Trip report Jan/Feb 2025 - Cebu & beyond - Research if an elderly gay retiree can live comfortably in Cebu

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CEBU Trip Report – Part Ia (28 & 29 December 2024)

This is my active ongoing trip report for Cebu City in the Philippines.

I am in the Philippines for 62 days as part of my tax minimization plan, as discussed in this previous post:

https://www.gayguides.com/topic/61065-bangkok-trip-report-august-2024/page/5/#comment-419422

The other objective is to see if I can find a retiree place that is similar to what I have back in Jomtien Thailand, in the Philippines.  Consequently, I will search for hirise condos that are on or near the beach with balconies with sea views – as is commonly found in Jomtien.  This will prove to be a difficult task as discussed further on in this trip report.

28 December 2024, in the afternoon, I leave Jomtien in the late afternoon for the Amari hotel via a new car service that Youtube blogger “Pete on Retreat”, my friend’s Thai girlfriend started, Koi Taxi, who drove me to the Amari hotel at Don Muang airport.  My Thai boyfriend was with me to say goodbye and many tears were shed as the car service pulled away. Fee was 1,800 baht.

My flight on 29 December was at 6:30 am, so I wanted to already be at the airport when I woke up at 3:30am the following day.  I chose this Amari hotel because it is physically connected with a pedestrian bridge that crosses the busy Don Muang Toll Way and puts you directly into the international departure area.  I did a test run (walk) before going to sleep – which allowed me to get a good night’s sleep for the journey to an unknown country for me.  The Amari is not cheap but convenient, I paid 4,237.20 baht for 1 night.

    

I chose the Cebu Pacific 6:35am flight, as it is a non-stop direct flight from Bangkok into Cebu (Mactan airport).  This is the only direct flight that I could find and only occurs 1 time per day at this very inconvenient departure hour.  The flight is only 4 hours with a 1 hour time zone change – with the Philippines being 1 hour earlier than Thailand.  Cost was around € 500 euro, as I wanted a flexible ticket with enough luggage allowance for a 62 day trip.

Flight was great and non-eventful arriving slightly ahead of schedule.  I collected my luggage and then headed towards the immigration control.  As I had already registered for my eTravel QR code (and printed it) back in Jomtien I was able to bypass the chaos that those passengers who had not yet done so had to do on their mobile phones.  I presented myself at the immigration desk and the lady was somewhat annoyed with me.  She said, Sir, you cannot stay for 62 days without a proper advance reserved visa.  I apologized and I explained to her that I was not aware of this requirement.  She then wanted to know my purpose for my visit and then agreed to give me the non-Visa maximum of 30 days, which she then stamped into my passport.  She told me that around day 29, I should go to the immigration office in Cebu City and ask for another 29 days ( this will give me 59 days in total – so I am not sure what I will need to do for the final 3 days ? ).

Then I went to collect my luggage and went to eat, as I needed to kill time, as my arrival time was way too early – as my AirBnB check-in time was for 2pm.  So, I ate slowly in some random Filipino restaurant and had my first Filipino meal – lots of rice, some weird pork things with some vegetables.  It was so-so and I was not impressed.

Important notation:  Back in Jomtien, I had already purchased an eSim with my preferred provider = , for which I paid $32 USD for 20GB of data for a 30 day validity. I have used them previously in Vietnam and I was happy with the service.  I activated my pre-purchased eSim while I was waiting for my luggage to arrive.  This allowed me to reserve a car and/or taxi via the  app. You need to remember that the eSim offered by Airolo does not include a local phone number, so you should preload the apps that you might want to use in the Philippines, PRIOR to arriving into the country, as they often require that you have a local phone number for SIM verification.  I found this out the hard way on 20 Jan 2025, when I tried to order a motorbike taxi via the Grab app – when Grab told me that I instead needed to install the Move It app , which allows you to order motorbike taxis.  Unfortunately, the local Philippine version of Grab does not include the Move It capabilities yet – even though Grab has bought Move It back in August 2022.  The only way that I can install the Move It app is if I agree to buy a physical local SIM card that would assign me a Philippine phone number.

Note that to find your pre-ordered Grab car/taxi it is not very clear where to go.  You should exit the Mactan airport international arrivals section and walk to the Domestic arrivals section and then walk past that building following the walkway towards the parking lots Arrival Bay C-1-C4 and then wait there for your car there.  Here is a guide with pictures prepared by Grab:

https://www.grab.com/global/airport-rides/mactan-cebu-international-airport/#:~:text=Arrivals&text=1.,at%20the%20pick%2Dup%20point.

My Grab fee was 572 pesos (~$9.78 USD), not bad for the 45 minute ride from Mactan island into Cebu City. Below map displays the Airport and then my first AirBnB.

It is important to note that I have strategically decided to live in 3 different neighborhoods in the Cebu City metro area as follows:

2 are within Cebu City:

• first in what is known as the CBP = Cebu Business Park,
• second in what is known as the Cebu IT Park.

I am considering the above 2 places as my comparator to living within the city limits of Pattaya city from the point of view as an elderly retiree.

• 1 in Newtown on Mactan island – as my comparator to living in Jomtien from the point of view as an elderly retiree.

As of the writing of this report, I have completed the first condo living in CBP, and now I am in day 5 of my second AirBnB condo living in the CEBU IT Park.

I arrived at the Cityscape Grand Tower and easily checked in with the ground floor security team into my “TINY” AirBnB on the 32^nd floor (there are 34 floors in total).

The AirBnB owner gave me a digital entry on-the-condo-door keypad code.  After opening the door digitally, I was able to then fetch a physical electronic key from the table.  The condo was truly very small (it looked bigger on the AirBnB site – pics are below) but nicely done and had the prerequisite mini-balcony that overlooked the parts of Cebu city that are towards the sea waterway that separates Cebu City from Mactan island.  From the 32^nd floor balcony it is possible to see the sea that is even beyond Mactan island as well as the planes landing and taking off at the Mactan airport.  The views were stunning.

Photo of my Cityscape condo room.

Some photos of the stunning views from the mini balcony:

Note that they built many hirise condominium buildings but without balconies – a true tragedy.  Consequently, to get a condo room with an external balcony was a true challenge.

I paid € 700 euros for 20 nights, at a rate of € 35 euros per night – not bad in my opinion to be located just 2 blocks outside of the CBP – Ayala mall + Avida condo residences complex.  My neighborhood was quite safe, where the only annoyance was the poverty that is on the edges of CBP – as my condo was 2 blocks outside, so I had to often encounter the poor begging families who send their children to play the sympathy card day after day.

Security is a serious activity both at the Cityscape Grand Tower as well as in the entire multiple block enclave of CBP – as it is well patrolled by private security details who are armed – which scares any potential trouble away.

I walked over to the nearby CBP Ayala mall, which is gigantic with 250,000 m^2, whereas, Central Festival back in Pattaya has 200,000 m^2.  I ate an early dinner and I went over to the giant 7 floor Metro store to buy towels to put down on my AirBnB condo mattress – to avoid getting in trouble with the owner (I am referring to a previous incident when massage oil contaminated the AirBnB mattress).

Exhausted from waking up at the crack of dawn, flying, checking in, buying sundries for the fridge it was time for a well deserved in-room massage.  I fired up the apps, as follows:

• Grindr – has the most number of users,
• Heesay – second highest,
• Planet Romeo – third highest,
• Blowers – fourth highest,
• Hornet – in last place – very little activity – unlike back in Pattaya where it is often the number one app with the most available number of users.

After chatting with many of the locals on Twitter (X) and in the above apps, I was told that there are also other modalities to meet the local guys, which are:

• X – just announce your availability and people will DM you.  You need to be cognizant of the hash tags; #altercebu, #cebualter, #saunacebu, hire, masahista, #hilot.

Or, you can use the above tags / search words and search for your type of desired situation.

• Tinder – I have no experience with Tinder.
• Bumble – again, I have no experience with Bumble.
• Facebook groups – I performed a search for CEBU Gay FB messenger and Google returned many query hits.  As I don’t have FB, I could not utilize any of these.

As soon as I entered into PlanetRomeo, a sexy manly masseur with a profile name like, “MasseurJerome” wrote to me and I invited him to my condo.  This being the Philippines, all visitors need to be registered with the downstairs condo security team.  I employed his services for 90 minutes for a fee of 3.000 pesos (~ $51 USD).  I found out later that this was on the high side for Cebu – but I was happy with his massage and the fun afters – as he was able to edge me very well.  Here in the Philippines the concepts of SIDE and EDGING are very well diffused within the various apps and English being one of their primary local languages (Tagalog, Visayan (Cebuano), and English).  I found that when they speak Cebuano, there are many common words with Spanish.

Day 1 (29 December 2024) concluded.

