Before finally heading off to the airport, I took a blitz trip to Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa in Punta Engaño. It was getting dark when I arrived so I was only able to take half decent pictures.
Here is what greets you at the lobby:
Nice nice.
I would say that the Tides restaurant is the equal of Circles (in Makati Shang) and Heat (in Edsa Shang).
A shot of the poolside:
The beach:
Overall, it’s a very nice place. You have to pony up a lot of dough though to stay at this place. Hey if you have the money, why not? Another thing, I’d personally stay near Cebu City than in Mactan as I find it a bit more strategic going to places like malls and other tourist attractions but that’s just me.
On the way to Punta Engaño (wherein Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa is located) I make a quick stopover to Mactan Shrine. They say this was where Magellan was killed by Lapu-Lapu and his men.
The Magellan’s Marker was built in 1866 by the Spanish government to honor Magellan. The 4 corners of this obelisk contains different inscriptions.
A. Hernando De Magallanes:
Siendo Gobernador Don Miguel Creus:
1866 Reinando Ysabel II:
Glorias Españolas:
Just a few feet away is the Lapu-Lapu Monument which was made as a tribute to Lapu-Lapu. He is known to be the first datu to resist the Spanish colonization.
Beside this shrine, there is a parking lot with a selling area of native products. I bought my guitar there too. I hope to learn to play it soon.
Here are some tips should you plan to go to Bantayan Island:
1. Plan for a few days stay at Bantayan. Staying overnight will not be enough for you to explore the island (just like us).
2. Leave for Bantayan as early as possible.
3. The non-airconditioned buses are fine and quite cheap. The trip is quite breezy anyway. Just make sure you put sunscreen. My right arm got sunburned along the ride because the sun was shining on the right side. Better yet, just sit on the opposite side of the bus away from the sun.
4. If you really want airconditioned transport, you can ride v-hire (sorta like vans) or a taxi but it’s going to cost you a lot more money.
5. If you’re riding a v-hire, make sure you do not choose a dilapidated looking one. We rode a v-hire going back to Cebu. I was already thinking that the v-hire will breakdown and and it did so we had to go back a few kilometers back to wait for a replacement.
6. If you’re looking to buy bottled water, do not buy at the resorts. Kota charges 60 pesos ($1.33) for a 1 liter bottle and outside they charge just less than half the price for it.
7. If you want to eat dinner buffet at D’ Jungle, make sure you arrive there early so that you don’t eat just the leftovers.
8. Those fan-like clams available at D’Jungle is a must eat.
9. People there are quite nice and hospitable. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Talk to them (especially the pedicab drivers) and get to know more about the place.
10. Have Fun. Relax. Take a dip. Breathe the fresh air. Enjoy!!!
Okay here’s a few more about Bantayan Island
Near Bantayan itself (but still a part of Bantayan Island) is Sta. Fe. I was able to take a picture of the Sta. Fe Beach Club while we were still in the ferry. Looks to be a nice place and hopefully we’ll be able to stay there the next time around.
Looking for other places to stay in Bantayan aside from Kota Beach Resort? Posted below are some of the resorts in the area that I was able to take a picture of.
1.) Hoyohoy Villas - This is the best looking resort I have seen around the area. The price per night is pretty steep though.
2.) Marlin Beach Resort
I also saw this private property:
Nice house (or rest house). I also saw the owner painting his house (you can see him in the first picture between the two trees). Lucky guy.
Are there places to eat you might ask? Of course there is!
First off, this is how you travel the area:
For lunch, we ate at Marisqueira O Portuguese:
Food was just okay. Serving time took quite some time. Price is a bit high.
For dinner, we ate at D’ Jungle. It’s just across Marisqueira. When we arrived there, food was almost gone for the buffet and we had to look for other places to eat. Luckily, we were able to meet the owner and he told the servers at the restaurant to take care of us. And wow were we in for a treat! Calamares, baby back ribs, pork liempo, some sort of huge clams etc etc. All that for only 245 pesos ($6.00)!!! I’m getting hungry again just thinking about it.
Oh how I miss Bantayan. I promise to be back soon!
We now come to the highlight of our Cebu trip which is going to Bantayan Island. It’s not all daisies and roses though. The trip going to the island is a bit of hassle and tiresome. We took a 2.5-3 hour non-airconditioned bus ride going to the pier. Riding the ferry takes an additional 45 minutes to reach the island itself. Other than that, the rest is perfect.
We stayed at the Kota Beach Resort which was just a few minutes away from the pier. Fortunately, the Kota service transport was at the pier the same time we arrived so we were able to grab a ride. Surprisingly, the owner of the resort was also with us. We heard the owner (a she) was around 90 something years old already but still continues to manage the resort.
