Travel NOTES | Bacolod City Travel Guide

Bacolod City is the capital of Negros Occidental. Widely known as the “City of Smiles”, the city has also ranked first as “Best Place to Live in the Philippines” in 2008. This beautiful, friendly city is well-known for its lively Mardi Gras-like Masskara Festival which draws tens of thousands of tourists from across the Philippines and outside the country.

The city was first established as the Municipalidad de Bacólod (Municipality of Bacolod) before it officially became the Ciudad de Bacólod (City of Bacolod). Its name is said to be from the term “bakólod” which is the Old Hiligaynon term for “hill, hillock, rise, mound, any small eminence or elevation”. Such was the name and terrain of the original settlement which is now the location of Brgy. Granada.

TRIVIA

·   Known as the “City of Smiles”, Bacolod City is one of the friendliest in the country.

·   It is also known as the “Land of Sweet People” because of its culinary heritage which leans towards sweet or sweetened food.

·   The city is also known as the “Sugar Bowl of the Philippines” because of its status as the major producer of sugar cane and sugar.

·   The popular underdog football team “Azkals” beat Mongolia with a score of 2–0 at Bacolod City’s Panaad Stadium on Feb. 09, 2011.

Province: Negros Occidental

Region: Western Visayas (Region VI)

Country: Philippines

Coordinates: 10.6667° N, 122.9500° E

Area Code: 034 (+6334)

Zip Code: 6100

Currency: Philippine Peso (PHP 1= US$ 0.02)

Language: English| Tagalog | Hiligaynon/Ilonggo

Local Dialect: The Hiligaynon dialect is often referred to as “Ilonggo”. This dialect is mostly used in Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Capiz, and Guimaras provinces. Still, there are other provinces where the language is also popularly used because of the significant population of people coming from or because of the location of these areas near these aforementioned provinces. It is classified as a Visayan language and has plenty of similarities to the Cebuano dialect. The spoken language consists of 3 vowels (/a/,/ɛ~i/,/o~ʊ/) and 16 consonants (p,t,k,b,d,ɡ,m,n,ŋ,s,h,w,l,ɾ,j). The core alphabet features 20 letters (a,b,k,d,e,g,h,i,l,m,n,ng,o,p,r,s,t,u,w,y) but the actual writing system is more extensive, consisting of 32 letters based on Spanish orthography (a,b,c,ch,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,ll,m,n,ng,ñ,n͠g/ng̃/ñg,o,p,q,r,rr,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z). The dash (-) and apostrophe (') are so widely used in the language (examples: gab-e for “night” and san-o for “when”) that these could be considered as additional letters to their alphabet. The dialect is easy to distinguish from other Visayan variations, especially with its lambing, sort-of sing-song tone. Hiligaynon also features a large number of Spanish words incorporated within the language.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

·         Mayor’s Office of Bacolod City: (034) 434-1212

·         Bacolod City Police Office: 166 | (034) 434-1412

·         Bacolod City Fire Station: (034) 434-5022 | (034) 435-5555

·         Bacolod City Water District: (034) 433-2141

·         Bacolod City Tourism Office: (034) 433-6751 | (034) 708-3066

·         Department of Foreign Affairs: (034) 434-8338

WHERE TO STAY

·         Planta Centro Bacolod. Corner Araneta & Roxas Streets, Bacolod City. Contact: (034) 468-0400, (034) 468-0408 (fax) | email: reservations@bacolodplantahotel.com, info@bacolodplantahotel.com, banquetsales@bacolodplantahotel.com | website: http://www.bacolodplantahotel.com/.

·         L'Fisher Hotel. 14th Lacson St., Bacolod City. Contact: (034) 433-3731, (034) 433-3732, (034) 433-3733, (034) 433-3734, (034) 433-3735, (034) 433-3736, (034) 433-3737, (034) 433-3738, (034) 433-3739, (034) 433-0951 (fax) | email: lfisherhotel@yahoo.com, sales@lfisherhotelbacolod.com | website: http://lfisherhotelbacolod.com/.

·         East View Hotel. Carlos Hilado Circumferential Road, corner Esperanza Diola Street, Bacolod City. Contact: (034) 707-2222, (034) 433-0596, (034) 707-3535, (034) 707-2525 | email:contact@eastviewhotel.com | website: http://www.eastviewhotel.com/.

·         GO Hotels Bacolod. Lacson Street, Mandalagan, Bacolod City. Contact: (034) 852-9362 | website:http://gohotels.ph/bacolod.

·         Casino Filipino Hotel Bacolod. Golden Field Commercial Complex, Singcang, Bacolod City. Contact: (034) 434-8913, (034) 434-8901, (034) 434-8902, (034) 434-8903, (034) 434-8904, (034) 434-8905, (034) 434-8906, (034) 434-8907, (034) 434-8908, (034) 434-8909, (034) 434-8910, (034) 434-4433 (fax) | website: http://www.pagcor.ph/bacolod/.

