Are you in the Army?

Taking on the advice of the taxi driver on arrival and my history of making flights "just in time" we headed for Manila airport 3 hours before flying. The roads were much quieter at 05:30am although the stretch of the bay we drove down (a few km at best guess) were lined with people sleeping rough or in tents, another extreme to the shanty towns seen on the previous day. Something I have not seen before.

We flew into Cebu, which is part of the Visayas (Central Region of the Philippines). Cebu is more of a gateway to other locations than a destination in itself. I think I learned of a new way to describe disembarking an aircraft, here they call it "Deplaning". Cebu is referred to as the queen of the South, being the 2nd largest city in the Philippines. The airport is actually on the island ofMactan which connects to Cebu via a road bridge. It's still busy in places but certainly not as congested as Manila.

For lunch I sampled another Filipino dish "Bistek" which was some kind of beef gravy dish with the standard bowl of rice on the side. I'm sure I also tasted some more oyster sauce flavours so I am quickly being accustomed to Filipino cuisine as "Meat with Oyster Sauce". I have seen some tofu on the menu but my usual eating of just vegetables in the week has gone out the window, I think my actual veggie friends would struggle here. Cur Tom eating carrot and peanuts for 5 days again....

In the afternoon we headed towards Cebu's main sites. First we stumbled across what I think may have been a state funeral, seeing some guys playing drums at the beginning of the procession was a bit confusing when I didn't know what it was. This was made even more confusing by a passing woman who seemed to make a beheading sign at me, so I wondered if I looked towards the drummers anymore I might have ended up decapitated! Turns out she was trying to say it was a funeral. The rest of the procession was huge, big banners, oversized flowers and big police presence.

This was also the same location to see the Cross of Magellan. A crucifix said to have been brought over in 1521, although it is a replica that encases the original inside. Next door is the Basilica del Santo Nino which houses what is said to be the most famous religious icon in the Philippines, the Santo Nino, a statue of the child Jesus from the 1500's.

In need of some refreshment we headed to a local mall, passing another huge dwelling of shanty houses, it such a big contrast in such a small difference.
As we headed towards the entrance a driver of a car poked his head out of the window and asked "Are you in the Army?" Possibly thinking that my green tshirt and cargo shorts was some kind of military uniform. The mall was similar to other Asian ones I have been to, big, and hard to find your way out of!

For dinner we headed to a restaurant recommended by my rough guides book. Full of local people (there are less tourists here). I had my first helping of fried chicken, which like most places in the world seems quite popular here.

"It's more fun in the Philippines" signs: 4
Bowls of Rice consumed: 6
Hours travelled: 17