Negros Oriental

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, we landed at Sibulan Airport. It was just like any other local airport in the country – small but feels warm… the right kind of warm. Everybody was rushing; I can’t blame them for what greeted us on the arrival and carousel hall was neither the staff of the airport nor the airline crew, but a huge tarpaulin of famous must-see sights in the region. One of the things I observed, aside from there was no waiting area for locals or hotel services inside the hall, was that their right of way was left-oriented.

Rosewood Pension Haus

We were greeted by drivers rentable to take us to our place upon leaving the area. The price would take around P150.00. Luckily, a jeep dropped off its passengers just a few meters from us. Our place is at Sibulan and it just took us P10.00 each for the fare. The jeepney driver was kind enough to drop us exactly at our place – Rosewood Pension Haus.

The Pension House cost us P800.00 per head per night, but our room was good for two so we added an extra bed with towel which cost P250.00. Each of us cost an average of P880.00 for our 3-nights stay. I say it’s a nice place. The lounge was pretty cozy and the whole area was big enough. There’s a rooftop too, which is open to hang our wet clothes and just chill. However, I don’t like their bathroom because it takes time for the toilet to fill itself with water, and there was no waste bin in the room. But since we’re out most of the day, the place is already a steal considering it’s just a few walks away from the national road and Sibulan Municipal Hall.

Best Pizza Place?

My mother has been here last February and wanted us to try a famous pizza place that’s not far away from our place. We did, and yes; I highly recommend it! If you happen to be in the town of Sibulan, definitely visit Baker’s Choice Pizza. Their place is just near the Sibulan Tourism Information Center which is at the Sibulan Plaza. They’ve been in the business for more than a decade already, since 2007 to be exact, and they offer very affordable pizza. We really got our money’s worth.

Sibulan is a very peaceful town. It’s very easy to talk to the locals because they are approachable, and it’s obvious that they are willing to help tourists. I was happy to be staying at Sibulan, not only because rates are cheaper, but because Sibulan is like a drink of a warm cup of coffee I was not aware I badly needed.

Getting around

Our plan for the afternoon is to just lay back and be more acquainted of our place, and other where- and how-abouts. We visited Dumaguete City and the jeep fare was just P10.00 per person from Sibulan town proper (I’ll consider our place in the town proper area because we’re in the vicinity of the central district area.) We decided to get off the terminal of the jeepneys bound to Sibulan so we would know how to get back. As reference, their terminal is located at the Dumaguete Public Market along the road of Colegio de Santa Catalina De Alejandria (COSCA).

It was my first time to visit Dumaguete City. I have no words to explain the place, but it’s nowhere far from Sibulan. Aside from Dumaguete being more populated, the same chill and laid-back atmosphere still lingers in the air. As we walk on the famous Roxas boulevard, salt in the air made me think of home but I was happy to be in such place where time seemed to stand still, where quiet feeds the chaotic sense; all is well. Dumaguete was rooted from the local term “daguit” which means to snatch, after all. We were definitely ensnared by its beauty – unlike any other.

Manjuyod Sandbar, Manjuyod, Negros Oriental

5 AM – there’s no hitting the snooze button this time. We got up, did our morning rituals in a rush, packed our necessities and food, and went out of our place by 5:30. The sun was up early, and so was our hype. The odds were in our favor for when we reached the national road, the bus bound to the town of Manjuyod was nearly approaching. We hopped on, and paid a fare of P53.00 each to get off at Bais City. Though the well-known “Maldives of the Philippines” is at Manjuyod, Bais City has the nearest route to reach the sandbar.

After nearly an hour of travel, we got off the waiting shed across the Bais Public Market where there were a lot of tricycle drivers that could take us to the port. More likely, these tricycle drivers have connections already with the boat owners at the port which may give us higher price in negotiation. We did not entertain them, rather, we went straight first to Jollibee which is situated just beside the public market and after taking away some food, we waited for a tricycle to just pass by.

Capiñahan Wharf

For P40.00, we’re off to the port, or Capiñahan Wharf. We negotiated as well with the tricycle driver to pick us up because for DIY’s like us with no private car, it’s difficult to wait for a ride back from the port to the national road. Mom has been here before, and already has a contact. We waited for Rogen to fetch us from the port, and off we go to get tanned!

