Carbin Reef, Sagay City

TRAVEL DATE: Multiple Times :)

One of the northern cities of the Province of Negros Occidental is the Sagay City. Sagay City celebrates its yearly festival every March, the Sinigayan Festival. Sinigayan Festival showcases the different marine life that the city has to offer. The city proper is located near the seashore and the richness of its seas are very welcoming and rich in biodiversity.

They actually have the "Museo Sang Bata" which features some marine lives that can be found in their city:

On this city's seas you can find the famous "Carbin Reef". Carbin Reef is a man-made white sand bar surrounded by different types of corals, colorful fishes, and other marine life and it houses the sanctuary of abalones and giant clams.

From Sagay City Proper, ride a tricycle going to Old Sagay and the fare is around PHP 10 per person. From Old Sagay port, try to negotiate with the "Bantay Dagat" office for a pump boat service going to the Island.

The pump boat roughly cost PHP 1,000 to PHP 2,000 for back and forth trip depending upon the number of passengers and how big the pump boat will be.

 

The travel time is around 30 minutes but don't worry because Carbin Reef is already visible even from afar. The Bantay-Dagat carefully maintains the place and the local city government built a watch-tower for their personnel to have a place to stay while manning the reef.

! Things that you should bring are as follows:

1.) Tent or Canopy - there are not much cottages / tents on the reef because it is only a small island.
2.) Food and Drinks - well this is always a MUST!
3.) Snorkeling and Diving Gears - to get a clearer and nearer view of the coral reefs.
4.) Medicines / Anti-allergies - if you are sea-sick or have some water allergies
5.) Sunblock lotion - the heat is INTENSE there! Seriously.

TRAVEL TIP: The local dialect widely spoken here is Hiligaynon but a number of people also know how to speak the Cebuano dialect.

Some snapshots for your eyes only:

   

Jumpshot moments? - CAPTURED!

 

You will definitely enjoy your summer plans in Carbin Reef, Sagay City, Negros Occidental. I guarantee that!

Cebu City

TRAVEL DATE: Multiple Times already :)

I've been to Cebu City and the rest of its outskirt places for quite some time already. As of my latest count, I've been there for 5 times and already visited about 5 - 6 cities and municipalities.

Cebu Province is like Metro Manila in the making and tagged as "Metro Cebu". Its capital City, Cebu City, has been very famous for its Sinulog Festival celebrated every third week of January in honor of their patron saint, Santo Nino. Cebuanos are known to have strong faith and belief in the teachings of the Catholic Church.

From my province, Negros Occidental, there are two available methods of transportation. First is you can take a night bus trip from Bacolod City to Cebu City and the travel time takes around 8 hours in total (6 hours bus trip + 2 hours ferry trip). You may drop by the Ceres Bus Terminal for more information.

 

 

The alternative is to ride an airplane via Philippine Airlines or Cebu Pacific Air and the travel time is only 30 minutes! Whatta difference, right? If you're in a hurry, ride the plane, but if you want to enjoy the scenery, don't hesitate to travel by bus!

Cebu's famous Church is the Basilica de Sto. Nino Church. Beside it is also the well-known Magellan's Cross. 

Magellan's Cross

 Basilica de Sto. Nino

TRAVEL TIP: Another must-see destination in Cebu City is the Taoist Temple. Taoist Temple is one of the most famous Chinese Temple in the Philippines. Just a note, please come in your proper attire, long pants and closed shoes, to show respect to their religion.

The economy of Cebu has boomed over time and the global competitiveness of the place is very evident in terms of infrastructures and business establishments. We dropped by The Walk in Cebu IT Park, in front of Cebu Waterfront Hotel.We ate at "Casa Verde" which boasted their affordable Baby Back Ribs that was only PHP 210! After a round of back ribs, we ate some cakes at a dessert restaurant beside it.

Ayala Mall Center is also a perfect way to relax and unwind. The setup is like a garden + mall which fused the modern structures with refreshing landscapes.

 

 

 

 Ayala Mall Cebu 

When we talk of guitars, Cebu's definitely one of the consideration. They have here a local factory, Alegre Guitars, which is making high-quality and world-class export guitars. Guitars only cost aroud PHP 800 - PHP 3,000+ depending on the quality.

 

Alegre Guitars

TRAVEL TIP: Philippines has a lot of National Heroes and one of them is Lapu-Lapu. Lapu-Lapu is believe to have killed Magellan to protect the locals from foreign conquerors. To show gratitude to his courage and constantly remember his greatness, a statue of him was built in Mactan, Cebu. Mactan is about an hour drive away from Cebu City.

 

TRAVEL TIP: Mactan Island, Cebu is rich in seafoods so don't forget to have a detour at their "Sutukil" Restaurants which means "Sugba + Tula + Kilaw". Your eyes and mouth will surely feast with their wide range of fishes, shrimps, crabs, etc.

Transportation in Cebu is a bit hard though since you need to memorize the Alpha-numeric signboards of the jeepneys and what the route of that signboard is. Their jeepney version is like a multicab which can accommodate about 10 - 12 persons.

Cebu is a huge province and there are still a lot more tourist spots to visit like the Camotes Island, Bantayan Island, Moalboal, etc. Make sure to tick Cebu City in your travel checklist!

Just some mirror-images taken at Crown Regency Hotel:

Your comments are highly appreciated!