I've Arrived

[volstateguy]

I've finally arrived for my first visit to Cebu today. So far a few things have struck me.1... all the traffic, no way I would think of driving here. Its pretty amazing how they can fit 4-5 cars across a 3 lane road. A motorcycle is the way to go here...those guys can just cut right thru the traffic, but gotta have nerves of steel I think.2...all the friendly smiling faces. It seems everywhere I go everyone is smiling and willing to help me out...not used to that. Thanks to everyone who answered my questions before my arrival...that has def helped out so far. Hopefully I will get a chance to meet a few of you while I'm here. If anyone is going on the boat trip on the 10th I'll get a chance to meet you there.Brett

[Mike S]

Hey Brett ... after you have driven or rather ridden in the traffic for a while it starts to become a lot easier ....... believe it or not there seems to be some order in all the disorder ...... at first I thought here was some sort of signal communication with all the horn blowing but I realize now that that isn't true as some drivers never use their horns at all ..... hahahahahaha Welcome to Cebu ....... and have fun ...... any other questions just ask away .....

Edited January 8, 2009 by Mike S

[Mr Lee]

Have fun Brett, :1247: to the Philippines, :th_noproblem: I wish we were there right now to meet up with you. :559: Maybe next time. :551: I am usually there from Februaly until around June. Ditto to what Mike said, any questions, do not hesitate to ask and also, please keep us posted on all aspects of your trip, and be sure to let us know how things went, and what you liked and disliked, of course, when you have time. Ehjoy! :540:

[PhilIsles]

I've finally arrived for my first visit to Cebu today. So far a few things have struck me.1... all the traffic, no way I would think of driving here. Its pretty amazing how they can fit 4-5 cars across a 3 lane road. A motorcycle is the way to go here...those guys can just cut right thru the traffic, but gotta have nerves of steel I think.2...all the friendly smiling faces. It seems everywhere I go everyone is smiling and willing to help me out...not used to that. Thanks to everyone who answered my questions before my arrival...that has def helped out so far. Hopefully I will get a chance to meet a few of you while I'm here. If anyone is going on the boat trip on the 10th I'll get a chance to meet you there.Brett

Welcome to Cebu Brett. I hope you will enjoy my beloved island and hopefully will have a happy memories of your time in Cebu. Please do keep us posted of your time/visit. It is always a joy for me to read any stories by people who visited my home. Have fun during the Sinulog. Pit Senyor!!!!!!

[tom_shor]

Have fun. Are you meeting someone there or is it a scouting trip?

[johnrxx99]

Having driven here for a while I wouldn't get on a motorbike for love nor money!Welcome to Cebu.

[Warlord]

Aghhh So you finally made it Brett...Bet you have a case of severe jetlag...Have fun and dont forget you have to go home eventually or change your flight departure dates.Well maybe you dont have too go home then if you have an endless supply of money.Warlord

[volstateguy]

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply. I'm actually back in Germany now, but wishing I was still in Cebu. :as-if: I stayed pretty busy while I was there and didn't get on the computer for much more than checkin my email. I can report that I had a great time while I was there and will def be spending more than 2 weeks during my next visit. To reply to some of the posts I missed out on before:

Hey Brett ... after you have driven or rather ridden in the traffic for a while it starts to become a lot easier ....... believe it or not there seems to be some order in all the disorder ...... at first I thought here was some sort of signal communication with all the horn blowing but I realize now that that isn't true as some drivers never use their horns at all ..... hahahahahaha Welcome to Cebu ....... and have fun ...... any other questions just ask away .....

I think after the 2nd day I had gotten used to the traffic...at least the feeling I initially had every 15 minutes that the cabbie was going to wreck. Mike you said it exactly right...there does seem to be some order in all the disorder. I still think that if I were going to drive there that it would be a small motorbike or scooter. That just seems to be the way to go with all the traffic there...they all seemed to just flow thru the traffic with much more ease.

