It was an uneventful flight, a few air pockets but nothing scary. I was still a bit groggy from waking up early. It was just another plane ride, all part of my job. Little did I know that Dumaguete would be one of the most interesting places one could dream of going.

My host, Chester took me to Bethel Hotel from the airport. Located along the bay, one could see people taking an early morning stroll. I immediately sensed a quiet calm. Serenity. Something not all places I’ve been to possess. We entered the Café Filomena located at the far end of the lobby for breakfast. I opted for a “provincial” fare of danguit (small dried fish) and fried rice laced with bits of chorizo, peas and other thingies you usually put in there. The brewed coffee was good too.

A most delightful find was kabug – the Dumaguete equivalent of suman (rice wrapped in banana leaves). It was packaged similarly to the other sumans I’ve known. Peeling away its wrapping revealed the same look like the ones you can buy from any local market. But the difference lies inside. As my fork sliced through it, I expected some resistance.

Instead, I made a noticeable noisy clang with the saucer. It was a good thing that there were not too many people dining at that time. I dipped it with sugar and gobbled a morsel. I couldn’t believe it would taste so good. It had a “ricey” taste but left an almost-exotic tang in your mouth. I should have ordered the native chocolate with it. That would have made it more heavenly.
I breezed through the training I had to give. As I was about to leave the venue, my hosts gave me danguit and kabug and sylvannas to take home. (The sylvannas are so good that I regretted not ordering for more.)

My host took me around Silliman University, established 1901. We went to the cathedral where I took pictures of the bell tower. I went inside the church and took some pictures and said a short prayer to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. There was a bluish tinge at the sanctuary and altar. A blue sunshine-through roof or ceiling? There was a funeral mass there so I was not able to go nearer.

We ate at Jo’s Inato with bare hands. we only had an hour and a half before my flight and Chester wanted me to taste something I should not miss.

We immediately set off for dessert at Panda Ice Cream. We ordered Fried Ice cream, mocca flavored. This is one for the books. I really had to see and taste this. How can you fry ice cream? Wouldn’t it melt? When our order arrived, I thought, “Where’s my ice cream?” Sure enough, it was inside the “breading” which definitely had an egg component, I am not sure what else. It’s like waffles or pancakes. The ice cream core was not too sweet (though I would have wanted it to be), just right for most people. The other table had chocolate ice cream. If I had more time, maybe I would have tried that.

Once up in the air, I fell into a slumber, unable to eat airline peanuts nor drink the juice they served. It just seemed so ordinary after what I had.

I still wish I took more sylvannas home.