Leaving the island of Boracay I had a similar sketch as arriving, having to pay an extortionate (in comparison to the boat fare) terminal fee and a cheap boat ticket. Having promised myself that the rest of my time in Philippines would be over land or sea what would happen over the next few days would be long bus rides and boat trips.
I took the bus (6 hours) to Iloilo, a name that I continually failed to pronounce correctly. I had various passengers sat next to me, some couldn't speak English, some were quiet but the last couple of hours I was accompanied by a student from Iloilo. Angela was very friendly and the discussion flowed and the time quickly passed by.
To save me the expense of a taxi from the bus station to my hotel, Angela not only helped me get the Jeepney that I needed, she also came with me, which was a nice touch as it was completely the wrong direction for her.
Jeepney's are a great way of getting around cities and towns in the Philippines (if you know which one to catch). They are Jeeps with a long open back, with benches running along both sides. They are very cheap and stop for you when you want. You just hop on or off the back.
Iloilo has a dedicated nightlife area called Smallville, which is home to many bars, restaurants, clubs and upscale hotels (not mine). So Saturday night in Smallville would do a right job.
Many bars and restaurants had singer's or bands on. I choose a restaurant with a local lady blasting out tunes from Maria Carey, Adele, Rihanna etc. She really was excellent. I later found a bar with a band playing some real good tunes. The band was fronted by 2 student singer's, the bass guitarist was also a young girl. On the drums and guitar were possibly their fathers.
My intention was to bar hop but the band was that good I stayed for plenty. Thank goodness I didn't notice the nightclub behind this bar until the following evening or the night could have got very heavy.
The next day been Sunday and the Philippines been mainly Catholic meant that most of Iloilo was closed. Good job really as I wasn't on top form from the night before.
I did manage to get out and into the city for a walk. Not too much to see or do, I went into the museum which was supposed to be closed but the guard let me in, turned the lights on and trousered my entry fee.
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For those that can't translate this, it is Iloilo Museum
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That night I also went to Smallville, but the night was on a much smaller scale, although I did hit that nightclub as the band in their were also very good.
A decent boat ride and I was on my next island, with none of the rip of terminal (just 30 Peso) and environmental fees.
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| Boat to Bacolod |
In Bacolod, there isn't too much to do as a tourist. I walked into town, about 4 km from hotel, with literally hundreds of jeepneys whizzing by, but I didn't know which one I needed.
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| Bacolod central park |
I visited a wildlife preservation place (not a zoo) it was home to various birds and owls. I walked a further 2 or 3 km to Bocolad's version of Smallville for dinner. The locals were ultra helpful and friendly to me, probably unusual to get a foreigner out there. They told me how the Jeepneys worked and which one to catch home.
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Are you looking at me?
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The next day I craved a tourism day so went to the historical town of Silay. I did it all by a series of Jeepneys. I got to love them and quickly became an expert in them. One ride I was in charge of collecting all the money and handing out change which I and the locals loved. Having so many Jeepney's plying the same route brings plenty of competition and they are always trying to overtake each other in search of extra passengers. It makes for a fun ride.
Silay is virtually unchanged in the last 100 years and is a view to what Philippine towns looked like back then. I had lunch in a 1920's bakery and visited a few houses which the owners proudly showed off their collection of antiques and was a great glimpse into life in that town.
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Hofilena Heritage House
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I had lined up a football match for the evening. It was Bacolod against a team from Singapore in the AFC cup (presumably Asia's equivalent of the champions league). Just before I was setting off to the ground the heavens opened big style. 2 solid hours of torrential rain with a great electrical storm. I abandoned going to the game, if it went on I would be amazed.
Once the rain subsided it left many area's flooded so I just went to the Korean restaurant next door for dinner and an early night.
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| Korean dumplings for supper, a taste of whats to come later in my trip |
I had left a bag full of washing at the laundrette and paid extra to have it ready for 10am the next morning as I wanted to get an early start. Sadly they let me down and it wasn't delivered until 12. The reason I wanted to get away was I was staying at a resort up in the hills towards the centre of the island. It had various activities to do, tree top canopy walk, waterfalls swimming pools and a couple of Japanese style thermal baths.
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| Mambukal Resort up in the hills |
I booked my room at the office in Bacolod the previous day, requesting the cheapest private room which was under a tenner. They warned me that the class of room I had chosen was very old and I might not like it. After booking I read up on trip advisor, one writer saying the room gave them the creeps so bad they checked out without staying over. Personally I didn't think it was too bad. It was very dated, maybe needed a lick of paint but was clean had a bathroom with cold shower, so I was happy.
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| Boating lake at Mambukal |
I got myself straight into the thermal baths which were fairly hot, very hot as you got near the waterfall that was filling it with near boiling thermal water. I spent ages in there, I liked chatting with the locals who were also on holiday at the resort. The locals just get in the water with whatever they are wearing, possibly not the most hygenic thing, but that is their culture and I respect that. That said I changed into my swimming shorts before entering.
As it was getting dusk we were treated by a fine sight of hundreds if not thousands of huge fruit bats and flying foxes flying over the pool. I'm not a massive fan of bats but I didn't mind these.
After I was about cooked in the pool I got out and had a cool mango shake at the food stalls. Saying I'd be back later for dinner and a few beers, when she said they close at 7 I thought what am I going to do tonight, I didn't fancy just staying in my very basic room. I went around all the food stalls and found one that was going to stay open until 9, after I quick shower and change I was back in no time.
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| One or two massive bats flying about |
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Thermal Spa at Mambukal
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A power cut soon ended any possibilities of lasting until 9pm, so I ended up with an early night in my room.
The next morning was more thermal bath action before a seemingly impossible day of travel to my next destination, Sugar beach. Sugar Beach was recommended to me by a friend and he described it as a bit of a Robinson Crusoe kind of place. I read online that it was a bit like Boracay before the tourists arrived. I didn't leave until gone 11 and I needed to get a bus back to Bacolod (1.5 hours), a Jeepney across town to change bus stations, A 5 hour bus to Sipalay, jumping out in a small village just before the city, a motorcycle with sidecar (Tricycle) down a very bumpy road to the sea, a paddle boat across the river to Sugar beach where I needed to walk 1km or so and find some accommodation. Mission not accomplished.
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