Living the Good Life and Keeping It Simple
If you’re a hardcore extrovert and an adrenaline junky, well, maybe this is not for you. But if you’re a true-blue old soul to the core, then there are many reasons why you might enjoy reading on. Or yes, you get high from stress but would like to explore the other side, please, by all means, keep reading.
As per our last article, we have reminisced a lot of colorful events that made our old lives meaningful. Bacolod City is no different. It misses the good old times of festivals and merrymaking. However, we bring our focus now on some of the old school goodness—the blend of modernity and small-town spirit in one beautiful city.
Why Bacolod? It’s not as big and bustling as any of the other cities in the Metro. Neither is it small and quiet like the beach towns or mountain getaways. It’s actually probably right smack in the middle of both, and that’s how people love it.
Mornings in the Marketplaces
Doing the groceries in Bacolod City is relaxing and nostalgic. The city has bagsakan of fruits and vegetables from the local farmers. In these places, you get the best choices at the lowest prices. Picture this—the smell of rain on the freshly cut grass on your lawn. You leave your house in the suburbs while the sky is still gray and the sun has not fully come up yet. You go for a drive to any of the markets under the shade of dawn. There’s Libertad, Central, or Burgos Market.
The vendors call out the names of the fish they are selling, and you try your best not to get your feet wet on the market floor. The men lift baskets of fruits on their shoulders, whispering “excuse” to you as they pass by on their way to their stalls. You smell the citrus and oranges and mangoes. You also see the enormous chunks of meats hung on hooks. There are women in aprons peeling a variety of vegetables for pinakbet or laswa packs. Pinakbet, of course, you would know. But laswa is something very local. I think people from the Metro call it sinabawang gulay or vegetables in the soup.
Of course, that is only one side of the picture. The other side is the squeaky clean, airconditioned, semi-sterile environment of the shopping mall grocery store. These have mushroomed in Bacolod City and much to the convenience of people who love it neat, although pricier. There is probably one of these groceries on any corner nearby. If you happen to visit and don’t love the gritty marketplace scene, you still won’t go hungry because the malls have the amenities you’re used to.
There is an SM, a Robinson’s, and an Ayala mall in Bacolod City. However, the locals also know that some of the most affordable prices are in homegrown department stores such as Lopue’s San Sebastian and Gaisano Main. These two have been around for more than thirty years. They had sustained their customers even when large corporations moved into the city. Even in this pandemic, they hustle to serve patrons buying their groceries and dry goods for decades. These old commercial buildings remind us of the city’s past and how it all started with small Chinese-Filipino merchants. These small-scale entrepreneurs ventured into retail even when it was a considerable risk for enterprises during those tumultuous times.
Everything is Close to Everything
You’re running late, and it’s hopeless because you live miles away from the appointment you’ve been trying to book for months. When you finally book it, you happen to wake up relatively late. Well, thankfully not in Bacolod City.
It is settled that Bacolod is developed and still has its charms about it. Nonetheless, one other thing that people love about it is that everything you need is a stone’s throw away. We are talking 20 minutes tops if you’re just within the city. If you’re tired of the Metro’s traffic jams, head on out to Bacolod City, where you could go places relatively quickly.
One of the conveniences of life in Bacolod is truly having time affluence. In the Metro, you have to prepare three hours early just to get to that appointment. Of course, there are also many cars. I mean, Toyota reps did say that they sell around 140 units in a day pre-covid era. However, it is not as bad as in your sprawling C5 or EDSA. You could get to your appointments hassle-free if you just wake up an hour early. You have more time and energy to enjoy life in this laid-back haven.
In recent years, we have had laundromats and delivery services sprouting all over town. If you wish to live here or have a vacation, you wouldn’t have to mince on clothes because many services are available. It’s one of those contemporary conveniences that a Bacolod resident does not have to worry about. If you happen to be lazy on any given day, there is Grab, Maxim, Maid, JuanRide. Your wish is their command.
