Ceboom! The Queen City

in my unexpected net surfing, i happen to stumble upon a page that tackles about the Edge Coaster.. this was the primary reason that got me thrilled in going to Cebu - my first ever independent domestic destination..

every time i am about to visit a foreign land, the first thing i do is to of course consult Mr. Google so that i would be able to gauge the place's geographical location with the airport as my reference point..

as you would notice, the tourist spots are located on the western side of the map.. this determines your place of stay because you need to be closer to them.. the eastern part on the other hand, being the Lapu-Lapu City in Mactan Island, is renowned for its wonderful beaches and sanctuary coral reefs.. 

cabs are the popular mode of transportation.. from the airport, it would take about an hour to cross to Cebu City via the Marcelo-Fernan bridge..

in this case, we chose to stay at Paragon Suites (encircled in red ink) which costs us around P1200/night inclusive of breakfast.. so after unpacking our bags and freshening up, we decided to have dinner at the famous Larsian sa Fuente..

Larsian sa Fuente is an arcade of barbecue stalls that is open 24 hours daily.. this place is a hit after-party destination especially to the Cebuanos working night shift and has also become a tourist spot.. they cater all sorts of grilled dishes from squid, fish, pork, chicken and other street foods (animal body organs such as intestine, liver and the like..) at a very affordable price.. they also serve spicy siomai and certain beverages.. must tries are their famous chorizo Cebuano longaniza and the well-known puso (hanging rice) should be inseparable in your order..

the best way to pig out in Larsian's is to do the drill of wrapping your dominant hand in plastic, your free hand coming in assist.. the puso gets to be torn in half and munched down like a bread.. prepare yourself to sweat and your clothes to get smoked since it is really hot in this place that the fan does not help.. but that's the beauty of it.. you would enjoy eating anyway! :)

after having that sumptuous meal, we headed to a nearby bar in Mango street to get a drink before ending the night..

DAY 2 - Cebu Water Sports Adventure

DAY 3 - Cebu Tourist Spots

License for Student Drivers (Pinoy Style)

on my not-so-busy day, i had a chance to do what i have been wanting to do ever since i was 16.. to get a driver's license.. to americans, it's like graduating from childhood.. it goes the same to first time pinoys like me.. and yes another responsibility comes alongside of it..

the whole process took two hours.. you just have to bring a photocopy of any government-issued ID or NSO birth certificate (yes, just one!) plus of course, the most important thing of all, EXACT amount of money for payment.. which i want to be serious about.. not only this promotes hassle-free counting-of-change-before-you-leave.. but also an anti-corruption campaign..

yeah, allow me to elaborate more on that! :)

this tarpaulin was posted on a glass wall of LTO.. notice on the bottom part that the fees to be paid are in red ink.. a way of emphasizing that the office is promoting honest payment transactions within its portals by being transparent of public information.. (outside its portals of course are so-called "fixers", so if one does not know payment prices, fixers may confuse them)

when i fell in line for payment, i noticed that given the P317.63 fee, the cashier had always asked for a P320 payment.. and every time the client pays, they just walk away without the change.. it was like a mutual understanding for everyone to not get hassled by it anymore.. the cashier does not give it, and the client does not ask for it.. 

but i am pretty sure at the back of their mind (client) they know that they should have received their change, it was just that they did not bother to do anything about it.. and this is where the cashier took advantage of it.. it was like a consensual corruption.. corruption here being defined as any misconduct designed to obtain financial benefits.

well, of course i cannot blame them.. so as i always do, i did the math..

for P320 payment, one should get a change of P2.37

for every 10 person who would not bother to get their change, P23.7 goes to i do not know where or who..

for every 100 person who would not bother to get their change, P237 goes to i do not know where or who..

for every 1000 person who would not bother to get their change, P2370 goes to i do not know where or who..

and the calculation can go on.. with LTO having over 300,000 transactions daily..

this may also be happening to those acquiring/renewing their professional or non-professional licenses.. this may happen in other branches.. or other government agency.. or in any office or institution.. and the sad fact that it may be happening nationwide..

i cannot wash my hands clean with regard to this issue.. i myself have been a contributor to this mishap.. because as everyone of us who has experience this, we were left with no choice.. the fact that not everyone has coins.. ^__^

the best thing i did to minimize it was that i took effort in opening my purse so that i could come up with the closest possible amount i could get - P318.00

there is nothing wrong with the term, "keep the change" as long as this was willfully given.. in this situation, the clients were left to accept the fact that the office can not provide for their change and worst, this has even turned out to become a burden to them.. it was like a preset condition that is unknowingly unfair to the clients.. a misconduct designed to obtain financial benefits, indeed.

Give to Caesar what is Caesar's. 

Mathematics is needed in our everyday life. - Elementary Math Teachers

Cmown Amigas! Lez Drive! :)