cebu – soloflightEd

Food Trip in Cebu and Zamboanga

Jana and I spent a few days in the Philippines a couple of weeks ago to be with family and to accomplish some tasks. After having been in Dubai for 4 years, there was a lot of catching up in terms of responsibilities and planning for the future. What was once a travel for travel (or travel … Read more

Cebu: Revisiting Kawasan Falls

From the Sunday morning market in Mantalongon, Dalaguete, we were able to hire two motorbikes (habal-habal) to Kawasan Falls in Badian. It’s faster than having to ride back to the Dalaguete intersection and wait for a bus. We tried to haggle, but we still paid around 150 Php per person for the motorbike ride.

Mantalongon to Kawasan Falls
Badian, Cebu
November 13, 2011

Kawasan Falls in Cebu

It was an off-road motor adventure and it was dangerous considering that some areas are not yet paved. But the view, I tell you, is just refreshing! Even if it drizzled for awhile, the beautiful landscape made me forget about getting wet from the rain.

road

habal-habal to Kawasan Falls!

Waking up in the morning at the barangay hall in Mantalongon, Cebu, we hurriedly took our turns in the bathroom to fix ourselves. Even if I was a little tired from the trek to Osmena Peak, I still had a good night’s sleep especially when I didn’t have to pay much (50 Php) for a sleeping bunk. hehe.

Mantalongon Sunday Morning Market
Mantalongon, Dalaguete, Cebu
November 13, 2011

gymnasium cum market

a short walk from the barangay hall

We arrived at the Mantalongon Market and asked the townsfolk for directions to Osmena Peak in Cebu. The locals advised to go straight and just turn left on the first intersection. Afterwards, they said we only needed to follow the path to get to the destination. We didn’t have a difficult time understanding the instructions as it is an easy climb.

Cebu Osmeña Peak: Two Hour Trek to the Peak
November 12, 2011

Osmena Peak Cebu

Osmeña Peak is a popular climb for mountaineers. These mountaineers normally traverse to Kawasan Falls after setting camp on the site. But you don’t have to be an expert to climb this mountain as it is a fairly easy climb even for beginners like me.

with other travel bloggers in Cebu

During the third month of my backpacking adventure, I made a side trip to Singapore and Boracay. I was supposed to be in Chiang Mai or Laos but there were sudden changes of plans that I had to reroute the destinations and go home earlier than expected.

I told myself that I’d be gone for at least six months; however, it wasn’t really something I wanted to carve in stone. The point of this whole digital nomad lifestyle gig is to show to others that it is possible to bring your work with you and travel at the same time. I think I’ve done fairly enough to say that it can be done.

leaving Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok

Singapore

Singapore was not set until the first week of August. I was going to visit the country when I had more money in my bank. I knew that this was going to be an expensive place given that this is a First World country so I wanted more time to save before I check out its attractions. Due to circumstances, I arrived here too soon.

Merlion Singapore

I hurriedly finished my work and delegated tasks to my peers. I also made sure that all my client sessions were in place before I left. I clocked out early so I could meet up with my friends outside. We were going to see the whale sharks (butanding in Tagalog or tuki in Bisaya) in Oslob, Cebu!

Whale Shark Sighting in Oslob, Cebu, Philippines
December 23, 2011

Butanding or Tuki Encounter
photo by Doi

I’m really lucky that my day job has a little flexibility when it comes to special requests whenever the need arises. So long as I don’t compromise the deliverables, then all is well.

We arrived at the South Bus Terminal station around 3:30am and the bus left after 15 minutes. It was only a 3-hour ride – a quick nap that wasn’t even enough since I didn’t have any rest.

Entrance to the resort in Cebu’s Tanawan, Oslob, for whale shark watching

For a month and a half, I spent my weekends out of town on different travel adventures with various people. The surprising thing was that these weren’t really planned at all.

I thought all my travels for the year were over and I was going to stay put in order to finish writing articles and other freelance tasks. I had unexpected trips but had a great time in the process.

Weekend 1: Boljoon, Osmeña Peak, Kawasan Falls, Moalboal

November 12-13, 2011

Boljoon Church
Trek to Osmeña Peak
Swimming in Kawasan Falls
Chilling at Basdaku, Moalboal

Doi, Edwin and I went with travel blogger Dong Ho to Boljoon to visit the church and climbed Osmeña Peak, which is the highest peak in Cebu. Then we met up with another travel blogger, Jerome, in Kawasan Falls in Badian and chilled at Basdaku beach in Moalboal. We slept at a barangay hall, climbed down a mountain with hardly any light, took a dip in the waterfall, relaxed at a beach and visited our friends, George & Isa, at The Outpost.

Conquering South of Cebu

Weekend 2: Dumaguete, Siquijor

November 18-21, 2011

Motorcycling in Siquijor
Jumping in Cambugahay Falls and Salagdoong Beach
Visiting Lazi Church & Lugnason Falls
Food Trip in Dumaguete City

Headed to Siquijor with Ron & Monette, Chichi, and Doi and spent a couple of days on motorbikes while touring the island. We visited a couple of falls, jumped off a cliff, tried to swing like Tarzan (but failed), made crazy videos, and had a quick side trip to Dumaguete for food! We met up with travel bloggers, RV and Mervz, as well as chatted with a kind soul along the way.

