Dumaguete: A Sweet Escape

Silliman House at Silliman University

Dumaguete is a good escape from the toxic life in the metro. It offers simplicity you couldn't take away from your memory, a place you will always look forward to going back to.

To get there from Cebu City, I suggest you take a bus going to Port of Liloan in Santander from the South Bus Terminal. It takes about 3-4 hours. However, there are several towns along the way that are stop-worthy. In our case, we dropped by Carcar for lunch, and then went to Simala in Sibonga. (I'll write about it in another piece.) If you don't have that luxury of time, a straight trip will be good. The view is scenic.

Obligatory group shot before jump off

I cannot remember how much the fares were, but we initially shelled out only Php1,500 per person to spend on food, transpo and hotel. 'Initially' because our stay was extended which I'll talk about later.

We went there in January 2014 so I can barely remember the cost and names of some places we've been to. The photos here are also not of good quality as I just grabbed them from my Facebook account.

Everything in Dumaguete is affordable and places are all near so going there will not cost you that much. From Liloan Port, it takes about 15-20 minutes to cross to Dumaguete. It docks not at their main port so it still takes about 40 minutes to get to downtown Dumaguete.

We stayed at a hotel near Silliman University. We took their family room with 2 queen beds for only Php1,100 per night. We rested for about an hour, and then headed out to a famous pizza place for dinner. After that, we chilled with some music and drinks at Hayahay (finally, there's a name I remember), a bar that I really appreciated for not having a dress code yet still maintained a certain standard.

Feeling 'hayahay' at Hayahay

The next day, we headed out a bit late because we were all too tired from the long trip. That's when we decided to extend a night so we'd have enough time to explore lovely Dumaguete.

We had lunch at Flamin' Grill. They serve diner food from fries to burgers to baby back ribs. We were at our usual splurge on food and paid only less than Php900. Amazing! A meal like that would have cost us at least Php1,500 in Cebu or Davao.

Up close with Marilyn at Flamin' Grill

After lunch, we walked around Silliman University. The photos can tell you more than my words could. We also tried their famous tempura with hot sauce just right outside the campus.

The original digital copy of this shot has something creepy to show. (Hint: That window up there!)

Rizal Boulevard is a great place to take a breather. A walk before sun down was nice. At night, vendors set up there offering some barbecue and balut.

We had snacks at a place that offers fried ice cream. We wanted to have dinner at Sans Rival but we were so full already. We had some tea at a coffee shop at Silliman University, had some Thai massage and slept in.

The coffee shop during the day

We woke up early the next day to start getting ready to head back to Cebu, only to find out that sails were cancelled due to a typhoon. We tried all exit points but there was just no way. We were stranded in a city we've come to love. That's not bad news at all (except that we had to miss a day at work).

Bought some sylvannas for pasalubong

In the evening, the Coast Guard has finally declared it was safe to sail. We opted to take a boat straight back to Cebu City so we can get good sleep somehow. Before leaving at 10pm, we just had to experience balut and barbecue at Rizal Blvd. and had some good acoustic tunes at a bar near the main port.

I promise I will go back to Dumaguete. It has the simplicity of a province, but liberated enough to have a variety of food choices (a VERY important factor). If city life and work stress eats you up and you feel the need to keep in touch with the basics, I highly recommend Dumaguete.