The Road to Dumaguete

Our trip to Dumaguete last December started me making this blog. I was tired of just posting my pictures on Facebook, making descriptions and tagging my friends, so I decided to make a blog out of it. Previously, all my post were about Siquijor. I'm almost done with my Siquijor articles I think, unless I remember something to write about it again. Anyway, this article marks the beginning of another adventure: the road to Dumaguete.

Four of us left earlier for Dumaguete on a Thursday, on the first day of the last month of the year. The other four followed later that day because they still have work. My sister and I met up with the other two in their apartment in Molo district. It was a blessing that a taxi passed by where we live because normally our road is not frequented by taxis. We were spared from the hassle of scuttling up and down tricycle and jeeps on the way to Iloilo City. It was even better that the other two are ready and waiting for us to arrive; we used the same taxi that we rode in all the way to Muelle Loney. 

The boat trip from Iloilo to Bacolod lasts about an hour. The one-way fare cost 335 pesos. They had a promo for round-trip fares at that time where you pay only 500 pesos for a round-trip ticket, which was a good offer since it's a big savings already.

Less congestion on Bacolod streets as compared with Iloilo City.

So by ten in the morning we were already in the City of Smiles. Outside the ferry terminal, a number of vehicles--tricycles, jeeps, taxis--were waiting to pick up passengers. We took the jeep going to the Ceres Bus Terminal. No heavy traffics on the way to the terminal. Amazing!
But we just missed a Dumaguete-bound bus by a couple of minutes (kanugon!), so we had to wait for another hour for the next bus.

I've been in Negros twice already. My first trip brought me to Mambucal in Murcia, and in Silay. My second trip was a daytrip just around Bacolod City. This recent trip brought me further, to the northeastern part of the island. I don't know about other travelers, but for myself I always look forward to seeing the places and things along the way. This is the reason why I don't usually sleep on road trips, especially if I'm going somewhere I've never been to before. And so with this note, let me show you what I saw on this particular trip.

Other uses of roads besides being a passageway for people and 

vehicles is for sun-drying rice grains. Only in the Philippines, 

that's why it's more fun here. :P

Anywhere you go in Negros, the sight of a truck carrying 

sugarcane is very common.

Sugarcanes as far as your eyes can see on either sides of the road.

Singkamas with soy sauce, just one of the usual bus snacks sold by 

vendors who hop in the bus.

This lady was going to sell crabs, cooked and already packed, 

in the next town.

It was getting gloomy at this point of our trip. We encountered a few drizzles along the way, and by the time we passed by Kabankalan going to Mabinay there was a downpour, but only for a few miles. It rained again in some parts of Bais and Tanjay. My right shirt sleeve even got soaked, but by the time we arrived in Dumaguete I was all dry again.

Fishing boats on stand-by as we cross a concrete bridge. 

I only caught the top of the belfry. I can't even remember where this was taken. The bus driver was driving like a maniac and I was terrified that if I stick my camera out of the window to get a better picture as our bus was turning at some street corner I might lose my arm.

Sugarcane plants in neat rows. Did I say that sugarcane plants here
seem to be everywhere? I think I did.

What's wrong with this picture? If you are patient enough to look you
would notice a familiar thing hanging by the tree. Thanks to a careless
costumer, this fastfood gets free advertising.

It was a Thursday and this kid was supposed to be in school (unless
it was a local holiday in this part of the country), but instead, he was
selling snacks at the Mabinay bus stop.

The young vendors doodled something on the dusty side of the Ceres bus.

After sugarcane it's now coconut trees that filled the landscape.

The Via-Mabinay route is said to be the fastest way to reach Dumaguete but for those with altitude sickness and fear of heights you might consider taking the other routes. For my group's part, well we are open with everything.  This short cut is okay, but next time we'll take the longer route, for a change of scenery. :P

This part of Mabinay gave us a bird's eye view of where we were heading.

This is a descending hairpin route. If it wasn't for the road construction 

before the bend our bus would have passed that blue truck in a few seconds.

 Now, which way to Dumaguete? The right way, of course. :P

The tricycles in Negros Oriental are more roomy than the tricycles in Boracay,
and are definitely much bigger than the ones we have in mainland Panay.
I've also seen Bacolod tricycles, and they too are small. These vehicles look like
little riding huts. 

The Bais City market has quite an impressive design. It's like a mall.
The building was still  under construction hence the presence of a
galvanized perimeter fence. 

The rest of the way I had to stop taking pictures because it was raining hard, and we had to close the windows. The bus was also overloaded with passengers our bus picked along Mabinay and Bais, mostly teachers and students. The conductor kept hailing in passengers till the aisle was filled with people. Everyone was breathing in everybody's breath. I was sweating despite the cold wind and heavy downpour outside. By the time we reached Tanjay the rain stopped altogether and the passengers started to get off the bus one by one on various stop points. As we reached Amlan, then Sibulan most of the bus seats were empty, and I was again able to enjoy the cool wind coming in the open window where I sat. Suddenly we passed by an attractive old building with a big sign that says "Silliman University". This was the only thing that I can associate Dumaguete with before this trip. Finally, we arrived in Dumaguete City from Iloilo after an eight-hour travel by boat and by bus.