[Western Visayas 2018] Day 7: Guimaras to Ilo-ilo to Negros to Cebu in 1 Day

May 18, 2018. (This is quite a very late post. For some reason, wordpress mobile app no longer takes my photos because it said it’s above limit.)

It’s my birthday, and it was definitely a long day.

We started with a bit delayed boat ride to Ilo-ilo, which meant that we missed the early boat bound for Bacolod.

It was a bit of a good thing because we got to roam for awhile in Ilo-ilo.

We got Netong’s batchoy this time! =)

But it can get dragging so any thing to entertain our selves.

Troi Oi

It’s a Vietnamese restaurant in Ilo-ilo. We’re a big sucker for any thing Vietnamese food so we could not miss it.

Banh Xeo!!! I totally miss this since Phat Pho no longer serve it. =(

I was also closed to being not booked to the FastCat because there was just too many passengers. Thankfully I was able to reserve earlier.

All accommodations were booked so we had to be in Business Class.

When we landed in Bacolod, we just went straight driving to San Carlos City to yet ride another boat bound for Cebu.

And, everyone just conked out!

And, that Mcdo sign every time you landed on a port is becoming consistent.

[Western Visayas 2018] Day 6: Guimaras Manggahan Festival

May 17, 2018. (This is quite a very late post. For some reason, wordpress mobile app no longer takes my photos because it said it’s above limit.)

That much needed morning run in every place we’d go to. You can read more about it in my runroo.com blogpost here >>.

Always the breakfast here should not be missed!

So this day was basically our last day of going around Guimaras as we’ll leave the island tomorrow, and start going back home to Cebu.

Olivia’s Kitchen and Island Brew / Isla Kusina

We had lunch at some fancy restaurant in Jordan, Guimaras. As I mentioned it was Manggahan Festival so there was really a bit of a crowd every where.

We then went to the bazaar area, in front of the Provincial Capitol to be in one with the festival.

This wine from local fruits  was really good!

We went to Guimaras’ Hampton. =)

It was an old mansion by someone rich and famous now preserved as a heritage place.

And, my birthday cake!!! THANKS A LOT!!!

[Western Visayas 2018] Day 5: Beach Life at Guimaras

May 16, 2018. (This is quite a very late post. For some reason, wordpress mobile app no longer takes my photos because it said it’s above limit.)

Breakfast at Quimsing’s be like… There’s just no shortage of fruits in Guimaras.

Alubihod Beach, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras

It’s the most famous beach in Guimaras so expect every one is there! =)

Boating

SEAFDEC, Guimaras

We were lucky that we SEAFDEC was still open for public when we went there because the staff said that they’re going to close it by June for good from the public.

Off to the next destination…

We went inside a mini cave. 

Night cap sort of… This cassave cake made by Karla’s cousin was uber yum!!!

Late night card game…

[Western Visayas 2018] Day 4: Island Hopping From Bacolod to Guimaras

May 15, 2018. (This is quite a very late post. For some reason, wordpress mobile app no longer takes my photos because it said it’s above limit.)

We took a 530am boat trip to Ilo-ilo City via FastCat. We had a pretty colorful view along the way.

I got a lot of time hooking.

Hello, Ilo-ilo!

We went to La Paz Market for some authentic Ilo-ilo dining experience.

But Mark got too lazy to get to the Netong’s Batchoy place so we ended up with random “batchoy” place.

Madge Cafe

Guimaras-bound

Then off to our second  boat ride, this time it’s for Guimaras Island.

Quimsing’s Rest House

Karla’s beach

I so love Karla’s family’s beach! Can we live here forever?

Guimara’s Windmill

Windmill Love

Game Plan

[Western Visayas 2018] Talisay & Bacolod City, Negros Day 3

May 14, 2018
(This is quite a very late post. For some reason, wordpress mobile app no longer takes my photos because it said it’s above limit.)

It was barangay election on this day. Aside that some establishments were late to open, there was not much election-related fuss going on.

Finally, we got a bit rested from the long trip, and every one felt a bit better from having coughs and allergies because of the summer heat so Mark and I got to get some jogging. Another thing I love most about Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay, Negros is that beside it is a (sugarcane) farm, where a morning or afternoon run would be nice to have.


Coffee Culture

Coffee scene in Bacolod is quite vibrant. We went to a roastery, Coffee Culture, and it was packed. So I just bought some coffee beans, and left.

Power Up Rock Outdoor Center

Migi always bring his climbing shoes when we go on trips just in case we’d chance upon a climbing gym. And, Bacolod has a pretty climbing gym.

Kuppa

This is probably one of Bacolod’s old coffee shop, and it does not disappoint. They also roast coffee beans, and I love it! =) And, it’s also filled with Titas of Bacolod.

Kuppa was just nearby the Power Up Rock Outdoor Center climbing gym that it made me really want to relocated to Bacolod already!

IKKORYU

Finally, #kid3 got the “noodle” he wanted, ramen. =)

When the boys needed to wait for that someone stucked in a bookstore…

Booksale is always a stop for Meg.

[Western Visayas 2018] Talisay City / Silay, Negros Day 2

May 13, 2018
(This is quite a very late post. For some reason, wordpress mobile app no longer takes my photos because it said it’s above limit.)

Breakfast buffet at Nature’s Village Resort is something I look forward to.

Cafe 1925

Our aim for today was to go to mountain area of Silay City called Patag. But first we had lunch at Cafe 1925 in town center of Silay City.

And, off to a road trip up to Patag, Silay City.

Duyan Cafe

I was excited to go to this cafe in Patag, which looked so instgrammy in social media. And, that was there to it: instagrammy!

I thought there were a lot of “duyan” (hammock) in the cafe, but there was actually only one hammock for instagram purposes.

It definitely has all the aesthetics. If you don’t mind about other features like food and content, it’s a worthwhile stop.




The place is small so it can get crowded if it’s weekend or holidays.

After the Duyan Cafe stop, we continued with a bit of road trip in going home by taking another route. It was a worthwhile detour!

The thing I hate most about road trip is that I always felt bad why I’m sitting inside the car instead of trekking it or something. @.@

It was summer, and it was uncomfortably hot that we decided to take a down time back in the hotel.

We went to the Banago Wharf to get tickets in advance for our trip to Ilo-ilo then to Guimaras to meet with the Singson fambam in the following days.

365 Modern Cafe

Mateo proclaimed that this cafe gave him the best carbonara experience on this trip.

[Western Visayas 2018] Bacolod / Talisay Day 1

We would try every summer to do a road trip with kids. Last year it was Eastern Visayas so I guess that’s why we’re doing the Western Visayas this time.

We went down to Toledo and boarded Lite Ferries to San Carlos city.

Crossing to Bacolod from San Carlos City is always a fun drive. I noticed that there’s a lot of coffee shop now lining along this way. We’ll try to stop over one of them in coming back.We’re staying in Nature’s Village Resort, which Meg declared as her most favorite hotel.

I like it because it’s just 500m away from The District North, an Ayala Mall. This is not our first time so we kind of just picked up on the places we remember that the kids like.L’ Sea Dimsum for lunch because you’d never go wrong with dimsum when it comes to the kids.

Thankfully, she came out empty-handed. She was disappointed tthatthe book volume she was looking for is not availablez 🙂My kid 1&2 are definitely no longer babies; they no longer look forward to swimming pool. Only kid 3 now only asked to go swimming. 😭Dinner was something new at Rau Ram Vietnamese Restaurant. Mark and I love it! Charot! But it did not impress the kids though except for #kid3.