Our first Visayas trip together, the Bacolod trip was not perfect. And that’s why we wanna go back there whenever.
Okay, so because I am fond of falls and she is fond of beaches, we got into a little debate and I won that round. It’s not that I regret going to the Mambukal Falls, it’s just that I wish we have also gone around more. Believe it or not, we went to Bacolod and missed visiting the iconic The Ruins and their beautiful beach Punta Bulata.
But again, there’s always a first.
So while I don’t want to dwell on the #EpicFail parts, I want to share the short-lived weekend escape at Bacolod and Murcial.
We got ourselves booked at the East View Hotel thru agoda.com.ph and the room was very nice. It had the woody interior we would have loved in our room. Though the view wasn’t as nice from the window, the inside was okay for the price.
It is right in the heart of Bacolod. Just a walk away are convenient stores, restaurants and more. We chose to have seafood that day, for our late lunch.
We walked around the streets of Bacolod as if we were locals. I could understand Ilonggo, but not fluently speak it =)
One store where we searched for a netbook converter, employed a very apathetic girl and made us remark on our way out: “Hey, isn’t this the city of smiles?”
Food was delicious but served late. On that Saturday afternoon, it wasn’t that crowded in this food shop.
We took the jeep that went to SM Bacolod, not because we wanted to go the mall, but because we wanted to go to the Church. Instead, we found out that Pope John Paul II had a tower here for when he visited this reclaimed area in 1981.
So we walked past SM and headed for the Pope John Paul II Tower, where one would pay PhP 20.00 to see the pictures and artifacts related to him.
The tower showcased his books, items he used while here, pictures, and the rooftop, where one can overlook the city and shore of Bacolod.
A lot of students were here starting in the late afternoon. Nope, they weren’t studying. They made this their rendezvous instead of the mall. =)
The view from above is scenic.
The pose captured by Joy:
When the sun went down, we headed towards the church just a walk away from the Tower and the Mall.
When we got there the mass was over. The lights were about to go out and we had to ask the caretaker to spare us a few minutes to pray and take pictures of the beautiful San Sebastian Cathedral.
After that we headed home as we have not slept for about 24 hours, and we are set for an early wake up call to explore Mambukal.
Watch out for the next blog for Day 2 of our Negros trip. =)
