Life's Journey of Lakwatserang Makikay

Last January 2012, as part of our itinerary for our Travel the Panay Island trip, me and my friends decided to have a day tour in Bacolod city and visit some of the neighboring towns like Silay and Talisay City. Visiting the province on a day trip proved to be very short and very bitin. We haven't even tried all famous restaurants and cafes within the province (which I promise we will be visiting Bacolod again). I think we still need one more day to savor and squeeze in all activities. This won't be my last visit in Bacolod. ;)

Our quickie itinerary to Bacolod:

1. We left Iloilo city around 6:00am and catch the 7:30am schedule for Supercat Fastcraft. The traveling time from Iloilo City to Bacolod city is one hour and fifteen minutes. Also, there is a promo for fastcraft ferries. You can avail the return fares and can be used within the year. It can save you almost thirty to forty percent of your fare when you avail the promo return tickets

SuperCat!

Pre-Departure Area while boarding for Bacolod

2. Arrived at Bacolod around 9:00am. Rode the "traysikad" from the port up to SM City Bacolod and then catch a jeep going to Silay City.

SM City Bacolod

Sugar cane trucks are common sites in Negros highways

Old houses in Silay

Old vs. Modern infrastructure in Silay

3. First stop: Silay City. Known for its famous Spanish architectures and arts across the town. There are different old museum houses across the town. Some of the places we visited:

The Town Plaza

Silay City Hall

     3.1. San Diego Parish Church
 

The beautiful church

Inside the church

The way to the altar

The Dome

 
     3.2. Balay Negrense - an old houses that belongs to sugar baron during the Spanish era houses old artifacts, photographs and furnitures. You need to pay a forty pesos entrance fee to visit the house.


















     3.3. Hofilena Heritage House - owned by Manuel Hofilena, this house is a guided tour. According to our tour guide, Gilbert during peak times, you need to book / schedule your visit to the house. Since we went there on Monday we were accomodated and guided in the house. It houses different expensive artworks from known Filipino artists such as Amorsolo, Luna, Malang and even Rizal. There are also artworks from famous Spanish artist Goya.

The Hofilena Heritage House

The Sala

Receiving Area

The antique grand staircase

Antique Religious Icons

Antique Religious Icons of the Poor

Carved saint in antique wood

First comics

Tektite stones

The kitchen

The Grand dining area

Sinaunang Banga and the toy horse

Antique china ware

The front

4. Visit Talisay City. From Silay City, we rode a jeep going to Talisay. Once we were at the terminal, we hired a taxi that would take us to the Ruins. It was a good decision since there are no tricycles around the Ruins and it was located at the middle of sugar plantation in Talisay. The structure resembles Italian architecture and it was built for the wife of owner as a symbol of their love. It was razed to the ground by USAFE during World War 2 fearing that the house will be used by Japanese as a storage for ammunition and other supplies.













5. Going back from Talisay to Bacolod City. Quick sight seeing of Bacolod provincial capitol and wait for our boarding time back to Iloilo City.



Additonal detours: While in Silay, we were looking for an affordable lunch before heading to Talisay City. It was recommended to us to visit Golden Food park. The food was delicious and very affordable :) 




When I return to Negros, I will try these:

1. Visit the Bacolod Capitol. Due to time constraint we weren't able to drop by at the provincial capitol since we are catching the last trip of fastcraft at around 5:00pm in the afternoon.

2. Try cheesecakes and coffee at Calea. A friend of mine from Bacolod recommend me to try their affordable and yummy cheesecakes and coffee :)

3. Go to Mambukal Spring Resort. Visit their hotspring and have and overnight stay here.

4. Try going to Bacolod via plane. I will do this after squeezing this in my schedule and the next piso fare promo

5. Go to other towns in Negros Occidental such as Victorias and Pontevedra.

Last January 2012, after celebrating my birthday in Iloilo (for the 2nd time around), we visited the nearby province of Antique. It was indeed an enchanting and adventurous trip. It was my first time to visit the province though I am a frequent traveler in Panay Island.

Antique is part of the Panay Island which comprises other provinces such as Capiz, Aklan and Iloilo. Its capital is in San Jose and two hours away from the city of Iloilo. People in Antique do have same dialect with Ilonggos and do share same traits of hospitality to visitors. You'll get amazed on vast rice plantations, lush forest and sparkling seas. If you are the type of traveler who likes nature trips, Antique can be best suited for you!

How to get there:
There are lots of ways to visit the Antique province:
1. Via Iloilo - From Iloilo Airport, go to Molo town proper for Ceres bus and vans plying to Antique province. Fares may range from 150-200 pesos depending on the location you are going to visit in the province. Travel time is around 3-4 hours on bus and 2 hours on van.

2. Via Kalibo, Aklan -  From Kalibo Airport, there are vans and buses plying to nearby Antique town. Fares may also range from 100-150 pesos depending on the nearby Antique towns that you are going to visit. Travel time is around 2-3 hours from Kalibo.

3. Via Caticlan, Aklan - From RoRo vessel, there are buses going to Antique to Iloilo. Fare rates may depend on the places you are going to visit. Travel time is around 2-3 hours. If you are coming from Boracay you can also do the sidetrip of visiting Antique province.


Places of Interest:
1. Trekking at Bugtong Bato falls - famous for its seven-tiered falls and the rice terraces along the trek

Our wacky pose!

Rice Terraces

Mountains and Rice Terraces

2. Tibiao Fish Spa - a different natural alternate on having a foot and body spa

It tickles :)

3. Beach - Antique province has a vast shoreline so you can feast of basking outside while the sun is on. You might also try boating activities and island hopping on nearby islands in Culasi town. You can also try the Lambaklad fishing which shows the teamwork / bayanihan spirit of townsfolk on catching fish and sharing it with everyone.

The beach

Lambaklad Fishing

Sunset

4. Kayaking and Kawa Hot Bath near Bugtong Bato falls - try to immerse yourself in a simmering "kawa" after a long trek in the falls

The Kawa!

The Kayaking trail

The Rapids

5. Visit the church in San Jose Antique

6. Have fun on Hanging Bridge in Tibiao Antique

7. Seafood feast

8. Cruise the Malumpati River - one of the cleanest river in the Philippines

9. Stargazing at night by the beach

10. Visit old towns - I noticed that most towns in Panay still bores strong influence during Spanish times. Churches, municipal halls and town plazas are usually adjacent to each other and every town we visited in Iloilo, Antique and Capiz do have common denominators in their towns including the old architectures and town's plazas.


Additional Notes:
It is always best to have friends or relatives in the area that can show you around good places to visit in the province. One of my considerations on visiting new places is to ensure we knew someone around the place who can show us around and also guide us on our travel. Our advantage is that my significant other has relatives in Antique and took great care of us. Our travel is fun and unforgettable. We also met new friends.