Places

Blessed and Bountiful Negros

Published on: 17th January, 2010

By CHARLIE COJUANGCO
I’ve been to many parts of the Philippines and the world, and if there is one realization I’ve had in all of these travels, it is this: There’s no place like home. It may sound trite or cliché, but it is true. There is no place like Negros. Always, in foreign lands, I [...]

Bacolod, my home

Published on: 19th December, 2009

by  Pinky Concha Colmenares
Going home still means going to Bacolod, the city of my birth and the home of my youth. Despite having a fully functional home in Metro Manila for decades, where memories of my three adult children have been cultured, “home” to me is 50 minutes away by plane.  Recently, as my long [...]

Wild Wild West in the South

Published on: 19th December, 2009

While others flocked to the public plaza on the night before the Sinulog Festival, my friends and our families traveled two hours from Bacolod to spend a night at the place called “Apache Gamefarm” located in the outskirts of the City of Kabankalan.
Apache Gamefarm is a two-hectare farm in Barangay Orong surrounded by big mahogany [...]

Off to the mountain and the sea

Published on: 19th December, 2009

It is not often that we get to explore the other side of the island with the majority of our fellow Tourism Officers and officemates,  so we exerted  extra effort to ensure we enjoyed the trip. It was, after all, a mix of business and pleasure.
We left Bacolod City at around 8:45 a.m. enroute to [...]

Summer Getaway Places

Published on: 19th December, 2009

By Karen R. Dinsay
Summer is here.  It’s  time to pack our bags and experience the lush mountain resorts and beautiful beaches that Negros Occidental offers.  Come, let’s explore the spectacular attractions of the province.
If you are the nature-adventure type, an overnight stay at Mambukal  Resort is a must.  Mambukal Resort is 31 kilometers east [...]

My Romanian Rhapsody: Visiting the land of Dracula

Published on: 19th December, 2009

By Natalie Lacson
Mention Romania and people immediately think of Dracula and gypsies roaming around prying on other peoples belongings.   Well, why did I visit Romania?  The straight answer is because “it’s is one of the most beautiful and elusive countries in Eastern Europe!“
Recovering from years of economic misery, Romania is rapidly developing into a [...]

Budapest, “Queen of the Danube”

Published on: 19th December, 2009

by Natalie Lacson
As our plane descended, I caught a sight of a city clustered around a sweeping “S” curved river, as elegant as any designed by Lalique or Tiffany.  I began to understand why Hungary’s Budapest is called the “Paris of the East”.  With its predominant Art Nouveau architecture, Roman baths, green and gold roofed [...]

HongKong Holiday

Published on: 18th December, 2009

From the land of tricycles, pedicabs and jeepneys, I went to Hong Kong, land of the red cabs, the double bus, cable cars and underground trains last month.
Known as the “shopping capital of Asia ”, Hong Kong is a place where you can find the most expensive things to the affordable ones and unique items [...]

Bangkok High

Published on: 18th December, 2009

Before Bangkok stirs back to life in the early mornings,  old men balancing baskets on their backs hawk  boiled camote [taro] and ube [yam] in  the streets of Siam.  These are not your ordinary rootcrops –  the camote look like your fingers, and the ube come like violet globs. They are extraordinarily  sweet and finely [...]