Unique Places in Bacolod City

I work in a local drug/food manufacturing company as a pharmacist/regulatory officer. We are the only Drug Manufacturing company in the province or perhaps the Region... so if you happen to be in Bacolod, pass by the office and i'll be happy to greet you with a smile. =)

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On our way to Bacolod City coming from Dumaguete City, we incidentally noticed the Manny Pacquiao sculpture displayed by the national road in Himamaylan City - 1 1/2 hour drive before Bacolod City. Done by local sculptor Hermie Aurelio, the lifesize statue painted in gold depicts the boxer superstar in his fighting form.

It was displayed in front of the sculptor's shop to be easily noticed by motorists passing by and carried a hefty tag price of P200,000.00 which there were no takers for about a year on display. The good thing is - Hermie would let anybody to take pictures for FREE. The last info about the sculpture was that it was eventually given to Manny Pacquiao for free on July 2006 and its final destination is GenSantos City, the hometown of Pacquiao.

Getting to the Church of the Cartwheels can be hard.

IF YOU HAVE CAR:
If you have a car, it's in Manapla, around one and a half hours away. In Manapla, there's a really tiny sign along the highway pointing left to a farm road, saying "Church of the Cartwheels". Make a left and follow that sign, then just drive all the way straight until you reach an intersection and a private resident house. Make a left in that intersection and just go straight and wala! You've found the Gaston Ancestral House! The shoe house is hidden inside it. Keep going straight and wala again! You've found the Church of the Carthwheels!
If you feel lost, don't be scared and just ask directions from the locals around here. You'll be surprised to find out a lot know this place here!
Oh, and if you entered the town of Manapla, it's wrong. You don't enter the town of Manapla to go here.

IF YOU DON'T HAVE A CAR:

If you don't have a car, then getting to the Church of the Cartwheels can be pretty tough.

If you're going to ride a jeepney, you will have to prepare lots of patience, adventure to get here! Watch carefully at the names of the jeepneys: You will need to ride a jeepney that goes to Cadiz or Escalante. Take note that Manapla is between Cadiz and Victorias. It's something like this:

THE JEEPNEY MAP OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL

O - Escalante (Around 3 hours)
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O - Cadiz (Around 2 hours)
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O - MANAPLA (Around 1 hour and 30 Minutes)
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O - Victorias (Around 1 hour)
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O - Silay (Around 45 Minutes)
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O - Talisay (Around 30 Minutes)
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O - Bacolod (Starting Point)

As you can see, Manapla is between Cadiz and Victorias. Take note too that it's an easy town to miss. So if you're not sure, don' t fall asleep in the jeepney!
So for example, let's make our Starting Point Bacolod. To get to Manapla, you will need to take the jeep that goes to Cadiz or Escalante or if there's one, to Manapla.
DON'T get off in any of them! It's like taking a subway: Escalante is the last station and Manapla is 2nd to the last. If you're impatient and you think you can't find a jeepney to Manapla, Cadiz or Escalante, you may take jeepneys to Victorias or Silay but you will eventually have to catch another jeepney again to Cadiz. Patience is the key!

To make things much easier, any jeepney you board, just ask if it's going to Manapla and tell them you want to go to the Church of the Cartwheels. If you're shy, just write it on a piece of paper and show it on board and they'll tell you.

Take note that the jeepney doesn't work like a robotic public bus that just stops in a sign saying 'Bus Stop' or a subway! You can just get off anywhere you feel like even if it's in the middle of no where! (Just knock on the ceiling of the jeepney!)

Remember too that the Church of the Cartwheels isn't in the town of Manapla but rather on the highway. Watch carefully for the sign and get off the jeepney when you see it. After you do that, you should be on a highway in the middle of sugar canes. Do you see a farm road with a really tiny sign saying 'Church of the Cartwheels?' If you do, good. You can walk that farm road but warning! It can take 30 minutes. (And in the hot sun, this can be torture!) There should be tricycles around and they should be willing to take you all the way to the Church.

If you were able to do this all this way, wow! Congratulations! You've learned to ride a jeepney. Now, wasn't that an adventure?

Go ahead and try it this way, it's really a fun way to get here!

FOOD: Take note that there's NO restaurant here! Either you will have to eat a heavy breakfast or a late lunch, or bring some food here! Oh well, you were warned it was off-beaten.

COSTS: It'll be wise to prepare 150 pesos for all this including the jeepney rides and the tricyles rides. (There's to fee to the Church of the Cartwheels as of 2008) But make sure it's all in small bills or coins so it'll be much easier to get change.

BEST TIMES TO GO:

7 AM to 12 PM- It isn't too hot in the morning. Eat a heavy breakfast first. If you leave 7 AM by jeepney, you will probably arrive this place around 9 AM. 2 hours here is more than enough to savor the whole place. If you leave by 11:00 AM, you'll probably be back in a mall in Bacolod by 1:00 PM. Perfect timing for a wonderful lunch!

3 PM to 6 PM- Although this looks tempting because this is the time when the sun sets, this is best done by car or taxi so that you won't have to worry when it'll get dark.

WEATHER: ALWAYS BRING AN UMBRELLA. You'll never know when it'll rain. A super hot sunny morning can turn into a strong, rainy day in the Afternoon. Don't do this when it's raining hard, it'll be pure torture.

BEST ADVICE: Just ask, ask and ask and you'll make it! It isn't that hard as long as you ask.

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And finally, there's the house. This pretty, mestizo (It has a lot of European influence) house sits proudly like an oasis in the middle of the sugar cane fields of Manapla. Here, you can really see the glorious past of Bacolod when the sugar industry was really booming and making a hit worldwide!

Take note that the Church of the Cartwheels, the Shoe House are all part of the Gaston Ancestral House in Manapla, 1 and a half hours away from Bacolod.

There's still one more exciting thing to see in this Ancestral house and that's the shoe house. that's right! A house that's literally a shoe! It was probably a playground or a siesta place. Though it's falling apart already, it's a still a good place for the mom or the dad to take refuge and hide in peace if your kids are driving you bananas!

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What visitors usually miss when visiting Bacolod? Manapla's Sights! They're unique and it's in Negros!

Church of the Cartwheels- Manapla

What's this? A church literally made out of cartwheels? Wow! Who could have thought of that? The person who made this must have really love kalesas! (Horse carriages) To make things even more exciting, it's hidden in a beautiful farm and that just makes things mofe off-beaten and adventurous. (You'll have to go inside the sugar canes!) Isn't that exciting?

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~ Bacolod City has 2 major festivities and its being celebrated the whole month of april for panaad festival and 2 weeks celebration for Maskara festival every month of October.

~ Mother of all Festivals"
The biggest festival of them all in Negros Occidental, the PANAAD FESTIVAL, started in 1993 as a thanksgiving celebration and a fulfillment of a promise and vow to the Divine Providence in exchange of good life.
It features 32 festivals that brings together 13 cities and 19 towns of Negros Occidental. In theme booths that showcase their history, culture, trade, agriculture, tourism and other industries. The annual PANAAD sa NEGROS FESTIVAL held at the Panaad Park and Stadium, Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City.

I've always loved to travel and explore with my dad around Negros, especially the areas near Bacolod. I've found this beauty with her baby--an albino carabao! :D

My recommendation, explore the place! Just don't get lost! haha and if you DO get lost, there would always be locals to ask for directions, we're always willing to help lost visitors :)