First appeared in the Aug 7, 2014 issue of Businessworld. Click here for the original story
Special thanks to family for bringing us around and opening our eyes to the beautiful lass that is Negros occiental.
Text and photos by Jennee Grace U. Rubrico
Provincial beauty
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Negros Occidental greets its visitors with a sunrise that paints the sky pink and purple, and sugarcane plantations that turn both sides of the highway into seas of green. Its people speak in soft voices, their inflection melodious, and one wonders if they ever get into a fight.
One of the rivers in Mambukal where bathing is allowed.
The breeze ruffles the trees and blows some of the summer heat away, and makeshift one-room houses with earthen floors and a Singer sewing machine still stand in subdivisions, beside mansions with multi-car garages.
Its capital city of Bacolod, known for its chicken inasal, pastries, and the Masskara festival, is opening up and hosting new malls and peak hour traffic along Lacson Street, its main thoroughfare. Bars make for a lively nightlife in a section of the city, while on parcels of land farther away, the state of its economy is seen in new villages being built by the country’s biggest real estate companies.
But even on the cusp of urbanization, Negros Occidental holds on to quaint provincial pursuits. And like the refined country lass that it is, Negros Occidental does not flaunt its beauty, choosing instead to let suitors discover for themselves its many attractions.
ROMANCE IN THE RUINS
In Talisay City, less than an hour away from Bacolod, stand the ruins of a mansion that hints at the opulence in which the landed gentry lived. Story has it that The Ruins, which is touted as the Taj Mahal of Negros, was built by sugar baron Don Mariano Lacson for his first wife, the Portuguese Maria Braga.
To see it up close is to know why a skeleton of what was once an elegant home that was burned down by the US Air Force in World War II could draw so many visitors -- and catch the eye of the makers of a local teleserye about star-crossed lovers who are born and raised in an hacienda. The multi-storey structure, which looks more like an unfinished building than a victim of arson, bewitches at dusk with its Italianate architecture and egg-white glossed neo-Romanesque pillars.
In one wing on the ground floor, a glass chandelier hangs from the ceiling, belying the extent of the damage done by the fire on the building’s integrity. Although the floor is cracked, the staircases are intact, and the sections are held in place by intricate columns.
Its capital city of Bacolod, known for its chicken inasal, pastries, and the Masskara festival, is opening up and hosting new malls and peak hour traffic along Lacson Street, its main thoroughfare. Bars make for a lively nightlife in a section of the city, while on parcels of land farther away, the state of its economy is seen in new villages being built by the country’s biggest real estate companies.
But even on the cusp of urbanization, Negros Occidental holds on to quaint provincial pursuits. And like the refined country lass that it is, Negros Occidental does not flaunt its beauty, choosing instead to let suitors discover for themselves its many attractions.
ROMANCE IN THE RUINS
In Talisay City, less than an hour away from Bacolod, stand the ruins of a mansion that hints at the opulence in which the landed gentry lived. Story has it that The Ruins, which is touted as the Taj Mahal of Negros, was built by sugar baron Don Mariano Lacson for his first wife, the Portuguese Maria Braga.
To see it up close is to know why a skeleton of what was once an elegant home that was burned down by the US Air Force in World War II could draw so many visitors -- and catch the eye of the makers of a local teleserye about star-crossed lovers who are born and raised in an hacienda. The multi-storey structure, which looks more like an unfinished building than a victim of arson, bewitches at dusk with its Italianate architecture and egg-white glossed neo-Romanesque pillars.
In one wing on the ground floor, a glass chandelier hangs from the ceiling, belying the extent of the damage done by the fire on the building’s integrity. Although the floor is cracked, the staircases are intact, and the sections are held in place by intricate columns.
Sky Ride at Campuestuhan
The second storey, where a belvedere is located -- to allow the owner of the mansion to gaze at his property, according to the tour guide -- the damage dealt on the building is more telling. At the landing, a section of the floor that is covered in plastic indicates renovation work and only allows for a path that is about a foot wide for people to walk through. The cement floor is broken in places and when a girl jumped off a raised platform after her picture was taken, the building shook.
From the vantage point, the grounds and a classical fountain that has been fronting the building since the 1920s evoke romance. How many parties have the grounds hosted? How many dalliances has the fountain seen in the 90-odd years it has stood there?
The building itself holds a secret that betrays the owner’s affection for his wife -- on the pillars that hold it up, M’s that are rotated sideways to face each other are embossed. The initials are said to be Don Mariano’s way of showing his love for Maria.
HIGHLAND ADVENTURES
Talisay knows how to have a good time, being home to a mountain resort that offers fun and adventures for children of all ages. Campuestuhan Highlands is a carnival for kids, complete with playgrounds, park rides and swimming pools. For the adventurous, a suite of outdoor activities covering an obstacle course, horseback riding, zip line, and canopy walk are available. Those who require an extra boost of adrenalin can try mounting a bike and cycling on a tightrope with the Sky Ride.
The squeals of delight may drown out Campuestuhan’s quiet grace, but those who pause to take in the view of the mountains that abut the property on one side and the valley that stretches out on the other are blessed with a glimpse of the resort’s substance. Wait for that magic hour before sunset, and on the platform for the canopy walk, see the property bathed in diffused orange light that brings out the inner radiance of everything it touches. This, along with the breeze that blows feathery kisses on the face, makes the stretches of dirt road one needs to maneuver to get to the resort worth the effort.
TOUGH TREK
Meanwhile, an hour’s ride down a road through sugarcane fields on a well-maintained highway would take one to the foot of the dormant volcano Mt Kanlaon, where a sanctuary of a different kind rests. Mambukal Resort is a natural showcase of 12 waterfalls that requires stamina, determination and sense of humor to explore.
