The province of Cebu is said to be the Gateway to a Thousand Journeys. And right in the center of this so-called gateway is the Queen City of the South, Cebu City. And the title is not without weight; Cebu City is the oldest city in the Philippines and the first capital of the country. This is where the Spaniards first settled after landing at the nearby Mactan Island, making it the fount of Christianity in the Far East.

The whole of Cebu—its mainland and 167 islands—is divided into nine cities and forty four municipalities; thirteen of these, including Cebu City, are consolidated as Metro Cebu. With a combined population of almost three million people, it is the second most populous area in the country.

Cebu City and the whole of Cebu is one of the most visited tourist regions in the country. The city and the countryside is teeming with historic colonial architecture, its coastlines are replete with fine white sand beaches, and its interior can surprise the curious traveler with waterfalls, canyons, and mountains to discover. And besides that, they pride themselves for having the best roasted pig or lechon in the whole archipelago.

A trip to Cebu can be overwhelming for the first time visitor. The city itself already presents a lot of places to see, but extend your horizon further, and you’d find a lot more areas to explore on far-off towns and islands. A travel guide can definitely help in planning the perfect Cebu trip for you.

Ever since I started traveling to Cebu, I’ve always wondered where that flagstone-wall with hypnotic concentric circular portals are in Cebu. I knew the name, Tops Lookout Cebu or simply Tops Cebu, but I always seem to miss it whenever I land at the Queen City of the South.

I’ve been to Cebu and Mactan’s tourist spots, even going so far as Camotes Island and the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary, but Tops Cebu seems to be eluding me. Just where the heck is it?! And on this last trip to Cebu with fellow drinkers from Team RH, I finally found out where.

When in Cebu, eat lechon. That’s our group motto when we headed over to the Queen City of the South on an impulse weekend trip. And eat lechon we did. If Premiere Citi Suites Cebu offered it for breakfast, we’d have roasted pig for breakfast. But alas, they do not, so we had to confine our pig out sessions during lunchtimes.

CEBU’S ORIGINAL LECHON BELLY ~ WHOLE, FROM PHP2,200.00

On our last day in the city, we visited Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly. I’ve tried one of Lechon Belly’s Manila branches before and found it to be supremely good; better than most commercial roasted pigs I’ve tried elsewhere. We were told then that they actually fly these pork bellies all the way from Cebu to Manila. And that made me curious if those they sell in Cebu actually tastes like those they hawk in Manila. Or more importantly, is it actually better?

I’ve been hearing a lot about a certain temple in Cebu which many dub as the Taj Mahal of the Philippines. While I’m not much for comparing places we have in the Philippines with those abroad, but for many, that’s usually the easiest and not to mention, the catchiest way to promote a place. And so it was that on our last day of our weekend in Cebu, we decided to add at least a single tourist spot on our itinerary, the famed Temple of Leah.

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THE MOUNTAINOUS AREA OF BARANGAY BUSAY

Located on the hills of Barangay Busay, where the equally popular Tops Cebu and Sirao Garden is located, the graceful temple rose from the ground in 2012. Fairly recent, but judging from the number of visitors we have to dodge that weekend, its popularity with both local and foreign tourists, seemed to suggest otherwise.

► TO HELP YOU GET STARTED, HERE’S A LIST OF TOP THINGS TO DO IN CEBU BY GUIDE TO THE PHILIPPINES

Visiting tourist spots in Cebu City wasn’t really on our itinerary. What’s in it though are the numerous lechon restaurants that the city is known for. I know, we only have to go to La Loma in Manila to enjoy this sinful porky treat, but since it’s been years since we last visited Cebu, we just have to try some of its newer pig-out places.

CEBU’S HOUSE OF LECHON

Coming straight from our breakfast at the Premiere Citi Suites Hotel, the first one we went to for lunch is Cebu’s House of Lechon, a restaurant specializing in Carcar’s version of roasted pigs. Carcar is a city about an hour away from Cebu City and it can compete, and even better, Cebu’s very best. I’ve tried CnT Lechon, Zubuchon (for purists, I know, I know), and Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly, but honestly, I’ve probably haven’t tried the best lechon in Cebu City yet. What I can do say is that I’ve tried Carcar’s version on its public market years back. And for me, it still is the best lechon I’ve ever had.

There really wasn’t any particular reason why we booked an immediate flight to Cebu City. There was no long weekend. There weren’t any festivals happening. No one was celebrating any birthday that we have to attend in. There wasn’t anything. Together with a few friends visiting from Singapore and Australia, we just felt like going there. No plans. No itineraries. No nothing. Just us, and a couple of days’ worth of clothes.

Everything happened fast. Too fast. After a drunken debauchery of a weekend in Boracay with the same gang. We felt we needed to bring our mess to the Queen City of the South. After hurried flight bookings and rebookings, and a quick scan for the cheapest, but still decent, hotel in Cebu. We’re all set.

Three of us touched down at the Mactan International Airport just before the clock struck twelve midnight, while another went earlier. Our last two companions came the morning after; the hastily drawn circle, completed.

The sea, in all its emerald glory, opened the ninth hour of our stay on Mactan island. The sun was in full blast, with only a few puffs of cloud to contend with. And the water, oh my goodness, the water. It was indescribably clear and vivid, mercurial even! I wanted to jump in, but my doctor’s advice regarding my eardrums stopped me from doing so.

CEBU FROM THE PLANE WINDOW

Cebu became our jump-off point for our two-month Asean Summer Loop tour after being forced to, due to lack of flights from Manila to Kuala Lumpur via the AirAsia Asean Pass. So there was our plane, landing at Lapu Lapu City’s tarmac close to midnight.

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The invite to Iligan City’s Waterfalling Adventure 1.0 that occurs alongside with the city’s Diyandi Festival came just a month before its appointed date. There was no time to book a sale flight so I resorted to finding the cheapest airfare to Cebu via Tigerair Philippines and leapfrogging to Iligan City through a RORO ferry.

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The early part of the my day was spent checking Mactan Island; eating at Zubuchon Mactan, walking through Mactan Shrine, and ferrying all the way to the Olango Wildlife Sanctuary. I never thought traffic jams occur in Cebu City and I arrived at its pier with only a few minutes to spare.