If you’re still not convinced that you could survive here, we also have massive franchises of all the convenience stores you could ever need. Every few meters or so, you would get a Ministop, Seven-Eleven, or Munsterific. Yes, you will never go hungry even if your stomach happens to be churning in the middle of the night.
The fun in free things
Another best thing about Bacolod is probably all the places you could go that are absolutely free and open to the public. No entrance fees are charged. Well, that was before the pandemic. You could still go to these places but follow the health protocols, or better yet, dream up that vacation early for when the world decides to go back to normal.
Crowds of people usually show up at the break of day to join in fitness activities at the Lagoon or at the New Government Center. Energetic old women, middle-aged men, young people. You name it, and they’re probably there dancing to Zumba beats that are as exhilarating as they are backbreaking for the uninitiated.
The Bacolod City lagoon is probably one of the best-landscaped areas in the entire city, a partnership with the Ayalas. They also built that posh mall at the back of the Provincial Capitol. When the sun starts to set, Bacolod will capture your heart with the slow breeze that blows over the waters of the Lagoon, teeming with tilapia. The best way to experience this is to buy some pop rice treats at 5 packs for twenty pesos. If you’re stressed, feeding the fish is a mind-numbing but very relaxing experience.
You could also be talking with someone or no one in particular on one of the benches under a yellow lamp post and talk about how slow life is or unwind in someone’s arms. The yellow lights genuinely make a great ambiance. Alternately, people walk hand in hand around the Lagoon, just talking about everything and nothing in particular at the same time. Or it could also be that they are just walking off the chicken inasal and extra rice with chicken oil they ate earlier for dinner. As is but proper with every visit to Bacolod City.
Nighttime in the City of Smiles
It used to be that nightlife in Bacolod was marked by clubs. There was Club Siberia, that sports bar Dugout, and that other club called Flow, and celebrities and athletes would chill there when they come to visit. However, the era of wet and wild parties has come to a decline, and nightlife has gently shifted to live gigs of acoustic music and social drinking. Once in a blue moon, there would be poetry readings somewhere, but that has not gotten the traction it deserves yet. A recent time when the occasional dancing happens at Gorka or Portico, young people would drink at Mushu. Still, even those had become a distant memory of a past when there was no pandemic yet.
These days, much of the city’s charm is in its very chill, non-alcoholic afternoon to evening activities. As this is a city with a huge sweet tooth, many locals bring their guests and tourists to coffee shops on the Lacson strip. You have international chains like Starbucks and that Korean place, Tom n Tom’s, but local places serve just as good or even better-tasting coffee and treats.
If you’re looking to live a quiet, unhurried life even for just a few days, then a late afternoon Americano and a good book in tow are all you need. Imagine a no-frills afternoon in a local coffee shop with the perfect background noise for your leisurely reading.
A perfect match when you find that little nook is half a dozen napoleones. One hand holding your small paperback at a forty-five-degree angle and the other picking up that piece of pastry and slowly raising it to your mouth. Your teeth slowly sink into the layers of the flaky crust coated with frosted sugar. At the same time, the sweet custard blesses your taste buds with the texture and taste of heaven.
Of course, one is never enough. You take another and bite and close your eyes to savor the smooth and sweet filling. And then you grab your Americano to wash down the sweet with the bitter, the kind of balance you need to keep yourself firmly grounded. At the same time, you wait out for the world to gain a semblance of normalcy.
You put down your brew and really notice your napoleones for the first time—a pastry of strange combinations. Flaky, soft, connected, yet also crumbly. Every little bit like your reality. But it’s comforting like home wrapped neatly in a tiny package that you could take with you anywhere. That’s what napoleones taste like. They’re sweet and delicate. Well, put together on the outside. Brimming with warm filling on the inside that’s been cooled by the passage of time.
They remind you of the interstice of the past and the present, not really knowing what’s in store in the future. Fortunately, for this moment, your soul is nourished and at peace. You got a good book in your hand, coffee in your cup, and frosting on your fingers—a slow day in the City of Smiles. You should really take that smartphone of yours and book the next flight to Bacolod.
