Satellite
  • Day 1

    Cebu

    May 26, 2017 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Kuala Lumpur - Cebu, Air Asia, flight time 3 hours 40.

    "It's better in the Philippines" is the tagline for tourism here. However due to reading about the unrest and martial law declared by the government in the press and on tourism advice sites we felt nervous about arriving in Cebu. There was definitely an increased police and security presence at the airport, hotel and malls. This did provide some reassurance and on the whole I wouldn't say I felt unsafe in Cebu but preferred to remain in what we deemed "safe" areas. We arrived at the Cebu Parklane International Hotel after a looooooong taxi ride, the rush hour traffic here is insane. We visited an area called Lahug as recommended by the lonely planet but didn't rate it and mainly stayed in the Ayala Mall area. So we probably didn't see the "real" Cebu but we both agreed we would rather feel safe than risk venturing further. The last week had been dominated by trekking and lots of travel so we mainly chilled by the hotel pool and even managed to fit in the gym a couple of times. Feeling recharged we decided to head north to Bantayan Island, a 3.5 hour bus journey and 1 hour ferry.

    After the northern islands we passed through Cebu again and stayed at a really nice hotel called Golden Prince, comfy beds and amazing showers. We won't be able to stay there after a disagreement regarding some beans included in the room service breakfast, I did get 2 free apples that I refused to share with Bailey for not supporting me in my complaint 😂. In contrast to the rest of Cebu the city and capital is very developed with lots of western shops and restaurants. Island life is good but you can't beat modern amenities - Cebu is one of the few places I've actually used a hair dryer! Not much of an issue for me but baileys curls are becoming unruly.

    So that is why there is only one picture from Starbucks of Bailey photobombing a guy with a DJ Drew top.
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