Back when we're living in the Philippines, travelling was not a part of my vocabulary. Yes, we visit relatives in other province but that's it. It never occurred in my mind to go to a new province and explore on my own or with family. Mainly because, I was too busy with college and soon as I graduated, our papers were already processed. I only had seven more months after graduating to spend time with friends and family before flying to US.
So, when we went back home recently, I made sure to visit my fiancé's parents. Our first domestic travel experience was in Iloilo City, Philippines.
We didn't booked a hotel, his family welcomed us (me, my mom, my sister and her boyfriend) in their home. It was definitely a huge change, lived in a city for long and spending few days in province. It's a life changing experience, you'll get to acknowledge and will love the fresh air from the province and the people.
We rented a car for the entire Iloilo trip. Very thankful that the rental services we found was able to accomodate the "pick-up" and "drop-off" services we asked them, I'm linking their Facebook page below for future use. From Iloilo International Airport, the car we rented was waiting for us. Me and my fiancé checked the car and signed for rental papers which took few minutes. The service was really great! From the city, it took us almost an hour til we get to their home.
Facebook Page: Princess RJ Car Rental Services
We arrived their home at around 9pm. His family welcomed us with a nice dinner and really nice bedrooms!
The next day, we started exploring Iloilo. The first place in our itinerary is the famous "Garin Farm" in San Joaquin, Iloilo. The ride was about an hour. I've only seen the place on blogs (very thankful for Elaine's blog about this place (check out her blog here), videos and from their family trips! And of course, I would also love to explore and see the beauty of the place.
Entrance fee was Php150 per head and we rented two golf carts, which was Php90 (roundtrip). It was supposedly just one golf cart, but I got too tired with the walking plus the elevation of the walkway, mind you that was just the walkway, we haven't went to the stairs! So from the cafeteria, we only paid Php60 (roundtrip).
The place was so beautiful, especially once you reached the top of the hill. The weather that day was also lovely. The only thing I'd remind you to bring is a headwear and sunglasses! I forgot my sunglasses and imagine all our eyes when we reached the top. We were all squinting on all our photos! LOL
Right after we visited Garin Farm, we went to eat lunch and stopped by one of the oldest church in Miagao. It's one of the visited churches in the province. Matter of fact, there is one guy outside the church checking on tourists who visits the church, he had us signed a tour guest logbook and gave us brochures about the church. It was serene and really beautiful.
We went inside and said our prayers and I thank the Lord for the chance given to me (to finally seeing my fiancé, getting to know him more and his family). After visiting the church, we head back to their home and rested in the afternoon.
The next day is our last whole day in the province. We started heading out to buy some Iloilo delicacies. And of course, we didn't forget to try Iloilo's Batchoy, which by now I am missing so much! *drools*
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