 

 

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Day 2 (30 December 2024)

I broke the frame of my glasses on the night before my departure for Cebu, consequently, there was no time to get them repaired so I had to wear a very old pair for my flight to Cebu. Therefore, I used this day to find a good eyeglass solution, which I found at the Japanese OwnDays franchise shop in the CBP Ayala mall.  I was very impressed as I had an almost immediate eye exam, which was performed by the in-house optometrist.  I then chose my frames and then they told me to return in 20 minutes.  I thought that they must be crazy.  So, I went to have a nice lunch and returned in 1 hour and my new glasses were ready and the nose fitting had to be adjusted, which took 5 more minutes and then I paid and I was out of the shop.  Cost was 10,990 pesos (~ $188 USD), which I found as extremely good value for money, because my previous glasses that I bought back in Central Festival in Pattaya cost me around 28,000 Thai baht  (~ $822 USD) with imported metal frames from Germany.  So, I saved around 440% - so I was quite pleased as this will be one less task that I would need to do back in Pattaya with more money in the bank.

Casual non-eventful day exploring my local CBD neighborhood and starting to create my daily routine – as part of the purpose of this trip is to simulate retirement life in Cebu and if I would be pleased with it.

Later in the evening back on the apps, this time on Heesay a massage guy wrote me and I agreed to let him meet me in my room.  He was not your typical guy, in the sense he was a bit tense.  Massage went well and when we moved to the afters, he still had his underwear on and I asked him to remove them, and I started to fondle with his cock but it never got erect.  He gave me a nice edging and then when it was time to pay him, 2.500 pesos, he became aggressive and started yelling at me that I need to pay him 5.000 pesos because I touched his cock and tried to put it in my mouth.  He argued that I did not put all of these minute details in my Heesay request and therefore I needed to pay him extra.  He was definitely hardup for money because during the massage he told me his poverty story and his need to feed his 2 children and him being abandoned by his wife.  I told him that I would NOT be paying him this exorbitant amount and he refused to leave my room and I opened the door and got near him to assertively ask him to exit my room.  He saw my Armani watch on the table that my ex-Thai boyfriend gave me, and he grabbed it and said that the 2,500 pesos plus the watch would suffice.  I aggressively grabbed the watch back from him – tearing the leather band from its metal hinge and pushed him out the door and slammed it closed.  That was tense and not a fun experience.  I did not want to go downstairs and complain to the security team because this was only my day 2 of my 62 day trip and I still wanted to have the right to have additional visitors.

Day 2 (30 December 2024) concluded.

 

Day 3 (New Year’s Eve - 31 December 2024)

Routine day with my time hanging out in the CBP Ayala mall – it is becoming addictive – this Filippino way of life.  Also, got overloaded with the gazillion of app requests for action, meetings, tours, etc.

Arranged a massage with a guy from Heesay who works in the BPO building in front of my condo.  I paid 3.000 pesos (~ $51 USD) for his massage. He is a great masseur and after the massage we agreed to go and have dinner together as his partner of 8 years is busy with family NYE stuff and they supposedly don’t know that my massage guy is the partner.  We run over to the CEBU famous, “House of Lechon” restaurant to get some dinner but it was completely full and furthermore, they were completely sold out of their house specialty, Roasted Pig = Lechon.  By the way, this restaurant is the MOST famous for Lechon in ALL of CEBU and it was only 2 streets away from my condo.   https://www.facebook.com/HouseOfLechonCebu/

So, we ended up eating in a Chinese restaurant outside of the Ayala mall complex and we were the last customers allowed in.

This massage guy, let us call him Mr. R, shared many interesting stories about life in Cebu, such as:

• The primary occupation for many young gays in Cebu is to work in one of the many BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) centers spread out all over Cebu with a high density of them in CBP and also over in IT Park.  The starting salary is between 12,000 to 14,000 pesos per month ( ~ from $206 to $240 USD per month ).  He told me this is why many of the gays working in these BPOs are also selling their services “for hire” on the apps, to supplement this dismal salary.  But, he told me that his partner of 8 years, holds a more senior position in one of these BPOs and earns 30,000 pesos per month ( ~  $514 USD per month ).
• He told me that the minimum daily wage in Cebu is 501 pesos ( ~ $8.60 per day), versus the minimum daily wage in Pattaya, which is 400 baht ( ~ $11.80 per day).  Consequently, Thai workers command a 37% premium over their Filippino neighbors.  This will become evident throughout this trip as we will see that the daily cost of living for a retiree in the Philippines versus Thailand is cheaper.
• He told me that the gay life in Cebu is mostly underground and/or hidden, as a consequence of the very conservative values found in the Filipino culture and Catholic religion.  I pushed back when he told me this, as I told him that I lived in Italy for 12 years and they are the hosts of the Vatican and even Italy has progressed forward with gay rights, even though the Vatican is in their backyard.  I further told him that Spain, a very Catholic country, has leapfrogged forward with gay rights.  I told him that I was quite surprised to learn this as I had thought that with the Philippines being so far away from the Vatican that it would be more free to move forward – but instead the opposite is true.
• He told me that in Cebu there are a couple of gay bars, 1 to 2 go-go boy bars, some cruising parks, 3 massage saunas, and 1 to 2 mixed disco clubs.  He said that the primary way gays meetup nowadays is via the apps that I already listed above.

So, I learned a lot from him during our pre-NYE dinner.  We said our goodbyes and I headed back to my room so that I could sit outside on my 32^nd floor balcony to watch the fireworks over the sea and I was able to celebrate NYE twice, at 12 midnight in Cebu and again at 1am in Cebu with my Thai boyfriend via a LINE video call where it was 12 midnight back in Jomtien.  After the countdown completed, I told my PMB (Primary Money Boy) the magical words that I rarely express in my life = “I love you”.  We have been seeing each other for more than 6 months now and for the last 2 to 3 months he has been constantly telling me that he loved me.  I just was not ready to say those words until now because:

• I wanted to allow for the completion of the jinx that I received 1 year prior when my previous Thai boyfriend denied me my first NYE kiss and I had to vacate Pattaya in distress – so I surprised him by appearing in his birth town down in Southern Thailand and I instead kissed the iconic seaside mermaid.  With this current NYE countdown of 2024/2025 I was able to allow that jinx superstition to expire – so I felt safe to give my heart to my PMB,
• I wanted him to hear these words from me in the actual new year 2025.
• I have to say that I was also influenced by the love stories shared here in this forum by fellow forum members; @jason1975 and @Min, as they both shared their love for their PMBs – and it gave me inspiration that love can be found with PMBs, when I had previously believed that it is a HUGE mistake to give your heart to a PMB.  If I have in fact made a HUGE mistake, at least I am in good company with Jason and Min.

Day 3 (31 December 2024) concluded.

 

Day 4 (New Year’s day 1 January 2025)

Since the Philippines is a super religious country, today EVERYTHING (other than 7-Eleven) is closed.  So, it was a boring day eating 7-Eleven food in my room.  I took the time to find my next AirBnB condo room, which will be in the CEBU IT Park.  Unfortunately, I failed at finding a room with a balcony.

The remainder of the day I chatted on the various apps and I found someone who will become my primary, go-to Filipino guy to help me out (in a non sexual way) with tours and miscellaneous things as they arrive.  He is still in the closet, and is a young 25 year old who works in the hotel industry.  He is a true gem and a rare find.  For me, his character is truly adorable and when I pass time with him I feel really good.  For purposes of this trip report let us call him, Mr. B.

Some background.  I transformed all of my existing 5 app profile text to read as follows:

In some of the apps, certain words are considered as non compliant with the T&C, so you can use alternative substitutes to get your message across.  Some of the local tagalog + Cebuano words to use are:  masahe, masahista, maxsage, masaj, hilot à which I noticed that the app AI compliance checkers were not checking for any prohibited words that are in any of the local dialects.

This is how I found both Mr. B and Mr. R discussed previously.

This was a non-massage day, so prior to the commencement of the NYE activities, I watched the wonderful Thai movie = “How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies”.  I HIGHLY recommend this heart warming very original Thai film. Title of this film in Thai is, "Lahn Mah" หลานม่า which literally means "Grandma's Grandchild". I found the film culturally enriching as it gives the perspective of death in Thailand from the Chinese-Thai point of view.  Film is available on in Netflix, as well as in Google movies.

It has been nominated for the Oscars international shortlist.  Read more about it here:

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/how-to-make-millions-before-grandma-dies-oscar-shortlist-thailand-1236256031/

On 2 March 2025, we will be told if it has won the actual Oscar award.

Day 4 (1 January 2025) concluded.

 

 

 

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Day 5 (2 January 2025)

Since Mr B had today off, we agreed to meet in the Ayala mall at my favorite cake/coffee shop to start our first tours.

Cebu is a city on the seaside, but behind Cebu there are hills and mountains with stunning views and gardens.  Today we set out to discover these together.

Our first stop via Grab going up into the foothills was the :  CEBU Taoist Temple

Nice view of the city in the background from the Temple, as it is located in the part of Cebu that is referred to as:  Beverly Hills – with nice large homes that overlook the city and sea.  It was built in 1972 by the local Cebu Chinese community.

Fee to enter is free – but donations are welcome for the maintenance and upkeep of this wonderful place.