From the vantage point, the grounds and a classical fountain that has been fronting the building since the 1920s evoke romance. How many parties have the grounds hosted? How many dalliances has the fountain seen in the 90-odd years it has stood there?
The building itself holds a secret that betrays the owner’s affection for his wife -- on the pillars that hold it up, M’s that are rotated sideways to face each other are embossed. The initials are said to be Don Mariano’s way of showing his love for Maria.
HIGHLAND ADVENTURES
Talisay knows how to have a good time, being home to a mountain resort that offers fun and adventures for children of all ages. Campuestuhan Highlands is a carnival for kids, complete with playgrounds, park rides and swimming pools. For the adventurous, a suite of outdoor activities covering an obstacle course, horseback riding, zip line, and canopy walk are available. Those who require an extra boost of adrenalin can try mounting a bike and cycling on a tightrope with the Sky Ride.
The squeals of delight may drown out Campuestuhan’s quiet grace, but those who pause to take in the view of the mountains that abut the property on one side and the valley that stretches out on the other are blessed with a glimpse of the resort’s substance. Wait for that magic hour before sunset, and on the platform for the canopy walk, see the property bathed in diffused orange light that brings out the inner radiance of everything it touches. This, along with the breeze that blows feathery kisses on the face, makes the stretches of dirt road one needs to maneuver to get to the resort worth the effort.
TOUGH TREK
Meanwhile, an hour’s ride down a road through sugarcane fields on a well-maintained highway would take one to the foot of the dormant volcano Mt Kanlaon, where a sanctuary of a different kind rests. Mambukal Resort is a natural showcase of 12 waterfalls that requires stamina, determination and sense of humor to explore.
The ruins of the mansion of sugar baron Don Mariano Lacson, also known as the Taj Mahal of Negros.
The mountain trek starts out difficult for beginners and only becomes more challenging, but those who embark on it can turn back at any time. Sometime after setting out, a suspicion that the waterfalls serve more as markers of progress rather than the destination for the journey sneaks into the mind. From the base of the trail, where guides are available to assist adventurers, to the first waterfall takes 10 minutes for the moderately fit, more for the sedentary. To climb all the way to the 12th waterfall would take three hours, according to the estimates of John Rey, our guide.
Between the second and the third waterfalls, the trail turns into an obstacle course that requires arm and core strength, smarts and a healthy dose of self-depreciation to get through. The gaps between the footholds are too wide, and arms are needed to pull one’s weight to close them. Looking like a monkey that has just started learning to swing on trees while navigating the section is not only allowed, it is likely.
The trek is on rocky ground lined with boulders, with the mountain on one side and a continuous flow of bodies of water on the other. It has a slope that starts out benign and turns into a challenge to the mind and body by the third waterfall. But it is worth enduring not only for the satisfaction that comes from measuring up against nature, but also for the song of the brook that accompanies the trekker, the serenity that the waterfalls offers, the trees that rise from the walls of the mountain, and the rejuvenating pools that are sprinkled with stones piled to look like people to ward off the spirits.
For those who cannot rough it, Mambukal’s vantage area for bat watching allows visitors to be mesmerized by the normally nocturnal flying mammals the way a certain ancient vampiric count with the same disposition placed ladies under his spell.
Restoration can be found in the resort spa and the dipping pools that draw water from the volcano’s hot springs. But heed the warning of the closed off section that cautions visitors of sulphurous boiling mud -- it has been known to burn the intrepid.
Drive out of the resort at sundown to be blessed with evening grace in a horizon that is bathed by the sun’s last rays. Be humbled and inspired.
Like a lady who knows her worth, Negros Occidental does not draw attention to itself. Only those who pursue it would realize that the sunrise of bursting colors that greet them when they hit Negros airspace, and the sun-kissed fields of sugarcane that wave to them on the highway are but the beginning of a journey into beauty.
Between the second and the third waterfalls, the trail turns into an obstacle course that requires arm and core strength, smarts and a healthy dose of self-depreciation to get through. The gaps between the footholds are too wide, and arms are needed to pull one’s weight to close them. Looking like a monkey that has just started learning to swing on trees while navigating the section is not only allowed, it is likely.
The trek is on rocky ground lined with boulders, with the mountain on one side and a continuous flow of bodies of water on the other. It has a slope that starts out benign and turns into a challenge to the mind and body by the third waterfall. But it is worth enduring not only for the satisfaction that comes from measuring up against nature, but also for the song of the brook that accompanies the trekker, the serenity that the waterfalls offers, the trees that rise from the walls of the mountain, and the rejuvenating pools that are sprinkled with stones piled to look like people to ward off the spirits.
For those who cannot rough it, Mambukal’s vantage area for bat watching allows visitors to be mesmerized by the normally nocturnal flying mammals the way a certain ancient vampiric count with the same disposition placed ladies under his spell.
Restoration can be found in the resort spa and the dipping pools that draw water from the volcano’s hot springs. But heed the warning of the closed off section that cautions visitors of sulphurous boiling mud -- it has been known to burn the intrepid.
Drive out of the resort at sundown to be blessed with evening grace in a horizon that is bathed by the sun’s last rays. Be humbled and inspired.
Like a lady who knows her worth, Negros Occidental does not draw attention to itself. Only those who pursue it would realize that the sunrise of bursting colors that greet them when they hit Negros airspace, and the sun-kissed fields of sugarcane that wave to them on the highway are but the beginning of a journey into beauty.
