5 Nights in Cebu City at Hostel Seven Cebu

Location : Hostel 7 Cebu, Cebu City, Philippines

Lost
I was always sure and confident of my moves, always knowing where I fit in the bigger scheme of things. When confounded, I just ask myself the question, "What excites me?" - and my answer would determine my next thing-to-do or my next destination. It was always that simple.

Strange, but after traveling homeless for 5 years, it's only now I lost my bearings. Traveling doesn't excite me as much and asking that question no longer generates an answer. What do I do now? Perhaps the 5 days will allow me to regain perspective on where to point my compass.

Hostel Seven Cebu
After Moalboal, I defaulted to Cebu City for a 5-night stay at the newly opened Hostel Seven Cebu. It's so new, the tv and wifi haven't been installed in my room yet. My room is spacious and comfortable with an unusual industrial theme to it. The washroom is likewise huge with eclectic floor tiling. The hotel has a lively outdoor bar/cafe and a proposed roofdeck for acoustic nights. A hip, dynamic and vibrant energy permeates the scene.

Mikko Pato
Hostel Seven Cebu
Mikko, the youthful owner of Hostel Seven, is forward moving and injects fresh thinking into this venture. With his plans for expansion and innovation, the future looks promising.

I joined him for a coldie on a couple of nights as he introduced me to his merry band of revelers - friends who make up his social circle. I admire him and his friends for many reasons - they work hard and play hard, they're smart and upwardly mobile and they seem to be the next-generation of Cebu's movers and shakers who carry this air of optimism up their stride.

Orange Karenderia
As good fortune would have it, the same family also owns Orange Karenderia, with its latest branch on the same ground as Hostel Seven Cebu. Orange has been my benchmark for short-order good eats at reasonable price, as early as a few years back when I stumbled upon it at Salinas Drive in Lahug. Now, good food is just outside my doorstep - how cool is that? Their Garlic Chicken is part chicharon, part fried chicken with the Orange signature taste for goodness - don't leave Cebu without trying it (with ice cold beer)!

Cebu Then and Now
Cebu City used to conjure vivid and eclectic imagery for me - the yoga scene, Zen meditation at Chu Un Temple, Theosophical Society discussions, Vipassana sits, good friends, coffee conversation, secret love life (yes, it's only now I'm admitting to it), etc. But I was relatively new to Cebu then, meeting new friends. I wasn't close to anyone and talks were kept wholesome - let's just say it was pleasantly arms-length. Think of being on a plane and you see the city from 10,000 feet. It looks scenic and appealing.

As I immersed myself in the city and people's on-goings including their life issues and dirty laundry (mine too), it starts getting real and you start feeling the grit - let's call it life-texture. Some people will continue to resonate while others won't. And like water finding its own level, friends fall into their totem pole ranking, either in order of relevance or urgency (as I fall into theirs). Think of the plane finally landing and now you have to deal with the city's nuts-and-bolts - congestion, traffic, pollution, urban events and cultural offerings.

Jeanne
Yoga Teacher
But no matter how the bigger picture takes shape and form in my Cebu peoplescape, I notice that at the center of it all, the hub that pulls them all together is my deepening friendship with Jeanne. Without her in the picture, Cebu would not be as compelling a destination. She would often be my breakfast guest and we'd hangout for beer and eats, always in constant conversation about anything and everything under the sun, hardly repeating ourselves. I am grateful. I thought you only make deep and lasting friendships with people you grow up with from school - not when you've already dealt with mid-life crisis! So yes, my benevolent universe has also given me one great gift - Jeanne.

And yes, to address your thought-bubble, is not my secret love life - never was, although people have speculated. Jeanne and I have kept it wholesome and platonic.

Theosophical Society Meetings
I didn't want to pass through Cebu without eating at the vegan dinner buffet at Persian Palate and attending the weekly Theosophical Society meetings. Lovorn's topic this time was Anthony de Melo's book and the wise sayings that's worth a ponder. But really, what I'm after is the community sense of seeing familiar faces and like-minded thinkers who make the effort to evolve. The usually suspects were there - Jeanne, Ellen, Regina, CaRen, Ivy, Emil, Edna, etc. It's good to be in a place where your radical ideas are open for scrutiny instead of simply being frowned upon.

