My Solo-Backpacking in Negros Occidental and Iloilo

After my successful Cebu solo backpacking, another solo backpacking trip to the Visayas was planned - this is it: a solo backpacking trip in Western Visayas. The language barrier wasn't a problem because Hiligaynon has similarities to our native language in Romblon. During my travel, I learned that the Negrenses are accommodating and have a good sense of direction. For simple questions like, "Where is it located?" they provided me with detailed instructions. In general, Negros Occidental and the province of Ilo-Ilo are Must Visit provinces in the Philippines. Sorted according to my itinerary, historical, heritage, and tourist spots below were my destinations.

Antique Tourist Spot

1. Mararison Island

Mararison, or Malalison, is a gorgeous island. Before it became prominent and captured the eyes of travelers and tourists worldwide, it started as a fisherman's island, where the locals lived using their boats and nets as their primary livelihood. Today, this island is open to everyone discovering and experiencing what it can offer.

Explore Intramuros (History, Guide, Itinerary)

I visited Intramuros and Binondo several times but I thinking am missing something in and outside The Walled City in Manila. Inspired by the question: “Hanggang saan aabot ang isan daang piso mo?” Our journey today explains that budget is not a problem to see the gorgeous artifacts erected centuries ago. Without a formal itinerary, we walked on the streets in Intramuros Manila.

Sombrero Island

Sombrero Island is one of the islets of Burias Group of Islets. Crossing the waters of Burias Passage from Tinalisayan to Sombrero was a heart-pounding experience. Not only that, as we were getting nearer to the shoreline,  coral ecosystems and underwater flora and fauna were visible because of its clear waters. I took off my pink sando while on the boat because my skin hurt, a sign that, for sure, I would have sun-kissed skin due to sunburn but it's fine, am positive that my skin will still recover after a week. Instead of covering myself or applying Belo sunblock before jumping off the boat to the shallow water, we just grabbed our cameras and proceeded walking by the shore.

Cordillera Tourist Spot

1. Tappiya Falls

Feel the water pressure of the Tappiya Falls (photo above). It is situated in Batad, Ifugao. Like what I saw online, it truly describes nature's beauty designed by time and natural occurrences. Surrounded by mountains with trees and plants, making a more calm ambiance in the area. The pressure of the water falling creates a circular pool on the ground with crystal clear and relaxing cold waters. The river is abundant with boulders and towering limestone, adding excellent shapes to the frames.

AZURE URBAN RESORT RESIDENCES, Parañaque City

Azure Urban Resort Residences is one of the newly developed vertical residential structure in Parañaque City. It gotten the attention of social media and Filipinos because it is designed by Paris Hilton, a world famous socialite and a hotel heiress. She has great sense of art and class as it appears on the outcome of Azure Urban Resort Residences, from its details, facilities, pool side, residential units and the white sand beach by the pool. Through an invite by one of the unit owners, had a chance to enter and enjoy what's inside Azure Urban Resort Residences, photos below will describe:

Butuan National Museum

Butuan National Museum is one of the historical structures in Butuan City that houses and protects the relics discovered in the region. It also holds several objects used by the locals for their daily lives, such as jars, ceramic and earthenware, hand-woven clothes, and many more. Photos below are just some of the items inside the museum:

Balangay Shrine, Butuan City

In Butuan City, Agusan del Norte | The Filipino word Baranggay came from the word: Balangay or Balanghai which is watercraft used by the ancient people in the Philippines for transportation and for barter and trade. If I am not mistaken, it was discussed when I was in the fifth grade, in HEKASI. I am happy that today, it’s time to see the actual relics of Balangay, discovered in Butuan. Since the guard did not allow me to use my DSLR or even my digital camera, photos below were captured using my mobile camera:

Agusan del Norte Itinerary, Backpacking in Mindanao

Butuan City is the capital of Agusan del Norte and it is highly urbanized with large establishments; with that in mind, backpacking in this city is easy because all the historical sites are located just within the vicinity, accessible using the local public utility vehicles such as jeepneys and tricycles. During our visit to Butuan, at the intersection of Narra Road (where Jollibee, McDonalds and KFC are located), we chartered a tricycle to visit two museums in the city.

International Doll House (Museum), Surigao

The International Doll House was mentioned by John, our guide. Somehow familiar because we already saw it on TV. John encouraged us to visit this this amazing place by giving us details of what are displayed inside. According to him, there are dolls with gold on the head, there’s a toy motorcycle with a value of 2.5 million pesos and many more. So we thought, it's worth to visit.