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| English: Skyline of Cebu City (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
First Impressions of Cebu in 1986
Hello, I am Günther Vomberg and I have chosen to live Cebu, Philippines since 1998.
Why in Cebu? Several reasons and some of them may apply to others as well, hence I share them in this blog.
I lived from 1985 to 1990 mainly in Manila, which was cool back then, at least for a young guy of 25 years. However, the eighties in Manila were not like today.
Cars were (in comparison to today) virtually non existent and I remember to have instead of fighting with the ever cheating taxi's to rather have walked the 3 km between my home and my business in the early morning hours (!).
Something one should rather avoid without a breathing apparatus in our days.
My first visit in Cebu City in 1986 to buy shell craft for export and visit a factory which produced fashion accessories for me was quite unimpressive.
After having been invited, as customary in the Philippines, for a night out by the dealer of shell craft, the next day was with the manufacturer. I did not really wanted to go out another evening, however, to decline the kind offer would have been an insult.
At least I could convince him to skip the usual night life tour. Back then it was really dull in Cebu City, about 3 to 5 International Restaurants, 1 (Roller!) Discotheque, the Casino, a handful of sleazy night clubs in Colon Street and that was about it !
However, the manufacturer had a Cousin in the San Miguel Bottling Plant and offered me an exclusive tour.
Which was interesting, in each department we tested new Beer (in those days there were only 3 kind, namely Pilsen, Negra and Red Horse).
I may have been the first to ever try the years later marketed "Blue Ice", "SM Light", "Premium" and a few other flavours.
Funny was that some of of their Brew-masters who spoke fluid German, or better Bavarian, due to their several ytear of study at the only beer brewer University in the World, "Universität Weihenstephan".
Another hour into the testing we suddenly got called to the Office of the President, who has heard that a foreigner was touring his factory.
In those days Filipinos were even more hospitable towards our kind, a character treat which has in spite of so many undesirables foreigners around in our days, has not yet subsided.
On the Top floor we could overlook Cebu City in its full extension, as the Brewery, aside of the then "Cebu Plaza" called "Marco Polo Hotel", was the tallest buidling.
Which must have had a nauseating effect on two of the brew masters, as they suddenly puked into the paper garbage bin. (or was it the German Schnaps served as a "welcome to my office" by the president?)
However,t he hours flew by and the president was a great entertainer. My shyly voiced remarks on my flight to Manila, which would depart at 22.00, were pushed aside by him with "I shall not worry, they take care of my transport".
It became 20.00, 21.00 and at that time I already gave up and thought, they might have booked a Hotel room for me to stay another night.
At 22.30, half an hour after departure of my supposed flight, it suddenly became hectic and we all rushed into a limousine downstairs.
In a neck breaking speed (of about 65 km/h, that's neck breaking in the Philippines) we went to the Airport, were I was driven straight to the Air plane!
After a little small talk with the president, with the promise to come back soon, I boarded finally at 23.45!
Well, that was the power of San Miguel in those days, and most likely still now, since they own half of the airline.
I have not visited Cebu City any more until 1992 or 1993, I can not recall exactly the year. And boy oh boy, has that city changed in those years. Suddenly there were Malls such as "SM City" and "AYALA" and a lot of high rise buildings have popped out of the ground.
Still, the night life and dining experience was provincial, but at least one could now see the growth coming up.
