Pie in the Sky: Buko, Puto and Ocampo

       (The view from the pre-departure 
      area of the Bacolod-Silay Airport)


Having recovered from the traumatic meal of eating an impostor chicken inasal aboard the Cebu Pacific flight from Incheon Airport to Manila, it was time to bring my own in-flight meal. Again.

I have done this a few times already, and depending on my craving, it was either sapin-sapin and jamaican beef patties, or chicken empanadas and buko pie for flights back to Korea.

But on my flight to Manila from the postcard-perfect Bacolod-Silay Airport, I decided on the legendary Manapla puto and El Ideal's buko pie and bingka. I always thought that, just because one is up in the air doesn't mean one can no longer enjoy the goodies available on the ground. These goodies I paired with one of Professor Ambeth Ocampo's interesting books to remind me of Philippine's colorful history while flying over the islands where they actually happened.   

Professor Ambeth's book Prehistoric Philippines talks about the old maps of the Philippine archipelago, and so, as I was munching down the soft puto followed by a bite of buko pie full of chunky buko strips, I looked out of the plane's window and tried to identify the islands we were flying over. I wished I brought extra so I could have shared it with the salivating passenger seated next to me. An extra book, I mean. Ha-ha-ha!

And that while Professor Ambeth's fascinating stories occupied my attention, the taste and flavors of home occupied my palate. At 20,000 feet.

I was having my pie in the sky. :-)

Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road: From Shopping To Flying in 15 Minutes!

It was my first time in December 2013 to drive through the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road. 

                            (Talisay City from the air)

When I flew out of the Bacolod-Silay International Airport a few months before, I saw this road from the air looking like a white straight line extending from Bacolod City, cutting through several sugarcane plantations and ending at that airport road in Silay City, where, upon meeting that road, one would just turn right and after a couple of minutes, you're at Negros Occidental's airport entrance.

(The Ceres Liner terminal outside Bacolod City)

For those living in Bacolod City and the southern cities and municipalities of Negros Occidental, this access road, which was inaugurated in November 2013, is a great idea since it cuts the passengers' mad dash to the airport by a considerable amount of time. 

                                                   (the Banago Wharf)

This time, we were at the 'Shopping' district of Bacolod City and decided to take the new access road. I think if we took the main highway from where we were, it would have taken us about 30 minutes to make it to Silay City, considering the traffic and the holiday congestion that we needed to navigate through. But driving through the access road, it only took us about 15 minutes to reach Silay City.

                                 (That long line is the access road)

And the drive was scenic, too! No buildings or subdivisions! For tourists and passengers who don't have time to see haciendas of sugarcane, this 15-minute drive offers a quick sightseeing tour of plantations plus the unobstructed views of Mounts Marapara and Kanlandog.

                                 (The access road, the airport and 
                      the runway from my airline seat)

And if you're not heading to the airport, why not use this access road to do some sightseeing in Silay City or at The Ruins in Talisay City?

Although I have dropped by Silay City's El Ideal several times already, I really have to tour this charming city's old, ancestral houses.

                                      (Riding along the access road)

And as for the famous tourist spot, The Ruins, here's my blog about it. 

                                         (The Bacolod-Silay Airport)

So, thanks to the smart Philippine government officials, who approved of this project, and to the South Korean government for funding it, the drive from 'Shopping' to flying can be as short as 15 minutes.

                    (The access road turns right into the airport; 
                                      we turned left)

               (This is actually the Victorias Milling Company 
                           when we were almost home)

"I Believe I Can Fly..."

Yes, I believe I can fly. But unlike R. Kelly, I don’t believe I can touch the sky. Ha-ha-ha! 

                                                (Mount Silay from afar)

Thanks to the Wright Brothers and to the thousands of aircraft manufacturers, everyone can indeed fly! And when I ride these flying machines, I make sure I get a window seat especially if the scenery down below is a must-see. 

One of my most memorable flyovers was the one over Mount Fuji on my way back to Seoul from Tokyo. I had only seen Mt. Fuji on textbooks and postcards when I was little. On that flight, I could not believe that I was actually flying over the iconic mountain. I hope someday, I can get close and personal with Fuji-yama on foot, and not from Seat 3A. Ha-ha-ha!

                        (The uninteresting Victorias Coliseum. Ha-ha-ha!)

