The Ruins and Ancestral Houses in Silay, Bacolod

Saturday started off with a morning buffet breakfast at O Hotel. Good enough. It was too much to expect for bacon. 

We confirmed our research with the receptionists before conquering the humid and gloomy weather. 

We boarded a jeep bound for “Bata” and got off the Pepsi Plant – paid Php 7.50. The tourist price for the trike to The Ruins is Php 50.00. The real fee for locals is Php 20.00. If you have a local, swerte mo, or you can assert your right (it may or may not work). Ah well, what is new about this touristy places? It is kinda tiring to expect for a fair price all the time. 

 

The ride is smooth, the bumpy ride is just a couple of meters. Fun to ride in a trike with all the sugar canes around you.

The Ruins is located in Talisay. This is a good hour away from the city center. The Ruins is dubbed as the Taj Mahal of the Philippines, not because of its looks, but because of its history. The house was built by a sugar baron for his wife. I'll let the tour guides tell the rest of the tale. 

 

 

Sarah being chased by the fishies

The entrance to The Ruins cost Php 80.00. We asked our trike to wait for us – although the locals inside this is not necessary, there are trikes waiting outside all the time. They hold the tours every time there’s a bunch of visitors. I think it is regular, but the time is indefinite. We waited for a while for this because the guides took a break.

It was fun when the guides started explaining about the history of The Ruins. Even though you may wait for a while, I highly recommend you take the tour. The fund guides shared history about the place, delivering punch lines in the right moments. They are awesome!

  

Didn’t bother eating here. We asked our trike driver to drop us off the jeep bound for Silay.

  

We stoped in a street just after we saw the sign of El Ideal. From here, we were guided by our map-print out of the vicinity, the sites were marked in the map. There’s also the handy Google maps in your phone if you prefer that. I still prefer the old-school style of map-reading. 

We followed our handy printed map from Google and just walked going to Balay Negrense (located at Cinco de Noviembre St.). Not that far from where we got off, even if we took a few detours.

 

Balay Negrense is a huge old house. Entrance fee is PHp 60.00. It was restored. The furniture inside were donated by the locals. Didn’t like the mismatching furnitures. It didn’t tell the story of how the old family lived there.

 

There’s this interesting family tree.

 

Holifena Museum was closed (located at 14 Cinco de Noviembre St.)

 

There’s this Pre-Historic Internet Cafe a few steps from Holifena Museum. 

‘Twas raining and our tummies were grumbling so we made our way to El Ideal bakery for our yummy lunch. We resumed ancient house hunting after lunch.

Pink House/ Bernardino-Jalandoni Museum is located along Rizal St. Entrance fee is Php 60.00. We passed by the old RCBC building on our way there. There was a guide this time. The house is more interesting with a guide. She pointed out interesting facts and told us stories about the past residents in the house.

In a wall, photos of all ancestral homes were hung. We noticed that one of the photos resembled a ruin which we found near Balay Negrense. The lot was for sale. This is the ancestral home of Ireneo Lapres.

 

 Kinda sad that they are selling the lot. But the house is not there anymore. So there.

The kind staff of Pink House helped us grab a non-aircon bus going back (Php 15.00). We rode another jeep going back to Bacolod (Php 10.00).

As for the food, that's a separate story...