the others. I’ve talked to most of the girls, and while every one is entitled for the title, there’s one who stands out on account of her platform to make the most of her reign by teaching young Cebuano women the essence of body image (read: so that they should stop worrying about their weight, size, height, color, and whatnot). With that alone (among many others), we bet she should win not only the Miss Internet special award but, of course, the most coveted title of Miss Cebu 2009.
I’m talking about Candidate # 9 Michelle Iva Eguia (Isa). She’s currently a Dean’s Lister at the Center for International Education on her Business Management studies. Not only does she have the wits, the brains, the smarts and the gift of gab, but more importantly, she has a very passionate heart. Her sunny disposition makes her stand out amongst the girls; her fluency bespeaks her spirituality in that she talks with a lot of sense and substance as a by-product of her pure thoughts and pacific emotions.
Now, with all of the above, why can’ t she be the next Miss Cebu?
Anyhow, there are voting booths at SM City and at the Ayala Center which you can utilize for free.
To vote through Globe, text VOTE(space)FOR(space)MSCEBU(space)ISA and send to 2278.
To vote using the internet, kindly go to http://www.cebucitytourism.com/ms_cebu_2009 and follow the links leading to Candidate # 9 Michelle Iva “Isa” G. Eguia.
I guess, the safest or easiest way to get to the link is by simply copying the URL below and pasting the same in the address bar:
http://cebucitytourism.com/ms_cebu_2009/candidates.html?contestant=9
Thank you very much. Rest assured, Michelle Iva Eguia is going to make a perfect Miss Cebu should we give her the chance to prove her worth. May God bless us all!
Sincerely,
Ariel Allera
Publicist, A.D. Models Philippines
MISS CEBU 2009: Who will be the 25th loveliest Cebuana?
By Ariel Allosada Allera
ariel_allera@yahoo.com
The Pacific Grand Ballroom of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino will experience an illustrious night of glitz and glamour, pomp and pageantry, as past Miss Cebu beauties witness the quest for their 25th successor, the young lady whose crown will be relinquished by reigning queen Sian Elizabeth Maynard.
Celebrating its Silver Anniversary, the Miss Cebu continues to search for no less than the most exceptional lady that best defines the authentic characteristic of what a lovely Cebuana is, and how she lives up to her platform to make Cebu an even more captivating city both to come by and to live in.
For 25 years, this pageant has maintained its world-class production that can allegedly never even be compared with any of the major national beauty contests in Manila, much less its high-end presentation of its official candidates to spectators walking on the red carpets — consistently, quite a number of whom are members of Cebu’s elite. Because the event is one of the highlights of the annual Sinulog festivity, a lot of tourists from both overseas and other parts of the country are customarily expected to come and watch.
To be telecast live on Studio 23 at 8:00 PM on January 14 (Wednesday), the 2009 Search for Miss Cebu (spearheaded by Cebu City Tourism Commission) will likewise pay tribute to Cebuana beauties who, in their respective current fields of endeavor, have made an exceptional mark, thus giving us Cebuanos 25 years (and beyond) of reason to be proud of our heritage. One of these is Miss Cebu 2006 second runner-up Karla Henry, the very first Filipina to have captured the Miss Earth crown, so far the one and only Cebuana to have won an international beauty title.
This year’s roster of candidates holds a promise of another exemplary lady who will serve as an ambassador of goodwill, a spokesmodel for young Cebuanas, a voice of Cebu to the world.
Twelve equally smart and charming candidates are vying for this year’s Miss Cebu crown and the Silver scepter as a token of her being the 25th loveliest Cebuana.
Candidate # 1 Ana Coritha Desamparado
Birthdate: May 16, 1990 Height: 5′4″ Weight: 108lbs. School: University of the Philippines
Candidate # 2 Sheda Lynn Dusaban
Birthdate: October 10, 1988 Height: 5′4″ Weight: 110lbs. School: Cebu Institute of Technology
Candidate # 3 Christine Tan
Birthdate: December 1, 1983 Height: 5′4″ Weight: 110lbs. School: Cebu Normal University
Candidate # 4 Nadia Claire Urbino
Birthdate: December 20, 1989 Height: 5′4″ Weight: 90lbs School: University of San Jose-Recoletos
Candidate # 5 Tara France Oliver
Birthdate: October 5, 1988 Height: 5′4 1/2″ Weight: 102lbs School: University of San Carlos
Candidate # 6 Ethel Bitoon
Birthdate: November 23, 1984 Height: 5′5″ Weight: 109lbs. Company: LEXMARK Research & Development Corporation
Candidate # 7 Phoebe Kaye Fernandez
Birthdate: November 16, 1987 Height: 5′5 1/2″ Weight: 105lbs. School: University of San Carlos
Candidate # 8 Kimberley Therese Burden
Birthdate: September 7, 1989 Height: 5′6 1/2″ Weight: 120lbs. School: Cebu Doctors’ University
Candidate # 9 Michelle Iva “Isa” Eguia
Birthdate: March 28, 1988 Height: 5′7″ Weight: 110lbs. School: Centre for International Education
Candidate # 10 Angela Grace Alibanon
Birthdate: April 26, 1988 Height: 5′8″ Weight: 120lbs. School: Cebu Doctors’ University
Candidate # 11 Rizzini Alexis Gomez
Birthdate: August 29, 1990 Height: 5′8″ Weight: 118lbs School: University of Cebu
Candidate # 12 Kris Tiffany Janson
Birthdate: December 21, 1989 Height: 5′8″ Weight: 118lbs. School: University of San Carlos
hey! your comments are spam, but this is for miss cebu so i will not delete your comments. good luck to the candidates!