I know I know, it's been nearly a year since I updated this blog. It's not that I'd forgotten about it, not at all - work just got in the way of my blogging. I'm happy to report though that, nearly a year after I started this blog (prompted by my big Bantayan Island trip with friends), I've had my fair share of travels, specifically, trips to Corregidor, Cebu (again!), Coron (Palawan), Boracay, and Macau! I'll write about them in due time, but for this post, I'm happy to report that, for the very first time, I am not typing on my laptop at home, but at an internet cafe in friendly, sunny Dumaguete! I feel very much like a backpacker now, reporting her (mis)adventures from a (not so) faraway place, alone but not at all lonely on her solitary trip.
How the story goes is, I scored a set of free round-trip tickets from Cebu Pacific last year on account of an uber delayed flight. So I decided to use it to go on a solitary trip to Dumaguete. Why Dumaguete? I'll talk about that when I write a proper, post-trip entry about this three-day getaway.
I arrived here at around 830 this morning (Cebu Pacific was surprisingly on time!). I checked in to the hotel where I'm staying called Bethel Guesthouse. I didn't want to stay in the hotel all day so I've been walking around the very relaxed and quiet streets of Dumaguete. The people are friendly and the atmosphere very easy-going, a rather stark contrast from the urban jungle that is Manila! I had an early lunch at a local ihaw-ihaw place, and I went to the public market to buy some native bags for me and my Mom (she loves those). I've also gone to the Dumaguete Cathedral and seen the centuries-old Watchtower near the town park / plaza. Before I leave, I plan to buy an inexpensive pair of freshwater pearl earrings - I think that'll be my little travel tradition (I've bought a pair each from my trips in Palawan and Boracay).
After this I'm heading to Siliman University, which I hear is a lovely campus, and then having a sweet treat at Sans Rival, a popular local restaurant. In the afternoon, I plan to hang out and read New Moon along Rizal Avenue, where I will also try Dumaguete's most popular street food, fish tempura.
Tomorrow is a bit more of an adventure! I'm taking a ferry early in the morning to Siquijor where I'll spend either half a day or the entire day exploring the island (the details of which, in particular my means of transportation around the island, are still a bit blurry at this point).
On Monday morning, I fly back to Manila.
So ends my first ever "field report". I've got to log out now, but will definitely post soon (and with pictures!) once I'm back in the big bad city. Till then!
How the story goes is, I scored a set of free round-trip tickets from Cebu Pacific last year on account of an uber delayed flight. So I decided to use it to go on a solitary trip to Dumaguete. Why Dumaguete? I'll talk about that when I write a proper, post-trip entry about this three-day getaway.
I arrived here at around 830 this morning (Cebu Pacific was surprisingly on time!). I checked in to the hotel where I'm staying called Bethel Guesthouse. I didn't want to stay in the hotel all day so I've been walking around the very relaxed and quiet streets of Dumaguete. The people are friendly and the atmosphere very easy-going, a rather stark contrast from the urban jungle that is Manila! I had an early lunch at a local ihaw-ihaw place, and I went to the public market to buy some native bags for me and my Mom (she loves those). I've also gone to the Dumaguete Cathedral and seen the centuries-old Watchtower near the town park / plaza. Before I leave, I plan to buy an inexpensive pair of freshwater pearl earrings - I think that'll be my little travel tradition (I've bought a pair each from my trips in Palawan and Boracay).
After this I'm heading to Siliman University, which I hear is a lovely campus, and then having a sweet treat at Sans Rival, a popular local restaurant. In the afternoon, I plan to hang out and read New Moon along Rizal Avenue, where I will also try Dumaguete's most popular street food, fish tempura.
Tomorrow is a bit more of an adventure! I'm taking a ferry early in the morning to Siquijor where I'll spend either half a day or the entire day exploring the island (the details of which, in particular my means of transportation around the island, are still a bit blurry at this point).
On Monday morning, I fly back to Manila.
So ends my first ever "field report". I've got to log out now, but will definitely post soon (and with pictures!) once I'm back in the big bad city. Till then!
