When you fly in to Negros Occidental, you don't land in the capital, Bacolod City, but in Silay City, about 14 kilometers from the capital.
Welcome to Bacolod? Not yet. You are still in Silay.
Shuttle vans are available at the airport to take you straight to Bacolod City for Php 150 per head. We skipped that and walked to the airport's gate for a tricycle to El Ideal to have some breakfast. Regular tricycle fare is Php 10, but we, along with two other passengers, paid Php 15 each so we could get a move on.
El Ideal
118 Rizal St. Silay City
(034) 495 4430
El Ideal was built in the 1920s
Pancit molo, tapsilog, and puto
Goodies are aplenty at El Ideal. Some of the things on their shelf that caught my eye are the Guapple pie (I'm thinking its parents are Mr Guava and Ms Apple), Manapla puto (too bad it wasn't sold individually, I would have wanted to try one), star apple jam and red chili jam.
We had obtained a map of Silay at the airport tourist desk and decided to take a look around after breakfast.
Cinco de Noviembre Monument
"On this place and date (5 de Noviembre 1898) the residents rose in revolt against Spanish rule."
"On this place and date (5 de Noviembre 1898) the residents rose in revolt against Spanish rule."
Silay is home to many ancestral houses,
one of which is the Digna Locsin Consing Ancestral House.
We snapped a photo of it as we were walking from the monument to...
Balay Negrense
Built in the early 1900s, the home of Don Victor Gaston is now a museum.
Visitors are welcome Tuesday to Sunday, 10AM to 5PM
Admission fee Php 40
Built in the early 1900s, the home of Don Victor Gaston is now a museum.
Visitors are welcome Tuesday to Sunday, 10AM to 5PM
Admission fee Php 40
We rang the doorbell to ask if we could come in 35 minutes before opening time.
We were ushered in by the caretaker who uttered regrets that there were no guides yet at this time.
Mustachio was here!
Mustache is the way to go!
Checking the Gaston family circle to see if I am related to them.
Guess not.
Bike
A doll on the fence watched us as we moved along Cinco de Noviembre Street...
...on the way to the Manuel Hofileña House.
Admission fee Php 50
Sir Ramon Hofileña still lives in this house and an appointment must be made (034) 495 4561.
Admission fee Php 50
Sir Ramon Hofileña still lives in this house and an appointment must be made (034) 495 4561.
We were lurking at the gate at 1015AM hoping to be admitted without an appointment.
This guy (I'm sorry, I forgot his name) spotted us and kindly let us in. He also served as our guide.
Old pocketbooks
Some of Mr Hofileña's collections from his travels
Dining room
Showing us how to use the lithograph
Sir Ramon's bedroom is on the second floor. So is his art collection (paintings of Luna, Amorsolo, etc). No photos are allowed in the second floor.
Too bad we did not meet the man of the house. I guess he wasn't in the mood to see the two strangers who woke him from his blissful sleep. So, yeah, you better set an appointment if you want to meet him.
Just kidding. He was out taking a good bath that time.
How Silay invaded Mustachio's pocket:
Tricycle from airport to El Ideal Php 15
Breakfast for two at El Ideal Php 160Balay Negrense admission fee Php 40
Hofileña House admission fee Php 50
Silay Home(s) Invasion (you're here!)