Dumaguete City’s beautiful coast and seaside boulevard at dusk
Here’s my itinerary during my recent trip to Dumaguete, Oriental Negros and Siquijor Province for 6 days and 5 nights:
I’m so happy to kick-off my year of traveling with my first out-of the-region trip this year to Dumaguete City and Siquijor via Kabankalan City (Negros Occidental). I was so pumped about the trip since it’s my first time to visit the genteel City of Dumaguete and the mystical island of Siquijor.
White Sand Beach in tropical San Juan, Siquijor
My whole 3rd week of January was swamped with covering the Dinagyang Festival. It got really hectic during the weekend trying to balance my time covering the various events, bonding with school friends, meeting online buddies, preparing photos and videos to be posted ASAP, and catching up on sleep.
I never expected to be visiting Bacolod City so frequently last year since most of my trips were unplanned decisions. Just before the year ended, an unfortunate circumstance hit our family (father’s side). We had to go to Bacolod to attend our Granpa’s funeral.
When we arrived in Muelle Loney (Downtown, Iloilo City), jump off point of Iloilo-Bacolod fastcrafts, we learned that the boat was going to arrive 1 hour late. While waiting, we decided to have a quick snack in Roberto’s, which is just a block away from Muelle Loney. I was so happy to discover that they were serving their signature Queen Siopao that day. The Queen Siopao is a larger than usual siopao with bacon, Chinese sausage, chicken pork adobo and egg and is served at only select days for the month.
Went to Bacolod City during the last days of 2009 to be at my lolo’s wake and burial. Sneaked in some shots of the city during my free time and got to visit the New Bacolod-Silay Airport, while fetching some of our relatives. Also, took some night shots of the Lacson Ruins in Talisay since my grandparents’ house is just nearby.
Iloilo – Bacolod Ferry
It’s a new year and it’s time to look back at experiences and events during the past year. Here are the places that I’ve travelled to and major events in Iloilo that I’ve got the chance to witness in 2009.
Two of my pictures taken during recent visits to Bacolod City, Negros Occidental were published in the iTravel Philippines Magazine’s Bacolod City feature by Mr. Bombette G. Marin. The pictures were of the Lacson Mansion Ruins in Talisay City and the San Sebastian Church in Bacolod City. I’m very happy that my photos are circulating outside my blogs with permission and proper credits this time.
The Western Visayas Tourism Assembly is an annual gathering of all provinces and cities of Western Visayas geared at showcasing the tourism potential of the region. Roxas City and Capiz Province hosted the event this year held last December 4-6 . I was able to witness event with fellow bloggers Junelle, JunJunn, Eric, and Sheila. During the first day, we were treated with the unique opportunity of seeing some of the best festivals in Western Visayas. The street dance parade started from the city plaza all the way to Villareal Stadium, where they performed their spectacular 5 to 10 minute choreographed dances.
I’m still hung over my travelling spree in October and now, I’m going out of the house again for my next trip to Roxas City, Capiz on December 4-6 for the Western Visayas Tourism Assembly and Sinadya sa Halaran. I still have a lot of backlog travel posts to do and I’m currently finding ways to manage posting them before my planned trips this December.
On the steps to St. Paul Cathedral Ruins
Last month, the day after attending the Philippine Blog Awards, me and my siblings (four of us) travelled to Hong Kong and Macau for 3 days and 2 nights. It was our first trip abroad and it took months of planning because we wanted to personalize our itinerary and did not want to be part of a constrictive tour group. Planning for the trip was quite easy because there are a lot of information available online about Hong Kong and Macau but we just wanted it to be flawless and cram as much sights during our short visit. We actually flew in to Hong Kong and stayed there for two days, visited Macau on the third day, and then flew back to Manila via Macau later that day.
We originally just planned to visit Hong Kong for our trip but Macau was too tempting to pass off. It’s just one hour away by ferry … much like crossing the strait from Iloilo to Bacolod, *heh*. I was the one who convinced them to include Macau in the trip given that I was responsible for planning the Macau leg of our itinerary.
Ambot-ah is a blog about my life as a travel blogger, nurse, and freelance photographer. After my college graduation, I decided to make a living out of blogging and live out my many passions. Join me on my travels around the Philippines and South East Asia. Read my helpful backpacking journals, budget travel trips, do-it-yourself itineraries, blogging pursuits (making money online), and photography tips. 
