A Wedding In Davao

An OOC (Out of Cebu) Post

A few weeks ago, my good friend Ramesh of Davao Photo Blog announced that he was finally tying the knot. And he said that he hoped to see me and his other friends (Vet of VetLongWalks, Yum of Bored&Crafty, and Line of Gastronomic Adventures) during that very special day. I told Ram that we wouldn’t miss it for the world. We’ve put off all plans of visiting him in Davao in the past and we thought that this was the perfect moment that we’ve all been waiting for. We’d be hitting three birds with one stone, I realized. We’d be able to visit him, check out Davao City, and attend a traditional muslim wedding. In other words, Ram made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. Hahaha.

                

The couple and the entourage. Congratulations Ram and Jeehana!

Out Of Africa!

Our friend Jeffroger of DiningCebu.com emailed me last week about a new restaurant which opened just recently in Asiatown IT Park. Jeff revealed that the restaurant, called Out of Africa, is actually owned by a friend. And me and Line’s names came up when his friend asked him to taste some of the restaurant’s dishes and maybe blog about the experience. So, I told Line about the invite and, as expected, she said yes. A good friend once told me about this particular restaurant and he said that I should definitely give it a try. I was quite intrigued, so I did a little research myself. I found out that the restaurant serves exotic dishes. And by exotic, I mean ‘crocodile, ostrich, wild boar,  deer, and venison’ exotic. It’s quite big for me because I happen to have taste buds that reject anything that doesn’t taste like it’s cooked by my mother. Hahaha. Well, it was still a mighty good opportunity that I couldn’t turn my back on. After all, I don’t eat buaya every day. Haha.

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Adobong Bu-aya! Can you handle it?

Mr. Cebu 2009

Here are the official photos and profiles of the fifteen candidates of Mr. Cebu 2009. If you’re supporting a certain candidate, please vote for him HERE. The contest will be held on November 28, 2009 at the Pacific Grand Ballroom of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino in Lahug. Ticket Prices: P1,000 and P700 (reserved seating) P500 and P300 (free seating). For more information, please visit the official Mr. Cebu 2009 site HERE.

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Who will be the next Mr. Cebu?

All photos are owned by Mr. Cebu 2009 official photographer Mr. Marvin Llanos Maning of Mensroom Visayas. Please ask for permission before reposting them. Thanks!

Sinulog 2010 Schedule of Activities

I’m posting this in advance so that you guys can mark your calendars and clear your skeds. This will be Sinulog de Cebu’s 30th year and the organizers promise to make it the biggest one yet! And since 2010 is the election year, we can expect a lot of politicians from all over the country with their very own contingents. I’m so excited! Viva Pit Senyor!

Ginatilan’s Hidden Treasure

Ludy and I reached the Cebu South Bus Terminal at around 5:00 pm. The terminal was in total chaos as first-time travelers couldn’t find their way around and terminal regulars were so loud and busy complaining about the new ticketing system. LOL.

Our bus left the terminal at six. The bus was filled to the rafters and I had to bend, twist, and wiggle just to keep an old man who was standing beside my seat from sitting on my face. LOL. But that didn’t prevent me from dozing off. Before the bus even reached Carcar, I  was already dreaming of chicken lollipops and spaghetti. Hahaha. I woke up when the bus was already in Malabuyoc. Strangely, the old man was still standing there, his butt still just a few inches from my forehead. Whatever happened from the time I closed my eyes til the time I woke up, I don’t want to know. Hahaha.

We reached Irene’s house in Tangbo, Samboan at 10:30 in the evening. The trip was so tiring. And as expected, I almost puked. Twice. Hahaha. ‘I’ll definitely go ballistic if this trip doesn’t turn out to be post-worthy,’ I told myself as I got off the bus. LOL.

 

Ginatilan’s hidden treasure. Inambakan Falls in Calabawan. Just awesome!

BRT or LRT? What Say You?

A few weeks ago, the city government jump-started its campaign to educate people about a new mass transit system, which, although probably relatively unknown to most Cebuanos, had already been proven to be very cost-efficient and effective in other parts of the world. I was one of the lucky few who got invited to this seminar which was personally handled by Cebu City’s City Planning and Development Coordinator Sir Nigel Paul Villarete. The BRT seminar didn’t make me an expert, true, but I must say that 90% of my ‘uneducated’ questions about the system were answered.

Just last week, news of the proposal of the implementation of yet another system shocked Cebu. Congressman Gullas so boldly declared that he will bring LRT to this little island of ours.

To daydreamers (like myself. LOL) the possibility is orgasmic. Cebu, a little unknown island with people living their lives quietly, will have a kick-ass mass transit system? That’s one tempting probability.

But before we all make a decision and place our bets, let’s have a deeper understanding of the similarities, differences, advantages, and disadvantages of the two systems.

So which is which? BRT or LRT?

Big Yay!

Yay!

My Cebu Photo Blog is a Philippine Blog Awards 2009 – Readers’ Choice Visayas finalist!!! I’m very happy. I was also nominated last year. However, I failed to make the cut. LOL. This year, finalist na gyud! Hahaha.

The result (of voting via text/sms) will be announced on October 18.

In case you want to try and vote for My Cebu Photo Blog, kindly text CHIKKARC V8 and send to 2929 (Only via SMART & GLOBE). That’d be TWO votes for every SMS sent (2.50)! Hehehe. Thanks!

