HIL-TON TOPS SHERATON

That is in terms of pansit served.

That of Doha's Sheraton is bland with an eerie sweet aftertaste, it's only saving grace is being served in the buffet table of a 5-star hotel.

Shiela's Hil-Ton (read: hila kariton) in Cabanatuan has more character and gastronomic punch.

Sheraton's must be chef-prepared with the fancy title of a vegetable noodle while Hil-Ton's is cooked by the-man-in-the-street and goes by local names (read; canton, bihon, mami).

But both pales to the bowl of hot lomi teased with a squeeze of calamansi and served with a piece of warm pandesal from the kitchen of PRRM's penthouse in Quezon City. 

Then there was Manor Horizon Hotel's surprising breakfast offering of vegetable noodles too and before that a redeeming spaghetti with Bolognese sauce for lunch at Sheraton. 

For those but with the emphatic exception of Sheraton's vegetable noodles, I say kaman wahed. 

MORNING IN DOHA

I came a day too early, sleepless and 5 hours behind Manila time.

I checked in, got introduced to my cavernous room, sorted my luggage, locked the safe, and went walking in the same clothes I flew in to where my feet would take me.

I stayed with a group of Filipinos fishing at the waterfront of the Al-Corniche until they finally caught a small silvery fish with a swordfish snout.

I saw a swarm of pigeons and decided they would make a nice photo shoot.

I went inside an entrance and got introduced to Souq Waqif by a symphony of spices wafting from displayed sacks and boxes.

I walked on, clicked some more, crossed the street, and came across 2 Filipino stores crewed by South Asians.

I went back to refresh in my hotel then killed the afternoon feeling the shuttle service to the Qatar National Convention Center, registered and got my pink badge, late lunched on a cold tuna sandwich and a bottle of fruit juice blend, went back to the hotel and started working on my annual work plan for the office, then dined on grilled chicken with fries and Indian bread.

I slept early and well but woke up at 1 am.

Today starts the prologue to the big event.

BAM-I

After the churches
     came the noodles,

and nothing more Cebuano
     than their holy bam-i guisado,

sotanghon and canton
     in sanctimonious union,

which by CnT's version
     is sinful pork communion,

never mind the salty lechon
     give me bam-i or renunciation!

SU-TO-KIL

To the uncircumcised in Cebuano cuisine:

     SU = sugba or grilled,

     TO = tola/tinola or stewed,

     KIL = kilaw or fresh,

and refers to the 3-way culinary preparation of a fish.

"Subukan naman natin 'yung shuttokil (read: sutokil)," said Ka Maning.

"Sa pertreyd (read: Pier Tres) na tayo sumakay ng ferry para makatipid sa pamasahe," he added. 

"Uray met agtudtudo (read: even if it's raining)," he quipped as I tried shooting Lapu-Lapu City's Shrine of the Virgen de la Regla amid a patient drizzle and dark-as-Lord Voldemort sky.  

"May masasakyan kaya tayong taxi pabalik?" he asked as we reached Pajac only to find the Alegre Guitars too expensive and perhaps overrated.

"Mukhang mahal dito," he observed as the taxi pulled into a place called Rose & Wills BBQ House where we ordered a kilo of tanigue for the sutokil and half of a seashell side dish.

"Holdap!" he explained when he saw the bill which included unannounced cooking and service fees that doubled what I thought we should justly pay.

But the hints of ginger and tanglad in the tola was refreshing, the lingering aftertaste of sliced red bell pepper desirable in the kilaw, and the sugba grilled to an excellent juiciness (although the feeling of having been conned somewhat took something out of that).  

"Pityuran mo naman kami," Ka Maning asked as we killed time ogling the great Lapu-Lapu's monument and contemplating the fallen Magellan's phallic symbol.

"Yosi muna tayo," he enjoined Ka Tolits as I made the best of a misunderstood direction to the taxi driver by asking for Mandaue City's Shrine of St. Joseph the Worker.

Ka Maning's overall rating on our 4th day in Cebu City so far: "Ganito sana palagi!".

