During the latter part of 2010, I vowed to make 2011 a year for travelling.  Being somebody who’s never actually been on a plane to anywhere for over a decade now, I wanted to plan trips to destinations that are accessible only through the air.

For some reason the first place that popped into my head when I was listing down possible locations was Cebu.  If I’m completely honest it probably has a lot to do with the fact that all of my immediate family members have visited the place.  Not to mention that my brother’s been to the city thrice last year alone.  So when I chanced upon seat sales from Cebu Pacific last January, I consulted with the one person who was as game as I am (probably even more) for random adventures: my office mate, Emi S.

Little did I know that the word “random” would be the theme of the whole trip.  Our team at work recently underwent a lot of changes, one of which were the schedule shifts.  Emi was one of the people whose schedules changed drastically and for the past few weeks, we hardly saw each other.  After the booking of the flights, we basically didn’t get a chance to plan out the trip until a couple of days before the actual departure.

Being the young and inexperienced tourists that we were, we figured that we could wing Cebu City and just follow IndieEscape’s Cebu weekend itinerary.  My mother, understandably, was very much concerned as, let’s face it, we were two girls spending a weekend in a city that we’ve never been to before.  I guess it rattled my mom that this was my first out-of-the-island trip alone.  My mother sent a few emails to her colleagues in the Cebu office and voila, we instantly got discounted rates at the Vista Mar resort and even had a driver to pick us up from the airport.

At first it was a struggle to accept the helping hand offered because I saw it as meddling.  Control is one of the many issues that I’m trying to work through but it seems like I’m forever stuck on Eric Ericson’s Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt phase.

Hindsight’s twenty-twenty and I can now appreciate the help.  We got to see and experience Cebu through the eyes of a legit Cebuana and we were treated to the nicest places.  Not to mention the amount of moolah that we saved since we were driven all over the place. Everything ended up being totally random but part of me thinks that it was more fun that way.

I can say with all honesty that nothing beats a Cebuana’s hospitality.  If ever you chance upon this, Tita Tessie Gerona, super thanks for the unforgettable weekend.

BUT, this still being our first trips, there were a lot of lessons learned.  First off, one must thoroughly research the destination and prepare a detailed itinerary.  Also, one must carefully plan out the budget; personally I almost ran out of money somewhere near the end.  And lastly, one must limit the amount allotted for shopping.

Some parts of the trip were fails, but most were definite successes.  All in all it was worth it and I so can’t wait to go back.