Come With Me To Bacolod

Honestly, this trip was not on my 2026 vision board, but that's what happens when your friend knows too much of your personal info. They be booking stuff on your behalf lol I love it though coz booked flights means you cannot say no, you just pay it and you go. Thanks, bestie who stumbled upon a seat sale and booked us a trip to Bacolod. 

The entirety of August had been rainy, I was really worried about the flight being cancelled, but to my surprise, on the actual day of our flight, the sky seemed to clear up a bit. Mr. Sun even showed up. As an anxious flyer, this put my mind at ease about 60%. 

First matcha drink of this trip!

got all the Asians looking at the airport lolol

We arrived in BCD at around 5pm and booked a grab car to our first hotel - Ecotel. Rested for a bit and headed to Aida's Chicken which is a famous inasal house in Bacolod. Mura na sulit pa!

For desserts, we went to Calea. The whole place was buzzin! We got 3 different cake flavors (forgot the names ughh) but they were all sooo good! The number of people and the noise pollution were overstimulating, though. 

The next day, we travelled an hour to get to Lakawon Ticketing Booth. Lakawon is an island of its own, about 20mins boat ride away from the mainland. 

It's THAT SMOL

We booked an overnight stay which I think is okay since the island was small and there's not much activity to do anyway aside from chilling and swimming. 

The weather was quite sunny when we got there! 

We had breakfast and hung out at their restaurant until our check-in time. Prices of the food are on the pricier side, but you get what you paid for. It's also my first time trying Hojicha Latte!

We were ushered to our room in the afternoon. We changed into our swimsuits and ofc took photos by the beach. The wind was blowing hard nonstop, but I love the fine and white sand!

Us girls got matching tops. Since it was off-season, there were barely any other guests on the whole resort. 

We were told that there was a sandbar on the other side of the island, but we weren't able to see it because it was high tide. 

lowk scared doing this!!!

At night, we threw an advanced celebration for our September babies, Gail & Srevie.

The margarita hits hehe I love it!

The next morning, I decided to Strava-marked this island by running. I wasn't able to run for almost 2 weeks because the flooding and nonstop rain back in Manila were horrible. 

The whole island was barely 2km long!!! When I got to the other end, I was GAGGED to see the sandbar!!! 

It was only 5:30AM and the tide was still low. I couldn’t believe I was literally running on a sandbar!!! I was so happy and honestly got a little sentimental just taking it all in, the sunrise, the wind in my hair, and the prettiest view of the sea and sky.

Stayed there for about a min or two before going back to my run. I just did a 5K that morning. 

My Strava map literally looked like I ran on water because the sandbar wasn’t even connected to the land anymore. 

Met my friends for breakfast after and did another dip in the waters. 

It was also our last day. The travel back to the main island tested my faith so much. This time the weather had gotten bad. The wind was blowing so hard, the waves were high and stronger. I was holding on to my dear life all throughout the trip. It's the kind of ride that makes you look at the boat driver to check if they were panicking or not. In our case, they were chill, but I was sooo damn scared. My anxiety was acting up. Longest 20 minutes of my life. 

Back to the mainland, we took a tricycle to take us to the bus station. Then waited for a bus going back to the city. Checked in to Go Hotels, rested for a bit, and headed to Tractor Cafe for dinner. 

Loved the antique/museum vibe of the cafe. They even got some old/restored tractors at the front yard. 

This phone

And how cute are these old tennis rackets? 

I got pesto pasta and a matcha latte.

Their pasta was fine, but the matcha was a miss :(

The next morning, we went to Art District! They have so much artsy stuff there! Giant murals, art installations and unique sculptures are everywhere. Every corner is instagrammable we just had to take photos!

I think I matched this car lol

And we also got to try Kafeka. Matcha latte hits! Also ordered s'mores and nachos. 

It's me and the loml!!!!

Of course we got to drop by the famous Bacolod Welcome Sign. You didn't go to Bacolod if you didn't visit this. 

We went back to the hotel, checked out, and transferred to our last hotel, which was Seda Hotel. We opted to stay here so we can experience some more relaxation and ofc the breakfast buffet since this will be our last night in the city. 

We dropped by Sharyn's Cansi House coz a lot of people say it's a MUST when you visit! True enough! It was my first time trying it and I loved the taste. It's like Sinigang but with beef. 

The agenda that afternoon is visiting another gem, The Ruins. I'll have you know this is like the Taj Mahal of Negros because it was built out of love and passion for his dear beloved. Such a sweet and grand gesture of showing the world your love. 

 

You can also rent some traditional Filipiniana here

Some of my fave shots!! Dreamy and whimsical place to be. I was in awe!

For dinner, we went to Gina's Seafood Restaurant. I rarely eat seafood coz I'm a bit allergic to shrimp, but damn!! We ordered quite a lot and we got so many take-outs pa! Best of all, it was not as expensive as I had expected it to be! All of these were only around 3k!! In Manila, these would cost I think 7k-ish!!

To cap the night, we had drinks at the hotel's rooftop bar.

Such a productive last day. I was dead tired when we got back to our room. 

The next morning, we had breakfast then headed to Merzci and BongBongs for some pasalubong shopping! I legit made my luggage light coz I wanted to hoard hehe

would've loved to try this but it's out of stock daw

Dropped the goods at the hotel then tried a matcha spot our grab driver had recommended! It's called "Pink Porch Cafe", it was nearby a school so it was packed with students when we visited. Their matcha selection was extensive, though! I had read prior to this trip that the matcha game here in BCD is not giving, so I had zero expectations but this was such a quite surprise!

I think my shirt looks cute!!!!

We returned just in time for checkout, and off the airport we went.

It's so cool that they have vacuum-sealed inasal that you can bring home with you. I forgot the inasal place we dined at the airport, but that's the best inasal I've had in my life!!!! I don't remember the name because we were in a rush. 

Got back in Manila around 7pm and I was again welcomed with dry land despite the back-to-back typhoon! I was thankful!!! 

One thing I loved about this trip was hearing my mother’s dialect—Hiligaynon. I grew up with my titas on my mom’s side, and they would always speak it, which is why I can understand the language.

Hearing it again felt so heartwarming and bittersweet. Somehow, it felt like home. It also made me miss my mom a little more.She’s from Iloilo, and visiting there has always been on my bucket list. I hope I get to go someday. 🤍

That's all for my BCD trip! Stoked to see more of the Ph and ofc abroad.

Soon baby, soon!

xoxo
Grasya