If you’re a hardcore extrovert and an adrenaline junky, well, maybe this is not for you. But if you’re a true-blue old soul to the core, then there are many reasons why you might enjoy reading on. Or yes, you get high from stress but would like to explore the other side, please, by all means, keep reading.
As per our last article, we have reminisced a lot of colorful events that made our old lives meaningful. Bacolod City is no different. It misses the good old times of festivals and merrymaking. However, we bring our focus now on some of the old school goodness—the blend of modernity and small-town spirit in one beautiful city.
Why Bacolod? It’s not as big and bustling as any of the other cities in the Metro. Neither is it small and quiet like the beach towns or mountain getaways. It’s actually probably right smack in the middle of both, and that’s how people love it.
Mornings in the Marketplaces
Doing the groceries in Bacolod City is relaxing and nostalgic. The city has bagsakan of fruits and vegetables from the local farmers. In these places, you get the best choices at the lowest prices. Picture this—the smell of rain on the freshly cut grass on your lawn. You leave your house in the suburbs while the sky is still gray and the sun has not fully come up yet. You go for a drive to any of the markets under the shade of dawn. There’s Libertad, Central, or Burgos Market.
The vendors call out the names of the fish they are selling, and you try your best not to get your feet wet on the market floor. The men lift baskets of fruits on their shoulders, whispering “excuse” to you as they pass by on their way to their stalls. You smell the citrus and oranges and mangoes. You also see the enormous chunks of meats hung on hooks. There are women in aprons peeling a variety of vegetables for pinakbet or laswa packs. Pinakbet, of course, you would know. But laswa is something very local. I think people from the Metro call it sinabawang gulay or vegetables in the soup.
Of course, that is only one side of the picture. The other side is the squeaky clean, airconditioned, semi-sterile environment of the shopping mall grocery store. These have mushroomed in Bacolod City and much to the convenience of people who love it neat, although pricier. There is probably one of these groceries on any corner nearby. If you happen to visit and don’t love the gritty marketplace scene, you still won’t go hungry because the malls have the amenities you’re used to.
There is an SM, a Robinson’s, and an Ayala mall in Bacolod City. However, the locals also know that some of the most affordable prices are in homegrown department stores such as Lopue’s San Sebastian and Gaisano Main. These two have been around for more than thirty years. They had sustained their customers even when large corporations moved into the city. Even in this pandemic, they hustle to serve patrons buying their groceries and dry goods for decades. These old commercial buildings remind us of the city’s past and how it all started with small Chinese-Filipino merchants. These small-scale entrepreneurs ventured into retail even when it was a considerable risk for enterprises during those tumultuous times.
Everything is Close to Everything
You’re running late, and it’s hopeless because you live miles away from the appointment you’ve been trying to book for months. When you finally book it, you happen to wake up relatively late. Well, thankfully not in Bacolod City.
It is settled that Bacolod is developed and still has its charms about it. Nonetheless, one other thing that people love about it is that everything you need is a stone’s throw away. We are talking 20 minutes tops if you’re just within the city. If you’re tired of the Metro’s traffic jams, head on out to Bacolod City, where you could go places relatively quickly.
One of the conveniences of life in Bacolod is truly having time affluence. In the Metro, you have to prepare three hours early just to get to that appointment. Of course, there are also many cars. I mean, Toyota reps did say that they sell around 140 units in a day pre-covid era. However, it is not as bad as in your sprawling C5 or EDSA. You could get to your appointments hassle-free if you just wake up an hour early. You have more time and energy to enjoy life in this laid-back haven.
In recent years, we have had laundromats and delivery services sprouting all over town. If you wish to live here or have a vacation, you wouldn’t have to mince on clothes because many services are available. It’s one of those contemporary conveniences that a Bacolod resident does not have to worry about. If you happen to be lazy on any given day, there is Grab, Maxim, Maid, JuanRide. Your wish is their command.
