Dumaguete

TIPS FOR DUMAGUETE TRAVELLERS

April 29, 2010 by Little Miss Honey 699 Comments

• Before any travels, do research first of the place where you are going. How much the fare is, where you want to stay, what are the tourist spots there, etc.

• Learn a few Cebuano phrases like “Maayong buntag”- good morning, “Daghang salamat”- (many) thanks, etc. because it is the common dialect there though most of the locals there are fluent in Filipino & English

• Travel light.

• Transportation is by colourful tricycles with a flat rate of P7. If you know how to use a motorcycle, you can rent one at P20 per hour

• If you want to bring a bit of Dumaguete back to your hometown, visit Sans Rival and buy their sylvannas at P100/box with 10 pcs inside but warning, these should be refrigerated. It could withstand without a freezer for at least 4 to 6 hours at the most. Trinkets can be bought at Handuman store located at Perdices street. It’s a small store so just ask around because you might just have missed it.

TRAVEL IN STYLE

WOMEN:

• Lots of wife-beaters, razorbacks shirts, cute cotton blouse and baby tees

• Shorts, denim casual minis, cotton gysy skirts, capris

• Sundresses, cotton babydoll dresses

• Flipflops, flat shoes ( you’ll be doing a lot of walking), rubber thongs

• A swim suit ( two-piece or one –piece would do)

• A light jacket or shawl

• Funky/chandelier earrings or cool long necklace to put a spice on your outfit

• Lots of elastic thingies to tie your hair

• A cap or visor

MEN:

• Cotton shirts with cool prints or white tees

• Cargo shorts & surfer shorts

• Cargo pants

• A pants & dressy cotton polo or a pique t-shirt if you want to go somewhere more formal

• Slippers, flip flops

• A baseball cap

LAST HORRAH IN DUMAGUETE

April 28, 2010 by Little Miss Honey 1,253 Comments

After our little trip to bais, we head back to Dumaguete, all sunkissed and rejuvenated. We tried their famous Sans Rival in this cute pastry and bought some sylvannas for gift for home (located at #3 San Jose Street near Rizal Boulevard).

We did a little walking around to shop for some trinkets to bring back for our friends back home. The narrow streets are filled with tricycles & motorcycles. Just a few cute cars like Hyundai Getz & Suzuki Celerio can be found in the streets. I wish I had tried driving a motorcycle just for the fun of it. It cost P20 per hour. So I said, “why not?” But Mel made me come into my senses that it will be worth much more than P20 if I fell and knock my head off. So I put my motorcycle rider fantasies on hold for now, hehe.

A little later in the evening we met up with some friends of Mel who were training Family Med physicians just like us in a hospital in Dumaguete. We went to a ultimate hang-out place of Dumaguetenos at Hayahay Treehouse. We had a few drinks and listen to some old school alternative rock until midnight.

The morning after, our last day in Dumaguete, we ate breakfast, Duamguetenos style. We head to the public market and tried their Puto & Tsokolate (white-rice pudding & chocolate). I couldn’t say it was my cup of tea (no pun intended, hehe) but it sure was an experience.

We returned back to Hotel Palwa to get our stuff and catch the next trip back to Bacolod. Goodbye Dumaguete, Goodbye Bais! We will come back soon Dumaguete. And visit you Siquijor and Bohol! Adios for now…….

DUMAGUETE TRIP: TWO GIRLS IN A WEEKEND ADVENTURE

April 15, 2010 by Little Miss Honey 1,044 Comments

The long wait is finally over. This little trip was already planned and talked about for a year by me & my friend Mel, hehe.. We divide & conquer the planning stage of our trip. So the game plan was: two girls (originally three girls, huhuhu), one long weekend, P5,000 travel budget, our “researched’ itinerary in our hands and off to the place where our National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal coined “The City of Gentle People”— Dumaguete City and and a little side trip to Bais City for a little dophin-watching. How timely it is that we got this opportunity to chillax because work gotten to be a bit crazy & stressful lately that a much needed & de-stressing is in order. And it so happen that luck was on our side that we got promos for our ferry trip to Bacolod. Yey!

I made my “famous” tuna sandwiches and packed some healthy snackies for our breakfast. We left early for our ferry to Bacolod and from there we got a bus to Dumagute City. We had hoped for an air-conditioned bus but those buses are scarce. Shucks! So we hulled our lazy butt up on a non-air-conditioned bus and enjoyed the ride. And we really did! The breeze was cool & soothing, that half of the trip, it rocked us to sleep and half of the time, my eyes was on a visual adventure as I admire the cute quirky houses & chapels especially nearing Dumaguete City. It was approximately 5-6 hours drive. Without the customary stops, you could make it there from Bacolod in 4 hours. I contacted our hotel which provides free shuttle services, to come fetch us. They were there 1 hour before our arrival in a colourful van with Hotel Palwa written all over it. The hotel was sort of hidden amidst the little city. But their hospitality is two-thumbs up! The personnel from the receptionist to the guard and the cleaning lady would greet you “Good day!” with a warm smile.

Dumaguete is a university city. The city has four universities but the Silliman University was definitely the big man on campus, dominating the little city. Hip college students roam the streets with their casual cool get-ups by foot or on a motorcycle. Dumaguete is also a coastal city. When we arrived there, we were greeted by the fresh breeze from the sea. The quaint cafes & restos and hotel were by the seaport. Half of the population were locals & college students while a surprisingly almost half of the population in the city were foreigners. We pass by a café called Casablanca and all customers were foreigners. I thought I was in Boracay or somewhere very far from the Philippines. Mel & I had a super late lunch in Lab-as. We ate Lumpiang Bangus (which is my fave among the two) and Dumaguete Express (It has coconut meat?!- go figure.). Mel unapologetically jug down her green mango shake in less than 5 minutes. Man, that girl was thristy, hehe. After the recharging lunch, we went to do some camwhoring inside Silliman University. We visited their church, the grounds, outside the anthropology museum and student’s portal. The museum was closed that day but that didn’t stop us from having a blast. We were kolehiyala for that day. We had a lot of pictures taken (Thank God for 10sec delay click & a trusty stand), a lot jumping shots (which we failed horribly by the way) and a lot of girly silliness that some seemly macho men might cringed at. Hehe..

We also visit their Catedral and Belfry. We said our prayers: for health of our loved-ones, a stress-free working atmosphere, love, happiness, peace of mind and an enjoyable weekend.

In the evening, we strolled the famous Rizal Boulevard, the heart of the city where all the cafes and restos you’re looking for all there. It is the Baywalk version of Dumaguete. Its quite nippy in the evening so better bring a light jacket or shawl went you are here. And carefully walking along side the coast side because you might be drenched by the waves that sometimes splashes through (I got my foot soaked- lesson learned). Rizal Boulevard comes alive at night with live bands, lotsa lotsa people just chilling by the coast and a number of kiosks of tempura & balut vendors. We couldn’t resist trying their tempura ‘coz I’m personally such a street-food fiend.

We headed to Mamias to try their seafood pasta & frozen cappuccino. And believe me, they didn’t dissappont. Hehe..

to be continued… Bais City next stop… hehe…