Bacolod, the City of Smiles. It is home to the Masskara Festival and unending lines of restaurants. One might even be tempted to consider it as the Food Trip Capital of the Philippines. To get a clearer overview of a trip to Bacolod City, one has to consider that the tour would not be limited to only the tourist spots in the city itself. The nearby cities of Talisay and Silay should also be included in the travel guide and itinerary and so is the much farther town of Murcia where the seven waterfalls of Mambukal National Park is located. My first trip to the province occurred in 2010 and I have since been back thrice after that.

If there’s one thing Bacolod City is well known for, it’s the multitude of food places that line its avenues. There are expensive cafés and posh restaurants of every kind out there, but there are also sidewalk carinderia eateries that shouldn’t be ignored. The most popular of these are the stalls that line Manokan Country, here the famous chicken inasal is king.

MASSKARA MASKS AT MANOKAN COUNTRY

Still groggy from our almost ‘til morning infinity pool drinking session at Melba’s Farm, we headed to Bacolod City’s Manokan Country for our breakfast grub. The plan for the day was to check out Mambukal’s seven waterfalls, we reckon we’ll need all the calories we could get for the trek ahead.

For desserts, we headed to another sidestreet along Lacson Avenue. Next on our Bacolod gastronomic tour was Calea’s sweet cakes.

We attempted to eat at Calea the previous year we visited Bacolod but was dissuaded because the place was packed full. This time, the place was still jampacked but we were really determined to taste the cakes they offer. So, we braved the crowds and found us a seat at the back part of the restaurant.

Calea was not that large and it was pretty cramped inside. The crowd was on the younger side; students and yuppies mostly. The café buzzed with lively conversations.

We were still a bit full from our lunch at Sweet Greens Deli Cafe so we decided to just share a piece of cake.

The wind whipped like there was no tomorrow through the narrow streets of Chavayan Village. I was in Batanes, the dream destination of most travelers in the country. There was almost no one around except the silent stone houses and a bunch of giggling kids rolling a plastic drum. Approaching them, I asked what they were doing. They replied in tongues foreign to my ears, controlling their laughter at the task at hand, that is to roll the drum with another kid riding inside.

While absolutely no trace of the Filipino language was uttered from their innocent mouths, I was still able to communicate through smiles and gestures with these Ivatan children.

A realization occurred to me then—had they spoken to me in Filipino, that magical moment I witnessed would have been totally different. It would have transformed it into something ordinary; reduced to a street scene perhaps at the crowded alleyways of Manila.

It would have lost its magic. It would have lost its charm.

What started out as a trip to catch the annual Pintaflores Festival in San Carlos City turned out to be a totally different journey across the province of Negros Occidental. Together with The Road Trippers peeps, we were able to visit some new old sights along the towns and cities of Talisay, Bacolod, Murcia and San Carlos. We were also able to try out and taste the local dishes these places have to offer.

I remember an office friend telling me to visit Pala-Pala Market, Bacolod’s version of dampa, during my first excursion to the City of Smiles. For some reason, I wasn’t able to check it out then. Then came my second and third visit, and I promptly forgot about it until this latest jaunt across Negros Occidental.

Tired of eating chicken inasals for two straight days, we looked for an alternative place for lunch; somewhere affordable but still something profoundly Bacolod. Then that conversation rushed back through my head. I know a place, I excitedly told my companions.

The day was a scorcher. The heat was oozing out from the concrete and into San Carlos City’s streets; chasing us like shadows, haunting us like ghosts. It was the day of Pintaflores Festival and we were not about to be dissuaded by such trivial things as heat strokes and what nots.

This is what we came all the way from Bacolod City for, the colors of the Pintaflores. But fate it seemed was not with us. Due to some planning oversight, the scheduled flight back to Manila was set on the very same day of the festival. It would’ve been alright if there’s an airport at San Carlos City itself, but alas, we have to go all the way back to Bacolod for our plane ride.

We were treated like family guests during our brief stay at San Carlos City in Negros Occidental. Our host accommodation, Skyland Hotel and Restaurant, made all the arrangements even before we arrived from Bacolod City and made sure we were as comfortable as possible.