We negotiated with Rogen, and his assistant Erik, our lunch and the plan for the day. We could freely suggest and plan our own itinerary while Rogen suggests as well and fixes our schedule. Since low tide happens only in the morning and in the afternoon, that’s the time the sandbar could only be seen. Because we arrived early and just in time for the low tide, the first on our list is the highlight of our day – Manjuyod Sandbar.

Truly Excuisite

The Manjuyod sandbar, pronounced as man-uyod, is a 600-hectare stretch of fine sand. There are five huts on stilts which could be rented overnight through the Bais City Tourism Office. These huts could already be seen even from the Capiñahan Wharf. I say, the sandbar is unique considering that the tides are the added spice to its beauty. After 15 minutes of boat ride, we arrived at the part of the sandbar nearest to Manjuyod because that was the portion which emerged above the water. The water is pristine and it’s very nice to go sunbathing and just walk around.

Sunkissed memories

After an hour of sunbathing and exploring the sandbar, we decided to set off and move to our next agenda. Part of our itinerary was dolphin watching. By 9 o’clock in the morning, we were off to the vast blue sea again freely roaming around with hopes of spotting a pod of dolphins. We were excited to see them, especially outside of theme parks, and be with such playful marine mammals. However, because of strong winds, we were not able to spot any dolphins. The waves were high and strong during our dolphin-hunting, so I guess it was not meant to be. On the positive note, it’s okay, at least we have another reason to go back to this place. We decided to head back to the sandbar where the cottages are situated and just swim and chill again. The tide was already nearly 6 ft.

Around 11 AM, we decided to have our lunch. I was not aware that we’ll be heading to an island for our lunch because almost all the other boats are set to eat their lunch at the cottage area of the sandbar. It took us around 15 minutes to reach Olympia which is an island-barangay of Bais City.

One of the highlights of our trip…

The community in Olympia has their houses situated on the surroundings of the island. Almost all of their houses are distinct for they are erected over water. There are mangroves as well and aside from fishing, boat-touring and rental are the community’s occupation as seen from a handful of boats docked on each houses. We were led to a small house and greeted by Rogen’s aunt – Marie. Our lunch was set in their place and we felt very welcomed. Definitely, we had no regrets for our lunch because we were served with the freshest seafood there could possibly be.

After devouring what seems to be one of the most memorable lunch we could ever try, Rogen suggested we go to their grotto which is located at the top of their island. The heat was prickly and very uncomfortable; the road towards the grotto was not safe because it’s not cemented so a wrong move would mean disaster. The risk was worth it, for the view was indeed spectacular. We saw the whole stretch of the sandbar and its beauty. Even if we had no drone, at least we got to see the whole entirety of the sandbar with our own eyes.

Perfect siesta

After some time of resting, we decided to head back to the sandbar again for a swim. It was past 2 then, and we went back to the area of the sandbar which we first visited in the morning. We observed that the tide was continuously getting lower, allowing us to see and walk further on the stretch of white sand – of purity. By 4 pm, we headed to the cottages on stilts. The whole day of waiting and anticipating whether the tide would allow us to have a glimpse of the cottages on pure sand, like how it was featured on magazines and travel sites, was worth it. The place was truly majestic. No words could describe this beauty and we are more than thankful to feast on God’s art with our own eyes.

For the tour, it cost us a total of P2,500.00 including our lunch.

Whale Shark in Oslob, Cebu

There was no reason to snooze the alarm, again. We’re up by 5 AM just like yesterday and we’re off to Oslob, Cebu to swim with the sharks. From our place, we spent 40 pesos for our tricycle fare to reach Sibulan port, while the fast craft bound to Santander, Cebu costs P65.00 each. We planned to get a seat number from the bus dispatcher after buying our ticket at the port, but we were told to just ride the bus upon our arrival at Santander.

The fast craft’s capacity was around 50 people, and it was my first time to ride a boat that small. It was easy to get seasickness because of the strong wind and waves, and all I wanted was to get over the trip. To my relief, the trip took only 25 minutes. There’s a Ceres Liner bus bound to Cebu City waiting outside the port, and we rode it. We arrived at Tan-awan, Oslob after 15 minutes of road trip which cost us P30.00 each.

