Bacolod: Budget, Itinerary and Accommodation

I am running out of places to travel here in the Philippines. I know we have 7,107 islands and 81 provinces. As beautiful as my country is, it is not my goal to set every foot in every province in this country. It would be nice to do so, but that’s just not my plan now.

March 2014. The day after my return from my Batanes trip, I realized I had few planned trips in the Philippines this year. I already conquered my Batanes, my super target destination in the Philippines. I had a planned trip to Romblon but after that...no Philippine destination in sight. I checked PAL’s website and there was an ongoing seatsale. 

I booked a trip to Bacolod. 

I had no concrete plans what to do at that time. I know there’s great food in Bacolod, but I don’t travel to try out food. So maybe I’ll try something else.Or just experience something different, although it is not something else.

My foodie Amiga Sarah is joining me this trip! Hoorah!

See, I like eating. But I don’t love love love FOOD. So it is good to have a foodie person in this trip.  

DATE	ACTIVITY	PHP
	Plane ticket via PAL	1,490.00
DAY 0 - September 12, 2014. Friday. Fly from Manil to Bacolod
	MRT Ticket to Taft	15.00
	Bus from MRT Taft to T3	20.00
	Ya Kun Kaya	180.00
	Water at airport	25.00
	Shuttle from Airport to O Hotel	150.00
	O Hotel Payment	1,600.00
	Dinner	146.00
DAY 1 - September 13, 2014. Saturday. Talisay City Heritage Houses. The Ruins
	Trike to pepsi plant	7.50
	Trike to Ruins	50.00
	Ruins entrance	80.00
	Trike back	50.00
	Jeep to Silay	13.00
	Balay Negrense entrance fee	60.00
	El Ideal lunch	176.00
	Pink House entrance fee	60.00
	Bus to Bacolod	15.00
	Jeep to Bacolod	10.00
	Medicine (for sore throat)	13.00
	Jeepney to Calea	7.50
	Calea - coffee and cake	200.00
	7-11 stuff	76.00
	Jeep back to O Hotel	7.00
DAY 2 - August 22, 2014. Friday. Morning Eating. Shopping day
	Jeep to Calea	7.50
	Calea - TY Sarah
	Jeep back to O Hotel	7.00
	Bong Bong's pasalubong loot	429.00
	Jeep to Cafe Bob's	7.50
	Cafe Bob's lunch	260.00
	Calea - TY Sarah
	Taxi Back to O Hotel	32.50
	Shuttle to Airport (arranged by hotel)	150.00
	Bacolod Airport fee	200.00
	Kuppa at the airport	90.00
	Piatos at the airport	40.00
	19:15 H Depart Bacolod (delayed flight)
	21:00H Arrive Manila
	Cab to MRT station	50.00
	Jeep to MRT Taft	8.50
	MRT ticket – Taft to North Ave.	15.00
	Jeep -  Mindanao Ave	8.50
TOTAL IN PHP		5,756.50

I deliberately left out Mambukal falls, I didn’t want to fit it in my itinerary for the sake of just doing it. Siguro dati, nung medyo bagets-bagets pa ako, I would do it. Not now.

Two full days is not enough to sample Bacolod’s cuisine. One week is not even enough. I think you have to live in the town to try and fully appreciate everything.

From T3 to T2

Of all the NAIA terminals, I love T3 the best. Not only because it is new, but also because it is very commuter friendly. For this Bacolod flight, I booked a ticket with PAL, which flies out of Terminal 2. Not wanting to take a cab, I tried to take the shuttle bus connection from T3 to T2. You ride an airport bus bound from T3, get off then ride another shuttle bus to T2. I reached T3, but I did not ride the connecting bus going to T2. I saw PAL’s banner (forgot to take a pic due to excitement) that they offer transfers to T2.

We asked around and we located this desk:

 

Ooooh... Transfer desk

 

The shuttle bus will go to T2 via roads INSIDE the airport. COOL. We don’t have to deal with all that traffic outside. There’s a construction in the airport road, traffic was horrible. Service is available for PAL passengers only.

  

Grabbed some dinner while waiting for our flight. Ya Kun Kaya was a wonderful discovery. (This plays a huge part during our Singapore trip). Milo on toast (they had really good bread!) is life-changing. Add soft-boiled eggs! Food heaven! And we are not in Bacolod yet.

Life-changing Milo toast

We boarded a van in the parking lot in front of the airport. At first, I was apprehensive that the guy was an untrushworthy tout, but turns out they charge the correct rate – Php 150.00 all the way to downtown Bacolod. Ride took more than 30 minutes, but under an hour.

Accommodation

I chose some level of comfort for this trip. Probably a hang-over from a Staycation that I did in August for my birthday. Instead of staying in a guesthourse/pension inn, which is my usual protocol, I chose to stay in O Hotel. It ranks #1 in Tripadvisor as the best hotel to stay in Bacolod. Shelled out Php 1,600 for a double room per night (that’s Php 800/pax/night). Rates comes with a passable buffet breakfast – don’t expect bacon.

 

O Hotel. I forgot to take a photo when we arrived.

 

Standard accommodation. Clean. Well-maintained. Hot water in the shower is plenty.  

 

O Hotel's Bathroom

 

The hotel has a nice ambiance in the lobby. Receptionists were very helpful to our queries. The location is bit of a walk to the food area. It s a good 25-minute walk going to SM Bacolod. You’ll have to take a jeepney if you want to go to Calea. Public transportation is ample, so if you don’t fancy walking, you can always hail a jeep or a cab.