Spell lucky! We actually didn’t think that the day we’ll arrive at Iloilo is also the day they celebrate Dinagyang! It was complete coincidence but who are we to complain? We really had fun! Plus this is all our first times to celebrate festivals like this. Well, we all know that Sinulog is celebrated every January but who’ve thought we’ll stumble with Dinagyang!
For my non-Filipino readers, Dinagyang festival is a religious and cultural festival at the province of Iloilo Philippines in honor of Sto. Nino. Well you see, Philippines is a Catholic country and Filipinos celebrate different festivals to honor saints. Two of the most known religious festival is the Sinulog of Cebu and Dinagyang of Iloilo. And since we love celebrating, we also do have festivals of different kinds like festival of flowers (Penagbenga of Baguio) and many other stuff. The festivals alone are good reasons to visit Philippines. You will be greeted with colorful decorations and warm smiles of people (Because we’re hospitable like that). :)
On the second day of our Bacolod-Iloilo-Guimaras tour, we woke up early and went to Pope John Paul II tower. In our planned itinerary, before we go to the ferry terminal bound for Iloilo, we should be able to go to Pope John Paul II tower and Bacolod Baywalk. However, we didn’t know that Baywalk is close during mornings so we had no choice but to go to Pope John Paul II tower alone and admire the view on its viewing deck.
Pope John Paul II Tower is an important landmark for the people of Bacolod. It also plays an important role in the history of Bacolod because this 7 storey building is built to give honor to the late pope’s visit in Bacolod. The tower has many memorabilia from when the pope visited Bacolod. One of which you can see is the papal chair the pope used in his visit.
Entrance is only P20. On the roof top, you will see a 360 degrees view of the surroundings. We went there early in the morning so aside from the view, we also get to enjoy the fresh breeze of the air. We just admired the view and had pictures. Then before going to BREDCO port to depart for Iloilo, we had breakfast and pass time because we’re still early due to the fact that weren’t able to go to Baywalk.
In the BREDCO port, we first bought our tickets going back to Bacolod from Iloilo so we wouldn’t have problems if tickets got sold out. We already bought our ferry tickets to Iloilo prior to the trip because we thought there might be a lot of passengers due to the Dinagyang festivities. We were supposed to depart at 10:35 but the ferry is late and our time travel to Iloilo was also kinda longer than expected so we arrived at around past 1.
Actually, one of the best part of Dinagyang is the Ati Competition or the Ati Street dance competition wherein various groups compete wearing their ati-atihan costume. Too bad for us, the competition starts early in the morning and so we weren’t able to watch it. Nonetheless though upon arriving, we could feel that there’s still a lot of activities to see.
Before going to the city center to immerse ourselves in the culture and party, we first had our filling bowl of the famous Netong’s La Paz Batchoy.** They say you haven’t been to Iloilo if you didn’t try this staple food of theirs. Actually, I could eat the batchoy all day.
But then again, if you’re not the type who samples local food in a carinderia type of restaurant, then this is not for you. Too bad you won’t be able to taste this famous batchoy. The seating capacity inside if I’m not mistaken can cater 30 people. And don’t worry, it is air conditioned.* wink wink* I don’t have any objections with the price because for me it’s really worth it. Btw, I might be a little bias on this because personally, I do love noodles. And to taste batchoy and the noodles is like a whole new experience to me. :)
And right after satisfying our stomachs with our scrumptious late lunch.. it’s time to go to the city center to experience Dinagyang. Everywhere is like a party. Party sounds in every street corner that no matter how far you walk, you wouldn’t feel tired because of how festive the surrounding and feeling is. And well.. everyone is walking. There are lots of street foods.. balloons.. souvenirs, concerts here and there. Of course our get up wouldn’t be complete if we don’t have our own head piece and face paint.
