No Place Like Home

MANILA, Philippines - If you’ve only got one day to spare to get away from it all—and I mean to really get away from city buzz of Cebu – Dumaguete might probably be the best choice of a quick laag session alone or with the barkada. The best thing about this city by the sea is that it’s only 40 minutes away by plane or four hours away by boat and really, it won’t cost a fortune.

Right across the Tañon Strait, take it from a certified Dumagueteña, it’s best to take the last evening boat to Dumaguete to really savor it from pre-dawn to post-dusk. The boat usually arrives right before sunset so it’s best to hang out on the deck, savor the cool and salty sea breeze, and gaze from a distance where a treasure box of lights from the Rizal Boulevard will look like a string of fiery gems against a velvety black backdrop.

When you’re in Dumaguete, do as the Dumagueteños do and rent a motorcycle—the city’s trademark vehicle. You can also opt to explore the rest of the city through the most common mode of public transpo—pedicabs. Or if you wish to take it slow, conquering the city by foot is generally not a problem, considering that everything in the city is literally within walking distance.

The Dumaguete landscape is an easy blend of Spainish colonial and American Gothic. With a layout that is starkly Spanish in influence right around the plaza adjacent to a centuries-old cathedral, the Spanish architecture melts away into an entirely different world as soon as one reaches the sprawling 66-hectare campus of Silliman University.

Silliman University, a 108-year-old Protestant American University, is marked by a vast carpet of lush green lawn and acacia-lined paths that offer a comforting shade where even the strongest beams of sunlight disintegrate into soft dapples of light as soon as it reaches the canopy of leaves.

It’s best to troop to Dumaguete and take a walking tour around Silliman University when you’re also there to catch a show at the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium which is nestled right within the campus. The cultural shows are priced at rates that students can afford so you can be assured of great shows like Ballet Manila performances and the like, without burning your pocket.

Dubbed as the cultural center of the south, the Luce Auditorium is easily the heart of many of the university’s cultural activities for both the visual and performing arts. 

Many of the university’s buildings have a distinct pre-war American feel into them, particularly Hibbard Hall and the Science Complex which still sport the vintage black-and-white tiles that have been the trademark of many American schools back then.

At the heart of the school is the Silliman Church which is well on its way to turning a hundred years old. Nothing best exhibits Gothic architecture in the university the way Silliman church does with its ogive and the rest of its windows in an intricate mosaic of stained glass.

All around the university are quaint cottages that are either residential homes or dormitories, lending the university a homey feel.

Visiting Dumaguete, and Silliman University for that matter, was more like coming home to place that has been sorely missed. The place was even more magical because of the many stars glowing in the darkness as they hung amidst the branches of the acacia trees.

Dumaguete may be one of the most convenient short weekend destinations to many but for me, it’s a place where a lifetime may be too short to spend it in.