10 reasons why we HEART Negros Oriental

1. Dumaguete City
While it is very evident how the city openly welcomes change and development, we just love the fact that it has continuously nurtured the things, food, places and practices that have always attracted visitors to its shores and have made most of them claim the city as their new home.

2. Rizal Boulevard
It is amazing to see how Dumaguetenos openly profess their love for their boulevard by never failing to show up there for an afternoon walk, a picnic with their family, or a tempurahan gimik with their friends despite the continuous mushrooming of new hang-out places in the area. We think that nothing could ever replace the spot it holds in the hearts of Dumaguete locals, no matter how developed their city becomes.

3. Cheap Food
We love that even the fanciest restaurants at the heart of the city offer great food at very reasonable prices. Boston Market definitely tops our list of recommended restaurants when it comes to sumptuous yet very affordable meals. Also, let’s not forget the silvannas. This melt-in-your-mouth-not-in-your hands sweet treat that has been a favorite among the locals for three decades now, truly melts the heart at every bite. It could even make non-sweet lovers a saccharine convert in no time.

4. Kookoo’s Nest
This is definitely the perfect place for anyone who loves to have some time away from the busy crowd and the pressures of work. The intense calmness of the place just forces one to relax. And as we found out, giving your nerves some off time could actually be a pleasant experience.

5. Tempurahan
This line of tempura kiosks along Rizal Boulevard is a perfect post-gimik hang-out, especially when depression starts to kick in after a round of alcoholic drinks. We think that street food is definitely the ultimate comfort food for Filipinos, no matter which part of the country we’re from. This would surely stop one from jumping over the seawall to drown his sorrows in the vast expanse of Dumaguete Bay.

6. The people
Many Dumaguetenos, though known to be gentle people, are a bit snobbish as we observed. But there were some remarkable ones who definitely gave us some great TLC. The waitresses at Le Chalet were always on stand by beside our table to promptly hand us a new bottle of beer and a good chat. The staff at Hoy Lugaw/Classroom simply did their best to meet our needs—they even allowed us to leave our bags there for two nights while we visited Antulang. The tricycle driver, who drove me from the airport to our lodging house, did his best to point out some of the popular places in the city upon learning that it was my first time in Dumaguete. Reynante, our habal-habal driver in Antulang, was also very generous in giving us trivia about the place and even took us to a look-out point to get a bird’s eyeview of Tambobo Bay.

7. Payag Jam
It has Malibu, vodka, pineapple juice and lots of crushed ice. It is served in a big mayonnaise bottle. And it only costs 100 pesos. You drink it in a lovely payag, with reggae music in the background. How could we not heart it? We just wish it would come with a bigger straw.

8. Water Refilling Stations
Why get those expensive water bottles from the grocery when you can easily get one from a water vendo machine anytime? Why don’t we have this in Manila?

9. Apo Island
One does not need to be a diver to appreciate the beauty of this island. Just from the surface one can enjoy the picture perfect view of the ocean while basking in the sun. The rich marine life is definitely something to be experienced as well.

10. Ukay-ukay
Ukay-ukay is also very popular in Dumaguete. A tricycle driver took us to the grand ukay-ukay tiangge in the city. It’s located right in front of the Evangelical Church along North Road in Barangay Piapi. We went there on a Saturday, which seems to be the designated delivery day for new arrivals. The clothes come in giant sacks, categorized by the type of garments (tops, pants, etc…). It was really surprising to see how the ukay-ukay phenomenon has taken over most parts of the country, and quite shocking to find some 40 to 50ish local females, looking quite conservative and a bit ordinary, checking out red lace thongs.

The quiet art of sitting still

It’s ten in the evening and everything is quiet except for the sound of crickets, the intermittent cries of a tree lizard, the busy whir of a stand fan, and a page being flipped by a guest who is just waiting for the spell of sleep to fall on him. Everything appears so calm in this tiny cove tucked in one of Negros Oriental’s remote coastal areas.

From the deck in my cottage, I look at the sea, which in its stillness seems to me like a lake merely masquerading as an ocean. There is no sound of waves and there’s not even a sign of one coming. Even the wind seems to have gone on a break for the leaves and the trees stand motionless. It’s as if they’re only purpose in being here is to frame the view of the body of water before them.







The place is a static photograph, a landscape painting. I look at it and it draws me to its calmness. I couldn’t do anything but stare. I sit and stare and feel surprisingly as relaxed as the place itself.

Kookoo’s nest is one of the only two resorts operating in the Antulang Peninsula. It only has four guest cottages that are strategically laid out far enough from each other. If not for the wooden curtain that doesn’t completely close in the outdoor bathroom, I would’ve been 100 per cent satisfied in its attempt to let the guests enjoy their privacy.

There are six other tourists enjoying this private moment with us, and the only interaction we had with them has been sharing lighters. We almost walk on tiptoes and our voice tuners are now set on low, very careful not to disturb the other visitors basking on their solitude. The three French ladies seem all too content chatting among themselves in their native language. The Kenyan guy from Canada prefers the quiet nook among the stone hedges at the far end of the resort to read a book about India. The couple, who may be in their honeymoon, almost never leave their cottage.





Ron has bathed all alone under the hot sun, minutes after we got here. He then went on a trance taking pictures of the landscape and catching the best shot of the sunset. While I play with a strange dog and observe a local boy picking shells from the seabed and his father walking his kid brother along the shore. In a place like this, socialization could easily mean intrusion. They seem to value their solitude so much, and Ron and I would rather not cross it for fear of other people crossing ours.





It’s now past midnight. The sea remains calm. The leaves remain motionless. My body stays relaxed without any memory of fatigue. And I am writing without a dent of depression, sadness, anger, bitterness, or longing in my spirit. In this very moment, my mind does not know anything outside this place and my heart is silenced by a rare sense of serenity for it to make way for other feelings.

I just discovered that people go to Kookoo’s Nest for the peace and quiet. I didn’t, but I just realized that it’s everything I never thought I ever wanted.





The Sputniks at Kookoo's Nest
04 June 2007