Skyland Hotel is a medium-sized inn located at San Carlos City’s downtown area. It started operation during the late 90’s and has a total of 19 rooms. Everything is furnished with double beds and equipped with televisions, air conditioning and hot showers.

The evening was just beginning as we walked towards San Carlos City’s central plaza. The sky has still hints of the waning day’s blues and streets were quiet, as quiet as the public cemetery we passed en route to our destination; the San Carlos Borromeo Cathedral.

There isn’t much history about the city’s symmetrical cathedral; it wasn’t bombed, it didn’t crumble during an earthquake and it isn’t built of corals or stones like its hundred-year old brethrens. But yes, the parish is more than a hundred years old, taking its humble beginnings from nipas and wooden supports; it rose to its present form thirty seven years later.

My eyes opened and the hills passed; bright green, rolling and undulating with the wind. The sugarcane fields of Negros Occidental swept through our van window. I lifted off the latch and opened the window nearest me just a little bit, letting in a small stream of air to pass inside our warm vehicle. Nobody else seemed to mind, most of my companions were still stranded in Neverland, probably dreaming of lost boys and pirates, oblivious to the scenery outside as we sped off to San Carlos City.

It’s been my goal to visit, photograph and swim at every single waterfall of Mambukal’s famous Seven Waterfalls since my first visit to the place several years back. It’s been almost three years to the day since I first set foot on the mountain resort and swam on its cold, deep green basins; and now I’m back, determined to finish what I started.

We didn’t have that much time to go wandering about once we reached Murcia’s Mambukal mountain resort. We immediately contacted our guide and decided how to tackle the waterfalls. There are actually two options in going about it, climb it up or climb down.

After exhausting all the possible angles of Talisay City’s The Ruins, our group decided to visit the ecclesiastical seat of Bacolod City, the regal stone church of San Sebastian.

I’ve been to this church quite a number of times in the past and have already posted in detail its rich history, but most of my companions haven’t been to the city cathedral. And since we were just in time for the blue hour, I didn’t hesitate to tag along with them and have a few more images of its towering stone facade.

Bacolod’s famous ruin, which is really not in Bacolod City but in Talisay City, has been a favorite tourist spot for travelers visiting the province of Negros Occidental. I’ve been to this place twice before and like a proper tourist; I re-visited the place again for the third time.

I’ve already discussed the rich history of The Ruins before on my first blog post about it, so I won’t delve into that anymore and spare you the history lessons.

I was holding on for dear life as our tricycle bumped its merry way across a boulder filled road--if you can really call it a road that is. We were literally bouncing like ping pong balls inside and after a few minutes our vehicle simply stopped, unable to traverse the dirt path any further. We have no choice but to walk all the way to Melba’s Farm.

Situated 600 meters above sea level, Melba’s Farm is probably Talisay City’s best kept secret. Some mistake its location to be in Bacolod City, but really, they’re not pretty far off the map. The farm is actually bordered by the two cities but is more accessible from the Bacolod’s barangay Alangilan side.

Here's a rough sketch of our five-day stay in Bacolod.  This includes our side-trip in the cities of Silay and Talisay which is actually still part of Metro Bacolod: 

I T I N E R A R I E S   
 
  Day One
    Café Bob’s
    BREDCO Port Revisited
    Grand Regal Hotel 

  Day Two
    San Sebastian Cathedral
    Capitol Park & Lagoon
    La Corona Café
    Sweet Greens Deli Café
    Calea
    Dinner at The Ruins

  Day Three
    San Diego Cathedral
    Silay Ancestral Houses 
    El Ideal Bakery & Refreshment
    The Bernardino Jalandoni Museum
    Balay Negrense Museum
    Café 1925
    Resto Grill sa Baybay

  Day Four
    Lupit Church
    Business Inn
    Virgie’s Homemade Products
    Starbucks Global Icon City Mug

E X P E N S E S
 
Transportation: P1,807.60

    P717.60 - Roundtrip ticket Manila to Silay City Airport via Cebu Pacific Promo 
                  (2 Persons, P358.80 each)
    P400.00 - NAIA 3 Terminal Fee (2 Persons, P200.00 each)
    P400.00 - Silay Airport Terminal Fee (2 Persons, P200.00 each)
    P000.00 - Transfer from Silay Airport to Grand Regal Hotel (free)
    P300.00 - Transfer from Business Inn to Silay Airport (P150.00 each)