This is the route that I highly recommend when you plan to stay in Oslob. Ride a plane bound to Sibulan Airport, take the fast craft from Sibulan bound to Santander and take the bus to Oslob. I have personally tried travelling from Cebu City to Oslob and it took us 4 hours on land with all the traffic and stop-overs. It was tiring even if we had a private car.

The Highlight of Oslob

Swimming with the gentle giants is one of the highlights in Oslob. The place was jam-packed just like how it was on our visit November last year. My first experience with the gentle giants was thrilling, I had no idea how big they are and how deep the swimming area is. I could still vividly recall the feeling when I first landed my gaze on them. They were so huge that two sizes of me could fit on its mouth. But don’t fret because they don’t feed on humans. There are feeders whose main job is to lead the whale sharks to the tourists for viewing and picture-taking.  The whale sharks’ “bait” is called uyap which is a variety of fish paste.

This time, on my second visit, I decided to not swim with the whale sharks and just stay at the boat and observe. I don’t deny the fact that the experience was unique, but I don’t think that it is something that should be commercialized. There was no control on the number of tourists allowed to swim with the whale sharks. As long as there’s a boat ready, then tourists just go. There’s an orientation for tourists before the activity for rules and regulation, but those in charge don’t give any stress on its importance; leaving the tourists no focus at all with the what-should-bes and what-shouldn’ts.

The whale sharks are supposed to be wild animals free to roam on the unending stretch of salt-waters. From what I see, the whale sharks look like pet and what makes them come back every morning is because of the “feeding” on the area.

What to Expect When Whale Watching

Apo Island, Dauin, Negros Oriental

On our last day in Negros Oriental, we decided to visit the famous Apo Island. We left our place at 6 o’clock in the morning and rode a Ceres Liner bus bound to Dumaguete which cost us P15.00. From the Ceres Liner Bus Terminal, we rode a bus bound to Bayawan and we got off the Malatapay Public Market. The cost of the bus ride was P32.00 each. The smell of a fresh catch of seafood, salt water and money greeted us as we stepped down the bus. The Malatapay public market beholds an array of abundant fruits, including the exotic ones, fishes of varying sizes and colors, and poultries and other domesticated animals up for trade.

After a few meters, which seems like half a kilometer walk, we arrived at the port where boats bound to Apo Island are docked. We waited for Rogen’s friend, Remel, who is our tour guide for the day. We have negotiated beforehand that we plan to leave Apo Island by lunch to catch our flight in the afternoon. The boat transfer to Apo Island was a long one, about 45 minutes. The ride was intense because of the winds and waves. I was not able to take a lot of pictures because we all got drenched in salt-water during the transfer.

Arrival at Apo Island

The water turned a tad green as we were nearly approaching the island. The water was so clear and it was easy to see corals and other underwater beings. As we reached the shore, it was difficult to get off the boat because there was no port for proper landing. The shore was full of corals, making it difficult and a bit hurtful to walk on. We were oriented by our snorkeling guide, Calyx, on how to properly use the snorkel, and to communicate well if we want to rest so he could find a rock to safely land our feet on. We rented a GoPro as well which cost us P1,200.00 for unlimited use subject to our liking.

Five green turtles were out to play with us. There is another variety which is nearing extinction called Hawk’s Bill. There were also sea snakes and schools of fishes on the snorkeling area.

I recommend Apo Island. Even though some of the establishments are too close to the shore line, the way the locals and guides express their intent to respect and take care of the turtles in the area could be very much felt. The locals initiated and thought of putting a barricade that’s off limits to snorkeling and diving to provide privacy for the turtles.

Because we were in a group, our tour cost us P1,550.00. That already includes our boat transfers, fee for our snorkeling guide and lunch.

Am I coming back?

Negros Oriental was exquisite. It’s a perfect tale that can never get lost in time. Like a family, I know Negros Oriental will keep its arms wide open until the day I come back. I don’t know the definite time when, but one thing’s for sure: Negros Oriental, you’re magical.