BAILORAS Day 4-5: Discovering Iloilo

Our last destination for the last two days of our trip was the beautiful province of Iloilo. Unfortunately, our time was cut short because we failed to catch the last morning Ferry trip from Bacolod back to Iloilo. We got back there in the afternoon after taking the 1 pm trip.

First thing we did was to check-in to our hotel. It was the biggest room we had so far. Yipee! Highway 21 Hotel is a family-friendly hotel, with a strategic and accessible location.

Ideally, we planned to go to a lot of places. But we had to limit them because of the lack of time. We dedicated the entire afternoon to going to the different churches in Iloilo. Our first stop became the Miag-Ao Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We stopped for awhile to see the intricate details the church was made of.

30 minutes of Jeepney ride later, we reached the San Joaquin church.

Our final stop was the Moro-Guimbal Watchtowers. It took around 15 minutes walk from the drop-off point to get to the watch tower which was quite near the beach front. I'm not entirely sure this was the one. (Is it? ^^) The folks there say the other watch tower looked exactly the same. It was getting dark so we headed back home instead.

We wanted to experience some night life. I had another friend who was as interested to go clubbing. But somehow, the 4 days of continual moving from place to place had suddenly toned that desire down. So we had a nice dinner with a rock band on the background at the famous night life spot in Iloilo - The Smallville.

We could not leave Iloilo without tasting its famous La Paz Batchoy. So for the next day, we had our breakfast at Ted's. They say when you get to taste it, "Lucky Me" would be outside your vocabulary. And yeah I agree. It tasted really great!

We managed to pull off an extra hour to buy some pasalubong. JD's Backeshop is known for its butter chewies (what I used to call butterscotch).

My friend was very much keen on getting a box of Biscocho Haus that he went to the nearest store and promised to catch up. But it turned out later that it can be bought at the Iloilo airport at an even cheaper price. But kudos to my friend still for the determination. :p

And there went the final (half) day of our trip. Although it was such a rush, and we wish we had more time, I really enjoyed it. It was not very long until we reached the Iloilo Airport. Our taxi driver was really friendly and hospitable.

Expenses Guide:

	Price per group (6)	Price per head
Family Room (Highway 21 - Annex)	2000
Taxi (Weesam Terminal to Hotel)	80
Jeep (Hotel to Mohol Terminal)		10
Jeep (Mohol Terminal to Miag-ao Church)		35
Jeep (Miag-ao Church to Moro-Guimbal Watch Towers)		12
Jeep (to Mohol Terminal)		14
Taxi (Mohol Terminal to Hotel)	120
Taxi (Hotel to Smallville)	65	14
Taxi (Smallville to Hotel)	55
Taxi (Hotel to Ted's La Paz Batchoy)	100

So that wraps up our Bacolod-Iloilo-Guimaras reunion vacation. Those five days were epic, fun-filled, enriching, relaxing, longest time we've spent together and away from Manila. I wish we could repeat it. Hope this series of blog posts would inspire you to make the most every trip. We have managed to explore 3 islands in 5 days (4 and a half to be exact). Yes, if you will it, it is possible. Happy traveling! :)

BAILORAS Day 3-4: Bacolod. The Paris. The Taj Mahal of Negros

Day 3:

It was the third day of our 5-day trip, time for us to move from Guimaras to the island of Negros and experience its richness in nature, history, architecture and gastronomic pleasures.  'Arrival in Bacolod

Upon booking round trip tickets to Bacolod via Weesam Express, we took the one hour ferry ride. When we arrived we seemed bombarded by a lot of fixers to get a cab. A lot of them were haggling for a very high fixed price to take us to our hotel. Fortunately, we took a metered taxi driver's offer not mainly to save but because we got annoyed by the commotion.

O'Hotel

Arriving to OHotel to finally get a little rest, we were greeted by their friendly staff. And it had the best room we had so far for this trip. :)

Mambukal Falls

A trip would not be complete without getting in touch with nature. At least, that's what I thought. :)) Our next destination consists of 7 waterfalls near the foot of a mountain by which you need to trek first in order to reach each of them and get a chance to dip into its cold and refreshing waters.

Getting there takes at least an hour by bus. We did not expect the trail to be a bit technical. I thought it would just be like a walk in the park and thus we chose to only wear slippers. But as we progressed, the trail got steeper and longer to get to the next falls. On the way down, we were generously showered with rain. We got soaked in the rain including some of our equipments.

