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
Expat In Bacolod
Stephen Bentley - Writer
Page 2 of 38
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
Numbskull is an English word I don’t hear so often these days. I am using Stack Exchange for an explanation of its meaning as my usual source, Merriam-Webster, has a rather uninteresting entry. The forum exchange included these comments: If the OP wishes to express someone’s ignorance of math, I would suggest using a different expression. I’m a complete idiot when it comes to math. Alternatively, the noun numbskull is also very appropriate. a stupid person; dolt; blockhead I’m a numbskull when it comes to math. Source: The Free Dictionary Then there was this contribution from a Brit: I can’t think of a standard animal/object/phrase that would naturally fit the gap in I’m a ___ when it comes to math except for something dull like… Read More
Vikings has fast become one of the “must-go” eating places in Bacolod. People rave about it and it was about time I tried it out – what better time than Zabrina’s birthday so I treated the whole family to dinner there on a busy Friday evening. Let me cut to the chase – Vikings is a great experience but the quality of much of the food leaves a lot to be desired. It is really a wonder of marketing and whoever thought up the concept is a clever individual. Vikings is a concept in buffet style eating with a wide array of worldwide foods. Think TGIF but with imagination. It is an experience and once you enter it’s like walking into a cross between a… Read More
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