BOLJOON (bol-ho-on)

Ang pasya ko sa bandang huli ay sumakay na lamang ng bus sa South Terminal kaysa mag-arkila ng sasakyan

Kaya't tanging nagawa ko ay magsisi at tumitig ng malagkit sa mga astig na simbahan ng Talisay, Minglanilla, Naga, at San Fernando na mabilisang tinutuhog ng Ceres Bus habang nakikipag-away sina Vic Sotto at Daiana Menezes sa mga magagandang aswang.

Kagyat ang naging desisyon na dadaanan namin pag-uwi ang simbahan ni Santa Catalina de Alejandria sa Carcar at ni San Miguel Arkanghel sa Argao.

Makalipas ang halos 3 oras ay bahagyang bumagal ang bus.

Papaakyat ito sa pakiwalkiwal na kalsadang idinikit sa isang matarik na gulod na kinakamot ng maaamong alon ng Lagusan ng Bohol.

Isang huling liko pa.

At tumambad ang Simbahan ni Patrocino de Maria sa Boljoon.

Kagyat kong sinayawan ang simabahan pagbaba ng bus sa pagtatangkang hulihin ang pinakamagandang mukha nito.

Walang patid ang pikit ng kamera.

Walang humpay din ang sindi ng sigarilyo nina Ka Maning at Ka Tolits sa preskong parke na inihiwalay sa bakuran ng simbahan ng aspaltadong kalsada.

Marahil ay natutuwa silang mamalas ang ritwal ng aking paninimbahan.

O naiinis dahil lampas pananghalian na at ang tanging laman ng tiyan ay ang sitsaron at ampao na binili sa bus.

Humupa din ang sayaw at pitik.

Hindi dumating ang kampanero upang pagbuksan sana ang nakakandadong lagusan ng blockhouse na naging kampanaryo.

Hinimas ng tinola at pritong isda sa isang mumurahing karinderia ang sikmurang biglang nakaramdam ng pagkagutom.

Sa biyahe pabalik, ako ay muling tumitig na lamang sa makulay na simbahan ng Alcoy at matayog na kampanaryo ng Dalaguete.

Pero nagmano kami kay Santa Catalina de Alejandria sa Argao, nakiusap sa naglalampasong mama na kuhanan ang altar ng simbahan, at nagmerienda ng torta sa puwesto ni Aling Chitang.

Muli, nagkasya na lamang ako sa pagtitig sa malapad na simbahan ng Sibonga.

Pero sumaludo kami kay San Miguel Arkanghel sa Carcar, inakyat ang simbahan sa ibabaw ng burol, at bumili ng sitsaron at ampao sa puwesto ni Mat-Mat.

Bilang premyo, dinala ko sina Ka Tolits at Ka Maning sa kainan ni Ebelle sa tabi ng SM kung saan kami namapak ng inihaw na tiyan, at tinolang ulo at buntot ng tuna.

TALABABA: Ang simbahan ng Boljoon ay inumpisahang itayo noong 1783 at siyang pinakamatanda at natitirang simbahan na bato ng Cebu. Ang simbahan ay isa sa 26 na itinalagang National Heritage Site ng National Commission on Culture and Arts, at kinilala bilang isang National Historical Landmark ng National Historical Institute at National Cultural Treasure ng National Museum.    

CEBU REVISITED

It was actually my third visit to Cebu but the last one was 8 years ago in 2004.

That was when I'm still totting a point-and-shoot Olympus Camedia and, just like most "I-have-a-camera" guys, have the tendency to ask somebody to take a snapshot of me every now and then.

One Nikon D40 later and now armed with an Olympus OMD-EM5 that I still need acquainting with plus 8 years of shooting churches and noodles, I am back.

And dragged Ka Tolits and Ka Maning for a re-shoot under a burning mid-afternoon sun.

The ancient Casa Gorordo seemed oddly new.

I shoot the Yap-Sandiego ancestral house and the Cebu Heritage Monument for the first time.

And finally, new sane frames to replace those hastily snapped photos of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral...

...and the Basilica del Sto. Nino Minore.

In between of course is Calle Colon and then Magellan's Cross where I bought P40 worth of colored candles from a Sinulog lady who danced and prayed while chanting my family name.

From Fort San Pedro, I hailed a taxi and rewarded my 2 companions with a late lunch at the famous Larsian barbecue stalls.