THE CITY OF SMILE, BACOLOD

This is the first time that I will blog about my out of town trip with my wife and travel buddy.  Both of us had been to Cebu and  Bohol together but during that time I am not yet into blogging.

Our flight on October 16, 2012 is to the City of Smile, Bacolod.  January of this year when I happened to book an airplane ticket for the two of us for only P2,000.  I think, that was a good catch.  Kaya kahit ang gusto talaga naming puntahan ay Palawan, gora na rin kami sa Bacolod.  Hehehehe!

Parang hindi rin naman matagal ang paghihintay from January to October.  Nangyari nga na napagsarhan pa kami ng time ng boarding dahil feeling namin ay may oras pa kami.  Hahahaha! Our flight was scheduled at 2 pm.

Our flight was delayed.  After ng 1 1/2 hour pa before our plane finally took off.  Kaya naman, mag 5 pm na nang lumapag kami sa airport ng Bacolod.

A dear friend fetched us in the airport.  He is a Tagalog but living in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, 1 1/2 hour away from Bacolod.  Good thing he has a car to tour us around.  On our way to his home, I asked him to bring us to "The Ruins."  Actually, I have a little idea of what exactly that tourist spot is.  I had just a glance of it on the internet and then, included it in our itenerary.  Maganda daw kasi na puntahan yun during sunset time.

Our friend knows about The Ruins but he has not been there yet.  Kaya nang nasa Silay na kami, nagtanung-tanong kami sa mga tao along the highway.  Pare-pareho kaming Tagalog kaya mahirap ang communication sa mga native ng Negros.  Mabuti na lang at may internet access ang cp ko at agad kong na-search ang The Ruins at ipinakita ko sa pinagtatanungan namin ang picture and immediately, he pointed us to the direction with much ease.  Indeed, a picture speaks a thousand words.

After two blocks, nakita na namin ang sinage na This Way to The Ruins.  May mga tricycle na nakahimpil sa kanto kaya sa mga walang sasakyan, they can avail of that vehicle to see The Ruins.  We passed by a village wherein we paid for P20 at the entrance.  They also asked us to leave a driver's license ID.  A few minutes more and we already reached the site of The Ruins.  The entrance fee is P60 per person.

Me,  at the side entrance of The Ruins

Ang The Ruins is tagged as The Taj Mahal of Asia because just like The Taj Majal, it is also an edifice made by a husband in honor of his late wife's memory.

One cannot imagine that a structure so grand and magnificent as this can be built early 20th century and can be situated in a far flung province of Negros Occidental.

We had picture takings around the edifice.

With our friend, Eddie Legaspi

The main entrance to the mansion

The fountain that is as old the mansion

When we had finished exploring the ground around The Ruins, we decided to go inside the structure.  And we are thankful that we did because we met him.

Roger, the tour guide.  Don't missed him when you get to
The Ruins.  He will make history a very interesting
and entertaining subject.

Through Roger we learned that The Ruins placed 12th in the best ruins site in the world.  Being so, it is really a must-see for those who are visiting Negros Occidental, Silay City in particular.

If Bacolod is the City of Smile, Silay is the City of Laughter because of Roger.  Hehehehe!

Signifying our presence

There is a souvenir shop and a dining area around The Ruins but we did not bother to look inside.

The sight of The Ruins made our first day of trip a rewarding experience.  Eddie was grateful too that he was able to visit the place.

Since it was dinner time, Eddie brought us to Chicken Deli where we had chickens meals for dinner.

Waiting for the taste of Chicken Inasal in Bacolod

Ang dami naming nakain that night since yun lang ang maayos naming kain that day. Hehehe!

Pagkatapos ay umuwi na kami sa Binalbagan.  Ilang bayan din ang aming nalagpasan bago kami nakarating ng Binalbagan.

But we were very happy with our first day of trip because of the experience called The Ruins.