Having Mr. B with me as my real filipino tour guide, he was able to negotiate with the Grab driver to take us off meter and to allow us to hire him for a fixed price for our journey.  This strategy is very handy when you don’t want to interject yourself into an official tour company and to instead have a private tour with your own dedicated Grab driver.  What the driver did is to settle our trip at the Cebu Taoist Temple site via the app, and then to drive us for the rest of our itinerary for a fixed price of 3.000 pesos (~ $51.30 USD).  Not bad and good value for money in my opinion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cebu_Taoist_Temple

Our second stop going further up into the foothills was the:  Temple of Leah

Nicknamed the “Taj Mahal of Cebu”, Temple of Leah is a humble Roman-style shrine built in 2012 by Teodorico Soriano Adarna in honor of his late wife, Leah Villa Albino-Adarna. It has a Pantheon in Greece feel to it with Doric columns and arches, it is a sanctuary symbolizing a husband’s undying love for his wife.  It also has amazing views of Cebu City and the sea.

For more information about the Temple of Leah, visit: 

https://suroy.ph/temple-of-leah/

The entrance fee is 150 pesos per person (~ $2.60 USD each).  I paid 300 pesos to include the entrance fee for Mr. M.

Our third stop was at the : Sirao Gardens, aka, Little Amsterdam.  As these gardens are on the other side of the foothills and into the mountains, there is no longer a view of Cebu City, but instead the sense of fresh mountain air and the fragrance of many types of flowers.  Truly a large garden to enjoy.

Find out more here at: https://www.facebook.com/siraogarden/

The entrance fee is 100 pesos per person (~ $1.70 USD each).  I paid 200 pesos to include the entrance fee for Mr. M.

It was now late in the afternoon, and Mr. M had to go to his hotel job and I was hungry for an early dinner over in the Ayala mall.  I wanted to pay Mr. M 3.000 pesos today for his EXCELLENT tour skills and lovely company, but he would only accept 2.000 pesos (~ $34.20 USD).  Truly good value for money.  He said to me, look these 2.000 pesos are 4 days of work at my hotel (daily minimum wage is 501 pesos).  This guy is gold.  I told him that he is worth much more but he is a very modest and down to earth guy.

I organized a 2 hands massage with Mr. Rom who I found in Grindr.  He was a good masseur but I found out that his ulterior motive was to sit on a western cock.  I kept telling him that I am a SIDE and to stick to the agreed program – but eventually, he found a way to rapidly just sit on my cock and ride it and not before long he was climaxing.  We cleaned me up and then he finished me off with a slow edging.  Sneaky sneaky, Mr. Rom.  Price was 2.500 pesos (~ $43 USD).

Day 5 (2 January 2025) concluded.

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Day 6 (3 January 2025).

Breakfast at Ayala (Abaca Baking Company – excellent salmon Benedict breakfast).

Meet Mr. M. for our Cebu historic center tour.

First stop was to see the Heritage of Cebu Monument, which was initiated in 1997 and completed in 2000.  It was constructed by the award-winning artist, Eduardo Castrillo, which is made of brass, bronze, concrete and steel. It is located in Parian Park, which a long time ago, was the site of the Saint John the Baptist church which was demolished in 1875.  It is a monument that represents Cebu’s long history, since its founding in year 1521, by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, under the Spanish forces of that time.

For more information, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_of_Cebu_Monument

Admission was free.

Our second stop was the Archdiocesan Museum of Cebu, which features a collection of exhibits related to the Catholic faith, some dating back to the 16^th century, which provided us a walk down memory lane to learn how religion has shaped the country’s culture and people of today.  Learn more here at: https://cebuinsights.com/explore-cebu/museums/catholicism-cebu-cathedral/

Admission was 100 pesos per person (~ $1.70 USD each).  I paid 200 pesos to include the entrance fee for Mr. M.

Our third stop was to see the Magellan’s Cross, which is the MOST visited tourist site in Cebu, as I believe that it is the oldest site from Cebu’s founding in April 21, 1521, which represents the birth of Christianity in the Philippines.  The original Christian cross planted in Cebu in 1521 by the Spanish expedition, is housed inside this structure.

We need to remember that the original capital of the Philippines was here in Cebu, until the year 1571, when it was then moved to Manila.

For more information, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magellan%27s_Cross_Pavilion

Admission price is free.

Our aborted fourth stop, was to see the nearby MOST important Basílica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebú.  Unfortunately, I was wearing shorts, which are prohibited.  I asked Mr. M. if there were any vendors (like there are at most Catholic sites where shorts are required) that would allow me to wear wrap around pants.  Mr. M. looked at me as if I was from Mars – I had to explain to him that this is a common money making practice in many countries.  He said that such a thing here would be sacrilegious and would never even be thought of.  I told him that in the Catholic headquarters, The Vatican, that this practice is very much alive. Another hint as to why the Philippines is kind of stuck in time and has not evolved as much as its other Catholic peers; Spain and Italy, due to the Philippines super adherence to religious discipline.

Additional information can be seen at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_del_Santo_Ni%C3%B1o

Our fifth stop was to visit the National Museum of the Philippines – aka Malacañang sa Sugbo.  Visiting this place was literally very REFRESHING, as it was the only place on this historic center tour with amazing airconditioning.  This museum features five galleries, which displays exhibits on Cebuano culture, maritime history, World War II artifacts, and archaeological treasures.  I being a map lover, enjoyed all of the maps of how the city of Cebu progressed into what it is today.

Amazingly, admission to this wonderful museum is FREE.

For more information, visit: https://suroy.ph/national-museum-of-the-philippines-cebu/

Our sixth stop was to discover, Fort San Pedro, which was founded by the Spanish conqueror, Miguel López de Legazpi in 1561.  Originally made of wood, it was then converted into stone in 1738.

The fort is right next to the primary harbor for the many ferries leaving for the nearby islands.  Consequently, when you climb up onto the upper portion of the fort structure you have a great sea view of the port as well as a nice salty breeze.

The entrance fee is 50 pesos per person (~ $0.86 USD each).  I paid 100 pesos to include the entrance fee for Mr. M.

For additional information about the fort, visit: https://suroy.ph/fort-san-pedro/

Our seventh stop was to enjoy the Cebu Ocean Park.  It is the only marine-themed park in Cebu and its main feature is the Deep Tank Lagoon, which allows for you to walk through a 360-degree viewing tunnel.  I’ve seen these in other parts of the world and the Cebu one is one of the better ones. 

I truly enjoyed the special exhibit that they had for the penguins

and then the “Birds of Prey” show, which truly engaged the audience – as there were stray pigeons flying around which were tempting the birds of prey to not follow their choreographed program, but to instead attack and kill the pigeons – so sometimes during the show it became intense.

Another cool feature of this place is the Aqua Dining, where an entire wall is in glass with complete high wall views into the Deep Tank Lagoon – truly amazing.

The entrance fee is 650 pesos per person (~ $11.13 USD each).  I paid 1,300 pesos to include the entrance fee for Mr. M.  It was good value for money and worth the visit.

Our eighth stop, by now I was very exhausted, was to quickly visit the SM Seaside City mall, as it is directly across the street from the Cebu Ocean Park.  It was important to visit it, because in the Philippine culture, MALLS are a very important part of their daily life.  Since this trip report is to present retiree life in Cebu this is a salient point to be aware of.  The SM malls are the main competitor to the Ayala malls.  It is a huge 5 floor mall that was constructure in a giant circular structure (like the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California).  The top floor offers amazing views of both the city and of the port and an upclose view of the famous CCLEX Cebu-Cordova bridge.

Admission was free.  You can visit the official FB page at: https://www.facebook.com/smsscitycebu/

Our nineth and last stop was to eat dinner back at the outdoor Street Food by Sugbo Mercado located right outside the back of the Ayala Mall in CBP.  Note that there are more than one Sugbo Mercado – in various parts of Cebu city to avoid confusion.

Mr. M. and I, we both ordered a healthy plate of Lechon (roasted pig) after a long day of touring the historic center of Cebu.  I paid for Mr. M. – but I do not remember the price, as it was peanuts when compared to what we pay back in the west.

For more information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/SugboMercadoCBP/

Once home hot & sweaty, I took a quick shower and jumped onto the apps and I found Mr. Ren on the Grindr app.  To date he was one of my HOTTEST massage guys, he is 22 and in the Police Academy = WOW!!  He needs extra money to support his student life.  He only wanted 2.000 pesos (~ $34.30 USD).  When he left I gave him 1,000 pesos more as he was so worth it as he had great massage and edging skills, a nice cock, and super manly.

What a great ending to a long and fun day.

Day 6 (3 January 2025) concluded.

 

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Day 7 (4 January 2025).

Disaster strikes – my boyfriend back in Thailand has a serious motorbike accident where he collides with a ladyboy back in Pattaya while I was sleeping.  Her injuries are kind of serious and she is sent to the hospital, as she has a fractured arm and some bruises.  Thank God she was wearing a helmet, as her injuries could have been much worse.  My boyfriend received some slight scratches and damaged his friend's motorbike that he was driving.  The ugly news is that he is desperate to help the ladyboy with her expenses, because if he does not agree to pay for the ladyboy’s injuries, hospital bills, damaged motorbike, and 2 months out of work to recuperate, she will press charges.  I agreed to help out, and this was definitely NOT pre-budgeted in my financial plans, but I do not want him to be put into the monkey house (jail).

