What Do You Show Your Visitors?

[JJReyes]

You reside in the Philippines as an expat and a relative or friend shows up. They have never been to the Philippines. What do you show your visitors? What would you show of Metro Cebu that would give them a positive, lasting impression? What about Metro Manila? Should you simply avoid the city and take them to see the countryside?

[Dave Hounddriver]

Just show them the beautiful scenery and the cheap San Miguel and tell tall stories. It seems to work for most people I visit here.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

Depends on the visitor. I have some family and friends that would love to see the bustle of the cities, as well as some some nice hike in the mountains, and a lazy day on the beach. But I also have some friends that would mostly want to see the bar girls a lot. It all depends on the tastes of the visitor in question. Of course out in the boonies where I am moving there won't be any bar girls!

[MikeB]

When my friend visited from the US I was living in Cebu City, hadn't seen him in about 20 years. He had been to the Philippines and SEA many times but never Cebu. We went to the Taoist Temple and "The Top's", overlooking the city. Those 2 places were probably the best. He wasn't interested in Magellan's Cross or any historical places. At night we went to my favorite place on Mango but he had seen that scene before, many times in many places. Besides malls and bars what else is there?

[MacBubba]

Within Metro Manila, based on proximity to the airport (nearest to farthest), I would show them MOA (just in passing), the Manila Cathedral, Intramuros and other points of interest, head down to Makati for a feel of the financial distict, then out to Serendra and Ortigas, then work our way to the QC university belt to show the massive Ateneo campus and UP campus.

As for scenery, I would take them to various islands. If I could pick only one, it would be Palawan (El Nido or Coron).

Edited December 28, 2012 by MacBubba

[OnMyWay]

We went to the Taoist Temple and "The Top's", overlooking the city. Those 2 places were probably the best.

Perfect timing JJR! We have a taxi lined up to take us around today and / or tomorrow, here in Cebu.

Any more must sees, anyone?

We are told the going rate for taxi hire is p350 / hour, 3500 for a 10 hour day. We have one lined up for p2500 per day so that seems fairly good.

All of our local taxi ride have been fair and < p100

[sjp52]

If it was my mother I would blindfold her at the airport and not take it off until we arrived at the house :mocking: . Things that impressed me when I first arrived were 1 The girls, 2 Cheap beer and smokes, 3 The scenery, 4 The people. The thing that wowed me the most was seeing the poverty. I think any one that comes here should see it ( hard to miss ). When you see it, It changes you. All of a sudden its not all about me any more. The Philippines has some beautiful things to see,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Waterfalls_of_the_Philippines

http://www.tixik.com/waterfalls-in-philippines-3749531.htm

http://blog.aseankorea.org/archives/13764

http://philippinescheaphotel.com/tours/tourist-spots/

[Geoff Thomas]

Introduce them to the happy people still playing stick and tyre, show them how happy people are with nothing! Then look at why! A beautiful country that boasts amazing scenery, wether it be mountainous regions with rice terraces hacked into them or the stunning beaches untouched by the concrete cancer we all take for normal! Take them to the malls and show them why they should not move here but stay where they came from, or! show them exactly why we came here, some of which reasons have already been mentioned. Diving, Motorcycling, Hiking, Kayaking, swimming in hot springs and cold pure water, island hopping the list is endless, but for the less adventurous Jolly Bee and fries, movie and a cheap date may suffice!

[stevewool]

having very little experiance of the philippines and none of cebu all i could do is do what i have done, manila is a must just to show them how busy the place is, a jeepney ride, even a motorcycle and sidecar too, tagatay is a beautiful place and then a few days in bohol just to show them where i would like to be and to show them i am safe where we are,

[GregZ]

Any more must sees, anyone?

Downtown area has the Heritage of Cebu Monument. Very nice but not a place to walk for me (I did walk there, but will not do it again). I looked on the internet and found a walking tour of the city of Cebu. All the things were close to downtown but you could use the taxi there also. The fort and Independence Plaza were the most notable other 2 things. The plaza has a few monuments to check if you are into that type of thing. The tunnel that goes underneath the plaza is a nice drive.