    * Jeepney, Tricycle, and Taxi fares not included for going about the city *

Accommodation: P2,929.00

    P999.00    - Twin-sharing room at Grand Regal Hotel | 1 night
                      Tel No. (034) 708-5888 | (034) 708-5588
    P1,920.00 - Twin-sharing room at Business Inn | 2 Nights (P960.00/night)
                      Tel No. (034) 433-8877 | http://bacolodbusinessinn.com/

Food:  P3,311.00

    Day One   - P519.00
        P405.00 - Lunch at Café Bob’s 
        P114.00 - Grocery for coffee, snacks
    Day Two   - P1,230
        P160.00 - Breakfast at La Corona Café
        P265.00 - Lunch at Sweet Greens Deli Café  
        P190.00 - Snacks from Sweet Greens Deli Café (Banadas and Patties)
        P 80.00  - Calea cake dessert
        P535.00 - Dinner at the Ruins
    Day Three - P800.00
        P180.00 - Breakfast at El Ideal Bakery
        P170.00 - Early Lunch at Café 1925
        P450.00 - Dinner at Resto Grill sa Baybay
    Day Four - P762.00
        P369.00 - Breakfast at the Business Inn
        P393.00 – Lunch at Café Bob

     * Pasalubongs and Souvenirs not included *

T O T A L   S P E N D I N G S
    More or Less P8,047.60 (for two persons or 4,028.80 per person) 
                   
     
Places that we were not able to visit or revisit:

    The nearby Guimaras Island
    Mambukal National Park
    Negros Beaches

Before leaving Bacolod, we dropped by the local Starbucks Coffee, not to have coffee, as we already had one at Café Bob’s, but to get a special coffee mug.

Priced at Php425.00, it was pretty expensive but it’s just so beautiful.

Out front, the mug depicts Bacolod’s old iron dinosaurs, the steamrollers that once plied the city transporting tons and tons of sugarcanes on its carriages. At the back, a field of sugarcanes is printed.  The mug is made from ceramic and is quite hefty.

This was the mug that made me decide that I will collect all the Starbucks Global Icon City Mugs across the Philippines.

As customary for every Filipinos, we never leave a place before buying some pasalubong for our relatives back home. So we went right at it after having our breakfast at the Bacolod Business Inn.

There were quite a few souvenir houses in Bacolod City, but since we decided on just bringing home foodstuff, out list was shortened to three; Bongbong’s, Merci’s and Virgie’s. We went with the latter, having tasted their napoleones before. We actually didn’t have a hard time choosing where to get our pasalubong, it was always Virgie’s for us.

The store is named after its owner, Virgie Chua, who has been baking goodies for 37 years now. That hobby had now turned into one of the biggest brands in the province of Negros Occidental.

Located right beside Bacolod City’s main thoroughfare, the Business Inn had always been our choice accommodation since our first trip to the City of Smiles, and it continues to be so.

We first got wind of this hotel during an off-peak promo they had, for a measly Php800.00 we got a Junior Executive room (upgraded from the Regular one we were supposed to have since it was full).

The hotel’s facade was as generic as hotel architecture went and we really had no idea what was in store for us; we were pleasantly surprised after checking in.

It was our last day in Bacolod and I was scrambling to cram everything I haven’t seen in the city in just a few hours.
I was up and about by four in the morning, out the hotel by five and looking for grub some minutes after.

I had a glimpse of the church I’m about to visit the previous day while on a taxi. I asked the driver for its name, Lupit Church, his reply. He said that inside its gate was a seminary, so I promptly inquired if visitors are allowed in. He shrugged with a not so assuring yes and that was the end of it.

Since we were disappointed with the sunset we witnessed at the BREDCO Port on our first day in Bacolod, we decided to try it out once more before we left the city.

We trooped to the port by late afternoon, passing the throngs of people gathered at the plaza due to the approaching Masskara Festival. We arrived at the breakwater by 5:30pm, exactly as the sun was setting down.

Again, we were disappointed, no spectacular sunset in sight.