How hard would it be to go around unfamiliar territory? Having lived my entire life in Metro Manila, I was about to find out the hard way, when we touched down at the Mactan International Airport, on route to the Ford Escape Ride and Drive in the great city of Cebu.
Our impression of the Philippine’s oldest city is influenced by a distant memory five years old—a time when we spent our entire time cooked up at the Shangri-la Mactan Island Resort. Of course, we got the shock of our lives when we didn’t have the security of seeing our names misspelled on a hotel shuttle placard. We’re on our own, this time.
You see, we purposely came two days earlier than the rest of the Ford contingent to get a further glimpse of life here.
Upon exiting the baggage claim, there are two immediately noticeable things about Cebu—they were to become a recurring theme throughout the rest of our trip. First, Cebuanos don’t normally speak Filipino (or Tagalog, whichever way you want to put it). The common language here is Cebuano (duh!)—and if you don’t speak a word of it, you’ll have to rely on the suave straightness of your English. Though it’s rather weird talking to another Filipino in a foreign tongue, we had little choice—it was either that, or we’d probably end up in a mental asylum. Second is that the roads here are pretty darn fine. In fact, the cab that took us from the airport (located in Lapu-Lapu City) to the Ford dealership at the heart of Cebu City was relatively squeak free despite traveling more than 56,000 kilometers—an amazing feat as even private vehicles back here in Manila can’t even muster 30,000 without giving a hint of loose screws underneath.
As we rode away from the Ford Cebu dealership in a Metropolis Blue Ford Escape XLT, we began to rely heavily on a tourist map for our first day of road tripping. It was a hair-raising experience since the map, though fine in showing the numerous historical landmarks depicted as caricatures, doesn’t show enough detail to go around the downtown area. Here, the roads are dotted with one-way directions, no left-turns and do not enter signs. A crazy town—but at least it wasn’t congested.
The common mode of transportation in Cebu is the ‘multicab’. Essentially Suzuki SuperCarrys with their backs sliced off and turned into makeshift pick-ups, these cost merely 75,000 pesos for the top-of-the-range model complete with a rear passenger canopy and benches. Like any good model range, the multicab comes with an astounding list of features than include a four-wheel drive system. Though the Escape has one of the highest ground clearances in the soft-roader segment, these multicab drivers are actually capable of staring at us at eye-level! The good visibility is essential in Cebu traffic.
Though traffic jams are still unheard of by most of the population, we’ve noticed that rush hours here could be quite hectic—or rather, painfully slow. However, it’s unlike Metro Manila, where a three-hour jam can clog everything from Roxas Boulevard to EDSA to Ayala Avenue to Cubao; in Cebu, it is usually the downtown area that suffers heavily from a dose of congestion. Of course, congestion here is a relative word as heavy traffic here means just suffering from two traffic light cycles—maybe three at the most. Not to mention, all of the traffic jams in Cebu only happen within a small radius near the downtown area—maybe five kilometers.
As we guessed our way to SM City Cebu, we finally were able to ditch our Indiana Jones-like character (sans whip) with the purchase of a decent road map from National Bookstore. Of all the maps available, the one that makes the most sense for visitors is the EZ Map. Though available only in fan-fold type, this particular guide lists all the tourist destinations as well as other items such as gasoline stations, one-way streets and even barangay listings.
We stayed at a hotel in the Cebu Business Park, a stone’s throw away from Ayala Center Cebu. We entered this shopping complex to find nothing less than Glorietta, albeit shrunk to around one-half scale. All the usual shops are here: Rustan’s, TAG Heuer, Polo, even Linea Italia! The only one seemingly absent is Starbucks Coffee. Yes, folks—the big coffee chain hasn’t even clawed their way to Cebu yet.
As we desperately searched for a decent rest stop, we chanced upon Bo’s Coffee Club. Though you may not be turned on by the name, the entire concept is lifted out of every page of the Starbucks manual! If Starbucks has Frappucino, they have Froccino. If Starbucks has Baristas, they have Partners. Frankly, Bo’s is like a mixture of Starbucks, Seattle’s Best and Figaro. Though the look and menu concept come from Starbucks, the way the orders are served are in the style of Seattle’s Best, while the food selection is almost as wide as Figaro’s. Bo’s is generally cheaper than any Manila-based coffee house, but don’t expect any of their drinks or pastries to reach Café Americano level. It’s half-price, but with slightly three-fourths of the quality. However, you shouldn’t pass on the extremely rich PHP35 Choco Carrot Cake.
After the coffee break, we headed out to check the rest of Cebu City. We’ve noticed that passenger jeepneys are often in absentia here. In fact, they are commonly found in the outskirts of the city, still spewing out their toxic diesel fumes. However, within the city proper are another set of hybrids: Isuzu Elfs or Mitsubishi L300s with jeepney style seating, painted in complete Formula One livery! There’s no shortage of Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes-Benz, or Jaguar jeepneys here…the city’s just full of them.
One thing to watch out for is the Cebuano’s road manners. First, pedestrians can cross anywhere and anyway they wish—something that we had to take extra caution with, since these people can’t just end up like road kill. Motorists can also be a hassle since they’re armed with itchy horn fingers, darting in and out of traffic faster than an overtaking Nascar racer. We had to look carefully at the rear-view mirrors, as jeepneys attempt overtaking maneuvers even if they’re still a half-kilometer away. Last, Cebu is one of the few places on earth where motorcycles actually consume the same amount of road space as a regular car.
We ended day one in another blatant copy of a Manila mainstay: Big By’s, where the place, the menu and even the singing waiters are a suspiciously similar to TGIF’s. Of course, it’s no surprise, as this Cagayan-based chain is reportedly owned by one of the original partners who started the TGIF thing in the first place.
