Visit the place known as the Sugarbowl of the Philippines, where the old is treasured, preserved, and honored, while the new is embraced, accepted, and developed. Traipse around Bacolod City and see the sights, hear the sounds, and enjoy the colors that only the capital city of Negros Occidental can provide. Bacolod City is located somewhere on the upper left side of the sock-shaped island of Negros and the most populated city in the province. Ironically, despite being known as the “City of Smiles” and for its highly urbanized growth, Bacolod City is perhaps one of the very few cities in the country that has managed to preserve the beauty of the olden days so much so that despite its fast paced development, a part of Bacolod City will always look back and cherish its heritage.

Bacolod Airport

A visit to Bacolod City is not a hard feat to accomplish. One only needs to ensure that he or she arrives at the city safe and sound, and almost immediately, there are people who are willing to make your visit more relaxing and entertaining such as friends, family or even people in the streets as they are very warm hearted and entertaining. There are many places to go with sights to see in the “City of Smiles“. Fancy a tour around the whole city for a day and visit some famous attractions such as the Palacio Episcopal, Fort San Juan, Garden Ploys and Landscapes, the Pottery Village, St. Jude Thaddeus Shrine, Barangay Virgen Chapel, and the Provincial Capitol Park and Lagoon. But if you prefer to relax and lounge around resorts, Bacolod City also has these to offer you. You may need to inquire about the resorts from a travel agent as there are quite some impressive resorts which lie just outside the city.

Bacolod City

Visit Bacolod City in October, at around the third week of the month which is closest to October 19.  Around this time, the well-known MassKara Festival takes place. The festival is a week-long celebration which first started in 1980. Incidentally, the city was going through a crisis from some problems in the sugar industry as well as the death of a lot of the members of the prominent families in Bacolod City. But despite the tragic events, some people made a decision to hold a “festival of smiles” to cheer up the population and take away their sorrows that proved to be a success till this day and now being as one of the great festivals of the country. Being the “City of Smiles” the idea somewhat became a declaration that when the going gets tough, Bacolod City and its residents will stand tall till the end. In the MassKara Festival, people perform street dances with the dancers wearing colorful masks. The dances display such energy, mastery, coordination, and exuberance that most people swear is infectious and exhilarating at the same time. You just cannot escape the hype of it all. Apart from the street dancing, there are also food festivals, concerts, garden shows, and other events that go with the festival every year.

Grab your chance to enjoy Bacolod City and experience the beauty of the Philippines Bacolod style.

Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) is a group of island in the heart of Davao Gulf. Mostly known as the Samal Island is one of the newest cities in the country, physically unattached to mainland Mindanao.

A great place to those who are seeking solace in an unspoiled but natural ambiance with great adventures and extreme challenges that is close to nature. Blessed with beautiful coastlines having white sand beaches, abundant marine life, magnificent rock formations, and flourishing flora and fauna. It is home to the famous Pearl Farm Beach Resort, which was once literally a pearl farm. The beauty of the island is not just with its white and unspoiled beaches or its diverse natural attractions but to its warm and lovely people as well. All these make this island a potential world-class eco tourism destination in this part of the Philippines.

The name speaks for itself and for what a place is destined to become – an island cluster emerging to become the international center and financial district for the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines – East ASEAN Growth Area) as laid out in the Davao Integrated Development Program (DIDP). It would take around 10-15 minutes to get to Samal with motorboat, ferry boat or an island bus transport from Davao City. A guided tour will let you discover its inland treasures - the majestic rivers, the cool water falls, antique mansions and ancestral houses, or the world renowned cave that hosts the world’s biggest colony of fruit bats. Local and foreign scientists say that the cave (one of the 70 caves in the island) is home to 1.8 million Geoffrey’s Rousette Fruit Bat.

There are lots of beach resorts where you can stay over night. The most popular ones are Pearl Farm Beach Resort, Paradise Island Park and Beach Resort, Kaputian Beach, Talikud Beach, Isla Reta, Blue Waters, Palm Hill, and Costa Marina.

You can never get enough stay in Samal because because of all the things that you can do there such as swimming, beach and island hopping, camping, hiking, exploring caves and falls, snorkeling, scuba diving, and relax as you observe it’s natural beauty. Festivals in the island are as colorful as always like the Pangapog Festival, IGACOS Festival, Hugyaw Samal, Kabasan Festival and the Bat Festival in Babak District.

