Last Updated on November 8, 2021 by Ran
Maayong aga!
I’m feeling incredibly psyched about this next travel series. Kat and I haven’t gone on a trip together since Coron last year, so when the opportunity arrived at our proverbial doorstep this semester in the form of a class trip, we immediately grabbed it for some much needed R&R.
Guess where we’re going this time? Negros Occidental, yay!
It’s actually my first time in Negros, so I’m quite excited. Let’s see what adventures await us this time, shall we?
Table of Contents
Bacolod-Silay International Airport
Kat and I didn’t have the same flight for the MNLBCD route, sadly. I got the 5:45AM flight with Monmon and Na while she got 4:45AM one. The three of us arrived at the airport at around 7:15 in the morning, having left Manila at around 6:00.
The domestic arrivals section was kind of small, but understandably and thankfully not as small as the one in Coron. Mon, Na, and I were pretty glad that there were some stalls outside, so we bought ice cream and shakes first while waiting for our van to arrive. A half-hour later, it finally did, along with the other participants of the tour.
Finally, we were on our way.
The Ruins
The Ruins is, as its name literally implies, the ruins of an old mansion from the Spanish Colonial era. It was built by a rich haciendero by the name of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson in honor his beloved Maria Braga, who died while pregnant with their 11th child. According to the story, when the Americans came to the Philippines during the World War II, they had the mansion burned down in fear that the Japanese troops in Negros might use it as their hideout. It took three whole days and nights to burn, but even then, the mansion refused to go down in ashes. What remained was the foundation of the mansion, standing tall until this very day.
If you want to learn more about the history of The Ruins, you can check out this page from its official website.
There’s an entrance fee of 60PHP for adults and 40PHP for students and kids. Inside the grounds, there were some stalls, a pasalubong store, and a restaurant. The lawn is also big enough for a picnic or outdoor events.
We had fun taking pictures around the place, even though there wasn’t really much to see, to be honest.
Chicken House
After The Ruins, we headed to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Bacolod is widely known as the home of chicken inasal, and as someone who loves chicken, I wanted to know if the hype was real.
And what do you know, my expectations were actually surpassed. Lunch was absolutely a-m-a-z-i-n-g. The menu prices were really affordable as well. I had one order of chicken pecho, two and a half orders of garlic rice, and one leche flan for dessert, yet my bill didn’t even reach 200PHP. Totally, totally recommend this place.
We’re off to the main attraction of this trip, Lakawon Island!