Can I be sure that it is not a hoax?  I believe so, as I told him that I will only start to pay the various bills after I see the hospital invoice, have me meet via LINE the ladyboy in the hospital, see pictures of her smashed up motorbike, etc. – and I can see with my own eyes that it is all too real.  He stays all night with her at the hospital and ironically, he creates a friendship with her – as this is his common trait – that he can make friends with almost anyone and is super popular in the Supertown complex in Jomtien, as well as on soi 4 and soi 12.  I told him that when I return to Jomtien that I want us to take this ladyboy out to dinner, as I now feel to be intertwined in this strange new friendship.  Outch $$ it hurts to be in love.

Now back to Cebu.  I meetup with Mr. M after our breakfast in the Ayala mall and he sees that I am quite upset.  He calms me down and says to me, let’s do something relaxing.  I was intrigued.  He says to me, I remember that your 3^rd destination in your Cebu odyssey will be the Mactan Newtown – he says, let’s get a day pass to the Shangri-La resort over on Mactan island.  I was like – YES – I need this.  So, we take a taxi over to the resort for 528 pesos (~ $9.10 USD) and is a 45 minute ride. 

It being the weekend of the 2025 New Year, the resort is extremely busy and there is a lot of chaos at the main entrance.  At first, they do not want to let us have a day pass – as they state that since they are already operating at full capacity, that it would be unfair to the paying guests to have non-guests using the already crowded facilities.  Well, Mr. M., he works in a hotel and starts to talk in tagalog and there is a lot of back and forth between the security team and the facilities management and with someone on the phone.  After about 20 minutes of back and forth, Mr. M. convinces them that we are not your ordinary low life day trippers and that we will not disturb or upset any of the 5 star guests and wahla – they let us in.  I am going to say it a million times – this Mr. M. find in Grindr as a result of my tour guide ad is worth 3 times his weight in gold.

We were guided to an area where we could pay 2.000 pesos per person (~ $34.30 USD each) and then receive our complimentary lounge chair towels as well as arm bands that identified us as “day use” clients.  The resort is huge and Mr. M. asks me what do I want to do first and I say that I want to lounge on the beach and take a swim.

I was now happy as a pig in mud.  Finally, my first Philippine beach experience in wonderful white sand with clear turquoise water.  We both went for a swim and then relaxed for a while underneath the grass kabana.

Not knowing what to experience at a Philippine beach, I did not pack my wallet in my backpack and I only brought 10,000 pesos with me and we already spent 4,000 pesos to gain access to this wonderful place.  So, I was kind of reluctant to offer Mr. M. lunch at the resort because when I saw the prices I became afraid that we might not have enough money to return back to Cebu city.  It was truly a pity, because I have plenty of money – but being afraid of the unknown I was not prepared to bring more money.  I told Mr. M. that when we return to Cebu city that I will take him to dinner because with the remaining 6,000 pesos in my pocket that is more than enough money back in the city.  I was quite embarrassed – but even when I go to Koh Larn off the coast of Pattaya, I never bring my wallet, and I just put some cash in my pocket for a day at the beach.  This is my security tactic so that if someone steals my stuff while I am off swimming – it won’t be the end of my life.  With all of the security measures and type of rich clientele that I saw at this resort, there is NO way that anyone was even interested in pilfering our stuff.

After about 90 minutes at the beach, I asked Mr. M. what did he want to do and he asked if we could move to the pool side.  I said yes and we relocated over there underneath a shaded area and then we both jumped into the pool for a swim.  It was truly lovely and refreshing.

Before heading back to Cebu, we took a walk around the grounds of the resort and we were quite impressed.  There was even a heliport that was right next to the golf course for the 5-star arrivals.  For more information about the resort, visit: https://www.shangri-la.com/cebu/mactanresort/sports-recreation/

Lastly, the next complex on the southbound part of the resort is Mactan Newtown, where I will move into at the end of this month – as this is the area that I have given the pseudonym of Jomtien to.

We took a taxi directly from the resort back to Cebu and the fee was 550 pesos  (~ $9.40 USD) and we exited at the SM J Mall in Mandaue (city next to Cebu) to eat dinner at the American Kenny Rogers Roasters franchise.  This is what Mr. M. craved for his dinner. Then a Grab car for 230 pesos  (~ $4.00 USD)  to drop off Mr. M. at his hotel living residence and then me back at my condo at Cityscape Grand Tower.

As it was only 6:30pm, I fired up the apps and I met Mr. Nor from Grindr for a nice 2 hands massage at 9pm.  All was good – not fantastic but not poor.

Day 7 (4 January 2025) concluded.

to be continued in the next few days.....

 

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 8 (5 January 2025).

Slow day.  I had my usual walk through the Ayala mall and surrounding neighborhoods.

I note that the city is moving away from New Year celebration stuff to the upcoming 2025 SINOLOG festival, which will start on 18 & 19 January.

You are made aware of this by:

• Loud “I love Cebu” music is starting to play all over the city,

https://youtu.be/CkgVnIgqTXo?si=MQr3wdHibIESfG1I  

At first I did not enjoy this song much – but after 3 weeks of hearing it everywhere in the city it grows on you and now when I hear it I get happy and emotional.

Similar to when I hear the Pattaya Pattaya song =  https://youtu.be/ulfn3bQNcdU

Music for me creates emotional bonds to a place, friends, and experiences. 

• Shops throughout the city are starting to sell SINULOG merchandise,

• There is a festive sense of happiness in the local people for the arrival of SINULOG.

Today I learned that CEBU, is commonly referred to as the “Queen City of the South” – how apropos.

Later in the evening, I chatted with a cute masculine guy, Mr. Jon from PlanetRomeo and he comes to my room for a good 2 hands massage + safe edging, oral, and edging fun. 

Day 8 (5 January 2025) concluded.

 

Day 9 (6 January 2025).

Day begins in a frustrating way when I returned to my room after my breakfast to find out that the digital electronic key entrance system to my room is dead. So, I contact my AirBnB owner about the problem and after 2 hours of waiting a technician arrives.  The problem was that the battery within the electronic device went dead and consequently the lock device could not respond to my electronic key nor my keypad secret code.  The technician had to remove a type of secret panel and then insert into a keyhole a type of Allen wrench key that allowed him to turn the tumbler with great force to allow us to enter the room.  He swapped out the battery, sprayed some W-40 into the tumbler – to make it have less friction.  He left me with this manual key in case it would happen again – but I am happy to report that from that point forward the electronic digital system worked perfectly.

Can you imagine if I had a guy with me that I rented for 2 hours ?  Would we do it in the hallway outside of my room?

Later in the night, we finally go to visit 2 gay places with Mr. M. in the evening.

First stop is the famous CENSORED gay bar.   

https://www.facebook.com/xcensored2020/

It being a Monday night, it was quite dead, but we still had fun. We ordered some beers and some light food snacks and took some photos.

me standing in front of the CENSORED bar

If you want to get a feel for this place, enter this in the X (Twitter) search box and then look at the gazillion search results. . 

Some are X rated responses, as the local Cebuanos talk about their prey that they picked up from CENSORED and what they did to their prey, or what the prey did to them.

This is probably the most frequented gay bar in Cebu – as it is just off of the main road = F. Cabahug street (as shown in the below Google map) in an alcove that has many other open air bars there.  Consequently, there is tons of space for the guys to congregate, drink, be social, and be crazy.

 

Second stop is to one of the few male go-go bars here in Cebu.  So we visit:

Club X – MenXiest Entertainment Bar:   https://www.facebook.com/clubxcebu/

me at the Club X entrance - full of anticipation

https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/2097477327211294/club-x-male-entertainment-bar/

https://www.tiktok.com/@clubxcebuph/video/7296162474628254982

Located over in Mandaue – which is right next to Cebu City.

This place was a blast.  As it was a Monday night, there were not many customers, so we got most of the attention. There is the very elegant ladyboy mamasan who came and sat with us to explain how everything works – which we learned that it is somewhat similar to how it works in Thailand:

• You can invite a gogo dancer down from the stage to sit with you with a 1 drink minimum, where his drink will always cost 600 pesos even if your beer costs 200 pesos.  The gogo boy accumulates 1 point, at a value of 50 pesos for each drink that the customer buys for him.
• 300 pesos per person in your group is added to your bar tab as the entrance fee.
• Waiters are not allowed to drink with you – but we were eventually allowed to break this rule – when it became evident to me that Mr. M. was smitten with our assigned cute and fun waiter,
• All of the male staff that we saw up on the stage are straight.  The mamasan explained to us that gays are not allowed to be hired as a gogo boy dancer.  I inquired as to why and she said, management policy with no further explanation.
• Off fee to bring one of these gogo dancers with you was 5.000 pesos (~ $85.35 USD) payable to the bar PLUS the fee that the guy would want – based on what you ask him to do with you – sliding scale.  No quotes were given by the mamasan, as she stated that the bar has no influence on what is negotiated between you and the “straight” gogo guy.

