Exploring the Philippines and Asia - Iloilo City, Iloilo

We arrived here on Sunday, Feb.28, 2010 from Roxas City, Capiz.  Van terminal was outside the city and since it was a very hot Sunday afternoon when we arrived, we took a taxi.  Being budget travelers, I had been googling searching for cheap accomodations and because Ong Bun Pension have some positive feedback from Filipino bloggers, we first went there to check it out.  My husband said, after looking at two rooms that it was old and worn and not maintained.  The taxi was waiting as per our instruction and so we asked to be brought to cheap accommodation number two - One Lourdes Dormitel just three blocks from Ong Bun.  Hubby checked the room, came back happy, saying it is clean and new.  So for Pesos750 a night, we enjoyed a nice room, with ac, with private bath, tv and ref and a queen sized bed. No free breakfast though but they have a cafe which serves snacks and meals.  Oh, it is worth mentioning - they have free wifi too and just one block to Robinson's Mall.

Tonight is our 3rd night in this hotel.  We are excited to move on and visit Bacolod next.

I think one remarkable thing about Iloilo province is that there are a lot of really old and beautiful churches and in the town of Passi, I think there are 4 Catholic churches.

We visited the following churches

                              Cathedral of Jaro - 1864, Jaro, Iloilo

                             St. Anne Church, 1831,  Molo, Iloilo

                            La Paz Church, 1868, La Paz, Iloilo

Miagao Church, Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva, 1786, Miagao, Iloilo - UNESCO World Heritage Site

This is the first time we came here in Iloilo so we were excited to see the beauty of Iloilo  Sad to say, we didn't like Calle Real, we were not moved nor impressed by Muelle Loney because the river was dirty, we did not like the city but we started liking Iloilo's countryside on our way to Miagao.

We also liked University of the Philippines Visayas which is located in Miagao.

For dinner tonight, we were somehow expecting a great seafood experience in the famous, much written about Villa Arevalo ihaw-ihaw (grill) seafood restaurants.  Coming from Roxas City's Baybay Beach seafood dinner we enjoyed 3 days ago, we were dismayed at the seafood choices laid out and the prices quoted.  We were not hungry actually but we did not want to leave Iloilo without going to Villa Arevalo's "famous" seafood restaurants by the beach.  We were so disappointed we left and end up eating in a Chinese restaurant at Robinson's - which we enjoyed by the way.

On our jeepney ride to Miagao and coming back to the city, we noticed some really new, big and beautiful houses along the side of the road.  It is safe to assume that some hard working and successful Ilonggos who work abroad saved dollars, euros or pounds, brought the money home and built their dream homes. 

It would be fitting to mention that we tried both Deco's and Ted's La Paz Batchoy.  Deco's is sweeter and more salty.  Ted's pork meat is chewier, still tough, definitely needs more simmering.  The biggest bowl of Deco's is bigger that the biggest bowl of Ted's.  That is for Pesos3 more, Deco's gives a lot more. Verdict:  We like Deco's La Paz Batchoy better.