Negros Oriental, The Final Leg: Our Holiday in the Philippines Part 4

We didn't do a great deal more in Bacolod City but I had a pleasant restful time and I still rate Circle Inn a great deal.It is not perfect but it is good and the staff amply make up for the slow drainage in the showers! Hell I can live with that but I struggle with a room which has no electricity and no water at the same time that I have the Bestsy Trotwoods. I have paid more for such a room in BC while poorly! So well done Circle Inn and we will be back.

The whole focus of life in BC at the moment is the Maskarra Festival. Is it really a festival?! Or is it a bit of an orgy of excess and indulgence? I think more the latter! Traditionally it coincides with the harvesting of the sugar cane crop for which Negros is famous. It is difficult not to see sugar cane plantations when you drive around the Negros countryside. These plantations were once Spanish owned and managed haciendas and if you go to Silay, near the airport, there is one that operates as a museum today and is worth a visit. Maskarra is of course fiesta and in its modern reincarnation it means a major street party down town, shows, a market, a beauty pageant, talent shows and people come from far and wide to join in the festivities. I think it also means a lot of bother. Fortunately we managed to avoid any of the adverse stuff but in any event I am not a major sampler these days of so-called night life and this tends to be when the main action occurs.

So Thursday morning we headed for Dumaguete in the southern part of Negros, in Negros Oriental to be precise. Now they speak a different language here, Cebuano, so take note the barrier in this case is not the sea but rather a mountain range. Cebu is very nearby, but it is a separate island. We visited here a few years ago on my first trip to the Philippines accompanied by Luna's sister, Nenen. I liked it then and I still like it today. The only thing that is a little off putting is the high number of older Western men! But it is a lovely place.

I have to tell you about the best hotel I have stayed in in the Philippines and possibly anywhere. We are at The Bethel Guesthouse. As its name suggests it is a Christian establishment but it's not like you have to attend bible study or declare your opposition to evolutionary science. Nobody has God blessed me....yet! It is efficient, clean, friendly and well managed; it has a canteen serving out cheap, nutritious food. It is on the sea front facing the sea On each floor there is a service desk with a member of staff present to attend to your needs and just keep an eye on things. It is immaculately clean and the rooms are well equipped and comfortable. If you are down this way, check it out and see for yourself.

So we head back to Manila Sunday afternoon and onwards to Bangkok Sunday night. It's been a lovely trip.