So, the guys start doing their gogo dance routines (some in bikinis, boxers, and pant shorts).  The astute mamasan is noticing that I am intently in awe of one of their dancers who is quite good in his black boxer shorts.  She tells me that he is their newest dancer and has only been with them 1 month and he is from a nearby remote island.  She calls him down to sit with us and he is VERY tense and heterosexual – almost trembling, but at the same time very masculine.  I put my arms on his shoulders and start to caress him.  But he needs to drink like three 600 peso drinks before he finally calms down.  Then we start talking and he opens up to me, and by now I have my hands on his legs, which I am caressing.  He is quite apprehensive, as all of his “straight” colleagues are watching him.  I find out from the mamasan that I am the first person in his new month at the club to invite him to sit with a customer.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1003988561451289

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1077555116908058

 

By this time, I had already bought the mamasan a drink, I ask her again if the cute waiter could sit with us so that my friend Mr. M. could have some fun also.  She agrees to break the rule – as there are not many customers that the waiter needs to attend to – so he sits next to Mr. M. and I see a lot of sexual positive energy between all 4 of us now and I also see that the mamasan is very happy – of course – it is a dead Monday night and my wallet is good for business.

My guy tells me that he will go back onto the stage to do a solo dance act.  I ask, when?  He says at 4:00am.  It was only 2:30am and I was already very tired, so I told him that I would need to leave by 3am.  He runs away to the DJs booth and then comes back so excited and says, that the management will rearrange the solo dance lineup so that he can dance for me within the next 15 minutes --> IF <-- I agree to pay 1.000 peso to change the dance lineup fee.  Wow, this place really knows how to milk their customers.  But I was really into this guy and already buzzing from the alcohol so I agree.

Then the DJ announces him and out on the stage he is all alone dedicating his dance routine to me – it was great.  So, I could not remain seated, I heard the voice of @vinapu, my Jedi Master, in my ears, and so I ran to him up on the stage and did the necessary = I planted a 1.000 peso blue note into his black boxer shorts.  The small audience and ALL of his "straight" gogo colleagues erupted into applause and shouting – as I learned that my new friend was now officially initiated into the warm gogo boy family culture of the Club X – MenXiest Entertainment Bar.

The mamasan made me understand that this passing of the torch into having his first customer was important for them to keep him – as it was already 1 month that they invested in him without any requests to sit with customers or offs. 

By now he was so estatic.  I told him that he is already so sexy and an excellent dancer – but that he needs to buy a proper sexy bikini like the other more senior already successful gogo guys.  I put another 1.000 pesos into his pants and told him this is for your bikini fund.

We then asked for our bill and drum roll please – it came to around 11.000 pesos (~ $190 USD) = outch – but it was a GREAT night out to see and experience the Philippine version of a gogo bar and my first time to see my cute and adorable Mr. M. get up close and personal with our sexy waiter. They exchanged numbers.  Unfortunately, I could not as I only have a numberless eSIM and I don’t have FB.  It is ok, as I probably would have regretted taking my guy home with me since I have my boyfriend back in Jomtien.

Here is a nice write up by a local blog here in Cebu: https://sugbo.ph/2023/cebu-club-x/

Day 8 (6 January 2025) concluded.

 

[reader]

Your reports are tour de force. Brilliant combination of concise writing, engaging storytelling and wonderfully illustrated. It's a true service to the forum.

Your narrative about X Club made me smile 11,000 miles away. Often we have no idea how a single interaction with a boy can have a profound effect on his outlook. Knowing you personally and through your posts, I really wasn't surprised. You made much merit and had one hell of a time with Mr. M.

Keep the reports coming! Thank you.

 

[jason1975]

Wow! Very detailed! Thanks for writing and sharing!

[jason1975]

21 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

I have to say that I was also influenced by the love stories shared here in this forum by fellow forum members; @jason1975 and @Min, as they both shared their love for their PMBs – and it gave me inspiration that love can be found with PMBs, when I had previously believed that it is a HUGE mistake to give your heart to a PMB.  If I have in fact made a HUGE mistake, at least I am in good company with Jason and Min.

🥰🥰🥰

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 10 (7 January 2025).

Get out of my bed in the morning and I step on a loose screw and nose pad from my new OwnDays glasses.  I look at my glasses and I see that in fact the nose pad had indeed fallen off.

Every morning I go over to the Ayala mall for my breakfast so I can definitely pass by the OwnDays shop to get these repaired.

But hunger rules and I decide to go first to the SBC – Seattle Best Coffee shop  and have their scrumptious Corned Beef Skillet with eggs dish:

The thing with Philippine food service (which I read about prior to setting foot in the country), is not to get too dependent or passionate about your favorite meals.

Why?

If one of the required food components is not available then the complete dish gets cancelled.  The above breakfast dish (my favorite) was cancelled for 1 week due to them running out of corned beef.  The concept of “substitution” is unheard of and they are super resistant to any ideas that you may put forward to substitute food item x with food item y.  Whereas, in Thailand they are so flexible, and are willing to customize food dishes as to how you want them.  Philippines = NO!!  This inflexibility will be noted in the eventual retirement destination summary.

Finish my breakfast at SBC and walk over to the OwnDays store and they were very accommodating to “repair” my glasses and were overjoyed that I came with the nose pad and screw.  They inserted it and cleaned my glasses for free.

Perhaps the lesson learned is that the price was incredibly low and the turnaround time was probably too quick, and perhaps the quality assurance in the assembly of the glass frame was not thorough enough.  Anyway, as the price was 4 times less expensive than in Thailand, I was still happy with my OwnDays glasses purchase.

By now, my previous hair coloring is already fading – especially after our day over at the Shangra-La beach resort with Mr. M.  I find this hair salon, Bangs Prime Salon, and I asked them if they can cut and color my hair.  They say yes and without any delay I am seated with a Korean hairdresser (also one of the founders of the salon) and like in the movie, “Edward Scissorhands”, he is spinning and tossing the scissors around in a circus like manner to cut my hair.  Amazing to watch and experience – but I was often thinking that perhaps an earlobe might be cut off during the show.

  

Price for color and haircut was 3,000 pesos ( ~ $51.11 USD), whereas, back in Thailand I pay 1,200 baht + 300 baht tip = 1,500 baht ( ~ $44.08 USD).  So, here is my first example where it is cheaper in Thailand.  But I suspect that there are cheaper places, to be discovered, because I paid such a high price because of his notoriety and Edward Scissorhands show.

Go back to room to relax and then back to the Ayala mall for an excellent dinner at the Hussam Middle Eastern Cuisine restaurant, as I love hummus, falafels, and grilled kebab beef and lamb = yummy!

https://hussam.ph/

No massage tonight – just relax and then go to sleep.

Day 10 (7 January 2025) concluded.

 

Day 11 (8 January 2025).

Today starts out in a boring way – cleaning the floor of the condo (I am a clean freak), and then out to breakfast.

A hot sexy masculine guy (Mr. Lan) from Heesay contacts me and we agree to an afternoon 2 hands massage.  I don’t have his permission to share his sexy photos but if you look in the Heesay app in the Cebu area, look for a profile that starts with the name = “adonis….” and you will find him.  He originally quoted me, 3,500 pesos ( ~ $60 USD), but when I told him that I was not looking for sex – just massage + a slow sensual happy ending for the both of us and some oral from me to him – as he has a very nice yummy cock and a hairless tone chest.  He then lowered his price to 3,000 ( ~ $51.14 USD).

He is a great guy and we had a great long conversation about the history of the Philippine culture from the pre-Spanish discovery, through the transition from the Spanish being forced out by the Americans, up until now, 2025.  He is very intellectual and well informed about politics, culture, and religion.  He will become an important part of this trip in a future segment – stay tuned.

He told me to go check out the 8^th Avenue Comedy Bar, which I have yet to check out.  It has many gay performers and he often sings there.   I will tell Mr. M. so that we can go there.

https://www.facebook.com/8thAvenueComedyBar/

 

When it rains it pours.  Two guys chased me on Grindr to give me a 4 hands massage today.  OMG, at my old age how can I have 2 distinct massage meetings in 1 day?  I am not the super hero KFC, who has the stamina of a bull!!

I agree to meet them but ONLY if we go to dinner first.  I needed to get out of my condo after my hot meeting with Mr. Lan.  So, we agree to meet in the lobby of my Cityscape condo and walk over to the famous, House of Lechon.  This is now my second attempt to meet there and guess what?  It is fully packed again and they turn us away.  So, we walk over to the Ayala mall and eat at Gerry’s Grill  – a Filipino restaurant chain and the 2 guys order for me so that I can taste genuine Philippine food (many people complain about Philippine food but I find it enjoyable – but I cannot eat it every day as it can be too fatty).

I used the excuse for us to eat in a restaurant (I paid) as a way to recharge my sperm cells – because at my age I need lots of time to recharge.

We go back to my room and they make me a great 4 hands massage (my first in the Philippines – these are hard to organize as many of the massage guys dread the idea of being exposed with another guy for 4 hands – because their thinking is that nobody can know about these sordid activities – there is lots of shame in the Philippines).  Everybody gets an orgasm, and they take slow turns switching hands to give me an excellent prolonged edging explosion.

