I arrived in Iloilo late in the afternoon and checked in at my pension house. I stayed at Le Chateaue de Iloilo, it's a pension house in Molo. My room is only for P490 overnyt. Not bad, but dont expect a classy room and the best service. "Sakto" lang for the price. But I'll tell you the place is really accessible to all sorts of neccessities, food, supplies, church, etc.
Since I don't have time to tour Iloilo that afternoon, I rested for a while and start preparing for dinner and go to Smallville.
Smallville is a place where there are bars, clubs, restos around. It's like the Eastwood, Greenbelt and Malate of Iloilo. The crowd is mixed, from HS students to yuppies to some middle aged ones. If you want to chill go to the coffee shops. If you like to listen to music and drink ala Bagaberde or Dencios, go to Pirates or MO2, if you like to dance some House or R and B music, you should go to MO2 ice.
I went home really late from Smallville so I really have to make an effort to wake up early. My breakfast is the bibingka being sold at the sidewalk, I asked the vendor, what its made of and she said it's made of coconut and some flour, every tourist should try this, it's different from the ones being sold here in Manila.
My mission for the day is to visit all the popular churches in Iloilo. My first stop is the the UNESCO certified Miag-ao church. It was a 1.5 hour ride, just get into a jeep with Miag-ao signboard and you wont get lost. During the ride, you would be tempted to stop at some churches, but please don't because you would get to visit them on your way home.
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| Miag-Ao Church |
As I arrived in Miag-ao, I was in awe to see the beautiful fascade of the church with banana and papaya leaves, which is very Filipino. It's original name is St. Thomas of Villanova Parisch which was built last 1786, it served as a fortress of Filipinos during the war in that era. While taking some pictures, I stumbled by some photography students so they took my photos, talk about great timing!
At this point, I feel really tired and hungry, I was really exhausted because of my Smallville experience the night before that's why I passed on visitng the other churches.Mission failed! But for those who will be travelling, the following are the churches you should not miss aside from the ones I mentioned:
San Joaquin Church
Campo Santo
Tigbauan Church
I went home to the pension house and just took a 1 hour sleep before doing my walking tour.Yes, walking tour. Just ride a jeepney going to Jaro. Tell the driver to drop you off to Nelly's garden along E. Lopez Ave., it's your starting point. As you walk straight, you will see at your right the famous White House of Ramon Lopez. Continue walking and you would see the Old Antillan House, and some other ancient houses, which someone told me, were homes of some of the richest in Iloilo back in the days. Your end point is the Cathedral Church and the Old Belfry, bibingkas are also sold here, so you could stop by and grab a bite.
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| White House of Ramon Lopez |
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| Old Antillan House |
Then it's time for dinner, I was in a jeep going to Tatoy's, the place is really famous in Iloilo because of good food. It was a grueling, 1 hour or so ride. I was really hungry that time but when I arrived, I learned that the prices are too high for a solo traveller like me, 260 for a boneless bangus? Hmm...so I bailed out and ride a jeepney again going back to the pension house, where I ate at Andoks nearby.
It was a really tiring but fulfilling day for me. I went to a lot of places and of course met a lot of people along the way. I lost track of my expenses but I can give you an estimate.
For transportation (all jeepney, no taxi) - about P100
Food (canteen, bibingka, Andoks) - about P250
Smallville (1st night and 2nd night) - about P600
P950? For all the tours and the night outs? Not bad right?
Tip: Talk to the locals to learn more about the place, know the prices, the locations, the jeeps going back and forth and of course know their stories. Till next time. Halung!
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