dumaguete city 08.2017 photo diary

Geothermal rocks on the way to Pulangbato in Valencia, Dumaguete City

 Pulangbato (Red Rock) Falls

 At a private pool/resort in overlooking Dumaguete City and even the Cebu Island in Valencia

t, hanes. shorts, levis cutoffs. birkenstocks-like slippers/slides, zalora. bag, kohl's. sunglasses, dad's. 

....and this is the rest of the Dumaguete City trip. Last day of it was spent wandering around the green, mountain/hilly part of Dumaguete City: Valencia. I finally got to go to those sights I missed to go to while attending graduate school in Silliman University way, way, in the still pretty recent back. It's relieving still to have checked on a lot of those however. Pulangbato (english translation: red rock) waterfalls is one place in Valencia I've been meaning to go to since a lot of those I knew/know in Dumaguete City have likely been to it. The geothermal rocks is a new discovery. All the time I spent in the city, I never really knew its existence. Lastly, the private resort (owned by the in-laws of a traveling companion) is also pretty new to me---I only really know of Forest Camp and Tierra Alta (we only passed by this one but didn't bother going in there...). Valencia has quite a good number of hot springs, cold springs, waterfalls and private and public pool resorts that being there, more like being in Dumaguete City can't really become that boring. It's basically paradise on earth for those who love the lush tropical rain forests, natural bodies of water and the sea at the same time.

There are still a lot more things to do in Valencia. Other than the places I've been to, there are also a lot more to visit or check out when there. Valencia is only a few minutes' worth of drive from entry area, if you're coming from there, Dumaguete City. For one, Cata-al's World War 2 Museum is worth the visit for the history buffs. It's really close to the main plaza or park that's by the town center so it's hard to miss it. During the trip however, no one bothered to check this one out so I wasn't able to take the chance to either. Well, maybe next time. I'm pretty sure I'll be coming back there one day again and this time, probably for a lengthier stay than just the 2 or 3 days recently spent there. Then there is also the Japanese shrine I've always wanted to go to that's only accessible by motobikes/motorcycles. The ride used during the tour was a van and couldn't fit the road leading to the shrine so this one had been written off from the itinerary. On the next trip to Dumaguete City, I'm definitely going to look into going to this one. If one fines oneself around Valencia just for rest and relaxation, places like Forest Camp should be attractive. I've been there way back when the English college/department, students and faculty and some staff of Silliman University went for its acquaintance party. I was also new to the college and university back then. Part of the Valencia tour's itinerary was to eat lunch at Forest Camp but the entrance fee they asked visitors had us deciding not to push through with said plan. Paying the 100 Php per person entrance fee isn't really worth it if you're just there to eat lunch and not really to swim which was what we intended to do then. There are also other resorts of the same kind as Forest Camp worth checking out for r&r.

One day isn't enough to discover a lot of Dumaguete City, the town of Valencia especially, and the other places surrounding it. There's still so much to do there I haven't done and places to visit I haven't been in. Next on my list is a visit to the twin lakes, Danao and Balinsasayao. This isn't in Valencia but it is close to Dumaguete City as it is in nearby Sibulan (probably just a few minutes away from Bravo Hotel). As I'm not much of a diver or snorkeler (I don't mind trying snorkeling though!), I'm crossing off a trip to Apo Island on the list and would rather hang around the beaches in Dauin that I hear are really good. Dauin and the port to Apo Island also isn't in Valencia but they are pretty close to Dumaguete City as well. Originally, we were supposed to go to the Dauin beaches but we had fairly limited time left---the trip home was a fast craft/ferry leaving the port of Dumaguete City for Dapitan City at 10 in the evening that night---and Valencia was a pretty huge town to cover so this one was skipped. The traveling companions were also saying there wasn't much to see there in Dauin so I'll just add this one to the places, in addition to those mentioned previously, in and around Dumaguete City or rather, that part of Negros Oriental to go to next. 

....and next week, I'll go back to the more frequent outfit and etc. posts...