During dinner they shared with me that they have a comedy/travel blog where they share their global adventures with their followers.  Here it is:

https://www.facebook.com/p/Tony-and-Jerick-Vlogs-100088910303566/

They are based out of Manila – and if you want to meet them then you can contact them via FB. They also travel all over the Philippines and Asia.

By now I am completely exhausted – good night.

Day 11 (8 January 2025) concluded.

 

[macaroni21]

Even though I have no interest in relocating to Cebu - and a gogo bar visit costing 190 USD has done nothing to change my mind 😱 - I find this journal by @bkkmfj2648 a fascinating, engrossing read. Thanks for sharing.

One tiny question: is Mr B the same as Mr M?

[bkkmfj2648]

1 hour ago, macaroni21 said:

One tiny question: is Mr B the same as Mr M?

Thanks for the compliment @macaroni21

Yes, that Club X gogo bar was expensive - but I intentionally let things get out of hand - money wise - as I was paying for both myself, my dancer guy, Mr. B and his waiter and 1 drink to the very helpful mamasan.  As the gay life experience here in Cebu is quite limited (few options) and one place can be far from the other (there is no gay ghetto), I jumped on this gogo bar opportunity to find out what it is all about and to indulge myself.

Obviously, if I lived here full time as a retiree - then perhaps I would only go to this expensive gogo bar 1 or 2 times in a month. However, Mr B told me that there is another gogo bar over on Mactan island - where I will move to next Wednesday.  It's name is: Perzeus Entertainment bar - https://www.facebook.com/p/Perzeus-Entertainment-bar-100083162290691/

You are very astute - Yes, Mr B is Mr M.  With the use of all of these pseudonyms - I became confused on who is who - as the guys here are SUPER sensitive about being exposed in the public eye in this ultra conservative Catholic country.

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 12 (9 January 2025).

Eat breakfast at the Ayala mall.

A guy that I have been chatting with on the previous day, we agree to meet at my room today for a 2 hands massage.  Let’s refer to him as Mr. Diver – as he loves scuba diving.

Massage was good but this guy was kind of annoying as he kept telling me that it was his dream to go to the USA and he just had to have USA cock.  He was quite disappointed with me when I told him that I abandoned the USA back in 1999 due to gun violence.  So, it was hard to reach orgasm when someone is talking about your cock and his dream to go to the USA.  Eventually it happened but I was happy when he left my room.

Showered and then went back to the mall for a late lunch.  I was debating whether I should get the Armani watch repaired that my ex-Thai boyfriend gave me early last year.  It stopped working on New Year’s day, after I had said the magical words, “I love you” to my PMB.  I took that as a signal to let that watch remain in its dead state – which was also the state of my dead love for my ex.

Day 12 (9 January 2025) concluded.

 

Day 13 (10 January 2025).

Shampoo and body wash are getting low so over to the mall to acquire new ones.  I notice the new SINULOG exhibition of Santo Nino in the middle of the mall. Each day, as we get closer and closer to the SINULOG event, the city reveals more and more reminders that the big day is approaching.

 

Mr. B invites me to join him to experience the unique and fun Cave Bar in Cebu.

Watch any of the below videos to get a feel for the vibe that exists in this energetic bar.

https://x.com/i/status/1861297598898020418

https://x.com/i/status/1857549687416566034

https://x.com/i/status/1855842058109432296

The bar is run by drag queens and their fans and they do a pretty good job at entertaining you.  You can also eat lite food and drink to your heart’s content.  There is no cover charge.  You only pay for drinks and occasionally the lady boys pass by with a tip box but you can also give them tips as they walk by.  I did not dare to perform the “Vinapu tuck” on any of them – as I did not want to get bitch slapped.

Firstly, the primary drag queen, she goes walking around the audience with her microphone and gives you a chance to introduce yourself by responding to her funny questions.  For example, when it was my turn, she asked me, where are you visiting from?  I replied, Thailand – and then she started talking to me very quickly in Thai – I was like oh shit now what do I do?  She finished her lecture (I think that it was a question in Thai) and she was waiting for me to respond and I couldn’t and she laughed and said, honey, you got some work to do on your Thai.  Everyone laughed in the bar and then she moves onto her next guest.  This is truly an ice breaker and later on it gives something to other people in the bar to talk to about later in the evening.  I really liked this unique approach.

The show skits were like the ones displayed in the above videos (note that these videos are condensed snippets of the various skits) and there were 3 rounds of them, with like 30 minutes in-between them, where the DJ plays music and even takes requests – so even more fun.  Music was not too loud and it was easy to converse with the other bar patrons.

I highly recommend this place when visiting Cebu if you want a fun night out in a very friendly environment.

Below is a Google map of the Cave Bar location:

For more information, visit:  

https://www.facebook.com/CaveCebuBar

https://x.com/CAVECEBUBAR

 

Day 13 (10 January 2025) concluded.

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 14 (11 January 2025).

I am a BIG time user of the UK Skrill prepaid card  – since like 10 years already.  I love their top-up options and it has worked very well for me wherever life sends me.  Well, during this trip I was frauded by someone who was able to use my Skrill card in Dubai on some transactions before both myself (freeze my card) and the Skrill team were able to intervene (inactivate).  I have no idea how my data was compromised, as I never use this card at the ATM and I only use it to book AirBnBs, airline tickets, and shopping. Consequently, the fraud investigation team requested that I complete a fraud case document – which I did this morning.  I was also required to complete a 6 hour antivirus scan of my laptop (which I will do tomorrow) and provide the results to Skrill.  So, this was my morning activity for today = yuck!! 

I then had to research for an internet café, which Mr. B. helped me to locate one in the Ayala mall – but after an extensive search of the entire mall complex and asking various security guards – we discovered that the information that Google was presenting to us was old and such internet café was long gone.  In fact, I believe that internet cafés went the way of the Blockbuster video rental stores.  It was suggested to me that I go to a co-working space that are used by today’s Digital Nomads and I would find what I needed there (printer and scanner).  This would become my Monday 13 January’s project.

I hate when these unfortunate life events happen but since one of the MAIN purposes of this trip is to discover if Cebu can be a proper retirement destination – it is good to have these kinds of problem solving tests.

As Mr. B was free today during the day time, so I asked him to take me to the SINULOG parade route so that we could do a calm walking simulation.  The local TV and media are saying that up to 4 million people will invade the city to participate in the various SINULOG events and Mr. B, as he works in a hotel that will be FULLY booked for SINULOG, won’t be available on the parade day – so I will need to man-up and do it by myself.  We successfully walk most of the parade route – it was easy as it was a normal Saturday.  However, when we got to Colon street (at the bottom of the map), it became super packed with people.  They say that Colon street was the first street in Cebu when it was founded back in 1565, and is named after Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_Street

To be honest, I found this street to not be very attractive, as it had the characteristics of a not well maintained street from the 1960s with lots of poor people milling around and you had to stay aware of pickpockets – as the intensity of the crowds in some parts was where people were almost on top of you.  We did not experience any danger or pickpocketing – but the hairs on the back of my neck did stand up.  I decided that on the actual SINULOG parade day that I would stay away from this area.

Since we were near the ports, where the gazillions of boats depart for the many nearby islands (the Philippines is an archipelago made up of more than 7,000 islands), I asked Mr. B to take me to the departures terminals – because as a retiree with a lot of time on your hands you may one day want to jump over to one of these nearby islands.

We were not allowed to venture into any of the departure terminals due to security restrictions - you can only enter with a ferry ticket in your hand - so no internal pictures.

To find out more about departures, visit:   https://getbyferry.com/en/port/cebu

No massages or extra-curricular activities today.

Day 14 (11 January 2025) concluded.

 

Day 15 (12 January 2025)

Lazy morning and somewhat horny, so I fire up the apps and I see in Grindr that there are many guys who ran in today’s early morning AIA Cebu Marathon.

https://cebumarathon.com.ph/

A guy who flew to Cebu from Manila starts chatting with me and we agree to meet in the afternoon – as he tells me that he ran the 12km run which started at 4:30am and he needed to take a rest as his legs were cramping up.  That was perfect for me which allowed me to have my favorite salmon eggs benedict over at the Abaca Baking Company in the Ayala mall.

Afternoon arrives and Mr. Jay shows up very athletic looking – a runner’s body.  He was a bit uptight so we went out on the balcony and chatted for a while about my trip to Cebu and he was very intrigued about my purpose to compare Cebu to Jomtien as a possible retirement destination for us elderly gays.

Jay tells me about this acronym that I never heard of that Philippine people use to describe us from the west who visit the Philippines in search of a possible partner – similar to how the Thais use the word “farang”.  This acronym is:  AFAM – “A Foreigner Abiding in Manila”.  He explained to me that the use of this acronym originally started in Manila but is now used throughout the entire country.

Furthermore, this phenomena has really taken off that over in Siargao, they changed the name of the existing Catangnan Bridge to now be “AFAM Bridge”, where you can find love (or a 1 night stand) with its sexy foreign visitors.  Mr. Jay told me that many young filippinos head to Siargao to find luck.  Sounds familiar to what we see in Thailand ?

