Cebu City Bus Terminal, June 2016
Liloan, Cebu with Negros in the backdrop, ferry terminal. June 2016
[from FB post: June 22, 2015]
After a six hour bus ride ( plus a two hour wait for a bus with no schedule) I am finally in Dumaguete. On the plus side.... parts of the ride were jaw droppingly beautiful. When you come out of the mountains on the other side of the island, you can see Cebu and the sea so clearly. It is WOW and my bus stopped just a short walk from my hotel (on demand) which was pretty damn nice. My room has a view of the ocean Yeah, I think I am gonna like Dumaguete.
[from FB post: June 22, 2016]
Safely in Dumaguete. I was adopted by a garrulous young widow, Liza Likaplikap who talked to me the entire trip and asked just about every inappropriate question on earth. That being said - she helped immensely on arrival and I was thankful for that.
My "On this day" just let me know that one year ago I was taking a bus today..... To Dumaguete!! It's a little trippy.
The Long Ride to Paradise
I read about Dumaguete in a guide book long before I went there. Simply put, it was "one of the best small cities in the Philippines". Since I had started traveling regularly to Cebu City and Bacolod, I thought I might as well give the town a shot since it was in the same area.
My first trip there was also my first long-distance bus ride in the Philippines. I could not fault the buses, they were fabulous - much better than Greyhound or Trailways in the USA. The bus station in Bacolod for points south was more like a huge, muddy parking lot than a bus terminal per se. After a very long and confusing wait, I got on the luxurious bus and we were soon out of Bacolod. The roads were narrow and filled with so many obstacles and so much oncoming traffic it felt like experiencing a real time video game - but I was used to that from Indonesia. The main issue had been trying to find which bus to get on and what time it departed. Without JRC' s help, I never would have figured it out. No information posted online had any connection with reality and even presenting oneself at the "bus station" was of little help. Travel by bus meant showing up in the morning of the intended travel day, asking a lot of questions, and just waiting (and hoping) to get on a bus to wherever. Filipinos have a reservoir of patience I lack.
So that I did...
Negros Island is a ridge of mountains between two volcanoes with some broad coastal plains formerly famous for sugar cane cultivation. The road often is right along the sea edge. Looking out the bus windows to a green sea of sugar cane and the distant mountains beyond on one side and the turquoise sea on the other was, in glimpses, breathtaking. Even so, the bus just took a really, really, REALLY long time. I did pass by some places and thought, "this bears further investigation", but then the idea of returning via coach transport cancelled the plan before it was added to my infinite list. The high point of the journey (literally) was crossing the mountainous spine of the island. The views over the Tañon Strait toward Cebu were gorgeous. The bus again dropped to the coast. I finally passed the Dumaguete Airport, so I knew I was nearing my destination.
We continued down the road into Dumaguete City proper and took a detour due to one-way streets downtown. I realized that the bus was passing very near my hotel. I gave a shout that I wanted to alight (one major plus of buses in the Philippines is that you can get on and off almost anywhere). I walked a couple of blocks up the street to the hotel. I was tired, but happy to arrive. I also thought, "I don't want to do that again any time soon"
Fast forward exactly one year and I was "doing it again".
This time my fortunes were worse. I made it to the bus terminal in Cebu City too late for the morning bus and the wait for the afternoon direct bus would have been quite long. The terminal was dank and without AC, but at least not the muddy pool I faced the year before in Bacolod. I had my travel bags, too. What were my options? I decided to take the "local" bus to the ferry terminal in Liloan, cross to Negros on the passenger ferry, and find my way down to Dumaguete.
I was not happy.
After exiting Cebu City my mood improved with some lovely bus window views and suddenly Liza Likaplikap entered my life. She plunked down beside me and chatted non-stop for the remainder of the ride. The woman was on a mission - find out as much personal information as possible about me. I suspected she might have been boyfriend shopping as well. It got intrusive and tedious; however, she was not rude.
When we arrived at Liloan, being a pro at the journey, Liza went to the ferry office and bought us tickets. Liloan port was like something out of a movie set. The RoRo ferry down the road was industrial for huge trucks and cargo to cross the Guimaras Strait, but little Liloan was for passengers only. It may have been one of the most beautiful ferry settings I have even traveled through! [see: ferries]
We got on the boat and Liza never stopped talking. I was far more forgiving by then - this woman was helpful. On the Negros side she snubbed all the "tricycle" offers (passenger threewheelers) as they were ridiculously expensive and INSISTED we walk to the main road. She had been right so far - I tagged along. It wasn't all that far.
LIza flagged down one of the luxury, long distance buses and we boarded. I knew the way from that point. Liza insisted to meet again in Dumaguete and I really should have done that, but I didn't want to show this poor woman any hint of interest beyond gratitude. I found a good jumping off point and walked to the same hotel. I swore never to take that bus again and I didn't.
The next time I arrived in Dumaguete it was by ferry.
Commentaires