Bacolod, Again.

Do you have that one place that you can keep coming back to when you just need to relax and leave the world behind? That getaway where you don't think twice about booking when your friend/s ask you to? Never mind the itinerary or the fact that you haven't filed your leave yet.

Back to you.

That one place for me is Bacolod.

It all started back in 2011 when my thesis partner, Tat, took me and another college friend, Vingaye, for a weekend visit. I was a scrawny, high-strung, perpetually stressed-out producer who badly needed an alcohol fix that didn't involve cameramen and editors. After a weekend of eating and drinking and chilling with the friendliest, funniest, most easy-going people I know, I was hooked to the place.

Fast forward to last weekend when Tat with a couple of her law school classmates, Kai and Pia, went there during the long weekend. I would say I was half local-half tourist this time 'cause I didn't spend every waking hour drinking (a lot of hours, yes haha), and actually got to go around Negros. Yeay. Tourist, visitor, local or pretending to be local, it's a place I've grown to love going back to for many reasons.

Who wouldn't wanna go back to this;

The real thing. Chicken Inasal. | Maskara Chicken.

Ribs at Lord Byron's. 

Namit!

"Delicious" - was the first word I learned in Ilonggo (followed by a series not-so-nice words I'd rather not share in this post). Food in Bacolod is probably one of the best in the Philippines for two things - they're genuinely delicious, and they're cheap. Chicken inasal, which costs P100++ in Manila, just costs P75, and tastes better, too. You'll never run out of places to eat here.

Endless cakes at Calea.

Then there's dessert. The city's a haven for people who loves sweets (who doesn't, really?!).


And this.

Speaking of sweets, ever wondered where and how sugar is made in this land of desserts? :)

Inside the Azucarera. 

Kai, Pia and me on one of the actual trains that use to run around the Azucarera. 

Drove all the way to La Carlotta, a city south of Bacolod, and Tat's hometown, to visit the largest sugar mill on the island - the Central Azucarera de la Carlotta. It was a misadventure of sorts because we didn't get to meet the tour guide who's supposed to take us around. Either way, we couldn't go in the plant 'cause we weren't in safety outfit (we were all donning [short] shorts hehe). But after some namedropping here and there (thanks to Tat's and her friend, Ping's connections :p) the plant people let us in by car and even escorted us in the plant. Weeeeeh!


Or this.

The Ruins, love that transcends lifetimes. <3

This was my second trip to The Ruins. The first one was on my third Bacolod trip two years ago. This time we had Tat's best friend IC as our instant tour guide (thanks, IC!:p), which made me appreciate the place even more.

Quick background - The Ruins is a mansion commissioned to be built in the early 1900's by Don Mariano Lacson, a sugar baron, in loving memory of his wife, Maria Braga. Built with the finest materials, and of such grandeur, it was a true monument of love. Even dubbed as the Taj Mahal of Negros. During World War II, Japanese were raiding haciendas and turning them into Jap headquarters. Rather than having the hacienda invaded, Don Mariano instructed the caretakers to set the mansion on fire.

It took three days to burn the entire mansion down. The love on which it was built, transcended lifetimes. Le sigh. #gustokorinngDonMariano


And this.

Approaching Carbin Reef. A sand bar near Sagay City, two hour drive north of Bacolod.

The life. 

No words. Carbin Reef is painfully beautiful.

And of course, this. 

With Raga Raga in Bacolod. :) | Rust Cafe/Resto/Bar. 

At the end of the day, it's really the people that you'll love coming back to. :)

Bacolod. The City of Smiles, land of great desserts and affordable inasal. For me, it's more personal. It's a place where I can relax, and let go, and enjoy with friends old and new. And though I only get to spend one weekend there in a year, I know I'll always have a place in this city.

Salamat gd, Bacolod! 'Til next visit.:)


How about you, what's your sanity-break, weekend getaway?