Topper In Cebu - Song Kran Fun!

[Topper]

Well, our journey has started perfectly, we flew out of Bacolod at 6:00am and was at the resort by 7:15. The really cool thing is that we can't check in until 2:00, so tons of time to have breakfast and do some shopping.

The view from the restaurant....



There's one of the 15 minute cities not too far from here, that's probably where we'll head once stuff starts opening.

[Topper]

Oh, we flew here on a De Havililand Dash 8, its the first prop plane I've flown in years. Ain't a lot of room inside, that's for sure. Luckily the flight was only 30 minutes.

[DrWilly]

I fly a bunch of those planes in Malaysia, well slightly different the FireFly fleet use rear entry planes. Good for a short hop.

[cyrille]

What's a 'fifteen minute city'?

[Edmond]

Nice.

What's a 'fifteen minute city'?

"What do they mean by 15-minute cities?

The 15-minute city (FMC or 15mC) is an urban planning concept in which most daily necessities and services, such as work, shopping, education, healthcare, and leisure can be easily reached by a 15-minute walk or bike ride from any point in the city.

Several local governments including Bristol, Birmingham Canterbury, Ipswich and Sheffield have said they hope to implement a 15-minute city plan. Oxford has said it plans to be a fully functioning 15-minute city by 2040."







Tops might be popping to Bristol.

[aging one]

Tops might be popping to Bristol.

Wake up he has come to visit you. Surprised you did not meet them at the airport.

[Edmond]

meet them at the airport.

What sort of weirdo would do tha.... never mind.

[Topper]

A 15 minute city is where you can walk and within 15 minutes have all the services you need. We visited it to do grocery shopping and it was largely unoccupied, but did have a decent Robinson's grocery.

The host graciously let us in early...the view from the balcony is ok..

[baldrick]

And 15 minute cities area designed by lizard people to be concentration camps according to the q anon crowd

[Topper]

Our room is set up pretty cool, there's a kitchen/bathroom separated from the bedroom/sitting area by sliding doors. You can open up the doors and the whole condo is one big room. The owner said he was going for a Japanese feel to the room.



The kitchen/dining table on the other side of the wood/frost glass sliding door.




All in all a pretty nice place, but no bidet/bum gun in the bathroom. Definitely points lost there.

[cyrille]

Wot, no snogging swans?

Pah!

[cyrille]

Looks decent, actually.

And clean.

[dirk diggler]

Good on you Topps, looks like a nice spot. Are you on Mactan?

All I see when I go there is rundown shanty towns and poverty.

Last time was around Marigondon Beach Road.

Enjoy yer trip.

[Topper]

Are you on Mactan?

Yep, its a curious mix of old and new.

[katie23]

@cyrille - I think the snogging swans are only in hotels, not Airbnb apartments.

@topper - your Airbnb apartment looks good. How many sqm approx? It looks bigger than the Ayala or SM condo units/ Airbnb that I've visited (which are usually 24 sqm, 4*6 meters).

Are those boats (the ones seen from your apt) for hire? Can you rent them for a day tour/ island hopping tour?

[armstrong]

A 15 minute city is where you can walk and within 15 minutes have all the services you need. We visited it to do grocery shopping and it was largely unoccupied, but did have a decent Robinson's grocery.

The host graciously let us in early...the view from the balcony is ok..

That's either a camera from 1993 or you're on full zoom there. What's the real view like?

[armstrong]

The kitchen/dining table on the other side of the wood/frost glass sliding door.



.

What time was this picture taken?

[Topper]

your Airbnb apartment looks good. How many sqm approx? It looks bigger than the Ayala or SM condo units/ Airbnb that I've visited (which are usually 24 sqm, 4*6 meters).

The AirBnb ad says 60 sqm. It's niced sized, perfect for us. The owner has another one next door that's probably closer to 80, its really nice but too big for just the wife and I. One of my booking criteria is that the bedroom actually be a separate room from the kitchen.

The internet speed (Globe) is around 100 up and down. Enough for me to work here if I wanted, though I think our next stop later in the year will be Bantayan. Have you been there?

Yes, you can apparently hire a boat to take you island hopping. I'll see if I can talk my wife into it. For growing up on an island, she's got a fear of small boats. I was watching one of the big pump boats coming in today, it looks like a giant spider on the water.

That's either a camera from 1993 or you're on full zoom there. What's the real view like?

I've got it zoomed out. I'll take some sunrise pictures in the morning with no zoom. I was trying to check out a couple of the pump boats, I think they're more houseboats than tour boats. I also noticed after dark, most of "houseboat" types had no lights on, if someone's living on them, it must be a dismal living experience.

[Topper]

Sunrise pics...

[DrWilly]

Nice one, and good morning.

[Topper]

Nice ....

[DrWilly]

Love it. Sunrise is about an hour away in these parts. I get some good ones, but nothing to rival that!

[katie23]

Nice sunrise pics, topper!

Re: the apt, 60 sqm is considered as big for a condo unit here in Luzon. I've been to several (whether stayed in as Airbnb or viewing as an empty y unit for selling/ renting). The common sizes of studio type condos is 22 to 28 sqm; for 1 BR-apt it's 40 to 50 sqm. They're built by the usual big developers like SM, Ayala, Cityland, Megaworld. Maybe they build the units bigger in the Visayas or Mindanao area.

Re: boat tours - yes, go on one, it's fun once in a while. The boat operators usually provide life jackets, so your wife should be safe. I have many colleagues who can't swim either - they didn't live near a river/ sea and their parents didn't teach them/ it wasn't a priority or there wasn't enough funds for swimming lessons (whichever the case).

Re: Bantayan island, I haven't been there but I think Tizme did & made a thread abt it. I've seen it in some vlogs - it looks like a small, interesting island, good for a few days.

I've been to Bohol island and its nearby daughter, Panglao island - I'd recommend visiting those. You can see the tarsiers in Bohol, plus some beach time in Panglao island. I think Bohol is a short ferry ride from Dumaguete city.

Cheers & enjoy your vacay!

[Topper]

Last night we went to Mesa for dinner...nice place, the food was mediocure and the prices were designed for tourists.


Calamari for an app...there was enough for a meal with pork and chicken skewers....about as tasty as they look.





For lunch today, it was the Big Taco, while the food was overpriced, the servers were stunning. I'll try and get pictures on the morrow...



A pretty sad little sandwich...

[TizMe]

Re: Bantayan island, I haven't been there but I think Tizme did & made a thread abt it.

We went to Bantayan Island 4 years ago. I can't find the thread from back then, but here's a video I made of our trip.

We went with a couple of my partner's friends from college and their families. (nice people, but I've sworn I'll never travel with them again as they are always as late as possible being ready to go anywhere)

I'd definitely go back there again