The Ruins in Bacolod and How to Get There

Bacolod has always been one of those places in the Philippines that I fell in love with the first time my hubby and I visited it back in 2011 which is why I couldn't help but write about its many beautiful sites here on my blog. And since today is the first day of summer (Can you feel the heat? I do! And I'm loving it.), I thought of finally continuing my pending blog posts and hopefully be able to stick to writing about my travels on a more regular basis  in between work, traveling and social networking (crossing my fingers).

One of the things you can do here aside from trying Bacolod's many culinary delights, visiting its quaint ancestral houses (Balay Negrense, Pink House) and taking a refreshing trip to Mambukal Falls is to visit the very majestic and picturesque Lacson Ruins or what is most popularly known as The Ruins. 

Awesome Things to Do in Bacolod

We've been to Bacolod three times now and after everything we've done and been through, we want to keep coming back! The first time was in 2006 when we went to Costa Aguada Resort in Guimaras when we just passed by Bacolod to buy some mangoes then off we went to our boat ride that brought us to Costa Aguada; the second one was last year in September when we only reached the 3rd waterfall of Mambukal and spent the remaining days food tripping instead; and the third one was just last weekend for Jayvee's wedding. If you're planning to head to Bacolod too sometime soon, here are some things you can do:

1. Make it your drop off point on the way to Guimaras. 

2. Check-in at Circle Inn

They have big deluxe rooms, with wi-fi internet all over the hotel, scrumptious buffet breakfast for only Php218 and a lovely swimming pool at the back. If you check-in via their website, you'll get a big discount. Like for our 3-night stay in  a deluxe room, we only paid Php3,510. Oh, except for the not-so-strong air conditioning inside room 212, I definitely recommend this place.

Bernardino Jalandoni Ancestral House in Bacolod

On my previous post, I shared with you our visit to Victor Gaston's anscestral house, more popularly known as Balay Negrense in Bacolod. Today, let's head to Bernardino Jalandoni's Ancestral House which is just a few blocks away from Balay Negrense, located along Rizal Street (formerly Calle Real), both in Silay City, Negros Occidental. 

Balay Negrense - Bacolod Ancestral House

Aside from our trip to Mambukal Falls, Peter and I also visited the lovely ancestral houses in Bacolod. On this blog post, I'll concentrate on Balay Negrense first. 

So going out of Saltimboca Inn where we stayed, we hailed a jeepney with a sign board Libertad-Bata going to Robinson's Mall (Php8/pax). Then we took another jeepney going to Silay (Php15/pax). When we saw this big church from afar (San Diego Pro-Cathedral), we went down at Rizal cor. Zulieta Sts. near Silay City Public Park and started asking people where Balay Negrense is located. 

Apparently, it's just walking distance from the park. The church is just also there at the next street (Rizal cor. Zamora Sts.) and all the other ancestral houses are also within the vicinity.

Things to Do at Mambukal Resort

If you're going to Bacolod any time soon, I suggest that you check out Mambukal Resort located in Barangay Minoyan, Murcia, Negros Occidental. It's a beautiful nature park perfect for family and group outings with lots of things to see and activities to do. 

To know how to get there, and how much to spend, please head to this link: How to get to Mambukal Mountain Resort

To read all my posts about Mambukal Mountain  Resort, please go to this link: Mambukal Mountain Resort

So far, we've already gone boating in Mambukal as well as trekked its magnificent waterfalls. Watch the waterfalls videos here: Mambukal Falls videos

For other things to do, read more...

Chasing Mambukal's Seven (7) Waterfalls

This is a continuation of my travel posts about Mambukal Mountain Resort, a beautiful nature park located in Barangay Minoyan, Murcia, Negros Occidental. 

To know how to get there, please head to this link: How to get to Mambukal Mountain Resort

To read all my posts about Mambukal Mountain  Resort, please go to this link: Mambukal Mountain Resort

On this post, I'll focus more on the best thing you can do while visiting this wonderful mountain resort: Climbing the 7 Waterfalls

Boating at Mambukal Mountain Resort's Lagoon

Why do I have this feeling that it will take a while to finish all my Mambukal Resort posts? Hehehe. I just have so many photos and videos I want to share so I'll take it slow. For now, let me share with you our experience at Mambukal Resort's Boating Lagoon.

