No Spam, No Virus, No Kiddin'!: Iloilo

I had been hearing raves about Dinagyang's performance, but it was only last year when I was able to watch the grand champion's winning act. Lucky us who live in Manila, Aliwan Fiesta brings all the regional champions in Quirino Grandstand. My reaction - it was stunning. I had goosebumps as I watched them. And that's the day I promised myself Im going to Iloilo again to witness Dinagyang, upclose.

Where we stayed: Ong Bun Pension House
The room for 3 that we got was quite new compared to what Ive seen online. For the price of only P1,100 per night, we got a spacious A/C room with hot and cold shower. The location is very convenient. It is walking distance to Robinson's Mall and SM. Centrally located between Freedom Plaza and Judging area 2. Street parties are also held in this street. And wifi connection is good, and free of charge!

spacious room at Ong Bun

with hot and cold shower

Where we ate: Tatoy's, Breakthrough, Afrique's, Deco's Batchoy, and JD Bakeshop

me: ate, san po galing yung mangga nyo, sa guimaras?
tindera: sa palengke po.
me: ah ok. ^_^

Other places of interest: Miag-ao Church, Jaro Church, UP Visayas

Where we watched Dinagyang's perfromances: Street!
The night prior the much awaited street dance competition, Fhel, Mec, Nel, Carla, and I checked out the venues. We found out there would be 4 judging areas this year. The nearest to Ong Bun were Freedom plaza (#1) and #2. We thought the performance is for everyone to see, pero hindi pala. Tickets are being sold for P1,000 each! Grabe lang, it's too commercialized. Since we weren't prepared to pay such amount, we chose to be early on the street. There would be judging of street dancing too as the performers parade from one judging area to the next.

Four judging areas? Hindi ba na-consider ng organizers na low energy na ang dancers on the 3rd and 4th judging areas? Specially the dancers are going to perform on the streets too, under the heat of the sun. Trust me, wala ng energy yung iba as they dance. Oh well, that's their call.

The crowd is controlled. Barricades and police officers are everywhere. I just noticed walang pasaway sa Iloilo. Pag bawal sa area na yun, bawal talaga. That's discipline.

and this boy got the best seat

Did we regret watching in the street? Definitely not. We had more fun here. Not to mention Carla and I found the perfect spot to watch the street dance.

carinderia by the street - perfect
may upuan, may red horse, may super sarap na bbq, and restroom

May harang and crowd control, pero deadma na yan once the performers passed by. We pretended to be one of the photographers.

more fun in the barricade Ü

Dinagyang 2012 Photos

in character si kuya!

Papa Piolo?

According to some locals, Dinagyang means merry making. It was like a battle won by the soldiers. As for the feathers, the babaylans used the bird's blood as sign of good luck before the soldiers go the battle.

rock on carla! \m/

one with the crowd

hi baby!

Some were still energetic and some were not. I understand everyone sacrificed for this event. It's really not about the prize, but the pride.

happy to be part of Dinagyang 2012

There are 13 groups who performed. The grand champion looked familiar because they wore the same costume last year.
Anyway, moving on..

ang hirap ma-achieve ang dinagyang pose!

We went back to the hotel tired but truly happy, specially we were only charged less than P100 in the carinderia. Winner!

haggardo versoza to the max!

Not as grand compared to some holidays to benidorm, but I had a quick getaway to the city of smiles Bacolod, plus a side trip to neighboring provinces Iloilo and Guimaras.

Sharing some lessons and realizations thru these snapshots.

The Tale of Masskara

There was a time when Bacolod was badly hit by different crisis and economic problems. Everyone was feeling down. So to hide the despair, the people thought of wearing colorful and lively masks and costumes. They danced in the streets with happy smiles and high spirits. And so Masskara Festival is born.

Lord Byron's BBQ Ribs for only P150!

In Bacolod, we tried this excellent plus-sized meat slabs pork bbq ribs that is fall of the bones and super tender-tasty, for an unbelievable price of P150 only! This is the best ribs Ive tried for its price. Thanks Ayi and Melvin for recommending this to us.

Must-Buy-Umbrella

The sun is unforgiving in Bacolod. At 8am, it's already striking hot. Ansakit sa balat. But still, it's up to you if you can endure the sunburn. Obviously I cant. May tinatawag namang payong, P78 lang!

Masskara Street Dancing

Due to the irresistible food tripping in Bacolod, I arrived late in the plaza and missed the 1st day of street dancing competition. I cant go home to Manila without achieving my goal. So on the 2nd day, I arrived in the plaza 3 hours before the show and saved a 1st row seat. The striking sun and the rain didn't make anyone moved from their seats. The experience to witness the festival upclose, feel the vibes, and cheer with the crowd was all worth it.

Congressman without Bodyguards, with Peng, Jaz, and Verns

All of a sudden, two people asked our group if there's still a sitting space. We moved a little of course and made a seat for them. Few seconds later, I noticed everyone was smiling and handshaking the man. We found out in a little while that he is the congressman. Malay ko ba, sa Manila kasi ang congressman merong mga bodyguards na naka-barong! Hehe

Bacolod Inasal

The default way to eat Inasal is eating it with bare hands. Spoons and forks aren't served at all. Manokan Country is a strip in downtown Bacolod where every restaurant serves Inasal. Lance, Lex, Ram, Kat, and I feasted the authentic inasal. Deadma muna sa carcinogens!

Swish saves the day

The day was just very exhausting. And after everything that I ate, I badly needed to freshen up my mouth. It was really a life saver to see the Swish Booth in the streets. The promodizers invited us to use Swish mouthwash. It was sooo refreshing to gargle! Not only that, the promodizers gave us free Swish bottles each! Thank goodness, now we're ready to celebrate all day and all night.

Ambot sa "Kambing" na may bangs

All this time I thought I was hearing "Ambot sa "Kambing" na may bangs!" Haha Okaayy, so it's Kanding not Kambing. Can anyone translate this phrase please?

Sweetest Mangoes

..at P90/kilo! Prices become steep when this precious fruit of Guimaras is not in season. And by the way, it's prohibited to bring seeds or any part of a mango when entering Guimaras. This way, the locals can maintain the pure breed of their mangoes.

Half Day Tour in Guimaras

Lesson learned the hard way. For a change, I didn't read blogs or forums in preparation for this trip. I thought sometimes knowing-it-all spoils the excitement in a trip. Well, it could be true. But most of the time, it's best to know the directions and normal rates about a foreign place. It saves time and money, and headache in negotiating with the very few opportunist people.

La Paz Batchoy

Okaaay. So La Paz is a place in Iloilo pala. I thought it was a brand.

Coffee Break, anyone?

The Iloilo airport is one of the few decent ones in the Philippines. The design reminds me of NAIA Terminal2. I appreciate the efficiency of getting in and out of the airport. Vans are available to take you to the city or the port. Convenient and cheap. Talking about cheap, this Iloilo's signature Coffee Break sells their coffee for only P90!

Salonpas plasters, Katinko, and Omega pain killer

Aside from the umbrella, here are my new travel essentials. Cant handle a fully packed itinerary anymore as Im beginning to feel back and muscle pain. Welcome to old age it is! ^_^

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