But we survived it somehow with our friendship still intact. :p We did not reach all seven of them as some of the falls were forbidden because of a lack of a safer trail. It is not advisable to wear slippers, a strong pair of trekking sandals or shoes will make life a lot easier. And then we went back to our hotel, wet and exhausted, causing a bit of attention to the crew. :))

The Ruins - The Taj Mahal of Negros

Time to redeem ourselves from our little misadventure. After freshening up, we were off to be serenaded at this romantic site just around 20 minutes from the city of Bacolod. Dubbed as the Taj Mahal of Negros, this mansion was built by the owner for his beloved wife.

The Ruins captured at night

The place looks a lot more interesting at night with the lights, some music and dinner being served inside. We got the rare chance to go upstairs and get a view of the garden, the fountain and the golf course. All thanks to a tour guide Mars, who offered to take us to Silay City, often called the Paris of Negros, the next day.

Getting there: There's a public transport available but it won't take you directly to the site unless you hire a tricycle to take you there. If it's late, go for the metered taxi. It would be cheaper than taking a fixed rate which sometimes gets altered a bit when they ask for an additional amount.

BAILORAS Day 2: Guimaras Tourin'

After going to a nice beach resort in Nueva Valencia,  it was time for us to explore what the rest of the Guimaras province had to offer. Hiring a multicab and a driver for the entire day, we headed back to the northern part of the island to do some touring.

Trappist Monastery

Midway from Nueva Valencia to our hotel in Jordan was a peaceful residence for monks. Aside from a retreat guest house, they also offer some home made products, mostly mango-based.

We grabbed as much as we could, having been 'stuck' in an island for a very limited selection for food. Must try includes their mango biscocho, mango otap, mango flavored barquillos, dried pineapple which was really good. You could probably get these from shops at the Iloilo airport but getting them from here was a lot cheaper.

Shirven hotel

We checked in to our hotel at around 1130am. The main advantage of this hotel is its close proximity to the attractions in Guimaras especially in Jordan. The staff were very accommodating and friendly as well.

Pinewoods Bee Park

We had our lunch at this really cute and charming park just a few minutes from our hotel. One hour before our schedule for lunch, we called them up so they would have time to prepare. From what I've heard, they serve honey-based food for lunch or dinner.

The place had a really nice and refreshing ambience. The food was excellent and really inexpensive compared to its quality. They also sell bottles of fresh honey for guests to take home.

We were greeted with a warm welcome, a brief tour of the bees and how they harvest honey.

Oro Verde Mango Plantation

In our attempt to bring home some Guimaras mangoes renowned to be the world's sweetest, our next stop was the largest mango plantation in Guimaras. We wanted to tour around an actual mango plantation as well. But we were surprised and quite dissappointed to find out mangoes were still off season. The caretaker told us the plantation were not as active as before since 2 years ago because of Agrarian Reform.

We came across this store on the way to the plantation, apparently the only place within the vicinity where we could get mangoes from.

Discussing how many mangoes to buy considering our trip's itinerary. :p

Neptune Pitmann's Garden

Quite similar to Sonya's Garden, only they have far more variety of plants. For only, Php50, one gets a walking tour around the garden, as well as the cottages, rooms and facilities they offer should one wishes to stay there. They also have a spa and offer a one-hour whole body massage for around 200 bucks. If only we had enough time.

It was a very interesting, educational and colorful tour. It would take such great passion to put up a garden with enormous variety of flora and fauna along with catchy details that all harmoniously fit together.

The rooms are very chic and worth the Php800 per person.

Roca Encantada

This ancestral mansion owned by the Lopez's offers a nice and calming view of the ocean. We were charged 50 bucks for the entrance. But no one was there to tour us, and they said we could not enter the house. we just stayed at the balcony and enjoyed the view for a little while.

McArthur's Wharf for Sunset Viewing

We planned to go to Balaan Bukid (the 'Mt. Samat' of Guimaras) but the sun was beginning to set, and it would take at least 40 minutes to get there from Buenavista. So we went to McArthur's wharf instead to shoot some sunset photos.

Finally, a dinner at a seafood restaurant on our way to the hotel wrapped up our day 2 in Guimaras. It was time well spent. Guimaras is truly a beautiful place to have a vacation - you have impeccable beaches next to gardens and farms, with great and incredibly affordable food. I can go back any minute.

Expenses Guide:

	Price per group (6)	Price per head
multicab rental (whole day)	2000
mangoes (5kg)	460
Entrance fee - Neptune Pitmann's Garden		50
Entrance fee - Roca Encantada		50
Dinner	746
Shirven Hotel family rooms	1500