So, after Mr. Jay shared this AFAM Bridge with me I told him that it was time for us to have some AFAM fun and a huge smile came on his face and we moved to my bed for some “bridge” action.  This was a freeby meeting thanks to this AFAM phenomena – as I was Mr. Jay’s first farang (AFAM).  I was happy that I could help him to realize his dream.  By the way, he is quite talented in edging – so I was a very happy camper.

I close out today’s forum update with this hot Youtube video of the HOT foreigners (AFAM) who are having fun at the AFAM beach in Siargao.

 

Day 15 (12 January 2025) concluded.

 

[12is12]

It's a pity BKK, that you decided to skip the festival route. I walked the whole length before entering the event's stadium, and I didn't feel any problems of security or safety.

If you do move there, I VERY much recommend participation next year.

[colom-bien]

I've been eagerly awaiting this report for weeks and weeks, excited for what you would experience before you even arrived! I was so happy when I saw your series of posts pop up and elated at all the infinitesimal details.

THANK YOU for writing the first testament of THE BIBLE OF CEBU. I, and countless others, will certainly refer to this again and again when making plans for our first visit. The report is sweeping and comprehensive. I'll reread it many times, now and when I book my first flight to Cebu.

Although you've had some scary and unfortunate happenings, on the whole it sounds like a whole lot of fun. I'm curious to see what your Sinulog Festival experience was like. And if the daily finds on Grindr and Heesay continue to satiate your desires, if you think the quantity and quality of guys there (both locals and visitors) is a ✔ in favor of moving to Cebu permanently. And whether you'd enjoy, as a resident, having all this fun with ever-present conservatism crackling like static in the background.

Sending you loads of good energy from afar. ❤️ Hoping your adventures continue to (slooooooooowly) satisfy.

[bkkmfj2648]

7 hours ago, 12is12 said:

It's a pity BKK, that you decided to skip the festival route. I walked the whole length before entering the event's stadium, and I didn't feel any problems of security or safety.

Unfortunately, my trip report updates are behind actual reality (current time).  Consequently, I have not yet arrived to the SINULOG parade update that occured on Sunday 19 January.

I never said that I am skipping the festival route, I only said that I will avoid Colon street in the historic center, which is not part of the parade route.

As of this morning, I have only posted up through 12 January, which is my 15th day in Cebu.

I wrote earlier in this thread that in my first AirBnB that there was no desk to set up my laptap and consequently I could not write any trip report updates for my first 20 days in Cebu.  So, I am in overdrive to try to catch up in my 2nd AirBnB condo which has a proper desk.

 

[12is12]

Apologies for misunderstanding

[macaroni21]

Not having a proper desk or desk-height table in the room is very frustrating. After a few such experiences I now look very carefully at photos of rooms to see if there's a desk before I book.

 

[12is12]

But a laptop is for laps; why not sit on the bed, back resting on upright pillows, and laptop where it belongs... ?

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 16 (13 January 2025)

After much research in Google for Co-Working Digital Nomad spaces in Cebu, I decided on The Company over in IT Park.  Since later this week, I will need to vacate my current AirBnB condo in CBP (Cebu Business Park), and my new AirBnB condo is in IT Park this was a perfect excuse to get a sneak preview of IT Park.

I took a Grab car over to IT Park – only like 15 minutes away and immediately you get the sense of entering into a huge business park and with the names on many of the mini skyscrapers, you see common names, like; BSA Solutions, Concentrix, Conduent, JP Morgan Chase, etcetra.  The Company is located in the super secure Mabuhay Tower.  The security team registers my passport, phone, looks at my backpack with my laptop and then gives me a guest pass that is ONLY valid for the 6^th floor where The Company is located.

The 2 reception guys help me to print my Skrill fraud documents – as they need to be signed by me and then rescanned.  I also need to print and sign the results of the virus scan from my laptop (none were found after running for 6 hours).  I sign all of the documents and then they scan them and email them back to me.  A very efficient process.

Drum roll please à how much did all of this cost?   A measly 38 pesos ( ~ $0.65 USD). The Grab taxi was way more at 216 pesos ( ~ $3.71 USD).

If you ever need to use a very well run Digital Nomad Co-Working space, check out their web site at:  https://thecompany.ph/

I eat lunch in IT Park as I am super happy with the completion of this task.  I go back to my room to prepare the email  that I send to the Skrill fraud team.  Fingers crossed for a good outcome.

I enter into the apps and I find Mr. CJ who comes to my room for a 2 hands massage.  All was good but I was feeling a little off with something wrong in my intestines.  Happy endings are made and after he left I went to sleep for what would become a nightmare.  I could only sleep for like 30 minutes at a time and then I would need to wake up for what felt like a nausea attack so I would worship the toilet but then nothing would happen.  This process was repeated all night.   I brought some charcoal pills that I had bought back in Thailand at 7-Eleven but they did absolutely nothing to resolve my problem.

 

Day 16 (13 January 2025) concluded.

 

Day 17 (14 January 2025)

Woke up feeling miserable and not sure what I should do to resolve my problem.  I chat via WhatsApp with Mr. B, and he suggests that I venture out to either a pharmacy or one of the 3 hospitals that most foreigners go to here in Cebu.  I tell him that I cannot because I now find myself on the toilet every 90 minutes and my worse fear is to have a toilet attack while in a taxi or hospital waiting room.

Mr. B (now a Saint), tells me that when he finishes his work shift that he will go to the pharmacy for me and get me this miracle pill called:  Diatabs

I meet Mr. B in my condo lobby and he gives me a big supply of Diatabs pills.  He won’t let me pay him for the pills or his time and effort.  He has truly become a great friend.

I take 2 pills and my need to go to the toilet every 90 minutes immediately stops.  Halellujah.

I use the rest of the evening to eat lightly in my room and catch up with some friends back in Europe.

Day 17 (14 January 2025) concluded.

 

Day 18 (15 January 2025).

Wake up feeling much better and I take 1 more Diatabs pill.

I decide to venture by myself over to the downtown parade route via Grab.  I walk to Osmenia street and I buy myself 2 parade shirts and 2 Cebu shirts (1 for myself and 1 for my Thai boyfriend).

I also buy a small over-the-shoulder bag where I can put my valuables in that I can use during the parade to try to mitigate any of the pick pocketers that might be amongst the to-be 4 million visitors.

My diarrhea situation seems to improve but now I have the opposite problem of constipation so I continue to eat lightly.

No massages or extra-curricular activities today.

Day 18 (15 January 2025) concluded.

 

Day 19 (16 January 2025).

I reflected on why I might have caught this diarrhea bug and I realize that at some of the restaurants that they often ask me if I want “service water”.  I almost always said yes.  I ask Mr. B what is “service water”, as I never heard this terminology before and he tells me that it is water directly from the tap.

Now I felt like a retard.  I have travelled to so many countries in my life and I should have known better.  The thing is that when everyone around you can speak English and after being in the malls day after day with stores and restaurants like we have back in the USA and Europe – you let your guard down.

So, a warning to all of you forum readers, always refuse “service water”, as it is just tap water.

I decide to go to the mall for a light late breakfast and I decided to not drink any coffee and to only drink bottled water. 

After breakfast, I decided to go to the Rustan’s   department store, which is the Philippine’s answer to Central back in Thailand, where they divide the store into upper end small boutiques that sell designer fashion brands.  I decide to treat myself to 2 polo shirt brands that we do not have back in Thailand; Austin Martin and Hackers = very nice quality polo shirts.

I want to treat Mr. B to dinner for taking care of me and we decide to go to the famous, House of Lechon (this is now my 3^rd attempt to eat there).

https://www.facebook.com/HouseOfLechonCebu/

Like in Thailand, where you see the fish you are about to eat, here in the Philippines, you get to see the pig that is to be carved up and served to you:

 

Our scrumptious lechon meal:

 

And yummy typical Filippino desserts – 1^st one is Puto Bumbong, and the 2^nd one is Halo Halo:

This was a wonderful dinner and I was very happy to finally be able to eat in the ever famous House of Lechon and share that moment with Mr. B (who also had never eaten there).

No massages or extra-curricular activities today.

 

Day 19 (16 January 2025) concluded.

 

 

[bkkmfj2648]

2 minutes ago, 12is12 said:

But a laptop is for laps; why not sit on the bed, back resting on upright pillows, and laptop where it belongs... ?

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 20 (17 January 2025)

It’s the little things in life that give you the most pleasure.  I complained earlier that those 3 diatabs pills were giving me constipation and today was a Hallelujah!! moment when my systems returned to normal operations when sitting on the bathroom throne.

To celebrate, I return to one of my favorite breakfast places, SBC  to eat my corned beef hash browns breakfast skillet.  Today is my first coffee in many days and notice that there is NO “service water” on the table – only bottled water.

After breakfast, I walk around the CBP Ayala mall and it is in total SINULOG mode – music playing everywhere and marching bands performing throughout the mall as the festivities will commence tomorrow.

