Bacolod 2011 – Familia Adik on the Loose <<< Click on the link to check slideshow
my favorite inasal.. Aida’s Manokan…
Finally! After rebooking my flight four times, I was able to set off to the City of Smiles. Initially, this was planned to be a 7 – day family escapade but due to changes of schedule and my transfer to Cebu, some of my brothers were not able to join and I had to do several rebookings.
My family arrived in Bacolod 2 days ahead of me. Boarding a Cebu – Bacolod flight, I arrived on November 10, 2011. It was and early morning flight and I remember dropping by the office before I left. I was able to catch a cab in front of Ayala Center Cebu and as soon as I arrived at airport, I was already looking for food. Believe it or not, the only store open is Dunkin’ Donuts. While waiting for my flight, I had my usual ham and cheese bunwich and water.
Since Mimay transferred apartment, I was nor sure whether to meet up with them or go straight to her place. From Bacolod- Silay airport, i opted to ride a shuttle and be dropped at Robinson’s place instead of getting a cab. Shuttle service is only Php150.00 from Airport to Bacolod compared to Php500.00 for a cab. From Robinsons’ I decided to take the cab since I am not sure of what public transportation to take to get to Villamonte.
Finally, I saw my papa waiting for me at the gate of Xaver’s Apartment. Breakfast is served and we are off to our exploration.
DAY 1 : We first head off to Robinsons’ place. We went around for a while and looked into antique furnitures. I also looked for fiorgelatto and I was disappointed to learn that the store no longer exists. We also had our arcade time before lunch. As expected, I told them that I want to eat inasal for lunch. We head off to Manokan Country and dined at Aida’s Manukan. Atlast, after almost two years I was able to taste the best inasal! I ordered batokolon (gizzards) and paa (legs). After lunch, we went to SM City Bacolod, just a few meters away from Manokan Country and did our grocery for our day 2 get away.
after lunch @ Aida’s
DAY 2: We agreed to have an overnight stay at Mambukal Mountain Resort and leave early on Day 2. From Villamonte we took a cab to Libertad, where we rode a bus going to Murcia – Mambukal. You won’t be lost via public transportation since Mambukal Resort is the last stop. On a private vehicle, it may only take you 45 minutes to get to Mambukal but since it’s a public transpo, spare about an hour and a half or two (depending on the number of pick ups and stops the bus may have). After paying our entrance fee and selecting our cabin for our overnight, we stayed by the swimming pool cottage until check -in time (2PM). The cabin we chose is good for 6 pax at Php1800. After securing our things, we had a stroll and took pictures. We visited the dipping pool (but did not dipped.. hehehe), hot sulfur, wall climbing and slide for life areas, lake, butterfly garden and bath houses. Mimay arrived just before dinner.
yes! we are in…
where we are staying for night… just in front of the big pool…
it’s not pure sulfur… don’t worry…
pick your choice…
DAY 3: We were up very early on our 2nd day in Mambukal. Being the kitchen master, I prepared breakfast while my sister Janers kept on taking pictures of Mamamia and Papapicolino. After breakfast, we had a walk and finally dipped in the dipping pool. For Php 50.00, we were able to enjoy the hot and therapeutic ala – spa sulfur pool. We headed for more walk and picture taking. The bats didn’t fail us as we’ve seen them flying around like birds do. We had a quick lunch and headed back to Bacolod. I met with some friends at Kuppa and of course indulged in my ever favorite Wimpy Burger. Mimay took us to Pope John Paul II Tower in reclamation area. It’s a 6 floor building near SM City Bacolod which was built to stand as memorial of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Bacolod in 1981. There are a lot of pictures and memorabila of PJPII. From downtown Bacolod, we decided to have dinner at Cookies and Crumbs. This is just in front of the Government Center which we wanted to visit before we end the day.
ready for our morning walk…
we thought they were birds.. yep! they are bats!!!
just before we climb the stairs…
Pope John Paul II Tower @ Reclamation Area…
Government Center at night
DAY 4: My last day it is. We started the day with a visit to Carmelites Monastery. I was hoping to get some chips (caramel flavored hosts) but it was not available. After praying and feeling inner peace, we headed off for lunch to Greeno’s Pizzaria at 6th Street. If i remembered correctly, it is also the day of Pacquiao Vs. Marquez bout. We ordered the larges pizza they offer, 3 towers of iced tea and enjoy. We headed back to the apartment after, had some rest and headed back to Cebu.
before lunch….
it’s really big!
The 4- day vacation I had is just what I needed to a week long client visit back in Cebu.
I really love Bacolod, as a matter of fact, we are again booked to visit the city of smiles in March 2012.
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