in Retrospect: Sinulog in Cebu, Philippines

Here's my first Sinulog trip in retrospect.

Travel Dates: January 17-20, 2014
Travel Companions: Jett and Emman
Flight:

• Cebu Pacific 5J-559, January 17, 2014, 4:20am
• Cebu Pacific 5J-572, January 20, 2014, 3:50pm

Hotel: Hotel Elizabeth
Basic Itinerary:

• Day 1 (Jan 17): Flight to Cebu from Manila; Eat at Zubochon
• Day 2 (Jan 18): Eat at CNT Lechon; Visit Basilica and Basilica del Sto. Nino; Had a massage at Grand Royal Spa; Eat at Larshan
• Day 3 (Jan 19): Watch parade/street dance presentations at Fuente Osmena Circle; Eat at Casa Verde; Went to Tops Cebu; Eat at Rodeo; Had a massage at Grand Royal Spa
• Day 4 (Jan 20): Flight to Manila from Cebu

Activities:

• Visit Basilica and Basilica del Sto. Nino
• See City lights at Tops Cebu (the highest point in Cebu City)
• Watch the parade/street dance presentations
• Food tripping (Zubochon, CNT Lechon, Larshan, Casa Verde, and Rodeo)
• Massage at Grand Royal Spa

Day by Day:

• Day 1 - We checked in at the airport using the Cebu Pacific kiosks and since we didn't have any checked luggage, we went straight to the boarding gates. However, Emman, one of my companions forgot that he had his swiss knife inside his backpack. He had to go back to the check in counters to check in his toiletries pouch with the swiss knife inside. Our flight landed at 5:30am and we got to our hotel at around 6:30am. Our room was not yet available for early check-in so we had breakfast first at Seattle's Best Coffee in Ayala Center. After breakfast, we went back to the hotel to hang out and wait for our room to be available. We were able to catch the cultural dance presentation at the hotel lobby before we checked in at around 12:30pm. We freshened up at our room and then walked to Ayala Center to have lunch. We ate at the Spaghetti Factory and then went around to shop/window shop. We went back to the hotel to have a bit of siesta and then woke up to have a late dinner at Zubochon.
• Day 2 - We had breakfast at the hotel and then before going out for the day, watched the cultural presentation at the lobby. We went to SM Cebu to shop/window shop (again). After spending quite some time walking around, we had a late lunch at CNT Lechon, which was across SM. It was close to 4:00pm already but there was still a bit of a wait before we got our lechon lunch. Lunch was simple but really delicious - 1.5 kilos of lechon, rice, and softdrinks (bottled water for me). We did have some left over lechon, which we had bagged and given to a streetchild we encountered outside CNT Lechon while we were waiting for a cab. We took a cab to the Basilica where we prayed for a little while. Afterwards, we decided to walk to the Basilica del Sto. Nino. There was a Mass going on outside, and even when we tried braving the crowds, we were not able to get near the Basilica del Sto. Nino. After our attempt, we had to walk 100 meters before we were able to find a cab that will bring us back to our hotel. We freshened up at the hotel before we headed back out to have a massage at the Grand Royal Spa. For Php400, I got a 1 hour full body massage and a 40 minute foot massage. After the massage, we had a barbecue dinner at Larshan.
• Day 3 - We had breakfast at the hotel before going out to watch the parade and street dance presentations by the different contingents. We took a cab up to a certain point and then walked the rest of the way to Fuentes Osmena Circle. We walked through the crowd of people assembled at the side of the street to catch some of the floats and the contingents who joined this year's festivities. At around 4:00pm, we walked to Casa Verde to have another very late lunch. After lunch, we went back to Ayala Center to buy something before walking back to the hotel. We rested and freshened up a bit before some friends arrived at our hotel so we can go to Tops, the highest point in Cebu. We contracted a taxi to bring five of us to Tops and wait for us, for Php1,300. The contracted price would have been way lower if it wasn't Sinulog and there are more cabs available. The weather at the city was already quite cold and when we got to Tops, the weather was 10x colder. And it didn't help that we weren't exactly dressed for the cold - I was wearing a shirt and a pair of shorts. We had hot chocolate and noodles at Tops. When it got too cold, we went back to the city and had dinner at Rodeo, which was right next to our hotel. After a quick dinner, we went to Grand Royal Spa for a foot massage.
• Day 4 - We had breakfast at the hotel. We spent the rest of the morning napping and packing. We checked out at 12:00pm and took a cab to the airport where we bought some last minute pasalubong before checking in. We checked in again via the Cebu Pacific kiosks and then lined up at the shortest check in counter to drop Emman's checked luggage and lechon. Our flight landed in Manila at 5:15pm.

Lessons Learned:

• Make sure that all items not allowed on a carry on luggage are either left at home or checked in
• If traveling during festivals, do not expect to be able to do early check in, just time your flight to land during the standard check in of 2:00pm
• If taking cabs throughout the trip, have everyone contribute to a pot where common expenses can be taken from
• It would also be good to establish a relationship with a particular cab driver, someone you can text or call for a pick up if you're having a difficult time hailing a cab.

XOXOXOXOXOXO