If you’re still not convinced that you could survive here, we also have massive franchises of all the convenience stores you could ever need. Every few meters or so, you would get a Ministop, Seven-Eleven, or Munsterific. Yes, you will never go hungry even if your stomach happens to be churning in the middle of the night.
The fun in free things
Another best thing about Bacolod is probably all the places you could go that are absolutely free and open to the public. No entrance fees are charged. Well, that was before the pandemic. You could still go to these places but follow the health protocols, or better yet, dream up that vacation early for when the world decides to go back to normal.
Crowds of people usually show up at the break of day to join in fitness activities at the Lagoon or at the New Government Center. Energetic old women, middle-aged men, young people. You name it, and they’re probably there dancing to Zumba beats that are as exhilarating as they are backbreaking for the uninitiated.
The Bacolod City lagoon is probably one of the best-landscaped areas in the entire city, a partnership with the Ayalas. They also built that posh mall at the back of the Provincial Capitol. When the sun starts to set, Bacolod will capture your heart with the slow breeze that blows over the waters of the Lagoon, teeming with tilapia. The best way to experience this is to buy some pop rice treats at 5 packs for twenty pesos. If you’re stressed, feeding the fish is a mind-numbing but very relaxing experience.
You could also be talking with someone or no one in particular on one of the benches under a yellow lamp post and talk about how slow life is or unwind in someone’s arms. The yellow lights genuinely make a great ambiance. Alternately, people walk hand in hand around the Lagoon, just talking about everything and nothing in particular at the same time. Or it could also be that they are just walking off the chicken inasal and extra rice with chicken oil they ate earlier for dinner. As is but proper with every visit to Bacolod City.
Nighttime in the City of Smiles
It used to be that nightlife in Bacolod was marked by clubs. There was Club Siberia, that sports bar Dugout, and that other club called Flow, and celebrities and athletes would chill there when they come to visit. However, the era of wet and wild parties has come to a decline, and nightlife has gently shifted to live gigs of acoustic music and social drinking. Once in a blue moon, there would be poetry readings somewhere, but that has not gotten the traction it deserves yet. A recent time when the occasional dancing happens at Gorka or Portico, young people would drink at Mushu. Still, even those had become a distant memory of a past when there was no pandemic yet.
These days, much of the city’s charm is in its very chill, non-alcoholic afternoon to evening activities. As this is a city with a huge sweet tooth, many locals bring their guests and tourists to coffee shops on the Lacson strip. You have international chains like Starbucks and that Korean place, Tom n Tom’s, but local places serve just as good or even better-tasting coffee and treats.
If you’re looking to live a quiet, unhurried life even for just a few days, then a late afternoon Americano and a good book in tow are all you need. Imagine a no-frills afternoon in a local coffee shop with the perfect background noise for your leisurely reading.
A perfect match when you find that little nook is half a dozen napoleones. One hand holding your small paperback at a forty-five-degree angle and the other picking up that piece of pastry and slowly raising it to your mouth. Your teeth slowly sink into the layers of the flaky crust coated with frosted sugar. At the same time, the sweet custard blesses your taste buds with the texture and taste of heaven.
Of course, one is never enough. You take another and bite and close your eyes to savor the smooth and sweet filling. And then you grab your Americano to wash down the sweet with the bitter, the kind of balance you need to keep yourself firmly grounded. At the same time, you wait out for the world to gain a semblance of normalcy.
You put down your brew and really notice your napoleones for the first time—a pastry of strange combinations. Flaky, soft, connected, yet also crumbly. Every little bit like your reality. But it’s comforting like home wrapped neatly in a tiny package that you could take with you anywhere. That’s what napoleones taste like. They’re sweet and delicate. Well, put together on the outside. Brimming with warm filling on the inside that’s been cooled by the passage of time.
They remind you of the interstice of the past and the present, not really knowing what’s in store in the future. Fortunately, for this moment, your soul is nourished and at peace. You got a good book in your hand, coffee in your cup, and frosting on your fingers—a slow day in the City of Smiles. You should really take that smartphone of yours and book the next flight to Bacolod.