Today, I wasn't flying over a mountain. I was flying over haciendas, villages, rivers and a city I am so familiar with. Mine. 

                                                     (Victorias City. Do you
                           recognize some obvious structures?)

From the Bacolod-Silay Airport, the airport in the Philippines that has the most picturesque view, my domestic flight to Manila took off and from my window seat, I enjoyed the passing scenery of haciendas or plantations of sugarcane in patches of different shapes, rivers and Mount Silay from afar. 

(Why the murky beaches today?)

 A few minutes out, and I could see my hometown (or homecity?), Victorias, which actually looked like a small settlement of reddish brown-colored rooftops and trees. The most recognizable structures were the Catholic and Mormon churches, the city's main commercial arcade, that supermarket after Taytay Baho (which literally means, 'Smelly Bridge' that crosses over a smelly river of waste water coming from Victorias Milling Company millsite), and most eerie, the public cemetery, which looks like a huge collection of white blocks northeast of the city. 

Far from the city proper, I could recognize the Victorias Coliseum, which I have never set foot on. Why? Because it's freakin' very far from the city proper. I'm not interested in visiting it anyway.

And while the plane was flying out of the Negros Island, only then that I realized the waters by the coastal areas were that murky. Was it because of too much silt? It looked brownish and cloudy. Hmm. And to think I used to enjoy swimming on those beaches when I was a kid.

And while we were cruising over the Visayan Sea and Jintotolo Channel, I spotted paradise! Gosh, I wished that Victorias was just a short boat-ride from this islet with white sand beaches! I wonder who lives there! Or more important, who owns it? But it looks like it's closer to the Panay Island then Negros though.

I think it's fun naming the topography from your window seat if you know your geography very well. During my junior days working in Makati City, Philippines, I was sent to the field alone. I was to fly from Manila to land at San Jose. I was so confident of my knowledge of Philippine geography that I was so confused when the plane started its descent after only about 20 minutes. I could not believe that the flight from Manila to San Jose, Antique, was that short. I didn't know that I wasn't bound for San Jose, Antique; I was bound for San Jose, Mindoro. Ha-ha-ha! Luckily, I made it to my final destination, the Semirara Island, after making one more flight on a very small plane (from the San Jose, Mindoro domestic airport) which I think could only hold four people, including the pilot.

                                   (My in-flight snacks!)

And today, I wasn't flying on that single-engine plane with a very bumpy ride and a limited number of seats. With more than a hundred passengers on this flight and with my own Manapla puto as in-flight snacks, I continued to enjoy the view from my window seat.

             (Who owns this islet? Notice the white sand beaches!)

So, the next time I book a plane ticket, I guess I'd be choosing a window seat and be singing R. Kelly's song again.

"I believe I can fly....I believe I can touch the sky....I think about it every night and day...spread my wings and fly away..."

An Airport With A Poscard-Perfect View!

From the pre-departure area, that is!

I sit there waiting and eager to already board my flight for Manila, but also eager to sit longer and enjoy the view of the mountains, the haciendas of sugar canes and the blue skies over Negros Island. I have passed through other domestic airports in the Philippines, but I don't remember any other with a postcard view such as this. I only remember television sets entertaining those bored passengers waiting for their flights.

But this is no ordinary domestic airport. This is my airport. Ha-ha-ha! The airport which always welcomes me home!


The Bacolod-Silay Airport in Silay City replaced the Bacolod Airport as the Negros Province's domestic airport. Completed in 2007, it started operations in early 2008, and it welcomed me in September 2008! 

Since this was even closer to my home in Victorias City, I was happy the government had this airport built!  Before, flying out of the old Bacolod City airport was such a hassle. I always had to leave Victorias City early in the morning to make it to my mid-day flight to Manila. As the old airport was located on the southern end of Bacolod City, and I would be coming from the northern end, we had to traverse the whole city!

But this new airport in Silay City, which is just separated from my hometown by a municipality, is just about 20 minutes away during a sunny, fine weather. 

And today, as I leave Manila en route to the Negros Island, my plane will be taxing down the Bacolod-Silay Airport while being watched by the awaiting passengers seated at the pre-departure area, who must still be enjoying the view of the mountains and the fields of sugar canes while also waiting for their flight.

                               (Is this Mount Silay?)

And did I say it is also an international airport?