Kuala Lumpur — I met a Malaysian guy on my way here. He was seated right next to me eating his meal of Nasi Lemak. I was checking out some brochures from my recent Brunei trip as I was writing a travel piece about it.
I did not even get the guy’s name so from here on let us just call him Shajid. Shajid said he just came back from a three-day trip in Cebu and was gushing about the hospitality and warmth of the locals and the people working in restaurants.
He did not book a city tour because the 30-year-old engineer in him believed he can get around Cebu with the aid of Google.
“But there are no walking tour maps in Cebu, unlike Kuala Lumpur, which you can just download from the website and then join free walking tours or, if not, do self-guided tours,” I told him.
It was a challenge, he said. Shajid met several foreigners around Cebu, who had the same predicament. It would have been more tourist-friendly if the maps were available so he can just follow the map on a self-guided tour and visit more cultural, heritage, historical and religious sites.
Shajid was a nice fellow, who spent two years studying in Nashville, Tennessee. So he was pretty much open about talking about anything. I told him my experience inside the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in downtown Bandar in Brunei and how my heart was filled with more love and respect for Muslims after I came out of this place of worship.
Shajid shared he went inside the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño. For someone raised in a Muslim family, the experience inside the basilica was a revelation to him. He saw women kneeling down clutching rosary beads as they moved forward to the altar. Shajid stayed inside the basilica for 30 minutes just taking everything in. “Man,” he said, “I was floored by the deep manifestation of faith. It is nothing that I have seen before.”
I told Shajid that his Cebu visit is a month late because had he come on the third week of January, he would have witnessed the Fiesta Señor and Sinulog Festival. I went on to explain to him how Cebuanos manage — with respect and consideration — to balance the faith and fun side of Fiesta Señor and Sinulog Festival.
While he described the seafood extravaganza as “affordable and awesome,” Shajid said it was hard to find restaurants in Cebu serving Halal food.
While restaurants serve dishes other than pork, Shajid said Muslims, who are really committed to only eat Halal food, will go hungry in Cebu unless they cook their own food. Even the seafood place that he visited served pork belly so what he ate — although delicious and mouth-watering — was strictly not Halal food.
He does not blame the Cebuanos for the lack of Halal food options. After all, he said Cebu is internationally recognized as home of the best roasted pig.
“There is a crazy lechon culture here and I know people love that,” he said.
I like how we discussed tourism and its impact on the travelers. I have been traveling to several countries for 10 years now, and I have always made notes on what else can be improved in these destinations to make it more friendly to travelers. But I overlooked the part in looking after my hometown and check if the elements are there to make it friendly and inclusive to all types of travelers.
I was busy exploring countries other than my own to take notice. My mistake. I am sorry.
But herein lies the irony.
The cost of domestic travel for locals, for residents of Cebu, can be prohibitive. Many people would want to join Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbo program of the Cebu provincial government but P7,000 per person charge is too high for them.
Can we have an affordable version of Suroy-Suroy, which can encourage Cebuanos to bring their families to explore Cebu? Can the Cebu City Tourism Office carry out walking tours and make walking tour maps available for free download? Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.’s Gabii sa Kabilin (Night of Heritage) does an annual event of heritage site visits, but can the local government take the lead and do this on a regular basis?
Inclusive travel means that any person is given the opportunity to explore places no matter their social standing. I feel that when people can experience beautiful places, they will be more keen in protecting these sites.
It is not an assurance but we can always try. Providing options for local travelers to explore their hometown promotes pride of place…
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