Date of Travel: 23-24 February 2013
PS: This post would include nearby areas such as Talisay City and Silay City.
1. Get drunk on Chicken Inasal at Manukan Country.
Located in front of SM Bacolod, Manukan Country looks like a wet market ("palengke") for Chicken Inasal. Eateries sit side by side, occupying a long strip of open air stalls with varying decorations and customer traffic. Because all of them basically sell the same thing and a first-timer won't know the taste difference, you may base your preferences on the number of electric fans blowing inside or the amount of noise created by the customers. Once you've chosen an eatery and claimed a table, you may opt to eat with your hands not only to achieve the real experience of eating an Chicken Inasal but also because it's easier. Don't worry, sinks are usually available.
Budget: P100 per stick
How to get there: Ride a jeep to SM (P7) and get off just before you get there. You can stroll to SM after to burn out the Inasal).
Note: "Inasal" is actually synonymous to "barbeque".
2. Learn about the Sugar Capital at the Negros Museum.
Aside from portraits of past Governors and accounts of the Sugar Industry, the museum also houses non-Negros related collections such as Japanese dolls and artifacts and architectural displays. It also has an old train car at the back which was used to transport sugar cane harvests.
Budget: P60
How to get there: Ride a jeep to the Bacolod North Terminal and get off by the Provincial Hall. The museum is at the street behind it. If you don't mind walking, you can take a leisure walk from SM/Manukan Country.
3. Have a gourmet snack at the Negros Museum Cafe.
This little posh cafe is right beside the Negros Museum. There was no one when we visited and it looked like they were arranging an area for an event. The Cafe served gourmet pieces at close-to-Manila prices. Being the budget travellers that we are, we just took a quick look and left.
Budget: P150+
How to get there: From the museum exit, walk to your right and you'll quickly spot the cafe.
4. Pass time at the Provincial Capitol Lagoon.
If you want to see the locals in action, then you definitely have to be where the locals are. This park/lagoon which is just in front of the Provincial Capitol building is home to skateboarders and high school students. Some bring their picnic baskets, some their skateboards while some practice their dance routines or just watch other people do their thing. The place is grassy and benches are present.
5. Visit The Ruins.
Located in Talisay City, this destination is probably the most (or only) touristy destination around the city. Well-versed and well-practiced tour guides gleefully recite the history of the mansion to awed and amused guests. There were 3-5 guides around who take turns entertaining visitors and who say exactly the same things, including jokes. The area around the mansion is well-developed and well-maintained. It sits inside a manicured garden beside a small cafe-slash-souvenir shop. For added entertainment, you can play mini-golf at the back.
Budget: P60
How to get there: From the Bacolod North Terminal, walk back south to the Pepsi bottling plant, just under the fly-over. It's a short walk but be careful because it's at the side of the hi-way. In front of the bottling plant is a tricylce terminal. Ask for one that goes to The Ruins (P40). The site is inside several subdivisions so you might share the ride with a resident.
Note: They say that it's best to visit the mansion at sunset when the structure turns golden from the reflection of the sun.
6. Visit the Art District and have some more Chicken Inasal (or maybe a taste of art).
The Art District is where night life meets art. It is a developing area populated by restaurants (local and modern), bars, and art exhibits. If you want a more established and commercial Chicken Inasal taste, there's a Chicken House branch here you can go to. Otherwise, look for an artsy place and actually let the place live up to its name.
Budget: P100 (Chicken House)
How to get there: The site is just along Lacson St. so you can basically ride any jeep from the North Terminal. The closest district though would be Mandalagan. Watch out for Shell and Convergys when you get off.
7. Eat Dessert at Calea.
Calea is very popular in Bacolod and it already has several branches. The one we went to was the smaller one along Lacson St. It was inside a building, beside a hotel, and it is the one I recommend you to visit. There's a surprise to that place ;).
Budget: P150+
How to get there: It's along Lacson St. and you can easily spot it from any jeep.
8. Get into a spa and a sauna for less at Bacolod Spa.
It was a long day and I wanted a massage so we went to Bacolod Spa which was the nearest to our hotel. It was housed in a boutique, well-designed hotel but it was unbelievably cheap. For P350, I get to steam off in a small sauna, take a hotel-level shower, and get a full-service massage. Although the massage wasn't great and it was done in a big room with 5 other beds (all women I assume), the price was more than worth it. I was just happy I got to take a hot shower and have oil spread all over my body.
Budget: P350
How to get there: The spa is along Lacson St.
9. Eat the freshest of oysters in Barangay. Balaring, Silay City.
We recognize the scarcity and pretentiousness of "oysters" in the Metro and so we were very excited to find fresh ones in the province. We weren't disappointed and what we experienced was even better.
We finished two buckets of oysters, one order of shrimp and one cup of rice each in a bahay kubo
on stilts. The oysters were the freshest I've tasted and the most authentic I've seen. Before this, all I know were buttered oysters that tasted nothing more than toasted butter.
Aside from the fresh seafood, you can also get a taste of wildlife.
Behind us is a lagoon where a number of birds were hunting. They repeatedly swooped down the water, trying to scoop up some fish. Nearby, you can see crabs coming out of their holes or walking along the bank. Add to that the fresh sea wind blowing our faces and filling us to another level.
Budget: Didn't take note. It was cheap and it was worth it.
How to get there: From Bacolod City, take a jeep to the Bacolod North Terminal (P7), transfer to a Ceres bus going to Silay (P15) and get off at the town proper. Look for a tricycle driver who could take you to Brgy. Balaring (P60/ride). To go back, walk along the road until you spot a tricycle (P10 shared) going to the town proper (I don't think they have a terminal here so locals usually walk until a tricycle passes by).
Note: Ask your driver to take you to Edgewater Restaurant at the far-end of the Barangay.
10. Get coffee at the local "Starbucks".
Kapehan sang Silay, as the worn-out sign still desperately indicates, is a very popular place among the locals who usually pops in for a few minutes for a hot cup of native Kape. The coffee (may be heard as 'ne-tib') is a curious mix of black coffee, sugar, and evaporated milk. The taste of the coffee was super strong so sugar and milk was inevitable and fortunately, since we were in sugar country, it wasn't weird to dump in a ton of sugar to our cup. Aside from the "netib" coffee, we also ordered Butong, a rice cake paired with brown sugar.
Budget: P30 would go a long way
How to get there: From the airport, ask to get off at Silay City and walk a block to your right to the Church. From Bacolod City, take a jeep to the Bacolod North Terminal (P7), transfer to a Ceres bus going to Silay (P15) and get off in front of the Church. The site is across the Church.
Note: Don't expect too much from the place aside from culture and simplicity. If you're on an early flight, you can go here to get you're caffeine fix.
11. Eat meryenda and buy pasalubong at El Ideal Bakery.
Just across the Kapehan is El Ideal Bakery, a popular pasalubong stop for locals and residents alike. It sells the most wonderful meringue I have ever tasted and some other pastries that are to die for. They have a wide variety of baked goods and packaged pasalubongs for you to try.
12. Eat Piaya right off the grill.
On mornings, in Silay, one restaurant sells and cooks ube piaya just along the street. I've only seen piaya as a packaged pasalubong and I never knew it could be eaten like this.
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