Inayawan Upclose

Last week, I asked my officemate Cel, who currently lives in Inayawan, if she could take me to the landfill so that I could take a few photos. She reasoned that although she is a resident of Inayawan, she has never been there and that she doesn’t know anyone who could actually take us inside. I thought that my last chance of ever seeing the place was lost. 

When I learned this morning that my parents were going to Carcar to visit the manghihilot, I grabbed the opportunity and told them that I’d go to Carcar with them if and only if we check out the landfill first. As they too were interested and curious, they agreed. LOL.

We reached E. Jaca Street in Inayawan at around 8 in the morning. It was still very early but the road which lead to the main dump site was already bustling with different activities. Scrap shops were already open and people of all ages  carrying heavy sacks of random stuff were already scurrying to sell their ‘finds’. As we drew closer to the main gate, despite my nasal congestion, the smell of garbage became more and more biting. Just outside the compound, there were burning mounds, broken bottles in the gutter, and rotting vegetables and fruits near black and sticky puddles.

We parked our bikes near the main gate as we looked around for anyone who could answer a few questions. A young man who came out of the ‘guard house’ walked to us and asked what we wanted. I told him that I wanted to go up and take a couple of pictures of the site. He said that we needed to secure a permit. And since it was a Sunday, there was no one who could sign one for us. Although we were a bit disappointed, we didn’t push the issue, and just thanked him for answering our questions. When we were about to leave, the same guy came towards us and told us that he could take us to the top to take a few photos if it would take less than thirty minutes. I promised that I would only take a couple of snaps and that we would be done in less than ten minutes.

             

WARNING: If you can’t take the sight of garbage, please stop don’t go any further. Hehehe.

                  

Landfill in White Road, Inayawan, Cebu City.

I Was A Boy Scout

I was updating my Facebook account when I chanced upon the scouting photos of one contact. I found the photos really interesting particularly because I also was a scout when I was very little. Hehe. I could still remember that Friday was my most favorite day of the week because I got to wear my Cab Scout/Boy Scout uniform. I also could never forget that I thoroughly enjoyed marching and learning how to tie different types of knots.

After looking at my contact’s photos, I decided to get on my bike and go to the Boy’s Scout Camp in Capitol Hills. There were so many questions in my mind that I wanted to answer. Is the Boys Scout Camp still as spooky as it was when I was little? Is the huge huge swimming pool still alive? There was only one way to find out.

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Scouting photo when I was very little. LOL.

Beating Ondoy

I would like to thank all Cebuanos who dropped by the Ondoy Donation Drop-off booth in Fuente. I’m so happy to know that despite all the financial difficulties that we’ve all been experiencing, people are still willing help and give. I would also like to thank all the volunteers who made the packing, shipping, and distribution easier. God bless us all!

The drop-off booth will remain open until 9 pm tonight. If you have some old clothes or a few extra packs of noodles, please donate them. I (together with my group – SSC-Cebu) will be at the booth tonight to help accept donations. Let’s all beat Ondoy! See you there, guys!

Our uniformed brothers and sisters assisting at the drop-off booth in Fuente.

What’s Up, Cansaga?

Some members of SSC-Cebu today went to Cansaga Bay to see the currently u/c Cansaga Bay Bridge. The bridge, which is part of the Cebu North Coastal Road project, will connect Mandaue City and the town of Consolacion. it is said that once completed, the CNCR will cut travel time from the city to the northern part of Cebu in half. The project is also seen to significantly reduce traffic in Mandaue, Consolacion, and even Liloan to controllable levels.

By the way, sorry for the bad picture quality. I used my phone to take these photos. Anyways, here they are.

          

The Cansaga Bay bridge which connects Mandaue City and Consolacion.

Remnants of War

Here are more vintage photos from the SSC-Cebu Heritage threads. They are compiled in Flickr by Salin Sa Gubat.

These photos were taken during the Liberation of Cebu. You will see how our beloved Queen looked like immediately after the war. Take a close look at the photos and imagine how life was back then.

        

This right here is the downtown area of present-day Cebu. This was the result of non-stop bombing. That stucture near the top is the Cebu Provincial Capitol. Below it is the Vision Theatre which still stands today.

Cordova (Second Time Around)

I was driving around Mandaue last Monday afternoon when I thought about going to Mactan Island. After a full hour of driving and finding nothing (free) to shoot, I decided to drive all the way to Cordova to see how things are in Buagsong. I’ve been to Buagsong about a year ago, if you remember. I tried their famous ‘Bakasi’ dish, which, let’s just say, I didn’t quite fancy. Hehehe. A lot of people travel to Cordova just for that dish. So I know that that dish is really delicious. Anyways, during this particular visit, I stayed away from the restaurant and just focused on the things to shoot. Hehehe. Here are the photos. As always, I hope you enjoy them.

                              

Buagsong, Cordova. Simply beautiful.

The New Cebu South Bus Terminal

I returned to Hidden Paradise Mountain Resort in San Fernando last Sunday together with the members of SSC-Cebu* for an important activity (secret usa. LOL). We met at 9 am and at ten, we went to the South Bus Terminal to catch our ride. We knew that the terminal was undergoing some renovation but we didn’t expect that it would look awesome. Although there are still a lot of things to be improved, I must say that the new Cebu South Bus Terminal is like no other. In fact, our initial reaction was – ‘Terminal ni or airport?’ Hehehe.

Ladies and gentlemen, the new Cebu South Bus Terminal!

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Entrance of the new Cebu South Bus Terminal. Be ready with your 5 pesos. Hehehe.