For other posts on Mambukal, just go to this link: Mambukal Mountain Resort

It was before 10 am when we reached the gates of Mambukal. There were a lot of young guys outside the gate asking if we want to go inside with a tour guide.

How to get to Mambukal Mountain Resort + Rates (Bacolod Trip)

When we were at Saltimboca Inn, we asked the receptionist if they can tell us how to go to Mambukal Mountain Resort. At first the receptionist just stared at us before thinking of consulting her companion who recommended that we rent their van for half a day which would cost us Php1,500. This does not include the entrance fees to the resort and its amenities and no food would be provided. We said "thanks anyway" and proceeded outside. My hubby and I will just figure it out somehow. We walked towards Calea and asked one of the guards there instead. Fortunately, he knew how to commute to Mambukal Mountain Resort. Thank God for manong guard! He proved to be very helpful than the people at Saltimboca Inn.

Preview of Mambukal Mountain Resort, Minoyan, Murcia, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental

Mambukal Mountain Resort is one of those tourist attractions located outside the town of Bacolod. It is the first place we visited right after checking in Saltimboca Inn (you wouldn't want to check in this place). Anyway, Not a lot of Filipino tourists frequent Mambukal Mountain Resort because it's far as one would require hiring a van or a cab at pricey costs (around Php1500-Php2000), and it's not that popular... yet. However, it is quite famous among other Asian and Caucasian tourists as it features natural hot springs, seven waterfalls (seven!), cold springs, restaurants, picnic area, boating lagoon, huge bats and other attractions. When one goes to Bacolod, it's usually the food and the magnificent Ruins that people go to. My husband and I, being very fond of nature, found a way to get there for less than Php100 on fare.

I'll share everything when I come back. I'm just off to another exciting weekend. (^_^)

For other things to do in Bacolod, here's an awesome list of Bacolod Things to Do.

Our Bad Experience at Saltimboca Inn, Bacolod

 

It has been about four years I think since I've written a negative review about a resort (No to Virgin Beach, Laiya with  157 comments from 2007 onwards saying the same bad customer service). And now, I'm sorry to say that I wrote one for Saltimboca Inn in Bacolod, which I mentioned in  another post when we just came home from Bacolod. You see, I don't care much for how a place looks as I do about being treated well, or about how the staff, owner or manager of the inn or hotel treats their customers. I mean we could be staying in a five star resort, but if basic customer service is not present, then it's not really worth staying there (for us, that is).

As for Saltimboca Inn, I know that's it's a cheap, affordable tourist lodge and the unpleasant experience we had there may be exclusive to us and the circumstances that led to our experience. Nevertheless, I'd just like to share it with my readers just in case you would be traveling to Bacolod and are looking for a good and affordable room, inn, or hotel to stay at. At least you'd have an informed decision and I'm hoping that you'd have a better experience than we had.

To read my entire review of why my hubby and I found Saltimboca Inn not worth going back to, please go to this link:

No to Saltimboca Tourist Inn Bacolod City - Don't be fooled by the nice pictures

No to Saltimboca Tourist Inn Bacolod City - Don't be fooled by the nice pictures

arriving at the New Bacolod Silay Airport

It was a month ago when we went to Bacolod. I'm not really into crowds so I made sure that we go there at least a month before the very noisy and crowded Masskara Festival (which is actually this weekend!). My friends Koryn and Joan were inviting me to go in October but big celebrations are just no longer my kind of fun. I guess it ended on that trip we had for the Panagbenga Festival in Baguio back in 2007. I may have developed agoraphobia since then coz big, noisy crowds tend to scare me now. That and the many pickpockets, disease you could pick up along the way, etc. LOL!

Home From Bacolod

 

The Ruins, Bacolod

My husband and I just got back from Bacolod. It’s our 2nd time to go there. The first was in 2006 when we went to Inampulugan Island in Guimaras and stayed inCosta Aguada Resort. We basically just passed by Bacolod and went straight to the boat station from the airport. This time around though, we explored some of the must-see places on foot and via jeepney and tricycle rides.

I don’t have much time right now to give you all the details. Suffice it to say that there were just three things we didn’t like about this whole Bacolod trip: