Coming Back to Cebu

image taken from https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews

The province of Cebu is the land of my father. Me and my sister have lived and worked in Cebu until I decided to try my luck in another country. Back then, Cebu was interesting for me. It had a number of shopping centers that I regularly go to and transportation was easy breezy. Now that I am back in Cebu after 3 years of being away, I find that there are more malls, more people and heavy traffic. I have successfully found a job in one of the busiest hubs in the metro and going to the place is quite a burden. I need at least 2 hours prior to my work time to get ready and catch a jeepney ride. Jeepneys going to and from are most likely full more so on rush hour. Otherwise, I will have to resort to getting a taxi or uber or angkas ride which is expensive but still are good ways to get to the job on time. Since I am petite, jeepney drivers could still let me ride in their already full vehicle and I end up sitting with only 1 butt on the seat. But in the name of work and getting there on time, I have to sacrifice and bear all this. I just hope God sustains and gives me strength. 

Mybus Experience in Cebu

Being in Thailand for quite a few years, I've known that most of the provinces have airport buses that take people from parts of the town/city to the airport and vice versa. This made travelling to and from the airport easy, convenient and cheap. I'm happy to know that Cebu, Philippines has its own bus like this and it's called Mybus.

image taken from amigongbisaya.blogspot.com

My sister has been raving about how she liked riding this bus as it saves her time, effort and money to drive to the airport. I had the chance to ride the Mybus when I went to Cebu last December 2016. Just a few meters walk from the airport arrival hall and there is a mybus sign. She already had a mybus card that she bought from SM City and so she just told the girl at the counter that there will be 2 passengers to pay for on the card. 

The seats were comfortable and the bus was clean. There were spaces for luggage to be stored and handles in case all seats are taken. Mybus departed the airport right on schedule.

I'm so proud of Cebu's initiative for this kind of bus. I think there will be less traffic in the airport now that this bus can serve the general public.

image taken from sunstar/ cebuchinese.com

I found this very helpful infographic. I hope this helps :)

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog! :)

My Short Cebu Visit

Facebook has led me to be curious about a new attraction in Cebu, specifically located in the highlands of Busay. A lot of people took the time to be there to take photos with some colorful Celosia flowers. I want to see it for myself too so my sister took me there last 27 December during my short visit to Cebu.

First, we traversed through the moderate traffic and steep mountain road to Busay. There are many other flower farms but we sought to find the original Sirao Garden.

Entrance fee was 50 pesos. It must have been only a few days after they have harvested the flowers as the new ones were still short. My sister who has been there before said that when they came around November 2016, the flowers were as tall as people.

The people maintaining the garden has accessorized the place with bikes

benches, and a cute pathway

perfect for added attraction as people nowadays (like me) love to take nice photos.

There was not much flowers but I'm still happy to have seen the place with my own eyes. There were less people and no queues which  made the visit short.

Lining up outside the gardens are stores that sell boiled corn, fried bananas, coconut juice and other kinds of snacks. Hungry visitors can just take their pick. I've missed fried bananas so much!

Our next stop was Temple of Leah. This was constructed by Teodorico Adarna as a symbol of his great love for his late wife - Leah Adarna.  There was a short walk from the entrance to the temple itself but while you are going towards it, you walk in an increasing elevation leading to this enormous edifice. Entrance fee, by the way, is 50 pesos per person.

A lovely fountain in the middle of the enormous court.

Lovely statues and the city lights in the far distance.

Most of the people I knew came in during daylight. But during the evening, a lot of people are still coming in to visit the place. The bright lights of the big city below is mesmerizing.

I know visit during the morning or afternoon would be wonderful for photos as there is natural light but from where I stand, I can still clearly see its beauty. It's like I am not in the Philippines but somewhere in a Greek island. The temple is likened to Taj Mahal because of the story of why it is built.

The insides of this majestic place. I remembered my cousin had their pre-nuptial photos taken here as well as a lot of other couples. In the middle of 2 staircases was an inscription and an effigy of the woman who was loved by her dear husband and inspired for all this to be built.

We stayed for a bit to read the inscriptions as the rooms where the collections of the wife were now closed.

The place is yet to be finished but it already boasts of being grand. Again, maybe I will visit soon during day time and take more photos.

Thank you for reading and 'til next time!