Dumaguete Vacation

Last May 2010, prior to the Philippine presidential elections, we were off to Dumaguete for our annual viloria family vacation. We took a one hour, fifteen minute flight via Cebu Pacific to Dumaguete City, the capital of Negros Oriental, located in the Visayas.

We will be writing about the details of the trip in the coming days (or would it be more like the coming months at the rate that I get to write these days).

We stayed at Antulang Beach Resort which is about a one hour and five minute drive from the airport, one-way. It's a quiet, isolated place but more on the resort and what you can expect there in future articles.

We will share with you our experiences with the places we visited: The Dumaguete Cathedral and Bell Tower, Rizal Park (yes, this is not Luneta), Rizal Boulevard, the Negros Oriental Arts and Heritage or NOAH for proudly Philippine-made crafts, Sans Rival Bake Shop (for the yummy and famous silvanas!), Silliman University (which is part and parcel of my kids' family history), Silliman Marine Laboratory, Center for Tropical Conservation Studies (to see the rare spotted deer), and Bais (for dolphin-watching!). We will also tell you about our meal at Lab-as Seafoods.

Dumaguete City is usually called the City of Gentle People. I prefer to look at it as a place for simple joys. It's not that tourist-y and has a quiet, inner charm that's hard to explain. It's the kind of thing you need to experience personally to know.

I will be writing about the Dumaguete trip details over at www.lipadna.com so do check it out from time to time. I will also let you know here once it is ready. Thanks!