SE Asia 2018, June 7-11 - Day 4, Cebu City

June 10.

After the craziness that was the trip to Moalboal the day before, Sunday was a day for relaxation.  Kind of.  We stayed local like Friday, exploring a few more places, like a Filipino shopping mall at the SM Seaside and Sirao Gardens.

There's not much to say about the mall; the SM Seaside is basically a Filipino version of Westfield malls, since it's high class (they have a Benefit store if you're a makeup junkie, only it's one of the few stores where the products are more expensive than they are in the US) and massive, and they have them all over the country.  I actually really enjoy the shopping experiences abroad though, and I'm not one to complain that I'm taken to a mall when I only have 4 days in a country.  SM Seaside is big but comfortable, as there's actually a rooftop park with jungle gyms and play areas for kids as well as walking paths and views of Cebu. It's places like this that really make you feel like you made the right decision in hanging out with locals.

Plus I got a new phone case and tempered glass screen protector for my Galaxy S8 at a fraction of what it would cost in the US.  So there's that.

The hills surrounding Cebu City from the top level of the mall

We ate lunch at a Chinese (they're listed as serving Hong Kong specialties, but Filipino-style) place called Dimsum Break that serves a Filipino delicacy called Steamed Rice, and while it sounds simple, simple it most definitely is not.  My friend was insisted I try it and brag about it to a co-worker who apparently tried it once in New York but was shot down by my friend who insisted what he had was not actually Filipino steamed rice.

While Filipino-style usually equates to not fried, or fried less, it was still a Chinese restaurant.  Steamed Rice is the brown stuff.

I'm only half surprised I didn't gain 20 pounds in 4 days.

After the mall, we headed to Sirao Garden, the neighbor for the Buwakan ni Alejandra we'd gone to a few days prior.  It's the much more famous neighbor, and packed with tourists.  Of course, the vast majority of these tourists are locals, but still.  Compared to Buwakan ni Alejandra, it was almost stifling.  The entire place is also set up for that perfect Instagram shot, which is actually pretty cute, though it also kind of borders on tacky.  We still had fun though, getting picture after picture.  When my friend gets back to the US in a few days I'm hoping she passes me all 200 pictures that were taken both here and everywhere else we went.  Especially the ones from the next day, but I'll get to that.

Overall, the countryside around Sirao is breathtaking, and there was even an infinity pool installed in the complex that looks a tad out of place, because it's tiny and I can't imagine just taking a dip in there except for those Instagram shots (which I don't do, because I don't post my face on Instagram; I'm pretty self-conscious).  Either way, it still looks really cool, and I got some great panoramas.

I rarely use the panorama function, but I almost overused it in the Philippines

It's a really nice "infinity pool", but again, I'd feel really weird actually swimming in it.

After Sirao, we headed back down the mountain to the Cebu IT Park, which is the hub for the vast majority of call centers for overseas companies that are based in the Philippines.  Having a job at a call center is actually quite prestigious over that, as it requires a solid grasp on English and generally pays pretty well relatively speaking.  Plus with the personality and culture of the Filipinos they're quite good at it as well, though I do feel for them as they're so often supporting companies based in the US (my friend and her husband worked there for a company that provided the Comcast customer service, so you can only imagine the things she was told on the phone) and the time difference thing has to be brutal.  But the complex itself is very well taken care of, with a gorgeous centralized park with nice restaurants and a weekend market.  It's hard to believe that it's surrounded by call centers, when a place this nice in the US would be surrounded by tech companies and financial hubs that call center employees wouldn't even be able to afford a meal there.

But this is the Philippines.  And right in this beautiful park is a pyramid built to replicate the Louvre Pyramid designed by I.M. Pei that is a restaurant/bar.  Of course, it's also called The Pyramid.

And they have (relatively) cheap macarons and (again, relatively, since most Filipinos don't earn enough to eat here) cheap drinks.  $5 for a mixed cocktail with vodka compared to $15 in New York?  Yeah.

View from inside

I actually didn't eat any cake, but the macarons were delicious

There are so many stray animals (mostly cats and dogs) that it broke my heart, but they generally seem decently cared for.  This very pregnant cat just wanted to play.

YOLO

I legit love places like this, they're just so expensive here in the US.

Time to head home again, because tomorrow would be another beach day.  We'd be heading down to the southern tip of Cebu to the resort town of Oslob.