A Glimpse of Negros Occidental (Part 2 of 3)

Murcia

Travelling to the resort was not as near as I expected. It's located in Murcia and the resort is the last stop of the mini-buses. I find it really weird when the guy parker would then announce the next intersection if someone would want to get off. It would not just wait for passengers to alight the bus.

It was an hour and a half of travel, passing by very vast sugarcane plantations, houses in rural areas and realized later on that the only way to get to the resort is through this type of transportation.

Mambukal resort is government-owned and the government may have given a great chance for the mini buses to earn in this particular route (35/head).

The resort's entrance is P50/head. It was only when I saw the map that I realized how big the resort is. We only have a few hours to explore this place and the whole resort is fully-booked.

It has 7 falls and the lady informed us that we can tour the resort starting from the 7th falls then going down. We can go up through a motorcycle. Well, we followed what she had instructed and never really expected what we would experience next.

While waiting for the motorcycle, we toured the ground level of the resort. It was really huge because a lot of things can be done at your stay there.

When our driver arrived, we hopped in his motorcycle and started our journey to the top.

It was not an easy ride, mind you. We passed through private properties, VERY rough roads and for the very first time in all my travels, I felt so unsafe. There were no gears to even protect us and we trusted all of our lives to a stranger driver. My Gosh.

After getting off at a certain spot, we had to hike to the falls. You should be on your slippers by then because you will have to walk and cross rivers. After a few minutes of walking, we managed to arrive in the 7th falls.

We agreed to stay there for a few minutes before descending as it was getting late and we needed to catch the last trip back to Bacolod City which was around 5 pm. So, as you can see, we haven’tbeen to the other falls because of time constraints. We would have really loved to visit all of those spots in Mambukal.

Our initial plan was to be in Talisay City before sunset. We would have loved to see The Ruins during this time but we could not control everything, so we opted to visit the Ruins right after we freshen ourselves.

Talisay City

After dropping by the hotel and changing, we directly went to The Ruins through a taxi. This was far from my DIY plan but since it was getting dark, we needed to be there fast before it closes as there’s no more time.

Luckily, we were the last guests of this very popular tourist destination. Actually, I’m kinda glad we came in late because aside from one group, we had the place on our own. Plus, it was a very good sight at night. The entrance fee is P90 each.

The Ruins was one of the sets of then hit tv series Ikaw Lamang. This was actually an ancestral house of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, a Spanish-Filipino sugar baron for his Portuguese wife. This was burned down during the World War II and what remains of the mansion are pillars and great staircase that would leave you in awe. An architectural delight, indeed.

We would have had dinner in The Ruins but as we came in late, both restaurants in the area have been closed already. So, we went back to Bacolod for dinner.

Bacolod City

We were so hungry and did not anymore search for must-eat places. We were walking alongside the street of Lacson and just looked for a place we thought could fill the starvation we were experiencing. Haha.

It was a delight to walk past a lot of restaurants and finally settling with Balboa Restaurant.

The food will always be great if you have an empty stomach. Haha. But it was really good and the interiors of the place made us all feel relaxed.

After spending some time in Balboa, we decided to have desserts in Calea. One of those

 "must-eat" places here in Bacolod we wouldn't wanna miss.

This restaurant has so many patrons you would really expect high of their offers. Since we are not actually into sweets, we ordered two cakes only, Blueberry Cheesecake and White Choco Cake.

Blueberry will always be my love. And I'm always biased on my reviews. Haha. So, I would rather say, it has passed my expectations. 

The White Choco Cake was also a delight. It was not as sweet as we have imagined. We really loved it!

Whole day of activities drained all of us. So, after desserts, we decided to call it a day and returned to the hotel. What a day indeed!

A Glimpse of Negros Occidental (Part 1 of 3)

(Silay, Bacolod, Murcia, Talisay on a Weekend)

This is my first trip outside Cebu, on a plane, that will only be for 2 days. With an itinerary at hand and some loads of excitement, I would be sharing with you how to enjoy the Sugar Capital of the Philippines the backpacker's way.

