The Cebu landscape
As I’ve mentioned in my previous post, the last time I was here in Cebu was eons ago. I don’t even remember much of how Cebu looked like then. But how it looks like now — wow! It’s pretty amazing.
I went to Ayala Center to meet with a friend who’d arrived from Manila yesterday, and we had lunch at a nice restaurant in the mall (place called oh georg! — good food, I must say). The whole place felt like Makati or Ortigas… but not really.
There are high-end boutiques and shops that we don’t have in Davao… people are more stylish in the way they carry themselves… there are more foreigners around who look like they live here… And, of course, the Cebuano language is quite pervasive.
Some say that Cebu is trying to be like Metro Manila. But I seriously doubt that. This metropolis is like the national capital region in that it is an amalgamation of several cities, but the similarity ends there. Cebu has a character all her own.
June 29th, 2008 at 1:22 am
hello
bloggie?blogiehows cebu?? i guess it hot and humid there!
any blog parties there lately?
cheers
June 29th, 2008 at 1:27 am
@iceman9 — Bai, usa ra lagi ka G ang pangalan nako… Gikapuy na ko sige edit sa “blogie” sa comments nimo ba…
It’s rainy here actually. No blog parties, but I’m gonna be meeting up with some bloggers later this afternoon.
June 29th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Hello Sir blogie!
Nice meeting you at Bo’s! Hope you had a great time here in Cebu! But I know you love to go back to Dumaguete. Give it a snap visit then.
-Obnoxious Queer
June 30th, 2008 at 12:18 am
yep, cebu is not like manila. it’s a different character altogether. hope you’ll like it here.
glad to meet you at bo’s earlier, by the way.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:33 am
I’m glad to have met you guys, too! Hopefully you’ll have more get-togethers, and hopefully I’ll be able to join you guys again soon.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Hi, Blog,
You’re right there. Just like Manila, Cebu is an “amalgamation” of several cities. It’s also a city of stark contrast: excess sitting side by side with want. Think of Ayala Center’s “cosmopolitan air” against Carbon market’s soot and grime. Cebu could easily evoke love and hate at the same time.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
But of course, I still love that crazy place. Cebu.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Very well put, Dava!