Motorcycle diaries in Siquijor

A few more steps and I was already at the Osmeña Peak in Cebu. Actually, it was a few hundred more but it didn’t seem much as I was in a hurry to get to the top. I left my friend, Doi who was resting her swollen leg down below. I would’ve stayed with her but she advised me to catch up with our other companions before it turned dark.

I needed to deliver the tripod plate that was attached to the base of my camera. The tripod body was already with Dom but it was useless without the integral part of the device that was with me.

Osmeña Peak,
Mantalongon, Dalaguete, Cebu
November 12, 2011

Edwin already at the top

green

We’ve been trekking for over two hours and although we paused at times, I felt my legs weakening at every step. I wondered why my strength was failing on me. I realized I haven’t been doing my rounds of exercise at home so my body was caught off guard due to the sudden physical activity. However, it didn’t stop me from continuing the trek.

view from Osmena Peak

A lot of people in this blog can see how ‘crazy’ I can get for the sake of having a unique photo taken. I slipped and hit my head on a rock in Bomod-ok falls in Sagada, I stood on top of the lighthouse in Capones Island in Zambales, I jumped off a cliff in … Read more

Podcast Interview with Brenna of PhilippineTravelogue.com

Third part of my podcast interview series. This was a fun session and I decided to keep some of the bloopers to make the conversation sound more natural. I couldn’t keep a straight face because of how many times we broke into laughter.

Brenna of PhilippineTravelogue.com

This SoloFlightEd Sessions episode, I interviewed Brenna of PhilippineTravelogue.com who represents one of the younger travel bloggers of the country. She, together with her family, visited Cebu for a week and decided to extend one more day to travel solo in Moalboal, Cebu.

What’s nice is that she’s also doing freelance jobs or part-time work in order to fund her travels. Money is definitely one of the factors to consider when you travel and being a student, it’s a challenge to seek funds for expenses. But Brenna has proven that when you really want to travel, you find ways to make it happen.

Interview Location: La Marea Pastry Shop, Asiatown IT Park, Cebu, Philippines

Brenna in Bohol

Note: This post was drafted and the blog owner is already in Hong Kong for the second time around. In an unexpected turn of events, I suddenly had to go through a pile of maps inside a brown envelope I kept and familiarize myself with the MTR. I’ll be going on a sponsored trip for … Read more

My 7 Links: Revisiting Old Blog Entries

Passing off a chain that came from word slayer blogger, AJ Poliquit, whose writing leaves me looking for tissues to wipe my nose. My 7 Links – This is a project by Tripbase “to unite bloggers from all sectors to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that … Read more

Moalboal, Cebu: A Beach Fix from the Office and School

One of the easier beaches to access when you have limited time in Cebu is Moalboal. It’s a quick beach fix whenever there’s a need for you to get away from the city while enjoying the sun, sand, and water.

I’m a beach boy at heart. I used to spend weekends with my cousins in different beaches in Davao which may have resulted to my fondness of taking a dip in salt water when opportunities arise. With so many beaches I’ve featured in this blog, I wonder why I haven’t been able to create a write-up about this nice retreat when it’s very much accessible from the city.

hut under the heat of the sun

I also have a couple of fond memories of Moalboal. Those occasions were spent with colleagues at work and with classmates in school – both of which I was able to do at the same time. Remembering those times when I had to work at night and then study during the day, I found my much-needed stress buster in this beach.

Moalboal beach
photo by Bangbang

I spent 36 hours travelling and waiting during our trip from Cebu to Siem Reap in Cambodia. It was the longest I spent to reach one destination. I guess that’s the challenge when you live in a region that doesn’t have a lot of options when it comes to flights to international destinations. Cebu Pacific Airlines used to have direct flights from Cebu to Bangkok but it stopped probably due to the minimal number of passengers going to that country.

In any case, we were lucky to get a discount due to promotional fares a couple of months before the schedule. Here’s a breakdown on how we got to Cambodia from Cebu.

online at Clark terminal

Cebu to Manila: We arrived 5 minutes late at the check-in counter so we had to pay the regular price and turned into chance-passengers at 5200 bucks more than the promo fare. Just mentioning it is already a pain in the buttocks since we already had a limited budget.

7000 Php (ouch) – Cebu Pacific Air Fare (original price was only 1800 Php)
200 Php – Terminal Fee

Cebu Pacific airlines

Lesson learned, arrive 2 hours earlier than the scheduled flight! I never want to be pay extra again as these are circumstances that we can control.

Food Trip in Cebu and Zamboanga

Cebu: Revisiting Kawasan Falls

Cebu: Mantolongon Sunday Morning Market

Cebu Osmeña Peak: Two-Hour Trek to the Peak

Side Trip to Singapore and Boracay

Singapore

Cebu Trip: Whale Shark ‘Butanding’ Encounter in Oslob

Six Consecutive Trips in Six Weekends

Weekend 1: Boljoon, Osmeña Peak, Kawasan Falls, Moalboal

Weekend 2: Dumaguete, Siquijor

Cebu Trip: Reaching Osmeña Peak

A Lesson on Responsible Tourism

Podcast Interview with Brenna of PhilippineTravelogue.com

Brenna of PhilippineTravelogue.com

Cebu to Hong Kong Flight Courtesy of Airphil Express

My 7 Links: Revisiting Old Blog Entries

Moalboal, Cebu: A Beach Fix from the Office and School

Cebu to Manila to Clark to Bangkok to Aranyaprathet to Siem Reap