I have left my heart in not a few places in the country. When I feel
strongly about a certain place, I can’t help but get so attached to it such
that I end up feeling awfully sad whenever it’s time for me to leave. Almost
always, saying goodbye to a destination I’ve fallen in love with becomes a
bittersweet affair.
 |
| Bacolod City Government Center |
Mind you, I’d get so wistful whenever I think of any of them. Having travelled extensively around the Philippines all these years, I’ve been struggling to overcome my feelings of nostalgia for all the places I’ve visited. One of those I’ve grown so fond of is Negros Occidental, the “Sugar Bowl of the Philippines.”
 |
Bacolod-Silay International Airport
|
Perhaps this has something to do with culture, the umbilical cord that connects Neg Occ, as I like to call it for short, with its closest neighbor, the island of Panay, where both my parents hail from. These two islands share so many things in common—language, food, customs, religion, temperament, among others.
 |
Planta Central Hotel...home away from home
|
Initially, I only intended to hang around dear, old Bacolod and revisit
the nearby cities of Silay and Talisay, if only to give my two companions a quick
tour of some of the more popular destinations there since it’s their first time
to make it to Neg Occ.
To my sheer delight, however, I got to visit not just one, two or three
but six cities in the province—all in a span of six days! Thanks to my Bacolod-based
friends, Jim and Minnie (my hosts during my extended stay there), I got to see
for the first time some popular attractions in the cities of Cadiz, San Carlos
and Victorias!
Let me now take you down memory lane and share some of the most
wonderful times I’ve had while basking in the tourist hot spots that these
cities offer to weekend warriors.
 |
Bacolod City Government Center at dusk
|
Bacolod. First stop, of course, is the City of Smiles. I first made it there
about a decade ago so this recent sojourn to Bacolod is a milestone year of
sorts for me. Whenever I’m in town, I make it a point to go on a food trip,
dropping by a new resto, café and eatery or return to a popular one which
offers some of the best eats in town if only to give my tummy a treat of the
best-tasting chow.
 |
Chicken inasal at Aida's Manokan Country
|
So, it was take two for me as far as three food hubs are concerned:
Aida’s in Manokan Country, L’ Kaisei Japanese Restaurant and Felicia’s Cakes
and Pastries. As always, they didn’t disappoint me. The famous chicken inasal of
Aida’s remains delectable to the bone. The ebi tempura and sukiyaki at L’
Kaisei not only pleased my palate but also pampered my psyche. Of course, the
sinfully delish cakes of Felicia’s are still as toothsome as the day I first
tasted them!
That week in Bacolod also had me sampling the best of Sandok’s comfort
food—pochero, chorizo kagkag and adobong pusit.
Next time I’m back, I’ll make sure to sample their KBL-kadyos (pigeon
peas), baboy (pork) and langka (green jackfruit)—the
Negrenses as well as the Ilonggos’ mouth-watering pork-and-veggie stew!
 |
KBL..a must-try!
|
I also got to taste some of Bob’s popular fare—pancit luglug and
fruit punch. My friends said the resto is an institution in Bacolod and
visitors shouldn’t leave without having a meal there. My hosts also took me to
this new block in the city, Villa Angela Arcade, where I got to savor some of
my favorite Asian treats—pad thai and laksa—at a street
food-style joint called East Bite.
 |
Balay Negrense Museum
|
Silay. Nostalgia caught up on me once again as I, along with two of my
coworkers, Heidy and Maliz, stepped into the Museum City of Silay, roughly 28
km away from Bacolod. A visit to this old, quaint place in Neg Occ will surely
take first-timers and frequenters alike on an unusual trip to a bygone era that
says a lot of the Negrenses’ rich and awe-inspiring history, culture and arts.
Here’s a charming town—once touted as the Paris of the Orient—where something like twenty-nine (29) stately homes, if my memory serves me right, owned by wealthy hacienderos or sugar barons dating back to the Spanish-American period have been well-preserved, standing as silent witnesses to the passage of time.
I've been to Silay on several occasions in the past so it was but
natural for me to play the role of a tour guide to my companions. Arriving in
the city via a forty-five minute taxi ride, we headed for the most popular
ancestral house in town—Balay Negrense a.k.a. Don Victor Fernandez Gaston
Ancestral House—the quintessential landmark that best captures that bygone era
of pomp and pageantry in Negros.
It felt nostalgic as I stepped anew into the once stately home of the
Gastons for a revisit. A peek into this house, which has been converted into a
museum under the aegis of the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA),
would give visitors that rare chance to be vicariously transported into a
glorious time of grace and grandiosity.
 |
The iconic structure of The Ruins
|
Talisay. From Silay, we headed for the neighboring city of Talisay, about 16 km
away from Bacolod, to catch a glimpse of one of its popular tourist magnets.
Hidden in the vastness of the city’s sugarcane fields are the remains of what
used to be a mansion owned by one of Negros Occidental’s sugar barons that has
turned in recent years into one of the province’s amazing attractions—aptly
called The Ruins.
