Gabii Sa Kabilin or A Night of Heritage is an annual celebration held every last Friday of May to revive people’s awareness and interest in Cebuano culture and heritage. For the past few years, I’ve never had the chance to join this exciting celebration because I was always stuck at work. But since I work at home now and my hours are already flexible, I promised myself that I will never miss the chance to join Gabii Sa Kabilin. So last night, I finally joined hundreds of other Cebuanos walking around the streets of Cebu City for the first time.

I was with my blogger friends and most of us were first-timers so we didn’t have any idea where to start. I have been to most of the places that we visited, but it was my first time doing it all in one night! Suffice it to say, last night was one of the most exhausting, but fun hikes I have ever had in the streets of Cebu.

All my friends were taking videos of their experiences, but I wanted to do something else. Since I had already visited most of the places we went to, I was out looking for something interesting – things that I had never seen or tried before.

Here are ten interesting things that I found during Gabii Sa Kabilin 2017.

An old Cebu Autobus

Right after the opening ceremony of Gabii Sa Kabilin at the Cebu Provincial Capitol, we walked all the way towards the Rizal Memorial Library and Museum which is only a few meters away. At the entrance, I found this refurbished old model of a Cebu Autobus. These buses used to be one of the most comfortable types of transportation throughout the mainland of old Cebu.

2. Sinudlan or Rope Sausage

I always love to try new food whenever I travel so it wasn’t a question whether I’d try this amazing food or not. We were on our second destination which is San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish Church located in C. Padilla St., Cebu City. As my friends and I were waiting for our bus, we found a small stall outside with different kinds of street foods. This is one of them. Sinudlan, by the way, is a pork or beef sausage coil seasoned with spices. One whole coil cost 100 pesos and a slice is 20 pesos. I would say it tastes like a classic chorizo and embutido at the same time.

3. An old elevator cab inside Don Sergio Osmena Sr. Memorabilia and CAP Art Gallery

For some reason, this elevator reminded me of when Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley, were under the disguise of Polyjuice Potion, and went inside the Ministry of Magic.

4. Tartanillas in the streets of Cebu

Fun fact; it was my first time to ride a tartanilla during Gabii Sa Kabilin 2017. While I was still studying at the University of San Jose-Recoletos, I would always see these tartanillas especially if I have subjects in Basak Campus. But I have never had the chance to ride one of them until last night. It was a sight to behold to see lots of horses everywhere. After all, tartanillas used to be one of Cebu City’s finest mode of transportation in the past.

5. An old replica of Sto. Nino at the CAP Art Gallery

I was born and raised here in Cebu City and it is very common to see replicas of Sto. Nino’s everywhere, but this one piqued my interest because it looked really old. There were no signages in this part of the gallery so I am not sure where this came from.

6. Old music notes at The Archdiocesan Museum of Cebu

I studied piano for a couple of years and so I was used to seeing music sheets everywhere at home. But this one is different because of how it was printed. The notes weren’t printed like the usual ones we see nowadays. At first glance, I didn’t think this was a music sheet until I saw the flat symbols. It’s kind of interesting to see music notes in rectangular figures, huh?

7. Traditional Chinese herbs at Sugbo Chinese Heritage Museum

I am fascinated by traditional Chinese medicine. I used to read books about them so it was pretty interesting to see some dong quais, chrysanthemums and even dried snakes at the museum!

8. This chandelier at the lobby of the Archdiocesan Museum of Cebu

Chandeliers provide an elegant lighting fixture in any room. I always get fascinated when I see one, whatever their design is. This chandelier in the lobby of the Archdiocesan Museum caught my attention because of its intricate design.

Perspective is the way we see things when we look at them from a certain distance and it allows us to appreciate their true value. -Rafael Pino #chandelier #GabiiSaKabilin2017
A post shared by Miss Bean | Hanna (@beanintransit) on May 29, 2017 at 9:20am PDT

9. An old water filter

I don’t even know how this works, but isn’t it amazing to see an ancient water filter?

10. Performers singing Frank Sinatra songs

I am an old soul and hands down a huge fan of Frank Sinatra. It was pretty exhausting to walk around the streets for hours. So we decided to have our last stop at the Archdiocesan Museum of Cebu. We found these amazing performers singing Frank Sinatra’s famous songs such as Fly Me To The Moon, The Way You Look Tonight and Blue Moon. It was a perfect way to cap off the night!

I didn’t get the chance to visit other spots on our route because my legs couldn’t handle it anymore. Hopefully, I would still be able to join next year. And by then, I would find even more interesting stuff of the old Cebu.

Johanna Marie Frejoles

A travel writer based in the Philippines with countless tales to share but often struggles to find the right words to do them justice.

10 Interesting Finds During Gabii Sa Kabilin 2017