Bacolod Archives - Expat In Bacolod

Most Frequently Asked Questions About Bacolod

Published by Stephen Bentley on September 26, 2016

As a blogger who blogs about Bacolod (and other things) I am often approached by complete strangers from all over the world who ask me questions about Bacolod, either because they are thinking of moving here or relocating for work reasons. These are some of the most frequently asked questions about Bacolod (in no particular order): Can I watch English football on the TV in Bacolod? Yes! BeinSports channels have now reached Bacolod at long last. You need a SkyCable subscription and the BeinSports channels is an add-on package for Php 500 per month. You receive all the English Premier League games that are shown live back in the UK plus some more with 3 p.m. UK KO times. In addition there is full coverage…

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Why This Blog Is Called Expat In Bacolod

Published by Stephen Bentley on September 18, 2016

Expat in Bacolod is the name of this blog and this is a slightly tongue in cheek post. Some of you, not many, have commented that it’s not all about Bacolod and the Philippines. Correct! It’s about an expat in Bacolod, me, and I happen to be a writer these days hence the sub-title under the title of the blog. I would dearly love to write every single post about Bacolod as it’s a wonderful place with wonderful people (the City of Smiles) and it’s the principal city of a beautiful island, Negros Island. I have said it before and here goes again, I love it here. But look, I can’t write every single day about Bacolod because it’s where I now live. It’s an…

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240 Pesos Too Much To Save a Life?

240 Pesos Too Much To Save a Life?

Published by Stephen Bentley on March 9, 2016

240 Pesos is worth about USD $5 240 Pesos,or to be exact 239.99, is how much my book How To Drive Like An Idiot In Bacolod is selling for. It is $4.99 on Amazon.com. The world is full of eBooks. Many are priced at $0.99 or are free. Some are priced at $8.99 and more. The book world is saturated with eBooks. I offer two free eBooks of my own but there is good reason for that. [You can find details of them here on this blog and you can find the other on my author website.] Both eBooks were never written for publication. They are promotional gifts to thank subscribers to this blog and/or my author website. The eBook world may be saturated but it is also full…

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BeinSports SkyCable Thank You Very Much

Published by Stephen Bentley on March 2, 2016

Wow! BeinSports and Sky Cable I thank you so very much! BeinSports is NOW available in Bacolod! Yay! 🙂 🙂 I must also thank Miguel of the Hat Trick Sports Grill bar for starting up the campaign on Facebook to bring BeinSports to Bacolod and Talisay. I don’t know what did the (hat) trick but whatever it was I am truly grateful. At times it seemed like I was the lone voice in the wilderness as I was missing my fix of English football in the Philippines. I had written about English football in the Philippines (or lack of) and was beginning to despair of ever watching Liverpool FC on TV ever again! They are not the only club I watch. There will be plenty of chances to watch…

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Bein Sports, Bacolod and the Hat Trick Sports Grill

Published by Stephen Bentley on January 26, 2016

Thank goodness for the Hat Trick Sports Grill Bar in Bacolod run by Miguel Luis Rivero. He’s my hero! Some of you may know that I have been waging what seemed like a solitary campaign to receive Bein Sports channels in Bacolod. Bein Sports hold the rights from the English Premier League to broadcast English footy in the Philippines. It not only shows English football but also games from all over Europe including Champions’ League games. Europe is where the best players in the world ply their trade. Think Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar, Christiano Ronaldo, Aguero, Yaya Toure, Eden Hazard and Philippe Coutinho. My campaign is a long and weary one met with frustration at every turn. Read here for the full story. I…

Moving to the Philippines – What to Pack?

Published by Stephen Bentley on December 5, 2015

What to bring with you when moving to the Philippines? The answer to this question when moving to the Philippines in my case was relatively simple. Just myself! Yes, I had a small suitcase packed with bare essentials such as hot weather clothing. I also had my laptop but very little else when my plane touched down at NAIA, Manila. For the previous three years or so I had lived out of a suitcase for most of that time. It came with me to Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Australia. Then back to England once more. I had divested myself of many worldly goods as a result of a divorce. True, I would have liked to have kept hold of many of those goods like my bicycle, power tools,…

Takatuka, Sugar Beach – Heaven on Earth

Published by Stephen Bentley on December 1, 2015

Takatuka Lodge and Dive Resort This resort is as close to heaven as you can get on this world. Seriously! I just love Sugar Beach and the Takatuka Lodge and Dive Resort. I mentioned it before here following a trip there back in June earlier this year with Zabrina. I vowed to return and so we did, in November 2015. I intend to be a frequent visitor. I find the trouble with many reviews of tourist destinations and resorts are that I often ponder just how independent and therefore credible those reviews are. I have no angle in writing this review, in fact, I do not even consider it to be a review, simply a case of “I must share this.” However, keep it to yourselves as I…

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Driving in Bacolod, Philippines: Part 3

Driving in Bacolod, Philippines: Part 3

Published by Stephen Bentley on November 26, 2015

Driving Filipino Style – No Fun No Joke No Common Sense I have previously written here and here about my perspective on driving in the Philippines as a foreigner. I really thought it was “out of my system” and had fully acclimatized to the “different” way of driving and lack of traffic discipline here. Hell! No! I may have acclimatized to driving about Bacolod, the City of Smiles but on the laughably described national highways you would have to be brain-dead to get used to it! My first two posts on this subject went a little viral (20k + readers on Medium for example), certainly here in the Philippines, and were met in some quarters with criticism. “Who the hell is this foreigner telling us what to…

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Football Philippines

Football Philippines

Published by Stephen Bentley on November 21, 2015

More Filipino Football but a bit Flat … You will all know I watched the first day’s play in the Philippines Football Federation Regional Under 22 Play-Offs. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Today I returned for the third and final day anticipating quite a ding-dong match between the two best, and physically strongest, teams Cebu and NOFA (Bacolod). It was disappointing. I don’t blame the young men who were playing. It was their third match in the space of three days. That was far too much to ask especially in temperatures of about 30C. In fact, it’s ridiculous to ask players to perform like that in three consecutive days. They had to cope with a hard, bobbly pitch, high temperatures and an even stronger wind than on…

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Bacolod Normal: “Very Traffic” in Manila

Bacolod Normal: “Very Traffic” in Manila

Published by Stephen Bentley on November 13, 2015

We, Zabrina and I, just got home to Bacolod after three days, two nights in Manila. We went there as my sister and friend arrived from England on their first ever visit to the Philippines. Naturally, I was delighted to see my sister and we now have over two weeks together to show her the “sights” on Negros Island and slightly further afield. We plan to go to Mambukal, DS Benedicto, Sipalay and Boracay to just name a few places. It was both interesting and amusing to hear and observe my sister and her friend’s reaction to witnessing the chaotic traffic in Manila. The “oohs” and “aahs” were so funny as they witnessed the usual antics displayed by the typical Filipino driver in Manila. It also served…

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