Good Morning, Silay

Part 1 of Our Negros Occidental Tour

Wanderlust has struck again and this time, my college buddies and I flew to the southern island of Negros to visit their famed heritage houses and celebrate the birthday of our palangga Maryann Galeno. Maryann, who lives in the province's capital city of Bacolod has arranged for us a strict itinerary that will cover all the must sees in Metro Bacolod and its nearby towns.

We booked our flights early to get the best deal. I've learned from this trip that the first flight out of Manila and the last flight back are the cheapest, and we took just that. The four o'clock flight had us marvelling at the glorious sunrise just before touch down and it gave us a good head start for our grand tour.

The new airport is located in Silay City, known for its lovely pre-war mansions built by the old families, most of whom owned vast sugar plantations in the island. Since it was still very early for breakfast, we drove around Silay to get a glimpse of its charmed past and breathe fresh morning air. By eight o'clock, we were already enjoying chorizo pudpud and coffee at the old El Ideal bakery, ready for three days of sightseeing, eating and endless pre-menopause banter.