This article is an entry at the Paraiso Philippines Forum by member Jona_JZ and edited by our team of editors. Also please view the official website of the Island Garden City of Samal for more information.

Welcome To the Island Garden City of Samal.

A highly urbanized community in the province of Lanao del Norte in the Southern part of the Philippines. It is about 795 kilometers southeast of Manila and has a population count of 308,046 according to the National Statistics count of 2007.

This city got its nickname as The City of Waterfalls because of the presence of more or less 20 waterfalls that includes the majestic Maria Chritina Falls (Life of the City). Visitors can also enjoy the elegant beauty of Tinago Falls (translated as Hidden Falls ) because it is literally hidden in a deep ravine.The way that leads in going to and coming from the falls adds up to the thrill of being there as mountain trekking could be added as an additional destination experience . Some other accessible falls to visit are Mimbalut Falls, Limunsudan Falls and Hindang Falls.

Currently, Iligan City is composed of 44 Barangays with people from diverse cultures. Iliganons are mixture of Maranao and Cebuano with a minority number of cultural minorities which includes the Higaunons. Historically, Iligan City already existed during the 1500’s but only got noticed when it became one of the first Christianized community in the country especially in the south. The name Iligan is from the Higa-unon word “iligan” or “ilijan” which means “Fortress of Defense.” It became a fortress against the attacks of some hostile Mindanao tribes and pirates during those times.

Locals citizens and tourists alike will enjoy the beauty of nature in this place. Sightseeing is not the only activity anyone could enjoy while visiting, hiking, trekking the river beds, swimming, mountain climbing, and shopping as well. The weather is very mostly nice the whole year round so one can also enjoy the cold waters of Timoga Spring Pools which is very well known to have strings of pools along the highway that on peak season, all these places are packed with visitors. Adding more recreational destinations for residents and visitors, the Maze Park and Resort and also the Taytay Swimming Pool was opened to the public just recently.

Not just a fabulous place to spend a vacation but Iligan City houses several big industrial plants as well thus it is being tagged as the Industrial City of the South. These companies contributed a lot to the economy of this city with big sectarian and non-sectarian colleges and universities that caters to the educational needs of the city residents as well as many youths all over Mindanao and beyond its borders.

One of the places that visitors does not fail to visit while in Iligan City is the Chedings Peanuts store in Sabayle Street. They sell the famous Cheding Peanuts that every Iliganon or Filipino loves. A local store that gained its popularity that all local residents and visitors alike buys their local made peanuts or other Filipino sweet delicacies for personal consumption or be sent abroad.Also a popular take home item is the Sukang Pinakurat (local vinegar) that is relative to the name Iligan City in terms of popularity.

This article is an entry for a contest by Arlene Collado at the Paraiso Philippines Forum and was modified by one of our editors for publication.

Picture this: Crystal blue waters, cloudless skies, sugary pristine white sand beaches, cool breeze, and friendly people. Isn’t it enough to make you feel like lounging around and just get some good R&R ? I thought so.

The perfect place for lovers of sea, sky, and white sands is definitely Bais City and one of the component cities located in Negros Oriental at Central Visayas or Region VII, and it lies approximately 44.7 kilometers from Dumaguete City, the province’s capital. It spans a land area of 316.90 square kilometers, and is one of the places that have a series of haciendas.

One of the things that lures tourists to Bais City, aside from its Filipino old world charm is close proximity to the Tañon Strait, which is one of the Philippines’ protected marine sanctuary. It is because of this that Bais City offers dolphin and whale watching activities for both foreign and local tourists alike. Who would want to pass up a chance to get as close to nature’s wonderful creatures, and at the same time enjoy the blue waters and pristine sugary white sand ?

If in Bais City, it is always best to go on the dolphin and whale watching adventure, which starts with an exciting cruise out to Tañon Strait. The trip then enters the natural habitat of dolphin and whale species such as, bottle nose dolphins, long snouted spinner dolphins, melon headed whales, pygmy killer whales, dwarf sperm whales, and pan tropical spotted dolphins.

After the wonderful display of nature’s amazing gifts, the group moves on to the Manjuyod White Sand Bar where the boat stops for a couple of hours and the guests can eat and enjoy the water, sky, breeze, and the whole glorious environment. Should guests be so inclined, they can enjoy snorkeling, sunbathing, swimming, as well as scuba diving in the reefs close by. The usual escapade takes a whole day, starting from seven o’clock in the morning up to four o’clock in the afternoon. While the white sand beaches can be enjoyed all year round, the dolphin and whale watching seasons span from March to October. The rest of the year, the dolphins and whales are sparsely seen.