Have fun Brett, :SugarwareZ-037: to the Philippines, :th_thholysheep: I wish we were there right now to meet up with you. :( Maybe next time. :yes: I am usually there from Februaly until around June. Ditto to what Mike said, any questions, do not hesitate to ask and also, please keep us posted on all aspects of your trip, and be sure to let us know how things went, and what you liked and disliked, of course, when you have time. Ehjoy! :wt-hell:

It would have been really great if you were there Mr Lee. I would def be interested in meeting you sometime...I don't think I'll make it back there before June this year, but maybe next year I can plan a trip for that time frame. But I think I'm gonna make my next trip to Cebu in Sept of this year.

Have fun. Are you meeting someone there or is it a scouting trip?

Tom...well this trip was partially both. I had been chatting with a couple girls there, 1 who I ended up spending quite a bit of time with...the other had excuse after excuse why she couldn't meet up...No worries tho...Cebu has plenty of attractive, available girls. But I was also open to meet someone there too. You never know how things will work out with someone you've only chatted with online. I was also wanting to get familiar with Cebu and see if its a place i could see myself retiring.Anyway as for my trip, I had a really good time. I made arrangments before I arrived with Spike to get a tour of the city once I got there. So on my second day he met me at my hotel for the tour. Unfortunatley he was a little under the weather however his partner Carla was able to show me around. So thanks to both of the them!! As I mentioned before I spent a bit of time with a chatmate (Janice). I took a trip with her and her team from work. We were going to go to Bantayan Island, however the day we were going the sea was to rough for the ferry. So we ended up staying at a resort in San Remigio for the night, which was a great experience for me. I was able to experience alot of Filipino culture during this trip, for instance drinking beer from one glass only. Drinking beer this way really seems to be more sociable to me...I really don't know how to describe it, but it was a great experience. And of course videokie, I think they were singing for 2-3 hours...and they were all really good too. But I guess what struck me most of all during the trip, was just how excepting they were of me...the outsider. They all know each other and work together and then here I am...they've only just met me...yet very quickly they all made me feel like one of the gang. I can't say enough about the kindness and hospitality of them all. They were all great people. I ended up getting together with them all three more times during my trip. Once for of their birthday's, after the Sinulog parade and then we got together for dinner the night before I left. So after my first trip to Cebu I can def say that I love the place. Sure there are things to deal with like pollution and crazy traffic, but overall it's a nice place with so much to see if you get out and do it. Oh and i forgot to mention the food. Everything I had was excellent, I love the food! As for now I'm trying to plan to come back for a longer visit in Sept this year. Thats the only thing I regret is that i didn't have longer to stay this time, so in next trip I will stay for at least 3 weeks. Brett

[Mr Lee]

Brett, glad to hear you had a great time and I hope to cross paths with you one day down the road...... Who knows, I might be back in September too....... I do know that I will always be there at least February to June, God willing, and at least for the next couple of years and I hope to add months on the front end of that maybe next year.I hope to see you post more about your trip and experiences, I am sure the members would be very interested, I know I am, and it is always good to see positive posts about the Philippines compared to so much negativity on some of the forums. :th_thholysheep:

[volstateguy]

Brett, glad to hear you had a great time and I hope to cross paths with you one day down the road...... Who knows, I might be back in September too....... I do know that I will always be there at least February to June, God willing, and at least for the next couple of years and I hope to add months on the front end of that maybe next year.I hope to see you post more about your trip and experiences, I am sure the members would be very interested, I know I am, and it is always good to see positive posts about the Philippines compared to so much negativity on some of the forums. :th_thholysheep:

Mr. Lee it'll be my pleasure to meet you some day. I definitely plan on going back to Cebu more than once. I want to get as much experience there as I can before I retire from the Air Force in a few years to see if Cebu is a place I could enjoy my retirement years. As with anyplace you live there are positives and negatives...so I just gotta see if the postives are gonna outweigh the negatives for me in Cebu. Obviously my first impression of Cebu was positive overall, and I think the more time I spend there, and the more comfortable I become there, the more I'm going to like it. I really can't say enough of about the friendliness of people there. Despite the obvious poverty which surounds the city, I saw nothing but smiles everywhere I went. I can't wait to get back there.