Exploring the City of Gentle People - Dumaguete

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Manjuyod sandbar’s hype has been so insane lately that left us so curious about the place they call “Maldives of the Philippines”. So, this year, we chose to spend our Labor Day long weekend exploring  Manjuyod sandbar with side trips to the famous tourist spots of the North.

 Day 1 (Sat): Dumaguete City
To get rid of the traffic, we planned on leaving early on Saturday morning. 6 am departure time was the original plan but as usual… yes, you’re right! We departed an hour late from our planned time. Filipino time as always!
We arrived at Lillo-an Port in Santander by 11:30 am. Private cars lining up to get boat tickets have almost reached the highway when we arrived. We were not able to get on the 12:30nn trip, but luckily, we got on board on the next trip, which is 1:30 pm. It was kinda late so we had our stomach fed at the port while waiting for the boat to disembark.
Our boat trip took only 30 mins. We reached Sibulan Port, Dumaguete at around 2:00 pm. We went straight to Hotel Camila to check in our bags and take a short rest. Btw, if you’re looking for a place you can spend a night within Dumaguete, try considering Hotel Camila. We booked an overnight stay there for only P800php good for 4 persons already! Good deal, isn’t it?
Our Dumaguete trip wouldn’t be complete without stopping by at their famous Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries. We had light snacks there and of course!..we devoured their well-known Sans Rival and Silvanas. One slice of Sans Rival cake will cost you 30pesos while Silvanas is priced at 17pesos per piece. Along the way, we passed by at Mary Immaculate Church where we attended a 5:30 pm anticipated mass.
After hearing the mass, we then strolled through the streets of Silliman University, took pictures at their Chapel then had our dinner at Jo’s Chicken Inato.

Pics from Day 1:



Day 2 (Sun): Dolphin Watching + Manjuyod Sandbar + Forest Camp
Wake up call was at 4:00 am. We ordered “to go” breakfast at McDo then headed straight to Bais City. Bais City is just an hour drive from Dumaguete City. We arrived a little early, around 5:30 am so we decided to eat our breakfast there while waiting for our boat to take us to the sandbar.
The Manjuyod adventure includes Dolphin watching. We had the chance to get up close to the dolphins as they swam with our boat. Everyone was cheering every time the dolphins jumped and fall back into the water. We were on the boat until our curiosity satiated. I really never expected Dolphin watching would be this much fun and exciting!
Then we proceeded to the Manjuyod Sandbar. The sandbar is nice and beautiful. The water is crystal clean and inviting. However, I was not that  impressed when I saw the sandbar. Why? Maybe because being dubbed as the “Maldives of the Philippines” gave me an overrated standard of the place.

Here are the pics from our Manjuyod Trip. Let yourself be the judge. :)


Overnight at Forest Camp:
We spent the night at Forest Camp, Valencia. The place is quite and is ideal for nature lovers as the resort is in the middle of nature from all round. The resort offers a man-made pool with spring water. Some of the activities that you and your group can enjoy include wall climbing, zip lining, and trekking.
We stayed at their Bahay Kubo. It has two rooms with comfort rooms just beside our cottage. Our rooms don’t have air-conditioning units as nature keeps the room naturally cool.  It’s a bit creepy though because we kept our windows open to let the air get into our rooms. The surrounding is so dark and quiet and my imagination is running wild. I don’t like the dark. I really am afraid of the dark. Lols!


Day 2 (Sun): Pulang Bato Falls + Tierra Alta
Going to Pulang Bato Falls, we passed by the Sulfur River in Valencia. Just along the highway, you can see the smoke rising up from the pile of rocks. We stopped by to have a closer look at the Sulfur River. After some picture taking, we immediately went back to the car because we can’t stand to stay any longer in the area due to the bubbling hot sulfur water and its stinky smell.


We moved forward to the second to the last leg of our trip – the Pulang Bato Falls of Valencia. Now I know why it’s named Pulang Bato... it’s because of reddish rocks surrounding the falls.  More of an orange-red shade I guess.
The water is clear and cold and I think tastes like rust. We tried to get closer to the falls but it’s a bit challenging because of the gushing water from the falls and there aren't defined rocks you can hold on to.

Since were already at Valencia, we didn’t waste the chance to visit Tierra Alta Clubhouse – a residential resort nestled on the top of the hill. The resort is Greek-inspired and depicts the authentic Greek elegance.

One of the famous attractions of the resort is its lighthouse where you can see the panoramic view of the place. Just be careful when going up and down the stairs as it is a bit scary…well at least for me since I don’t like heights. Mind you, my legs are really shaking as I climb the stairs. Lols.

The resort also has a swimming pool surrounded by beautiful scenery. The pool is wide and nice but we were not able to wade in the pool because we were in a hurry to get to the Port on time.

The entrance fee, by the way, is 50 pesos for non-members. With your 50pesos, you can already enjoy the captivating views and take pictures with it. I will certainly come back, Tierra Alta. :)

It’s not always that we got to have a long weekend because of Labor Day and I’m glad that I got to spend it with my TIMEX friends. 'Twas definitely a well-spent long weekend. :)


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