Bumming Around Bais

My Negros Oriental Tour: Bais City

Back in Bais for the night and the rains were already far in between. But nothing spectacular that I encountered or did except… do the same thing as last night hehe. The following day was my second day in the city and I got to bum around before heading off to my next destination. As promised three or four blogs away, I have to tell you what else I discovered in Bais other than that outstanding ozonized water project. But if you’re still hoping and waiting for the dolphins and sandbar, drop it! I dropped that idea altogether, and thanks to the sporadically dripping skies hehe! So here we go…

City Hall. The city hall sits just beside the church. I have seen this place last night and the night before, right? Yeah, really… and on a rainy day, this city hall looks better at night than during the day hehe! This one city hall is sprawling. I mean, the building’s growth is lateral instead of vertical. It has two levels only on the central portion, but elsewhere, this is a 1-floor building. It looks good anyway as it even looks like a capitol to me. Trees, plants and flowers around the edifice make it even more appealing even under the rain. It identifies itself still in Spanish – Presidencia De Bais 1937. Ah now I understand the look of that building. I think that era was already Americanized, right? I wonder though what is that mesh or screen atop the building’s frontage. Its not a sore to view but to me it makes the building look like it has a tiara hehehe!

Auditorium. Hmm, I have been passing by this place for the past two days already and it did not command my attention. Why? Probably because there was/is nothing in there, for who would be playing sports there when it was constantly raining. This is a big one. One side is where the police station and ozonized water station are located, another side is the health center with its back to the church, another side faces the big grassy field fronting the city hall, and one side lines the highway. Now now… what I saw last night as some heap of junk metal or scaffolding over at the field got clearer when I peeped at this auditorium. The city was busy crafting a giant Christmas Tree that would standing (and rotating) over at the center of that grassy field. So it was not junk that I saw last night after all. It was the beginning of the Christmas tree. And all the works for whatever was to be hung in that tree were busily being produced inside the auditorium!

Old Houses. Yep, I have read somewhere that this city still has some old houses in their original look and splendour. They’re not hard to find as there are many. There are of course some of those olden homes that seem ready to crumble next time a typhoon comes by. I liked looking at them. They remind me of how our past generations must have lived – very spacious houses, large gatherings, comfortable even without aircon.. and so on. There is one such ancestral house that I saw being recommended on the web. But I think I have never gotten to finding it as I was already happy looking around houses near the city center.

Market and/or Bus Terminal. I did not quite get this hehe. Bais City’s public market is on the outskirts of the city and looks rather new and it looks like a bus terminal. If I reverse that… Bais City’s Integrated Bus Terminal on the outskirts of the city looks like a public market! Ahhehe, I think its both. The problem is that vendors are everywhere and buses and jeeps are everywhere. Can you believe, one lady was even by the sides and at times climbing up the buses selling clams and other shellfish?! I thought only snacks like chicharon and other local delicacies would be offered that way. Hah, there are market stalls, many of them. But I wonder why folks lay out their wares on the side streets, on the parking lot and just about everywhere. It got me dizzy hehe. But that is common everywhere, right?! I say, they should all learn from Dumaguete. It’s the most orderly public market (and surroundings) that I have seen so far!

Azucarera. That’s all over the web – Central Azucarera De Bais – but nothing clear on what else to see other than that aged head of a locomotive train displayed by the side of the highway from Tanjay going Bais. I asked around on how to go there but most responses were ‘it would not be good to go there as the earth will be muddy’. One trike driver even told me ‘it’s a private place’ hehe. Now, especially that I was able to snap a pic of that train while the Ceres was passing yesterday, I did not have much push to go and see what remains of the azucarera.

Let’s go to the Bais church instead!


If you want to read the chronology of all stories on this tour, click the following:
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