It has always been on my mind to blog about Oslob, a quaint and beautiful municipality in southern Cebu. After all, that’s where I met the current love of my life back in March 2012 (check our love story) and which I now consider as one of my second homes because I can no longer count how many times I’ve been to this charming place known for its whale sharks and beautiful falls. I’ve also mentioned it quite a few times on my blog, particularly when I’d do my yearly How to Travel and Look Back posts, but I’ve never really come up with a detailed blog post about it yet, until now. And this is just the first. More coming as I continue with my daily blogging.

I was also reminded of it once again when I got interviewed recently by BlogMeter Top (the article hasn’t been published yet, I will share once it’s out) and one of their questions was what is my favorite blog post here in MomTraNeur and I mentioned that it was the story of my current love life. I’m a mushy kind of person after all (in case you haven’t noticed yet), hihihi!

You see, I’ve been married for so long before (2002-2012) and it crumbled in 2013. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I will find love again. I never dated. My ex was my first and last. I never had any other sexual encounters aside from my ex. Despite my being “Sexy Nomad” at that time, I really am a naive and conservative girl deep down. Everything that happened after, with my now current life partner, is nothing but miraculous. And the more I look back how it all came to be, the more I cherish our love and the life we have now. And little did I know at that time that it all started in OSLOB.

So back to Oslob…

DISCLAIMER: What I’ll be posting below is an unpublished, drafted article I have about my first time in Oslob back in 2012 which I wrote for my previous blog, Sexy Nomad. The watermarks you will see on the photos are that of my previous persona and most of the details like costs, where to go, what to do and the like are still pretty much the same even up to this day. Prices do change from time to time but not by much, except on cab rides (prices may have doubled). So just keep that in mind while reading. Enjoy!

Oslob New Village Lodge – where I stayed in Oslob, Cebu. They just started with a few rooms back in 2011. Now, they already have a beautifully designed apartment building and lots of other cottages too with a total of 18 rooms! I will show that you on my future Oslob blog posts!

Oslob started getting popular with its Butanding / Whale Shark Watching tourist attraction around the same time I decided to visit it for the first time in 2012. But in terms of swimming with the gentle giants (whale sharks), I did it during my visit to Sorsogon in 2010 where my friends and I availed of the Donsol Whale Shark Encounter / Swimming with the Butandings and the whale sharks we saw there were as huge as buses or even bigger! Here in Oslob, they were just as big as cars and small boats.

HOW TO GET FROM CEBU TO OSLOB

So, right after my 15-day vacation in Siargao, I headed to Oslob located at the southeastern part of Cebu. From Mactan Airport, I hailed a regular cab (fare cost around Php190.00) and I asked the driver to bring me to the South Bus Station located along N. Bacalso St. where I rode an aircon bus with the sign OSLOB/ARGAO. Others usually get the Tan-awan bus and get off at the Tan-awan Barangay Hall (fare costs Php149 for non-aircon and Php159 for aircon). Please note that if the cab you’re riding enters the bus station, you have to pay Php10.00 entrance fee for the cab. Then before you enter the glass door of the bus station, you’ll have to pay an additional Php5.00 fee.

So once inside, I looked for an aircon bus that says OSLOB/ARGAO since I plan to get off near where OSLOB NEW VILLAGE LODGE is (San Jose Street, 6025 Oslob, Philippines). I met its owner (Mahal) online and found out we were batchmates in high school and some of my friends know him plus he seemed nice enough when we chatted so I decided to stay there at his new lodging place in Oslob.

The ride took about 3-4 hours due to late afternoon traffic. I arrived in Oslob at around 7pm and Mahal met me in front of one of the food stores along the main road where I got off…

This place still looks like this until now! There are just more stores now than before including 7-11. But it’s pretty much the same.

The moment we saw each other, I felt like I’ve known him for years! Mahal and I both attended high school in Cagayan de Oro (I went to Lourdes while he went to Xavier University / Ateneo de Cagayan). My name already sounded familiar to him and he did look familiar to me. We immediately hit it off and became really good friends! In fact, I declared then that he’s going to be my best friend in Cebu. Hehehe.

I was so famished from the long ride that I decided to just dine in one of those food stores along the street. We had some chopped squid and some sort of seaweed. There were other homemade Filipino dishes too. Price was so affordable anyway and the food wasn’t so bad.

Food prices haven’t changed much. They’re still very affordable in those little carenderias, around P25-45 per dish.

After dinner, Mahal brought me to my room.

CHECK IN AT OSLOB NEW VILLAGE

Oslob New Village Lodge was still quite new at that time, having been built in October of 2011. Back then, it only had 4 rooms, one of which has air conditioning and its own toilet and bath with hot and cold shower while the other three are fan rooms with a common bathroom. Now, they’re huge! They now have an apartment building with another wing of cottages (18 rooms in all). Plus, the rooms are so much nicer now! I’ll show these to you next time. Or you can head to their Facebook Page to get updated now: https://www.facebook.com/Oslob.New.Village.Lodge/

The four rooms were built on a 1,200 s.qm. parcel of land which Mahal’s family plan to further develop at that time. It was a parking haven for huge trucks so I wasn’t surprised when I saw some parked in there when I checked in.

“If you plan on swimming with the whale sharks in Oslob and need a place to stay, New Village Lodge can offer aircon and non-aircon accommodations that suit your budget. Located at the Oslob town center: fast food stores, bakeshops, grocery stores, pharmacy, hospital, and town hall are accessible. With a peaceful and quiet environment, making your stay in Oslob a memorable one.” Just look for Oslob New Village in Agoda, Booking, or head to their Facebook Page to inquire. Prices range from P1500-P2500 per night.

For more info, check out their facebook site:
https://www.facebook.com/Oslob.New.Village.Lodge

or their website:
www.oslobnewvillage.com.

Anyway, at that time, my room looked so new! The bed was big enough with a sturdy cushion, soft pillows, and a warm blanket.

The bathroom was quite spacious. There’s also a table made of bamboo which we placed outside at the porch to make more room for my stuff. Yep, I rarely travel light. LOL.

THINGS TO DO IN OSLOB

I only had 24 hours to spend in Oslob back then so I made the most of it by doing the following activities, which you can also do when visiting Oslob, especially when you only have 1 day and 1 night to spare.

1. Oslob whale shark watching in Tan-awan, Oslob, Cebu

2. A Visit to the beautiful, curtain-like Tumalog Falls of Oslob, Cebu

3. A quick look at Mainit Spring

4. A relaxing trip to nearby Lilo-an Port with an overlooking view of Oslob

5. A visit to the old church, Cuartel and boulevard

6. A nice Boljoon heritage walk

MY TAKEAWAY

So when you visit Oslob, check out Oslob New Village Lodge. It’s affordable, comfortable, clean Oslob Resort, near all these wonderful tourist sites.