·         The Sylvia Manor. San Juan St., Bacolod City. Contact: (034) 434-9801, (034) 709-0927, (02) 542-6026 (Metro Manila), (032) 511-8247 (Cebu), (033) 396-5844 (Iloilo) | stay@sylviamanor.com | website: http://www.sylviamanor.com/.

·         Circle Inn - Hotel and Suites. Lopez Jaena – Malaspina Streets, Capitol Shopping Center, Bacolod City. Contact: (034) 709-9111, (034) 709-9009, (034) 433-2538 (fax), +63-917-445-9972 (mobile) | email: bacolod@circleinnph.com | website: http://www.circleinnph.com/.

·         Tamera Plaza Inn. #79 Lacson St., Bacolod City. Contact: (034) 432-1708,  (034) 709-0886 (fax), 09236355035 (mobile)| email: tameraplazainn@gmail.com | website: http://www.tameraplazainn.com/.

WHERE TO EAT

·    Buffet: Inaka (Japanese) | Bacolod Veggies and Health Food corner | Mary Ann Eatery

·   Fine Dining: Vienna Kaffeehauz and Vienna Coffee bar | L'Kaisei | Carlo's Ristorante Italiano | Cafe Uma | 21 Restaurant | Italia Restaurant

·   Fastfood Chains / Budget Restaurants / Barbeque Places / Grills: Bob's | Sweet Greens | Tamarind | Mu Shu | Kuppa | L'Kaisei Express | The Blue Mexican | Apollo Restaurant | Imbiss | Royal Caribbean Jamaican Patties | Manokan Country | Pala-Pala Market | Ting-Ting's Native Restaurant | Marby Plaza | Jo's Chicken Inato | Organics | Mang Inasal | Jollibee

·   Pastries: Roli's Bakeshop | Cafe Bob's | Calea | Bascon Café | Bong Bong's Pasalubong

WHAT TO DO

·   Celebrate City Festivals. Bacolaodiat Festival (The Chinese New Year of Bacolod) celebrated every Chinese New Year | Panaad sa Negros (known as “mother of festivals” in Negros Occidental) celebrated every April | Masskara Festival celebrated every 3rd Week of October. schedule of activities here.

·   Visit. Fountain of Justice | Mariano Ramos Ancestral Home | Iron Dinosaurs (Vintage Steam Locomotives) | Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol Building and Lagoon | Bacolod Public Plaza | Lizares-Rodriguez Mansion | Subo Mo to | St. Jude Thaddeus Shrine | San Sebastian Cathedral | Centennial Bells | Palacio Episcopal | Pope John Paul II Monument | Negros Museum | Museum Negrense De La Salle | Orange Gallery | Dizon Ramos Museum | Christmas Village | Slot Machine Arcade | Casino Filipino

·   Explore. Bacolod Western Visayas Clonal Nursery | Mt. Kanla-on Natural Park | Buro-Buro and Bucal-bucal Springs | Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation Inc. | Eco-Garden (Eroreco)

·  Sports. Pong Hang Badminton Center | Montevista Tennis Association | Center Court tennis courts | Lopue's East Bowling Lanes| Negros Super Lanes and Entertainment Center (aka Super Bowling Lanes)| Bacolod Golf and Country Club | Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club, Inc. | Panaad Park and Stadium

·    Shop. Robinson's Place Bacolod | SM City Bacolod | Gaisano City | Mayfair Plaza | ANP Showroom | 888 Chinatown Mall | Terra Dolce | The University Courtyard | Central Market

     TRANSPORTATION

     ·  Airport. Bacolod-Silay International Airport (located outside the city) | Served by 4 airlines: Philippine Airlines, AirPhil Express, Cebu Pacific, Zest Airways | Daily flights to Manila and Cebu

·    Seaport. Bacolod Seaport or BREDCO Port and Banago Wharf | Served by several shipping lines: 2GO Travel, Supercat, Weesam Express, Ocean Jet, Tri Star megalink, Montenegro Lines, Jomalia Shipping | Trips to Manila, Iloilo, and Cagayan de Oro

     ·  Inland Transportation. South Terminal and North Terminal | Modes of transportation: bus, van for hire, jeepney, taxi, tricycle, rental cars

MUST TRY

·         Piyaya is a sweet delicacy likened to a chewy biscuit with fillings of caramel or ube (yam).

·         Try the crispy, deep-fried sliced bananas coated with brown sugar known as pinasugbo.

·         Bacolod City is quite famous for its inasal, a term used for roasted barbecue, be it pork of chicken.

·         You can also sample the delicious lumpiang ubod (fresh lumpia), Napoleones, and kalamayhati.

note: Masskara Festival Image (Left) courtesy of my Travel Blogger friend PinoyAdventurista.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Let's #explore7107islands

Follow TRAVELING MORION's Journeys and  Travels

Follow me on Twitter| @travelingmorion

LIKE my Facebook Page| Traveling Morion