Not only does Bais City offer tourists and locals with the dolphin and whale watching adventure, but it also provides guests with a authentic delicious cuisine to taste, the pride of Negros. But come December, Bais City also showcases the province’s best display of Christmas Lights and Shows. In fact, it has become a ritual of locals all over the province to visit Bais City during Christmas time to see the glowing neon flashing lights with nice sights they have in store for everyone.

Article is an entry to a contest at Paraiso Philippines Forum contributed by Lorselle Ann Tecson aka Neverdainty  a native of Negros Oriental and a graduate of Silliman University.

Dumaguete City, The City of Gentle People, is the capital city of Oriental Negros (as it is now currently called) is part of Central Visayas (Region VII). Unfortunately, this little “University Town” is sometimes being overlooked and has gone unnoticed to others who don’t know about Silliman University, the first American school in Asia, established in 1901 by Dr. David S. Hibbard and Mrs. Laura Hibbard by way of the Philanthropist Horace B. Silliman, which the school is named after.

Dumaguete was coined from the local term “daguit” which means “to steal” or “to snatch” because it was said that Moro pirates came to the shores of Dumaguit and snatched away young ladies. As a testament to this story, the Bell Tower (Kampanaryo or Belfry) is still standing today. It is said that the Kampanaryo’s bells would chime an alarm to alert the locals that the pirates where approaching.

Many claimed that Dumaguete City was named the “City of Gentle People” by none other than Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippine National Hero when he stayed for one night on his way to Dapitan City where he would spend his years of exile. Dumaguete has lived up to its reputation and is still known to be a hospitable city. The charming city boasts about its Boulevard which is quite picturesque especially at nighttime with various restaurants and sidewalk vendors dotting the place. Naturally, Dr. Jose Rizal himself fell in love with the Boulevard which was later named Rizal Boulevard in his honor. Despite its being a city and the capital of Oriental Negros, Dumaguete is relatively peaceful and it is quite safe to walk the whole Boulevard at night and enjoy the scenery.

Because of its reputation as a “University Town,” quite a number of restaurants dot the place. Despite a steady influx of restaurant chains, the local restaurants are still the best places to see and be seen. Dumaguete has a little bit of everything for anyone. If you fancy reggae music, Reggae Wednesday at Hayahay is the place to be, featuring a popular local band Enchi. If sports are your thing, Barefoot and Gimmik are popular hang-out spots. If you want to grab authentic Mexican food, Coco Amigos offers a wide range of Mexican dishes that are delicious. If disco is your thing, El Camino Blanco and The Music Box are the top picks. If you’re a pizza and beer person, Nevas serves authentic stone-fireplace-baked pizzas that are affordable and melt-in-your-mouth tasty. For beers, college students and other locals flock to El Amigo and some stop by Café Memento which serves the best Barako coffee and Chimichanggas ever. There is also Habhaban, an out-of-the-way restaurant that serves the best “silog” dishes at affordable prices. Manang Siony’s Tocino is also a local favorite and serves affordable barbecued tocino that is unique to the city. If that isn’t your thing, you can simply enjoy tempura, fish balls, kikiam, and balut (duck’s egg) by the Boulevard while being serenaded by Manong who brings his guitar and sheet music and plays for only a few pesos.

During November, the Sandurot Festival is celebrated in honor of St. Catherine of Alexandria and Dumaguete’s charter day. With a month-long of activities that celebrate Dumaguete’s unique heritage and culture, the city is then alive with tourists and a few notable Filipino celebrities. Getting around Dumaguete is easy. Simply rent a motorcycle for the day and off you go exploring the little known streets and corners and experiencing Dumaguete on your own. There is much to discover in Dumaguete starting from the Anthropology Museum in the newly restored Silliman Hall to the crocodiles at the Silliman University Marine Lab, a renowned research facility in Asia. I have lived in Dumaguete City for 23 years and although it lacks the modern malls and the various restaurant chains, Dumaguete City has a unique charm all on its own and despite its laid back atmosphere; it is the only place I call home.

Article contributed by Ezrah Lasola-Tuble of Better Than Ezrah and a member of our Forum.