Weekend in the City of Smiles

The summer is already on its final toil, and we decided to have a break from our usual office-home routine. Thus this trip to the City of Smiles – BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental.

With Paul Davis serenading us with his song “I Go Crazy”.

I go crazy
When I look in your eyes I still go crazy
No my heart just can’t hide that old feelin’ inside
Way deep down inside
Oh baby, you know when I look in your eyes I go crazy

We’re from Aklan and we took the Ceres bus to Iloilo for Php 238 and it took us about 4 hours to Tagbak Terminal in Iloilo City. From Tagbak Terminal we took a taxi to Fort San Pedro where we will take a ferry to Bacolod City. We paid Php 175 on the cab and another Php 10 for the gate fee. If you are in Iloilo City, you can also take a jeepney with JARO-CPU signage for just Php 7 and it will take you near the port and you can just walk for 2-3 mins going inside.

We took WEESAM EXPRESS, here’s the fare schedule as of this trip. (This is not a paid advertisement.)

Ilo-Ilo – Bacolod (vise versa)
one way—————————-Economy———————First Class
Regular—————————– P330.00——————— P425.00
Student —————————– P295.00——————— P360.00
Senior/Disabled ——————- P265.00 ——————— P295.00
Minor(4-11) ———————– P185.00 ——————— P235.00

ROUND-TRIP PROMO ——Economy —————– First Class
Regular————————P565.00——————– P645.00
Student————————P525.00———————P585.00
Senior/Disabled————–P465.00———————P525.00
Minor(4-11)——————-P185.00———————P495.00

ILO-ILO TO BACOLOD WEESAM EXPRESS SCHEDULE
DEPARTS: 6:30 AM 8:10 AM 9:50 AM 1:10 PM 2:50 PM 4:45 PM

We bought a round trip ticket because you can save Php 95 rather than buying one way tickets. Anyway, the return ticket is open date, so you’ll have no problem even if you haven’t decided yet when to go back. We took the 4:45pm trip and reached Bacolod at around 6:15pm after an hour and a half trip. It was a smooth trip and the crew of Weesam Express were very accomodating.

From the airport, you can contact ANGEL IN US Taxi, they can fetch you from the airport to your hotel, they are also very friendly and charge you for a minimal amount. For the rest of this trip, we hired Kuya Paul from Angel in Us Taxi. (You can contact us, if you want his number. Again, this is not a paid advertisement.)

He brought us to Go Hotel, its near Robinson’s Mall.

The hotel is clean and the room rates are affordable, we had a 2-bed room for Php 850 per night, you can also check them online and make reservations @ gohotels.ph (This is not a paid advertisement.) The staff were very approachable and accommodating and unlike other affordable hotels in Bacolod City, its clean, new, they provide dry clean services and you can even rent a flat iron for just Php 100 for 3 hours of use. You don’t need to stress yourself with wrinkled clothes from long hours of travel. 

From the Hotel, Robinson’s Mall is very accessible, we had dinner at Mooon Cafe, And tried one of their bestsellers Pochero de Bacolod, its good for 3-4 persons for Php350. Then our “Cheat Days” started. 

We decided to go to the famous Taj Mahal in Negros, because they said its great to see the ruins at night with the fascinating lights. Too bad when we arrived at the Ruins, it’s closed for an exclusive event of the Soroptimist International of the Philippines. We decided to just call it a night and prepare for our Day 2 .

After talking to some locals, including our very accommodating Taxi Driver to the must see places in Bacolod, they told us to go to:

1. 888 (Ang mall ng Masa or The Mall of the Masses)
You can just ask the taxi driver to take you there, it’s also just walking distance from SM.
You can find cheap buys in this mall, including “ukay-ukay” and surplus items. They also have a variety of appliance and gadgets for sale.

2. Aboy’s Restaurant
Goldenfields, Liroville Subd., Bacolod City

The locals said Aboy’s Restaurant is the place to be if you’re in Bacolod City. They serve original Bacolod Cuisine. You can also choose from a variety of fishes, meat, including different sea shells and let them cook it the way you wanted.

And because it’s “Cheat Day 2″ we ordered Tuna (jaw part) or for the locals they call it Tuna Panga, Php 100 per gram and can be grilled.

Also try their Sinigang na Mangagat, Php 400 good for 3-4 persons. (Sorry we haven’t taken a photo of the whole serving, we were too hungry to notice we haven’t taken a picture yet. Haha)

And, Steamed Talong (eggplant) with Salted Egg for Php 115.

When you’re done with your meal, the waiters will give you Aragon with peppermint tea.

After feeding our tummies. We proceeded to Stop #3. The New Government Center or NGC to the locals.

Welcome to the City of Bacolod. 

Outside view from 3rd Floor of the New Government Center.

And to complete our Bacolod Experience.

4. Taj Mahal in Negros (The Ruins)
Silay City, Negros Occidental

We just hired Kuya Paul to take us to The Ruins and just wait for us, he charged us for Php 400, including the time he waits for us. It is better if you hire/take a cab instead of commute. It would be more convenient. From the city, we reached the Lacson Mansion at about 30 minutes.

We paid Php 50 as gate fee in the subdivision we need to pass through going to the Ruins, the entrance fee is Php 40 (regular) and Php 20 (students), they don’t charge the taxi driver.

Be sure to look for ROGER when you reach the place, he is a great tourist guide. I’m assuring you that you will be able to appreciate the Taj Mahal in Negros more after listening to him.

Roger in blue, introducing the Lacson Family and the history of the Ruins. This mansion is built in the year 1920. It took 3 years for the workers to build this place. They worked 24/7, literally working day and night non-stop for 3 years.

Roger explains how the American soldiers burnt the place and it took 3 days to completely burn the place. It is said that the Japanese would like to use the mansion as one of their refuge, but the Americans found out about the plan, and asked the Lacsons if they could just burn the place. The family agreed.

Roger also shared that the floor tiles were still the original floor tiles of the Mansion, these were from Italy.

He also shared how this Mansion is called Taj Mahal in Negros, just like the story of the Taj Mahal in India, this mansion is also built for the love of Don Mariano Lacson to Donya Maria Braga. It can be seen on all the posts of the mansion, the two letter M’s facing each other symbolizes for Mariano & Maria.

After listening to Roger, go grab a buko or banana choco shake. Consume it inside the Mansion for added ambience and experience. Sorry for this photo, we became so thirsty and forgot to take a picture first before consuming our shakes. Lol.

Here are some shots taken inside the Ruins.

You can find this on the ground floor, upon entering the Mansion. (Models not included. ;p)

The second floor is great for photo shoots, although the management already prohibits visitors from going upstairs for safety reasons. Only the sides of the mansion were left, the middle part which was built in wood were all burnt.

These are outside shots.

You can also play with these extra large chess pieces, maybe not just under the heat of the sun, just like this one, or else you get “lechoned”. Lol.

You can also get a view of the chimney of the Mascuvado Sugar Milling of the Lacson Family.

Before you go home, look for the glass table where you can get these shots:

And don’t forget to get your jumpshot! 

Enjoy your trip to the City of Smiles. Thank you for joining us in this trip. Until next time, we will keep you posted for our adventures wherever our Chucks will take us. 

* This isn’t a paid advertisement. For questions and comments, feel free to contact us.