The Sinulog is an annual festival held every 3rd Sunday of January in Cebu City, Philippines. It is a nine-day event which ends with the Sinulog Grand Parade with participants, arrayed in brightly colored costumes, dance to the beat of drums and trumpets. In the previous years, we would go to Sinulog street parties hosted by my sister's friends. It was always a lot of fun but also a challenge to get to the site and to go to the rest room. So this year, we decided to stay at the Crowne Regency Hotel (thanks to my sister and her husband) because of its proximity to the parade route.
We were given a loft unit at Tower2. The unit itself was very spacious, with a huge T/B downstairs and a smaller one upstairs. It was a challenge to ride the elevator because it always took forever. Room service was very slow. We called twice for ice, and it finally came a few hours later. There is also something about the place that doesn't smell good outside the room... smells like sewer! And the smell prevails all through the outside of the buildings.
Unfortunately, the parade did not pass in front of the hotel but on the other side of the road. You can't cross the street because they are blocked. So we ended up walking to Fuente Osmena in order to get a good view of the parade. Sometimes though, the participants had so many of their own people surrounding them (maybe for security purposes?) that it was difficult to get a good picture or even see their presentation.
It was hot, dusty, and full of people, but we were able to get a good view of the parade.
Going back to the hotel was another matter. We went through an ocean of people,
smelled the tempting aroma of street food,
and were amazed at the ingenuity of the Filipino people1
This will probably be our last time to do this, but being a part of the Sinulog Festival was definitely an adventure to remember!
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