Dr. Nestor Alonso II
PhilStar Global: Author
Since I met Cebu's foremost food critic, Doc Alonso, he has become part of my Cebu landscape. With every visit, we find time to catch up, usually at his favorite vodka/pizza place, Michaelangelo Pizza in Banilad. Let's just say we are both gray-haired guys who remain young. We share many things in common - good food and talking/writing about it, movies, sharing social commentaries, irreverent humor, etc. Often, he would reveal to me the hidden part of Cebu only lumad Cebuanos know about. An intellectual and keen observer of life who can articulate his insight, I'm left as a captive audience.

Judith Eugenio
Bazi & Feng Shui Consultancy
I met Judith during my last Cebu visit to coach her in keeping stillness of the mind in preparation for her major dance competition in Manila. She came back triumphant after bagging the gold but I was already away to congratulate her. We had this last hurrah breakfast to catch up and hear about her dance exploits and where it has taken her now. Judith has that rare objective-driven single-minded focus to win and stops at nothing to get the job done. I look forward to seeing her again.

Ending Thoughts
With 5 days over in Cebu, Tagbilaran (Bohol) beckoned from out of the blue. In my cosmic parlance, my benevolent universe just parted the Red Sea to show me the path. With the help of Jeanne, I have an affordable room waiting for me. I still don't know what awaits me there, but not knowing is a good thing. Another place, another chapter.

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

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More on Cebu City:

Cebu City Google Map

Cebu City, Philippines

tourist attractions

• Tops - hilltop offering panoramic view of the city
• Taoist Temple - temple on a hillslope in Lahug with panoramic view of the city

hotel

• Hostel Seven Cebu - newly opened, resto/bar, central location, solo/group travellers
  Juana Osmeña Street, Cebu City
• S Hotel & Residences - new hotel, luxury rooms, central location
  827 M. Velez corner Andres Abellana St.

resto / cafe / bar

• Fujinoya - new and refreshing twists to Western style desserts using Japanese techniques
  Wilson St., Lahug, Cebu City - tel. 888.6075
• Bad Boys Wingz - Buffalo Wings, unique versions of sauces! Great service, accommodating staff, bad boys vibe
  Kasambagan, Cebu City | (032) 415 4811

yoga

• Love Yoga World - yoga studio
  11/fl, Skyrise 2 Tower, IT Park, Lahug, Cebu City
• Yoga Now - first Yoga and Wellness studio in Mactan offering daily Yoga Classes
  at The Yacht Club Mactan

mountain biking

• Cebu Mountain Bike Adventure - MTB tours, bike sales and repairs. Bed and Breakfast + Resto Cafe + wifi
  1298-b V.Rama Ave, Guadalupe, Cebu City | 0942.959.7451

Cebu City to Siquijor by Bus, via Liloan (Santander)

(as of Jan 2023)

Sugbo Urban
There is only one bus plying this route - Sugbo Urban. Tourist class coach, a/c, comfortable, Sun-Fri (these dates keep changing). P420 for bus, P275 for ferry to Liloan. Leaves Cebu City (South Bus Terminal) at 8 pm (Sundays 1 am), heads south to Liloan (Santander), takes the ferry to Larena Port, Siquijor, docks around 5 am, makes a clockwise roundtrip around Siquijor Island - Larena, Enrique Villanueva, Maria, Lazi (stops at Lazi market for breakfast and leaves 6:50 am), San Juan, Siquijor (arrives 8am, P50 from Lazi to Siquijor Poblacion) and catches the 1pm ferry at Larena Port for Liloan, Cebu and resumes its land route. Arrives Cebu City 10 pm.

Sugbo Urban is the cheapest and most convenient way because when it reaches Larena Port (Siquijor), it continues its trip around the island (clockwise) along the circumferential road, passing through - Enrique Villanueva, Maria, Lazi, San Juan, Siquijor...and back to Larena. It spares you the cost of hiring a tricycle or habal-habal which charges exhorbitant fares. Besides, it's a long trip to the other side of the island to be taking by tricycle.

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More on Cebu Province:

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