The cottage we took cost us 1,590 pesos ($35.50) per night plus 200 pesos ($4.50) for every additional mattress. The room was just okay. Nothing to write home about but hey we’re here for the beach right? Here’s a shot of the beachside cottages (our cottage is further back and not seen here):
The water’s just awesome. Clear and pristine.
These huts are submerged in water during high tide:
The sun sets on the other side of the island so you won’t be able to see the sun setting at Kota. I was able to get some nice pictures of the sky though:
It’s windy at night and perfect to take a stroll along the beach. Take a deep breath and smell the fresh air. The night sky is filled with stars too and perfect for stargazing. It’s the perfect place to have some R&R.
If the sun sets on the other side of the island, it obviously means the sun will rise on this part of the island. We woke up early to catch the sunrise and we were not disappointed.
The sun rising:
Heart shaped mini lagoon created on low tide:
Silhouettes:
A picture of the resort while the sun is rising:
A resort surrounded by coconut trees:
Postcard perfect:
Clear, blue and pristine waters:
The pictures pretty much says it all. We had a great stay at the Kota Beach Resort. However, we found staying overnight in Bantayan Island was not enough so make sure if you’re going to Bantayan Island maybe staying there for 3D 2N would be much better.
Up next… more Bantayan scenes.
550 peso buffet at UWO still too expensive for you? How about Filipino buffet at half the price of UWO’s? Impossible? No it’s not! Just outside the Waterfront Cebu Hotel (but still within the compound) is the Port Seafood Restaurant.
Just price at around 265 pesos ($6), this is the ultimate bang for your buck pig out place. Wide variety of Filipino food can be found. No need for anymore words here. Just a boatload of pictures.
Free flowing soft ice cream!!! Ooops, I’m not supposed to say anything anymore but just let the pictures speak for itself (sorry couldn’t resist).
’nuff said
Inside the Waterfront Cebu Hotel you can find the restaurant called UWO.
We thought it would be very expensive here considering that hotel buffets cost more than a thousand pesos in Manila. We asked the personnel inside how much the buffet costs and they said 550 pesos ($12). Our eyes widened. We double checked with the lady at the counter and asked if it was indeed 550 pesos and she said yes. Then and there we decided to eat at UWO but of course we looked around first at the menu. Looking around we were sold although roast beef, lamb and peking duck were nowhere to be found. Seafood was aplenty though.
Our reservation was for 8:30 PM. I suggest that if you were to eat here that you arrive and reserve a little earlier. When we first looked around it was around 6:00PM and there were food at that time that could not be found anymore later in the night. They replaced them with something else. Nontheless, we were pretty much satisfied with what we ate there.
The place looks modern and stylish similar to those hotel buffet restaurants in Manila. The ambience is great. The food tastes good. Highly recommended for a mid priced buffet.
Looking for a place to view Cebu? Located at the top of Busay Hills is Tops (No joke. They couldn’t think of a better name?). It’s around a 30 minute taxi ride from Cebu City. We paid 600 pesos ($13) for the taxi -for an hour stay- plus 100 pesos ($2.20) each for the entrance fee just to go there so we better not be disappointed.
We arrived there just as the sun was about to set.
We were lucky enough to chance upon a shooting star. I think this is the first time I saw one. What do you do when you see one? Why you make a wish of course!!!
I love sunsets so here are a few of my favorite pictures that I took:
At night, the sight of the city is beautiful.
If you like taking pictures, then this is definitely a must see place. The weather in the city itself is hot and Tops is a good place to cool down since it’s located on top of a hill (or mountain). A view of the city from the top + beautiful sky + cool weather = romantic. It’s definitely a great place for lovers!
Okay so I’m not quite sure if we went to Tabo-an or Carbon but these are two places where you can buy danggit (dried fish).
There you can see a wide variety of danggit (and dried squid as well).
If you want to try and taste them, make sure it’s cooked. I almost made the mistake of taking a bite out of an uncooked one. Good thing my friends were there to stop me. Embarassing. 
One thing to keep in mind though, boy do these things smell. Make sure if you buy them that you have them sealed well so that the smell won’t be as bad. Smell your shirt. The smell sticks and you smell like fish. The taxi we rode told us to put them at the trunk so that the taxi won’t smell.
After buying dried mangoes at R&M Preserves, we told the cab to take us to Shamrock Bakery.
They are mostly known for making otaps.
Cheap and delicious, they’re perfect when paired with coffee or tea.
You can also buy other hojaldres, rosquillos, baked polvorons and a lot lot more. They even sell dried mangoes and the like as well (although not made by them).