We boarded a Cebu Pacific flight from Cebu to Bacolod at 5:50 am. 

I never really thought Negros is just minutes away from Cebu. I was not even halfway the flight magazine when the Captain announced that the plane would start to descend. Estimated travel time per ticket was 45 minutes and when we finally landed the flight attendant proudly said that we were 35 minutes ahead of our schedule. Isn't it amazing?

We landed in Bacolod-Silay International Airport which is located in Silay City. The airport's surrounding is very relaxing because most you see is green! 

But before leaving the airport we grabbed a free map of Silay's walking heritage tour from the tourist information desk.

We boarded a tricycle outside the airport (P20 per head). Going to the city proper would very much tell you you're in Negros already. Sugarcane plantations are all you see!

Silay City

Our morning destination is Silay City, the Paris of Negros. Why the name? We will together find out.

Our first stop is a much-needed breakfast from El Ideal Bakery.

This is Silay's original bakery and says to   have been in this particular city since 1920's. This used to be the meeting place of gamblers and some high-profiled people of Negros. The house where it's situated was declared as a national heritage and this is currently run by the the 3rd and 4th generation.

Actually, the bestseller here is the famous guapple pie.

Since  we prefer to eat a pinoy breakfast, we opted to eat guapple pie on our last day before heading to the airport. We ordered different dishes and brewed coffee.

The coffee is very popular you shouldn't dare miss. After filling ourselves with such hearty meal, we focused on our maps and started our walking tour. The map has around 30 ancestral buildings on it but we didn't try to see them all - only the famous and recommended.

First on our list is Cinco De Noviembre. This is a very historical place because on November 5 (hence the name), the residents of Negros rose in revolt against Spanish rules.

Then, along the Cinco De Noviembre Street are very beautiful ancestral houses that are still occupied as of the moment.

Then, we stopped by Manuel Severino Ancestral House.

Then, Balay Negrense..

Maria Ledesma Golez Ancestral House

Then to the Bernardino Jalandoni House Museum. We opted to enter this pink house to immerse ourselves of how life in a big mansion feels like. The entrance fee is P60 and you will be accompanied by a guide who very much knows every single detail of the place.

After filling ourselves with so much history, we decided to drop by the San Diego Pro-Cathedral which is a few steps away from the museum. This is said to be an indication how rich the people are due to their home's distance from the church.

The Cathedral has a dome and interestingly, this was designed by an Italian Architect.

Our tour ended at where we started - the El Ideal Bakery. There was a waiting shed nearby and we waited for a bus to Bacolod City!

Bacolod City

I never had any expectation of Bacolod except for the fact that it's surrounded by super many rich pips. One even told me that it's more expensive here compared to other cities. We'll find out later on.

The bus stopped by the terminal. We boarded a jeep that would take us to Lacson Street. Our plan is to check-in at our hotel first before having lunch.

When we started to enter the City, here was my observation:

1. The roads are wide.

2. There is less traffic or sometimes, none at all.

3. There are a lot as in super lot of eating places.

4. I so love their language, they speak very gently and really sweet.

We had the BDO Rosario as landmark of our hotel. But Lacson street is way too long that when the jeep started to enter a different street, we opted to stop by the plaza across the Cathedral and started walking or finding rather our hotel.

It was not an easy journey because the people seem to have no idea where our hotel is located. We walked until we met a man who knows where the hotel is. Thank God!

We checked in at Tamera Plaza Inn and was greeted by a very cozy room.

We rested for a while and headed to Chicken House after. Eating Chicken Inasal in Bacolod is like eating Bicol Express in Bicol - you should not dare miss!

The Chicken House offers a different take on chicken inasal. The skin is crispy that I think it was also kinda fried but it was really good. We actually planned to go to Manokan Country but due to the hotel's distance to the restaurant and our starving stomachs, we settled with this but we were really happy already!

After our lunch, we rode a jeepney bound for Libertad Market and boarded a minibus to our next stop, Mambukal Resort.