Built by Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson in memory of his Portuguese wife,
the century-old house—or what’s left of it—is considered as the Philippines’
answer to India’s Taj Majal. Revisited after some time, the magnificence of The
Ruins seems to have grown well with time. There were a few structures that had
been added to the main attraction—an al fresco café and a rocky monument that
looked like a modern-day version of the prehistoric Stonehenge!
 |
Panoramic view of The Ruins (interior)
|
 |
| Stonehenge-like structures at The Ruins |
Six years ago, I stood amidst the Lacson mansion’s ruins in the company of good friends from Manila, Bacolod and Davao, brimming with joy and excitement as we roamed around the now-famous tourist magnet. Recently, I came back, accompanying my coworkers who wanted to see for themselves the old house’s ruins.
So much has changed since I’ve first caught a glimpse of that
picture-perfect scenery. I’m older, wiser, and little weary from life’s
uncertainties. Still, I came back because I yearned to relive the joy and
excitement I felt the first time I was there. And I wanted to share the same
awesome feelings with my colleagues. 😍😍😍
(to be continued…)
Mind you, I’d get so wistful whenever I think of any of them. Having travelled extensively around the Philippines all these years, I’ve been struggling to overcome my feelings of nostalgia for all the places I’ve visited. One of those I’ve grown so fond of is Negros Occidental, the “Sugar Bowl of the Philippines.”
Perhaps this has something to do with culture, the umbilical cord that connects Neg Occ, as I like to call it for short, with its closest neighbor, the island of Panay, where both my parents hail from. These two islands share so many things in common—language, food, customs, religion, temperament, among others. 
Stepping back into the amazing province in the Western Visayas Region this year, however, never crossed my mind—until I got an invite to attend a work-related event in Bacolod City. For weeks, I kept praying that my bosses would allow me to push through with trip. Imagine my ineffable joy when they gave me and my two coworkers the green light!
Bacolod. First stop, of course, is the City of Smiles. I first made it there
about a decade ago so this recent sojourn to Bacolod is a milestone year of
sorts for me. Whenever I’m in town, I make it a point to go on a food trip,
dropping by a new resto, café and eatery or return to a popular one which
offers some of the best eats in town if only to give my tummy a treat of the
best-tasting chow.
So, it was take two for me as far as three food hubs are concerned:
Aida’s in Manokan Country, L’ Kaisei Japanese Restaurant and Felicia’s Cakes
and Pastries. As always, they didn’t disappoint me. The famous chicken inasal of
Aida’s remains delectable to the bone. The ebi tempura and sukiyaki at L’
Kaisei not only pleased my palate but also pampered my psyche. Of course, the
sinfully delish cakes of Felicia’s are still as toothsome as the day I first
tasted them!
That week in Bacolod also had me sampling the best of Sandok’s comfort
food—pochero, chorizo kagkag and adobong pusit.
Next time I’m back, I’ll make sure to sample their KBL-kadyos (pigeon
peas), baboy (pork) and langka (green jackfruit)—the
Negrenses as well as the Ilonggos’ mouth-watering pork-and-veggie stew!
I also got to taste some of Bob’s popular fare—pancit luglug and
fruit punch. My friends said the resto is an institution in Bacolod and
visitors shouldn’t leave without having a meal there. My hosts also took me to
this new block in the city, Villa Angela Arcade, where I got to savor some of
my favorite Asian treats—pad thai and laksa—at a street
food-style joint called East Bite.
Silay. Nostalgia caught up on me once again as I, along with two of my
coworkers, Heidy and Maliz, stepped into the Museum City of Silay, roughly 28
km away from Bacolod. A visit to this old, quaint place in Neg Occ will surely
take first-timers and frequenters alike on an unusual trip to a bygone era that
says a lot of the Negrenses’ rich and awe-inspiring history, culture and arts. 
I've been to Silay on several occasions in the past so it was but
natural for me to play the role of a tour guide to my companions. Arriving in
the city via a forty-five minute taxi ride, we headed for the most popular
ancestral house in town—Balay Negrense a.k.a. Don Victor Fernandez Gaston
Ancestral House—the quintessential landmark that best captures that bygone era
of pomp and pageantry in Negros.
It felt nostalgic as I stepped anew into the once stately home of the
Gastons for a revisit. A peek into this house, which has been converted into a
museum under the aegis of the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA),
would give visitors that rare chance to be vicariously transported into a
glorious time of grace and grandiosity. 
Talisay. From Silay, we headed for the neighboring city of Talisay, about 16 km
away from Bacolod, to catch a glimpse of one of its popular tourist magnets.
Hidden in the vastness of the city’s sugarcane fields are the remains of what
used to be a mansion owned by one of Negros Occidental’s sugar barons that has
turned in recent years into one of the province’s amazing attractions—aptly
called The Ruins.
Built by Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson in memory of his Portuguese wife,
the century-old house—or what’s left of it—is considered as the Philippines’
answer to India’s Taj Majal. Revisited after some time, the magnificence of The
Ruins seems to have grown well with time. There were a few structures that had
been added to the main attraction—an al fresco café and a rocky monument that
looked like a modern-day version of the prehistoric Stonehenge!
Six years ago, I stood amidst the Lacson mansion’s ruins in the company of good friends from Manila, Bacolod and Davao, brimming with joy and excitement as we roamed around the now-famous tourist magnet. Recently, I came back, accompanying my coworkers who wanted to see for themselves the old house’s ruins. 
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