Malapascua Island 2015

2015 travels kicked off with a bang! After the long holiday season and a few resolutions for the new year, I flew again to Cebu (third time in 6 months) with my college buddies. And it was fun!

Day 1 – Harbour City & Larsian

Our flight was delayed for an hour. We arrived at MCIA at almost five in the afternoon and instantly got out and find the queue for the white cabs. Took us good 30-40 mins to arrive at our accommodation. Adelfa Hotel is situated along J. Llorente Street, close to Fuente and a stone’s throw away from Chong Hua hospital and Larsian. It was a relatively new hotel. We booked the quadruple room (good for 4 pax) for P1,760 via Agoda. Extra person (without bed) costs P150. I was surprised at how neat the room is. The bathroom is spacious. And most importantly, wifi connection inside the room was quite fast! For dinner, we went to Rama Street to try CnT Lechon only to find out that it’s already sold out. From there, we took a jeepney going to Ayala Center-Cebu to try our luck again. Guess what? Sold out. We headed to my favorite place instead – Harbour City!! I intended to visit on our last day (not complaining though). A very sumptuous dinner consisting of rice toppings, noodles and lots and lots of dimsum was served to us in around 15 minutes. My friends repeatedly told me it was similar to Tim Ho Wan only it’s cheaper and way tastier. After a few walks in the vicinity and a cup of coffee, we headed back to our hotel. It was already past 11pm – perfect time to visit the grill center of Cebu, Larsian.

  I have been to Cebu twice last year before this trip but I always fail to visit Larsian. Since it’s just a block away from Adelfa, I finally set foot on this smoky haven of sinful yet delectable food on thin sticks. We went around the small space, rounding up the grill at the middle of the commotion, of the vendors trying to attract customers. We ordered too many a stick (isaw, chicken skin, chicken breast, chorizo and pork BBQ) and a basket of puso. These are rice grains cooked inside a woven banana coconut leaf. A budget of P500 will lead you to a place which you might never wanna leave! We really did save the best for last! A few days after our Larsian experience, we still miss it and wish to be back soon.

Day 2-3 – Trip to Malapascua

We checked out of Adelfa before 6AM. It’s a very early morning for us as we ride a cab going to the North Bus Terminal. We planned on taking a bus going to Maya which will take 4-5 hours. Luckily, there’s a van available with five vacant seats! We paid the same price (P180) with 2 hours less travel time. It was not a very comfortable ride. From Maya Wharf, we paid P100 for the main boat which will take us to Malapascua Island. This is P20 more than the usual P80 boat ride to compensate for the minimal number of guests (boat capacity is 26 and there’s only around 15-17 people in there). We’re the only Filipino group and we got a chance to chat with a very kind and high-spirited Spanish couple who’s been traveling around the Philippines for a few months. Since it’s low tide, we had to ride a smaller pump boat for P20 each to take us to the main boat. Same happened when we arrived in the island. Total boat costs per person: P140. But it’s nothing compared to what welcomed us. The sand in our feet perfectly rippled by the waves, the different colors of starfishes in the clear water, the little sand bar made the very bumpy boat ride worth it! There’s no mode of transportation in the island other than motorbike. We opted to walk to our accommodation which is quite far. I think we walked for about 15-20 minutes. We stayed at Aabana Resort or most popularly known as Mike and Diose’s Beach House. We have reserved the biggest accommodation (P2,150 for 2 pax, P250 per extra person with breakfast) they have, Casablanca. It’s the one closest to the beach which has one queen-sized bed, a little sala set, kitchen with refrigerator, spacious bathroom and a mezzanine/attic with two single beds. Please take note, though, that the accommodation only gives you 1kw of electricity. If you use more than that, there’s an additional P30 per kw. After taking a long walk along the shore, I can say that Aabana has the cleanest beach front. Strong winds are very usual at any time of the day which makes dipping in the water cooler. The fine sand and the waves show how well-kept this part of the little island. Kudos to Mike and his team for maintaining the beach’s natural beauty. I personally love the idea that the guests bring their own trash back to the mainland. With this, visitors get to be responsible for their own waste. It’s a little deed for the island 🙂 We didn’t do much other than bum in the beach. We wanted to visit Kalanggaman Island but the weather is so unpredictable. I don’t want to risk it. 🙂 Plus, Aabana made it hard for us to leave Malapascua. It felt wonderful to finally experience the testimonials I have read in TripAdvisor about Mike and his personal connection with his guests. I definitely recommend booking Casablanca way ahead of time as they are always fully booked. Quick tip: Lie in the beach at night and look at the stars. 🙂 There are boats which will offer you trips to Dakit Island, Japanese shipwreck and the lighthouse for P350 if you’re local and around P700 if you’re a foreigner. The only thing I wish the island (ahem, Cebu government) can improve on is the standardization of their rates. Malapascua has so much more to offer than what it has today and foreign tourists flock the place. I mean, there are more foreign guests than local ones. I don’t think it’s right to charge them more than what they charge the local guests. Having a standard rate from land trips, boat rides to island hopping costs would increase the island’s potential to attract more people. Malapascua Island has been hit by the past typhoons very badly and its damage is still seen. I hope more people will discover Malapascua’s enchanting beauty to help its people rise from the devastation the typhoons brought along. 🙂

Day 4 – Cebu City

After checking in our baggage to SM’s Travellers’ Lounge, we walked to the nearest CnT Lechon branch. Your Cebu trip won’t be complete if you haven’t tried Larsian and CnT Lechon! After which, we took a jeepney going to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, Sto. Nino Church and Magellan’s Cross. We bought pasalubong at the nearby Island Souvenir shop. We went to the airport way earlier than our scheduled flight as we were too exhausted from the boat transfers, land trip and a quick city tour. — All in all, this trip has set the bar high for my 2015 travels. I am very much looking forward to go back to Malapascua Island! Another reason why Cebu is my happy place. 🙂