Exploring the Philippines and Asia - Land Trip Bacolod to Dumaguete

The airconditioned bus we intended to take at 1140am yesterday was "broken".  Instead of wating for the 2pm aircon bus, we took the not aircon Ceres bus which promptly left on schedule.  It was an unpleasant 6.5 hours trip. Fare was Pesos222 per person while the aircon bus was just a little bit more at Pesos266.

The sceneries however was good.  Now and then, you can see mountains on the left and the blue sea on the right.

At one stop, which took 30 minutes, a lady preacher stepped inside the bus and preached in a Visayan dialect.

The main farming crop is sugar cane.  On the road, there were several truckloads of harvested sugar cane on the way to the buyer.

Houses vary from small ones made of native materials to middle class homes in middle class subdivisions to huge houses and sometimes mansions.

At past 6pm, we arrived in Dumaguete.  My husband's GPS indicated the corner we had to get off from the bus to reach Harold's Mansion, a backpacker's hotel.  We found a nice restaurant on the way and since we are really hungry, dinner was first on our mind so we ate and a short walk later, which was welcome after sitting on the bus for 6.5 hours, we found Harold's.  A huge room with aircon, tv and private bath is Pesos801 per night.  A bread and jam breakfast is free so is unlimited, all day coffee and tea.  The room was clean.

Exploring the Philippines and Asia - About Bacolod City

First of all, let me say that we enjoyed our 5 nights stay in Bacolod City.  Here are bits and pieces about Bacolod City:

1.  LD Pensionne where we stayed for two nights for Pesos650 per night for a large room with private bath and aircon is ok but could be better if only housekeeping is given attention to by the owner.  It is not being cleaned properly and beddings and towels are really old and should be retired.  There is no elevator to this 4 storey building.  I ate sotanghon guisado and it was good.

2.  King's Hotel for Pesos650 a night with private bath and aircon is smaller room but you'll feel better because it is cleaner.  There is also no elevator in this hotel.  We stayed here for 3 nights and 3 mornings we ordered room service for breakfast.  Hubby ordered beef tapa with egg, plain rice and coffee while I had plain rice, egg and crispy danggit.

3.  The first time I saw the busy Luzuriaga Street I was excited.  There is all kinds of street food being fried, meats being grilled, all kinds of fruits, all fastfood restaurants are represented, local eateries are everywhere.

4.  We've found 3 restaurants within walking distance of both LD Pensionne and King's Hotel with live singers/bands every night.  The more decent one is the Tower Bridge.  We went and watched for 3 nights out of 5 nights we were in Bacolod.  We liked the Saturday band a lot.

5.  We had dinner once at the old Pala-pala (there is obviously a new Pala-pala).  We chose the old venue because here they said I will do the shopping at the nearby market.  We bought 1 kg of fish (4 pcs) and 1 kg of shrimps.  We had the fish fried and the shrimp steamed with just salt.  I finished 2.5 fishes and hubby had 1.5 but he ate lots of shrimps while I had just a little.  I knew we can't finish both so I was reserving the steamed shrimps for tomorrow's breakfast.  Cost of dinner:
180 fish
240 shrimps
120 cooking charge
  50 rice and drinks
590 total

It was our most expensive meal during our entire trip but since I want to eat shrimps ever since Boracay, it's worth it.  You gotta eat what you wanna eat, right? 

6.  Bacolod has a plaza where old and huge trees are giving coolness and shade to circular benches under it is where all kinds of people hang out and rest.  Here manicurist practice a thriving business here, shoe shine does too, boys sleep on the benches and little girls play.

7.  Buffet dinner was very cheap at Pesos160 per person.  They served a salad, soup, beef dish, chopsuey, kikiam, chicken balls, tofu with sauce and fruit salad for dessert.  It was simple but ok.

8.  SM (Shoemart) is heavily patronized.  You would think all of Bacolod's population are here.

9.  Felicia's chocolate cake at Felicia's is the best choco cake I have ever had.  Pesos80 per slice.

10.  Across from the Provincial Capitol is a huge plaza/park.  People actually visit this park to play, skate, sit and relax, date, convene, etc.  It is a wonderful thing for a city to have this space for their people.  I did live in Paranaque and Las Pinas, suburbs of Manila for 14 years and I don't know of a city park or plaza meant for the citizens to enjoy.

Exploring the Philippines and Asia - Felicia's Chocolate Cake, Bacolod

I like chocolate cake.  I have been enjoying this favorite cake of mine since a long time ago when I already can afford to buy them.  The usual choco cake for most Filipinos came from Goldilocks and Red Ribbon.  Then came Conti's and the occassional choco cake from hotels, cruise ships, Costco, casino buffets and restaurant  buffets from all over the Philippines, Canada and the USA.

Most of them, chocolate cake, if not very sweet, which one can easily remember for the mere sweetness are very forgettable.

Not Felicia's chocolate cake from Felicia of Bacolod, City.  It is not forgettable, definitely, for it is the best chocolate cake I have ever had.

Exploring the Philippines and Asia - Bacolod City, Negros Occidental

                                   San Sebastian Cathedral

We arrived here in Bacolod City yesterday aboard Weesam Express, an airconditioned ferry boat, from Iloilo City.  Travel time was one hour 10 minutes and the fare was Pesos230 but my husband paid 280 per person.  I am sure Pesos50 more is for port charge.

We already have searched for a cheap accommodation so we knew where to go - LD Pensionne.  We took a tricycle and for a short ride from the pier, the fare was Pesos50 'special', meaning we did not wait for more passengers to occupy more seats on the tricycle.  We knew that LD Pensionne is centrally located but it is nice that it is actually a few steps to Luzuriaga Street, a very busy street where Bacolod City Hall, Gaisano Mall, Jolibee, Greenwich, McDonalds and hundreds if not thousands of shops are located.

An 20 sq.m. airconditioned room with private bath, queen bed and tv at LD is Pesos650 per night.  It is not immaculately clean but clean enough.  We requested newer beddings and towels and they obliged.

On the streets, vendors sell a lot of street foods like banana and camote cue, fried chicken, fried fish balls and kikiam strips, pig intestines, pig skin, fresh lumpia, all kinds of marinated meats ready for grilling and the ever present on most streets of Iloilo and Bacolod - lechon manok and lechon liempo.

All kinds of fruits can also be found on the streets.  The sweetest mangoes can be found here probably came from Guimaras - Pesos70 per kg..  I forgot to mention on my last blog that we had the sweetest lanzones in Iloilo and cheap too - Pesos60 per kg.  Vendor said it came from Cagayan de Oro.

I actually like it here for the street fiesta atmosphere.

We like walking the streets of Bacolod City.  Without a map or research, we found the San Sebastian Cathedral and the plaza on our first day.

Today for lunch a huge fillet of sweet and sour maya-maya was Pesos70.  A big bowl of oxtail kare-kare was Pesos55.  Food here is definitely cheap.  After lunch, we hang out on the plaza where plenty of really old, big trees provide comfort for the shade and 'airconditioning' the trees give.  We enjoyed our time on the plaza, watching little girls obviously street children play.  One girl even asked us for money.

On our first night last night, we were happy to find a bar/restaurant with singers/bands performing live nightly.  Last night, performing was a father and daughter pair whom we enjoyed because both were good singers.  Tonight we went again but was a bit unhappy with another pair of performers so we left early.  Name of the place is Tower Bridge.

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.