Yes I love Bacolod and the Philippines but nowhere is perfect! Customer Service Lip Service came to mind and the title inspired by a sign outside of the CENECO building here in Bacolod. It read ‘Customer Service 24/7.’ CENECO is the Central Negros Electric Cooperative and provides power to the homes and businesses of the region. I challenge it on its claims about customer service because I experienced the fact it either sucks or is non-existent. First, you need to understand what happened. I rent a 2-story town house and was just about to shower last Monday morning when the electricity failed. I thought another brownout, but I was wrong. We had been disconnected. I pay the bills but no one had bothered to tell… Read More
Expat In Bacolod
Stephen Bentley - Writer
Page 2 of 38
Earth Sunday Productions is a different kind of Philippines talent. In the past I have featured local Bacolod vocalists and musicians. These guys are involved in a film production company. The guys being Jezrel, Rap Rap, Airo and Jay. They are very good at what they do and a fun bunch to be with. You can find out more about them through their Facebook page. They describe themselves under this label – Wedding Photography & Video, Event Documentation, Advertisement, Music Videos, Audio Visual Presentation, Films. They can be contacted on +63 (0)932 8655 382 | (0)977 4740 279. Long story short, ITV Wales hired them to film me for a documentary to be aired in September 2017. It’s all about Operation Julie and my book… Read More
Want to know where the two best Negros Island beach resorts are? Zabrina and I happened to stay at both only last week. Takutaka Lodge Beach and Dive Resort and Bugana Beach and Dive Resort are both close to Sipalay some 4 hours drive or so south from Bacolod City. In my opinion they surpass any other resort on the island and have to be in the top ten in the whole of the 7,100 islands in the Philippines. There is a connection between the two resorts. Let me call it the Swiss connection. Karl is the male half of the Takatuka team running that resort with his partner Cathy. Both are Swiss although I am led to believe Karl was born in Germany. Karl’s… Read More
In the first part of my post on this delightful restaurant (but is it?), I extolled the virtues of Esperanza. Yet, I made it clear I had not eaten there and intended to return. I did both – on more than one occasion. The Food of Esperanza What can I say? Brilliant home cooked food with all natural ingredients. I tried the specialty of the combo and it was simply delicious without being overpowering. The buffalo wings are the pièce de résistance but the back rib ran it a close second. I spoke to the brother part of the ownership, and cook, and he told me what he used for the spicy coating of the wings. I correctly identified all ingredients but one. He said,… Read More
When I first started blogging I “attended” a useful Blogging 101 course run by WordPress. I got to know some great people and bloggers from around the world and became friends with some of them. John Steiner is one such friend. He writes on his blog PhotobyJohnbo. It is, as he calls it, some reflections on places traveled and photos taken or simply Journeys With Johnbo. John recently reviewed my book, Undercover: Operation Julie – The Inside Story, after he won a free signed copy in a competition I ran here. He also asked me to provide him with a guest post. I obliged. One of John’s great passions is flying and here he tells us all about it. Enjoy! But I Digress… Always Vigilant… Read More
It was my great pleasure to meet Ednalyn Grace Samson (Lyn or Edz) last night at the Hat Trick Bar and Grill. It was an even greater pleasure to hear her sing.
She has that rare quality of singing voice that touches your inner soul and I can tell you I was almost moved to tears.
Enough babble from me, this is a selection of YouTube clips I found of her wonderful voice. The Philippines truly has some great talent!
I will also feature her friend Jack soon. He also had a great voice 🙂
Bacolod Liverpool Hull all have something in common – ships and docks. It’s one of the things I love about Bacolod. It’s on the water and it has a docks area just like Liverpool where I grew up. Hull is an other port in England but is on the east coast at about the same latitude as Liverpool. Hull faces the cold North Sea, Holland and Germany. Liverpool faces the windy Irish Sea, Ireland and America. Bacolod faces west toward Iloilo and Panay island and has a number of fast craft and RoRo ferry services to various parts of the Philippines. It also has some commercial shipping other than ferries. Why did I mention Hull? There are other ports in England besides that port…. Read More
Work in the Philippines: Teaching Want to work in the Philippines as an expat? You know the saying or at least one of its variations: “those who can, do … those who can’t, teach.” Sometimes in my life I have felt that true. At other times, I’m not so sure. It all depends on the person and the circumstances. Well, it’s my turn. I am going to be teaching this April and May, 2017. Who’d have thought it! Yes, that’s me. Although I have thought before about teaching, I have never done it. The last time I had any yearning to teach was before I embarked on my travels to Thailand. I inquired about Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) to teach English in… Read More
A new monthly newsletter will soon become operational. It will combine posts from both this blog and my author website. The idea is to keep things separated – Bacolod and Philippines posts on this blog with all author and book related posts on my author website. The new newsletter will include posts from both sites – you may simply pick and choose what interests you and read it. I anticipate the monthly newsletter will commence at the beginning of March 2017. While I am here, I will give you a taste of what I have been up to over on my author website. It’s been hectic as I have been participating in an annual event known as Mystery Thriller Week. I have been interviewing several… Read More
The meaning of recondite has been well-hidden from me for a long time. It’s not often I see a word and haven’t got a clue as to its meaning. I spotted recondite in a sentence a few days ago and just had to look it up. Back to Merriam- Webster for this week’s source: adjective re·con·dite \ˈre-kən-ˌdīt, ri-ˈkän-\ Popularity: Top 30% of words Definition 1 : difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend : deep <a recondite subject> 2 : of, relating to, or dealing with something little known or obscure <recondite fact about the origin of the holiday — Floyd Dell> 3 : hidden from sight : concealed reconditely adverb reconditeness noun Examples in a sentence <geochemistry… Read More
Sign Up For the Monthly Newsletter & Download My FREE eBook About Bacolod
A portion of all my Book sales go to the James Bulger Memorial Trust. You can donate too even if you don’t buy my books.
Try Social Oomph Pro For FREE
Pro Writing Aid
My Recommended Web Host
WordFence Security Trust Badge
Recommended Web Hosting Partner
Copyright © 2015 - 2017 Stephen Bentley
Have Your Say