   

After looking at the House of Lechon photos that the waiter took of me with Mr. B, I realize that I do not look so good.  Perhaps, I was still experiencing the lingering effects of the bad water that I drank.  So, today I decide to get my hairs trimmed but I do not return to Mr. Edward Scissorhands, as I do not want any thing sophisticated and so expensive.  So, I visit the Salon de Rose - the part dedicated to barbershop.  It is a very big and busy shop.  I had to wait about 15 minutes for my turn.

I was very happy with the results and even my Thai boyfriend complemented me - as he noticed that prior to today that I was not looking good.

Return to my room and I visit the AirBnB site to book my 3rd condo accommodation over on Mactan island in the Newtown Beach area - as I hope that this area will simulate a mini Jomtien retirement location.  That move will occur on 29 January after my time here in IT Park will conclude.

I intentionally refrain from any massages or extra-curricular activities today because tomorrow, I will need to move from my CPB (Cebu Business Park) Cityscape Tower condo to my Cebu IT Park condo.

Day 20 (17 January 2025) concluded.

 

[Olddaddy]

I get different reports about the cheaper prices in Thailand vs Philippines 

I did personally find prices higher in the Philippines🇵🇭🇵🇭 but of course that depends where you are .

Is Cebu budget higher than say Jomtien?

Condo rental I heard are more expensive in Cebu than Jomtien ,is that right ?

I might head to Cebu in March for a few days again ,I wasn't that impressed last time because of constant beep beep noises 

Could you do a price comparison on Cebu vs Pattaya 🙏

[Olddaddy]

On 1/23/2025 at 3:09 PM, bkkmfj2648 said:

Day 8 (5 January 2025).

Slow day.  I had my usual walk through the Ayala mall and surrounding neighborhoods.

I note that the city is moving away from New Year celebration stuff to the upcoming 2025 SINOLOG festival, which will start on 18 & 19 January.

You are made aware of this by:

• Loud “I love Cebu” music is starting to play all over the city,

https://youtu.be/CkgVnIgqTXo?si=MQr3wdHibIESfG1I  

At first I did not enjoy this song much – but after 3 weeks of hearing it everywhere in the city it grows on you and now when I hear it I get happy and emotional.

Similar to when I hear the Pattaya Pattaya song =  https://youtu.be/ulfn3bQNcdU

Music for me creates emotional bonds to a place, friends, and experiences. 

• Shops throughout the city are starting to sell SINULOG merchandise,

• There is a festive sense of happiness in the local people for the arrival of SINULOG.

Today I learned that CEBU, is commonly referred to as the “Queen City of the South” – how apropos.

Later in the evening, I chatted with a cute masculine guy, Mr. Jon from PlanetRomeo and he comes to my room for a good 2 hands massage + safe edging, oral, and edging fun. 

Day 8 (5 January 2025) concluded.

 

Day 9 (6 January 2025).

Day begins in a frustrating way when I returned to my room after my breakfast to find out that the digital electronic key entrance system to my room is dead. So, I contact my AirBnB owner about the problem and after 2 hours of waiting a technician arrives.  The problem was that the battery within the electronic device went dead and consequently the lock device could not respond to my electronic key nor my keypad secret code.  The technician had to remove a type of secret panel and then insert into a keyhole a type of Allen wrench key that allowed him to turn the tumbler with great force to allow us to enter the room.  He swapped out the battery, sprayed some W-40 into the tumbler – to make it have less friction.  He left me with this manual key in case it would happen again – but I am happy to report that from that point forward the electronic digital system worked perfectly.

Can you imagine if I had a guy with me that I rented for 2 hours ?  Would we do it in the hallway outside of my room?

Later in the night, we finally go to visit 2 gay places with Mr. M. in the evening.

First stop is the famous CENSORED gay bar.   

https://www.facebook.com/xcensored2020/

It being a Monday night, it was quite dead, but we still had fun. We ordered some beers and some light food snacks and took some photos.

me standing in front of the CENSORED bar

If you want to get a feel for this place, enter this in the X (Twitter) search box and then look at the gazillion search results. . 

Some are X rated responses, as the local Cebuanos talk about their prey that they picked up from CENSORED and what they did to their prey, or what the prey did to them.

This is probably the most frequented gay bar in Cebu – as it is just off of the main road = F. Cabahug street (as shown in the below Google map) in an alcove that has many other open air bars there.  Consequently, there is tons of space for the guys to congregate, drink, be social, and be crazy.

 

Second stop is to one of the few male go-go bars here in Cebu.  So we visit:

Club X – MenXiest Entertainment Bar:   https://www.facebook.com/clubxcebu/

me at the Club X entrance - full of anticipation

https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/2097477327211294/club-x-male-entertainment-bar/

https://www.tiktok.com/@clubxcebuph/video/7296162474628254982

Located over in Mandaue – which is right next to Cebu City.

This place was a blast.  As it was a Monday night, there were not many customers, so we got most of the attention. There is the very elegant ladyboy mamasan who came and sat with us to explain how everything works – which we learned that it is somewhat similar to how it works in Thailand:

• You can invite a gogo dancer down from the stage to sit with you with a 1 drink minimum, where his drink will always cost 600 pesos even if your beer costs 200 pesos.  The gogo boy accumulates 1 point, at a value of 50 pesos for each drink that the customer buys for him.
• 300 pesos per person in your group is added to your bar tab as the entrance fee.
• Waiters are not allowed to drink with you – but we were eventually allowed to break this rule – when it became evident to me that Mr. M. was smitten with our assigned cute and fun waiter,
• All of the male staff that we saw up on the stage are straight.  The mamasan explained to us that gays are not allowed to be hired as a gogo boy dancer.  I inquired as to why and she said, management policy with no further explanation.
• Off fee to bring one of these gogo dancers with you was 5.000 pesos (~ $85.35 USD) payable to the bar PLUS the fee that the guy would want – based on what you ask him to do with you – sliding scale.  No quotes were given by the mamasan, as she stated that the bar has no influence on what is negotiated between you and the “straight” gogo guy.

So, the guys start doing their gogo dance routines (some in bikinis, boxers, and pant shorts).  The astute mamasan is noticing that I am intently in awe of one of their dancers who is quite good in his black boxer shorts.  She tells me that he is their newest dancer and has only been with them 1 month and he is from a nearby remote island.  She calls him down to sit with us and he is VERY tense and heterosexual – almost trembling, but at the same time very masculine.  I put my arms on his shoulders and start to caress him.  But he needs to drink like three 600 peso drinks before he finally calms down.  Then we start talking and he opens up to me, and by now I have my hands on his legs, which I am caressing.  He is quite apprehensive, as all of his “straight” colleagues are watching him.  I find out from the mamasan that I am the first person in his new month at the club to invite him to sit with a customer.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1003988561451289

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1077555116908058

 

By this time, I had already bought the mamasan a drink, I ask her again if the cute waiter could sit with us so that my friend Mr. M. could have some fun also.  She agrees to break the rule – as there are not many customers that the waiter needs to attend to – so he sits next to Mr. M. and I see a lot of sexual positive energy between all 4 of us now and I also see that the mamasan is very happy – of course – it is a dead Monday night and my wallet is good for business.

My guy tells me that he will go back onto the stage to do a solo dance act.  I ask, when?  He says at 4:00am.  It was only 2:30am and I was already very tired, so I told him that I would need to leave by 3am.  He runs away to the DJs booth and then comes back so excited and says, that the management will rearrange the solo dance lineup so that he can dance for me within the next 15 minutes --> IF <-- I agree to pay 1.000 peso to change the dance lineup fee.  Wow, this place really knows how to milk their customers.  But I was really into this guy and already buzzing from the alcohol so I agree.

Then the DJ announces him and out on the stage he is all alone dedicating his dance routine to me – it was great.  So, I could not remain seated, I heard the voice of @vinapu, my Jedi Master, in my ears, and so I ran to him up on the stage and did the necessary = I planted a 1.000 peso blue note into his black boxer shorts.  The small audience and ALL of his "straight" gogo colleagues erupted into applause and shouting – as I learned that my new friend was now officially initiated into the warm gogo boy family culture of the Club X – MenXiest Entertainment Bar.

The mamasan made me understand that this passing of the torch into having his first customer was important for them to keep him – as it was already 1 month that they invested in him without any requests to sit with customers or offs. 

By now he was so estatic.  I told him that he is already so sexy and an excellent dancer – but that he needs to buy a proper sexy bikini like the other more senior already successful gogo guys.  I put another 1.000 pesos into his pants and told him this is for your bikini fund.

We then asked for our bill and drum roll please – it came to around 11.000 pesos (~ $190 USD) = outch – but it was a GREAT night out to see and experience the Philippine version of a gogo bar and my first time to see my cute and adorable Mr. M. get up close and personal with our sexy waiter. They exchanged numbers.  Unfortunately, I could not as I only have a numberless eSIM and I don’t have FB.  It is ok, as I probably would have regretted taking my guy home with me since I have my boyfriend back in Jomtien.

Here is a nice write up by a local blog here in Cebu: https://sugbo.ph/2023/cebu-club-x/

Day 8 (6 January 2025) concluded.

 

You look fit for your age ,nice body 🥰