Leaving the Philippines for China

Saturday, June 7, 2008--Bacolod and Silay

Today is my last day in Bacolod. Tomorrow, I head to Cebu to take my night flight to China. I will take a bus/ferry trip that takes 8 hours. Then I will go directly to the airport for my night flight to Seoul which will be followed by an early-morning flight to Beijing. The next time I post, I should already be in China.

I had read in my guidebook about Silay, a small town north of hear that was a center for sugarcane production years ago. It mentioned a museum in an old home and a couple of other older homes that were worth seeing. Then I saw a photography exhibit at one of the local malls two days ago with photos from there. It really looked interesting. So this morning, I headed that direction. I had to go to the edge of town where I could catch a jeepney the rest of the way.

Well, Silay was even better than I expected. It is filled with huge old homes that are fascinating. Some have been restored, some are in barely satisfactory condition, and others are falling apart. But they are all built in a nice open-air style with either sliding or flipping windows which often use capice shell to let the light inside rather than windows. In addition to the homes, there were many commercial buildings on the main street that were also of high quality in design and construction.

I just wandered the streets going 3-4 blocks in all directions from the plaza. Every time I found a nice building, I looked at it and then photographed it. Eventually, I quit photographing some of the houses because there were so many of them and because some of the designs were quite similar.

I got lots of stares as I explored. First, the town doesn't get lots of western visitors. And second, of those it does get, it is rare for them to WALK as they explore. Furthermore, I wandered through the plaza, through the market which had big Saturday crowds, among the stalls set up for a festival that was being held in the city, etc. I spent about 2 1/2 hours there before catching a jeepney back to Bacolod.

The rest of the day was and will be rather routine. I stopped at the provincial arts and crafts store as I returned from Silay so that I could see the merchandize produced in the area--jewelry, clothing, furniture, decorative items, food items, etc. I picked up my laundry. I rested in my room. When I finish here, I will go out for my last dinner. I think I will go to the barbecue chicken place I enjoyed two days ago. Then I must pack everything except what I will need early tomorrow morning. I'll have breakfast around 7 a.m. and then head to the bus station. My bus will depart at 8:15.