I haven’t experienced any festivals prior to this so I can’t really compare but you know, all I can say is this festival stays true to its theme. It’s already a known fact to most of us that festivals are being taken for granted to sell illegal substance. Sometimes, if not always, some people use this kind of festivals as an excuse to engage in sexual intercourse with people whom they just met. But with Dinagyang, even though there are people drinking in the streets, I don’t see people having malicious intent. They are just having fun and trying to make the most of the festival because come next day.. the city is back to normal again.
After touring the city, we went back to the hotel to rest first then we had dinner at Tatoy’s Manokan**. It’s quite far and since most of the streets are closed due to the activities, we had no choice but to walk before hailing a jeepney. Tatoy’s is a Filipino restaurant that specializes in grilled chicken. They have in door and al fresco dining. In fairness to the food, everything we ate is yummy and filling. They also serve oysters for P70/big cup! Aside from the home cooked meals we tried, they also serve homemade ice cream for dessert which if you ask me is just so-so. Nothing special at all.
Right after dinner, we went back to the capitol to see if we can still roam around. The city is alive but we’re really tired from all that walking so we went back to the hotel and retire for the night.
We had so many things planned out for our visit in Iloilo. However, since it’s Dinagyang, most of the places we planned to see are close. So we just opt to enjoy the festival itself rather than tour around. I’m looking forward to go back to next year’s Dinagyang because it is its 50th anniversary and I expect it to bigger and more fun.
We weren’t able to see the places we planned to see but it’s alright. We still enjoyed watching the locals and we had fun waking and touring the city center.
Here’s our supposed to be itinerary:
6:00 - 7:00 : Wake up, get ready
7:00 - 8:30: Breakfast
8:30 - 9:30 : Pope John Paul Tower, Baywalk
9:30 - 10:00 : Go to BREDCO PORT
10:00 - 10:35 : wait
10:35 - 11:35 : Travel to Iloilo
11:35 - 11:50 : Alight boat, get ready
11:50 - 12:20 : Go to Hotel/inn/Checkin
12:20 - 1:00 : settle down, get ready
1:00 - 2:00 : Lunch at Netong’s - Aunthentic La Paz Batchoy (La Paz Public Market)
2:00 - 6:00 : Iloilo city tour
- Museo Iloilo (closed during Sunday, can be skipped)
- Calle Real (establishments)
- Roberto’s Siopao - meryenda
- Plaza Libertad
- Old City Hall
- Sto Nino
- Iloilo Masonic Temple
- Molo Church
- Panaderia de Molo
6:00 - 7:30 : Dinner at Bauhinia Filipino Cuisine
7:30 - 9:30 : Free Time
9:30 onwards: Back to hotel/sleep
Actually, even though we weren’t able to go to Museo Iloilo that day (because it’s Dinagyang and it’s close every Sunday), we were able to squeeze it in our last day. From Guimaras, we went back to Iloilo then before we went back to Bacolod via OceanJet ferry, we squeeze Museo Iloilo in for that day with all our heavy bags and pasalubong *on hand. Lol!
Well, Museo Iloilo is just a single storey building. But even if it is just a single storey museum, it showcases its Ilonggo pride through the exhibit. They also feature an Ilonggo artist every once in a while to show every tourist how talented Ilonggo’s are. During our visit, the featured artist is a local that’s carving sculptures. all of which are carved intricately. And this might be a little embarrassing but this is where I first saw a mickey mouse money up close. I was amazed! haha!
If you’re wondering where we stayed in Iloilo, we stayed at Urban Inn near the La Paz market. It was the hype of Dinagyang so the prices are really high. And this is the only place we saw that can cater to all 6 of us since most rooms are already booked. The inn is just so-so. But I really like the interiors in the hall way. As for the room, the room given to us was not really nice but we had no choice. It’s one night so I guess it’s alright. All’s well that end’s well. :)
So there. This pretty sums up our Iloilo tour. And actually.. I will be coming back to Iloilo this March because I’ll visit Isla de Gigantes next. So maybe I can squeeze in some of the places we weren’t able to visit. I can’t wait to eat La Paz Batchoy again!
This post is part of our Bacolod - Iloilo - Guimaras Tour. If you liked this post, you might also want to check this post out:
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