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CELEBRITY sighting comes from the most unexpected places since celebrities may also visit places that ordinary mortals prefer. But John Lloyd Cruz and Ellen Adarna weren’t around when we went to the Temple of Leah which Adarna’s paternal grandpa built for his beloved wife.

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The Temple’s construction is still ongoing, so, instead of Lloydie and Ellen, we saw construction equipment and dust.

This is the Temple where prayers are not required but picture-taking seems a must. For Facebook. You go there, take photos, leave. Some do sit around since it has tables and chairs under umbrellas, and snacks from a food stall there. But most visitors treat the place as a stopover on their way to more attractions in Cebu.

Most tourist spots are indeed merely stopovers on the way to the next tourist spot, with a checklist one can tick off as the seconds and minutes pass by, the minute brain mentally calculating the number of “done” items compared to the “to-do” as he hops from one place to another. Once a day’s tour is over, and he’s back at the hotel, he gathers souvenirs – magnets, keychains, T-shirts, tote bags, wallets, caps, hats, can openers, even nail cutters and keychains rolled into one – and chooses photos for his Facebook post, while having this feeling of, Did I? Was I there? Like waking up in the middle of a dream.

I wrote about this before, that the best way to savor a country is to live there for at least six months, since it’s impossible to absorb everything in three nights and four days, the usual duration for a weekend vacation. But only those whose work includes many travels can afford a six-month stay, so, we should be happy and contented with weekend vacays.

Soon to open in Cebu is Michel J. Lhuillier’s 100-hectare park which will have a safari.

Imagine crawling around a 100-hectare park amidst Cebu’s humidity, with lions eating your butt and salty sweat pouring down that gaping wound. Whew.

I was asleep in all my Science subjects but at least this I know – an island can be extremely humid, no thanks to the water around it. Hmmm. Am I right or am I wrong?

The outdoors in an island are better toured at and after 3 pm. Or before 9 am for island-hopping and whale-watching, waking up at dawn for these early-morning tours is a must so you can arrive at the venue on time and start lining up for boats.

Reservations for tours can be done online, with most tourists learning to reserve months before their actual arrival. Still, be ready for long and winding lines.

Maximizing the hours during a tour is much like preparing a program for a live TV show, with every hour and minute filled with a specific task. I remember a TV producer/director panicking right in front of me as I droned on and on with my welcome remarks, but that’s another story. Haha!

There’s a reason for a well-planned program — to avoid boredom and an audience now looking for the nearest exit to flee as far away as possible from the most boring show in the world. The aim is to keep them interested and on their toes through a program that starts exactly at 6:30 pm and ends at 9 pm, dinner included, to allot more time for the fellowship after 9 pm. Yay!

The tourist who claims to have been there, done that, may not be accurate in his claim to have been there, done that, since new tourist attractions can sprout from nothing, like an oasis, as long as there are investors who dare to put in hard-earned moolah.

Theme parks such as Universal Studios and Disneyland also tend to evolve by adding one more ride to take advantage of a new movie’s earning potential.

A tour is usually short and sweet, giving the vacationer at least one place to cherish forever and ever. That place can be a beach resort where muni-muni is the norm — swim, eat, sleep, repeat.

But a beautiful place and yummy food are not the main ingredients of a meaningful vacation. It’s the family and friends you’re with that can sweeten it. In other words, blah company begets a blah vacation despite the presence of Lloydie and Ellen.

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