DIY Trip to the "City of Smiles"

Bacolod it is! The City of Smiles of Negros Occidental, Philippines.

Sounds odd? Yes it did, at first. In fact, it took me a hard time trying to think of sufficient reasons why it's labeled that way, up until I came to experience and explore the city myself.

Absolutely! The netizens were right. What I witnessed and experienced in Bacolod justified its label. Yes! Sweet smiles of the city's people were very evident. Perhaps a smile beyond masskaras which extends joy to the people they meet. It is indeed a "City of Smiles".

So come and see it yourself!

Here it is! Ready to explore Bacolod in my do-it-yourself trip. It's actually my first DIY trip since I usually avail tour packages with ready accommodation and itinerary. So yes! So much excitement in the air. (3D2N trip)

Im ready! Waiting for the boarding @ Mactan International Airport.

Alright! See you in a few minutes Bacolod!

Yes! Our first stop - Mang Inasal in SM Bacolod for our lunch.

Strolling around SM mall after the lunch with my best travel buddy.

Here we go now, looking for the hotel which we booked prior to our flight. Turn right! Turn left! We found it!

It's The Suites at Calle Nueva. Just a walking distance from various malls and the city's plaza. Great staff+Great comfort+Great stay = The Suites at Calle Nueva.

The same day of our arrival in Bacolod, just right after we checked in and put our travel stuff in the hotel, to CAMPUESTOHAN HIGHLAND RESORT off we went.

The resort's top front view.

Here are some of the activities you can enjoy in Campuestohan:

Walking on the hanging bridge.

Rope Course! So yes! I'l show here what I did.

For me, this was the most difficult station in the course. It took me more than half an hour to complete it.

2nd station

3rd station

There are actually 12 stations, but i'm just featuring 3. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to complete all. I sucked and stopped at the 6th station. But it was a good first try though.

Tara! Let's swim in the resort's wave pool.

There are still more fun here like ziplining, rope biking and all that. So that was it for our first day in Bacolod.

2nd Day
Hooray! It's "Mambukal" and "The Ruins" day!

First up. . .

Touchdown!

Let's have a sneak to what's inside the place.

The Mambukal's lake where you can do kayaking and ziplining here.

The bat tree! It is located near the place's hot spring (wasn't able to to take a photo of the spring 😢😢).

The forest-like aura of the place. Feels good to be here.

Cold swimming pool. Happy to got a taste of it here.

Great right? It's not just that! After Mambukal's escapade, we went back to the city and headed directly to the place where the most romantic event in its history took place.

Absolutely! It's "The Ruins". Here, there's a history teller who would let you know more about the happenings in this place way back more years ago.

A-W-E-S-O-M-E defines our 2nd day!

Sigh! It was almost over. It's our last day here already! Our departure day.

3rd day - Departure day!

Last meal in the hotel 😢😢😢

Our bags were packed, ready to go! As much as we want to stay, but we couldn't.

'til next time Bacolod!

Thumbs up to the CITY OF SMILES!