Hello, Cebu!

We arrived in Cebu early in the morning and what greeted us is Mactan airport's clean and well-kept arrival area.
We booked a hotel near Fuente Circle in the city which was quite convenient since it's near the tourist spots and malls. Do consider staying in any of the hotels within the Fuente Circle vicinity (Crown Regency Tower, Summit Circle Cebu, Gran Prix Econotel). A cab ride to SM, Ayala, Magellan's Cross, Cebu's IT Park wouldn't set you back more than a hundred pesos. A Robinson's Mall is also walking distance to the above mentioned hotels.

Cebu City has a lot of interesting things to offer but we took it slow during our first day. Our first and the most important thing on our agenda is to eat the famous CnT Lechon so we headed to Ayala and the lechon didn't disappoint. (CnT Lechon can be found at Ayala Center's Food Choices right beside the cinemas. )

After having our fill, we decided to have our haircut. Here we are looking dapper.



We also paid the famous tourist spots a visit on our 2nd day.

Magellan's Cross

Sto. Nino Church

Plaza Independencia


Fort San Pedro



Analyn also chanced upon an S&R on our way to the hotel. It is quite near Magellan's Cross and Fort San Pedro so that's where we headed next.

We went crazy. There's a huge teddy bear and huge Pop Tarts!



Affordable Cheetos Jalapenos

Cherry Cokes! 

For interesting food choices, we went to Cebu IT Park. The place looked a lot like BGC in Manila.



My friends and I had a lot of fun in Cebu, I was initially worried that there would be nothing to do but I was wrong. Check out Things to do in Cebu here: WhenInManila: Things To Do When in Cebu

Here we are posing for the camera:

Planning your Cebu itinerary? Again, here's the link to help you out:  http://www.wheninmanila.com/things-to-do-when-in-cebu/

Food Porn: Krabi

A couple of days in Thailand is simply not enough to enjoy what the country has to offer when it comes to food. Our first meal in Krabi was at Sheraton's Mangosteen's. 

Notice that the restaurant was almost empty when we got there but it took them almost an hour to serve us our meals. By the time our food arrived, our room was already ready.

They did compensate us by offering a fruit platter for dessert. 

Anyway, here's what we had: 

Our 2nd day, we also had no choice but to eat at the resort because we missed the shuttle leaving before lunch time. 

Save for the cheese sandwich, there was really nothing special at the resort so it was a good thing that we thoroughly enjoyed our dinners by the beach.

We ate at restaurants beside each other, I forgot to take note of the restaurant names but one is very modern looking which you won't miss once you get there.

We also had snacks in between with the crispy pancakes being my favorite. 

On our last day, we decided to just eat at the airport. There's only the Thai Airways cafeteria available. 

Krabi, Thailand

The past weekend was a Krabi weekend for me, Abby and Eco. Krabi is another popular beach destination in Thailand and one can't help but compare it to its more famous cousin, Phuket. It's a little bit more quiet and the first description that came to mind when we went to town during our first night there is sleepy.

It's impressive how Thailand has focused on tourism which is very obvious the moment you see their airports and Krabi's isn't an exception. It is simple and well maintained.






Transportation from the airport:

From what I gathered during our short stay there, there are two areas that are popular, Ao Nang and Krabi Town. (I didn't get to go to Krabi Town but I read from other blogs that it's okay to skip it. One local even told Abby that it's a little bit more boring there.) From the airport, there is a shuttle that takes you directly to Ao Nang where most of the hotels and the beach are for 150 THB (6 SGD, 180 PHP).



We were told that our hotel in Nong Thale is quite far from the airport and town so there was no choice but to take a cab. There's no haggling as you have to pre-pay for your taxi ride at the authorized taxi booth before exiting the airport. Our fare is 700 THB (28 SGD, 950 PHP). Distance is quite relative as it was actually only a 30-minute ride.





Ao Nang

From our hotel, we had to take a 20-minute shuttle ride to Ao Nang. It is essentially just a whole stretch of road with different restaurants, travel and tour centers, mini marts and lots of massage places.





While there are lots of restaurants by the road, skip those, and eat at the seafood restaurants by the beach for the glorious view.





There is also just one area where the bars are, Centerpoint and it is not so obvious from the main road, make sure to crane your neck every now and then to look for the sign near Burger King.

The Beach

The beach was, quite honestly, a bit of a disappointment. It was rocky and didn't really look inviting for a swim. (The picture below came out nice but it really didn't look as good) I asked a tour operator there and you actually have to take a taxi boat to the nearby islands to go for a decent swim.



There were quite a few choices but we decided on Rai Lay beach, a 15-minute boat ride away. It costs 200 THB (8 SGD, 270 PHP) 2-way. The only downside is they need a minimum of 8 persons to travel so we had to wait a while.

Rai Lay Beach

The scenery on the way to Rai Lay is just breathtaking and the beach itself was quite nice although not really too suitable for swimming. The water is clear but it is rocky and the rocks are huge. We had to tread carefully so we didn't stay long in the water.







We didn't come prepared as we had no beach mat, good thing there are hotels with restaurants facing the beach. We chose the one at the far end and had drinks while relaxing and enjoying the view.









There is also an alley with a few stores and restaurants for you to get some refreshments or food if eating at a hotel restaurant is not your thing.



Exploring Krabi

There are several tours offered for you to take but we didn't get to go since we had very limited time plus some of the tours are exactly the same ones that you can get from Phuket. You go to the exact same tourist spots.

Krabi is a great place to go to if you want some peace and quiet but once is enough for me.