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When I first climbed a mountain 5 years ago, I used an ordinary school backpack to store my trekking stuff, which consisted nothing more than some clothes, a cheap tent, a blanket, and two Tupperware tubs for my food. After a couple of treks, my bag began to give up. The straps became loose, plastic buckles cracked, the fabric ripped, and stitches unraveled. Since I planned to seriously pursue mountaineering and adventuring, I knew I had to have a more suitable pack.At that time, most trekking/mountaineering packs that I knew of are made by foreign manufacturers such as The North Face,...

Cebuanos are known for their love of music. In fact, they have carved a name for themselves as some of the best musicians in the world. If you go on a cruise, don’t be surprised to find a Cebuana singer serenading for you while you sip on your favorite drink in the ship’s bar. If you travel to the Middle East, Malaysia, England, Australia, the United States, and anywhere else in the world, you can be sure that you will find Cebuano bands in bars, singing classic and contemporary songs. Cebuanos passion for notes, pitches, and rhythm can be found not just in their voices but in the ...

One of the best pastimes that a person can do in Cebu is shopping. The speed of which malls, department stores, supermarkets, and even small stores are constructed is mind-blowing. Everywhere in Cebu, there is always a place where you can buy something. Indeed, some foreigners are even pleasantly amazed that when they get out from their hotel, numerous stores and other establishments are just meters away from their hotel’s doors!Cebu is indeed becoming a modern shopping destination in the ASEAN region. But no matter how modern, posh, or chic shopping establishment in Cebu will become...

As most people know, the Philippines is hardly a rich country. In fact, a large majority of the people do not have the budget to dine on beef, chicken, pork, or fresh fish. Instead, they munch on dried fish called buwad, which means “to dry in the sun.”Cebuanos love buwad, and although many establishments sell it, the place where people visit to in order to buy the stuff wholesale is the Taboan Public Market, or simply Taboan. This is a huge shopping paradise for buwad situated between four streets: Lakandula, T. Abella, B. Aranas, and Tres de Abril streets. The place stinks wi...