Rain showers similar to the wacky Manila weather fell on the first day. With Cebu’s rather ancient water drainage and sewage system, floods are commonplace, especially in low lying areas. As we crossed the Marcelo Fernan Bridge connecting Mandaue City with Lapu-Lapu City, we got to test the Ford Escape’s flood crossing abilities: it passed with flying colors. During most of the day, flood puddles on city roads became commonplace thanks to continuous rain. A slight problem we encountered was with the Escape’s short side step board—as it soiled our khaki pants more than once.
Although most, if not all, motoring publications are based in Manila, Cebu makes for a good photo ground for cars since most of the areas here are very picturesque with historical landmarks and handsome hotel and resort driveways that dot most of the island. Our list of favorites include: the Cebu straits, the driveways of Shangri-la Mactan Island
Resort and of course, more familiar places like the one fronting the Cebu Plaza Hotel and The Sto. Tomas de Villanueva parish church in Danao City.
Beauty is not just skin deep for Cebu, as the surrounding areas prove to be taxing testing grounds for vehicle activity. Just a couple of minutes away from each other, we had the chance to experience various terrain. First, there’s an uphill climb to the Tops lookout point, the highest point on Cebu, best described as Tagaytay on steroids. The outskirts of Mactan Island has a couple of unpaved roads and dirt basketball courts that could test off-road ability. In climbing, the Ford Escape felt quite strained, no thanks to a confused automatic and a high-strung engine. It shone when it came to the rough stuff, thanks to the grippy four-wheel drive system; the only limiting factor was the road-biased tires.
Lastly, we can’t talk about a trip to Cebu City without getting to the subject of pasalubong. Though some might want to indulge on cholesterol-laden lechon and manok bisaya (both of which are truly excellent), Cebu is best known for its amazing array of good stuff such as chicharon (pork rind), dried mangos, rosquillos (a type of round biscuits) and otap. Though you can usually buy these items at half of their Manila prices, if you really count your budget, we suggest the Fooda Savers Mart on General Maxilom Street, Cebu City. Generally, the items there are cheaper (the Chicharrito’s brand of pork rind is 2.50 pesos cheaper than the Chicarrito’s stalls dotted around town) and the stock is fresher, too.
Now that we’ve offered you a glimpse of what Cebu driving and dining is like, we suggest you read on and look at the stunning beauty of the Philippine’s oldest city. In the next few pages, you’ll get to glimpse several happenings in the Ford Media Ride & Drive including a preview tour of Ford’s newest dealership in Lahug, Cebu as well as the romantic Alegre Beach Resort!
About Ford Cebu’s New Facility
The new Ford Cebu site in Lahug is carved out of a mountain side, making this a unique dealership in the sense that it has three levels—two of which are located below ground. The ground floor will serve as the sales and service receiving center, while the middle floor will service as Ford Cebu’s service bay. The overall theme is industrial, emphasizing Ford’s tough image. The dealership is accentuated with the use of brushed aluminum, granite, steel plates and smoothened concrete, with a different theme for each vehicle.
The new dealership officially opened last November 15 and is proud to service all Ford owners in Cebu City and the nearby provinces. Ford Cebu is also owned by the same group that manages Ford Alabang.
About Alegre Beach Resort
Perched above Cebu’s most spectacular natural and uncorrupted white sand beach, Alegre Beach Resort offers its guest friendly, unobtrusive service in an idyllic tropical location. Upon arrival, the reception area offers uninterrupted view over the spacious swimming pools to the islands in the east set in delicious turquoise blue waters.
Accommodations are surrounded by lush gardens and comprised of twenty elegant, tastefully designed Filipino-Spanish inspired cabañas with native thatched roofs, each of which includes two spacious bedrooms, oversized bathrooms and private verandas. Mini-bars, cable television and in-house movies, hairdryers, personal safes, coffee and tea makers, air-conditioning and many other facilities expected of a world class resort are all included.
Adjacent to the pool, the Pavilion Restaurant and Lounge Bar offer a choice of air-conditioned or alfresco dining where variety of native and international dishes are available. Alegre also prides itself on the preparation of freshly caught seafood.
In the beach coves — relax beneath swaying coconuts trees. for the more energetic, our aqua sports area provides snorkeling, diving, jet skiing, windsurfing and kayaking in the house reef. For the adventurous and romantics: diving and island hopping to beautiful islands whose natural beauty is the source of pride for the inhabitants and the resort. Other resort facilities include a tennis court, putting green, game room, library, massage service, conference set-ups and banqueting.
One could also indulge in bird watching, mountain biking and trekking in the rural countryside and to observe flora and fauna endemic to limestone areas. The late afternoon is punctuated by a relaxing cruise timed to witness the sun as it sets beneath the mountains highlighting the stark contrast of the rustic countryside to the modern urban life most people experience.
Looking at the stars on a clear night sky is also a satisfying experience. We offer one unique and enchanting atmosphere, which only our discreet and elegant resort can provide. An oasis of calm in hectic daily life. We pamper our select clientele with comforts and luxuries meticulously crafted by people who care. At Alegre Beach Resort, guest lose themselves in the enveloping arms of nature…its scents, stunning colors, lyrical sounds right outside their very doors.
For More Information Contact
Alegre Beach Resort
Calumboyan, Sogod
Island of Cebu
Philippines 6007
Telephone: (63-32) 2311198, 2549800, 2549811
Fax: (63-32) 233-7944
URL: https://www.alegrebeachresort.com/
E-mail: [email protected]
By Ulysses Ang | Photos by Ulysses Ang and Jason Ang
Originally Published in the January 2003 Issue
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