Dumaguete, thank you for keeping it real

I once almost packed my bags and moved to Dumaguete a few years ago. Not so I may follow a gorgeous woman and woo her heart (I wish). Nor was it because I was offered a tempting job offer that was going to pay me millions (I double wish). It was a time when I felt fed-up living in the maddening big city. I was working in a job that I did not love anymore, I was an adult living in my parents’ house, and I didn’t have anyone with a blessed heart to understand where I was coming from. I wanted so badly to quit the rat race and get rid of all the worldly garnishes. All I wanted to do at that time was to swim, run and bike. In short, become a triathlete. Dumaguete being so laid back, I thought to myself, it will be the perfect place for me to train and to keep everything real so to speak.

I visited Dumaguete or Dumags as I fondly call it, a few months ago during my birthday weekend. It was a promise to myself that I fulfilled as I had made a commitment to come back and see Dumaguete with a set of tourist eyes. I had been fortunate enough to travel there for work a few times in the past and from those experiences, I thought to myself it must also be very nice to come to Dumags on a vacation instead. But with many transitions and life changes, it made it impossible for me to come back soon enough. It took several years in fact before I had the chance. And I’ve changed a lot since then. But Dumags hasn’t. Thankfully so.

Silliman University is only a few meters away from the Rizal Boardwalk. Perhaps the most well-known school in Dumagauete, the design of its main building is reminiscent of Southern US buildings. Understandably so as this institution was founded by the Americans.

An array of food choices are available in Dumags. But I kept coming back to this joint called Jo’s Chicken Inato. For roughly P100, a satisfying meal can be had.

I also went to a nearby island called Apo Island. Accessible by bus and boat, it is a well-known sanctuary for divers. I have never been there before and I certainly had a wonderful time during this first visit. I shared my experience in this entry.

I mentioned in a previous entry that I am currently planning on an exodus from the city to spend at least a month in an exotic location. I don’t know where yet but since I like Dumags so much, I might just end-up choosing it. Staying there will not only allow me to explore the other sights but it will also give me easy access to other nearby places like Boracay, Cebu and Davao. It is still quite early to tell however. I have a trip to Cebu on the second week of December which could just very well sway my decision.

But whether I will or I will not choose to stay in Dumags, I vow to continually go back to this place which at one point, I almost called home.