Sports, adventure haven

BAIS CITY, Negros Oriental – Congestion at the country’s more famous tourist destinations has prompted travelers and adventurers to search for less commercialized, more peaceful and more eye-catching places to visit. One of the most beautiful, unspoiled cities with the potential for great sports and ecotourism opportunities lies a mere 45 kilometers from Dumaguete, or a short boat ride from parts of Cebu province.

Bais is primarily known for its vast sugar cane fields, old haciendas, and its abundance of dolphins. Daily tours coursed through the city’s tourism office provide the safest, most convenient, cheapest way to get within arm’s length of some of nature’s most magnificent creatures crossing Tañon Strait. Tours start off Capiñahan Wharf, where the city plans to revive its seaside restaurant. 

Onboard one of three city vessels constructed for the purpose, this writer saw two species of dolphins – spotted and spinner dolphins (which are also found in Hawaii) leaping out of the water in large schools. Visitors are not allowed to feed or swim with the dolphins, as this may change their feeding habits. Speedboats and vessels with loud engines are made to stay away from these waters. It is a breathtaking and calming sight. Sperm whales also regularly visit the area, along with at least 10 other types of aquatic animals.

During the recent Palarong Pambansa in Dumaguete, hundreds of parents and their athlete children walked into the Bais tourism office and Capiñahan Wharf, asking to be booked for dolphin tours. It was an unexpected bonanza for the city, which is only now getting used to gradually increasing volume of domestic and foreign adventure seekers. The city also hosted the second stage of the Kopiko Astig 3-in-One Supercross Series in March, pulling in a record 42,000 spectators on the final day of races. Next door to the venue in Bais High School is a halfway house built by the current dispensation for battered children.

The city government has provided thousands of young mangroves as part of its reforestation project with the help of the World Wildlife Fund and Department of Environment and Natural Resources. A long pier juts out from the island which is completely covered in thick forests of mangroves which stand in up to two feet of water during high tide but lie exposed on dry land for half the day. All day and night, you hear the constant musical chirping and thrum of thousands of indigenous birds humming, hence the thrust to convert this island into a bird sanctuary in the near future.

Bais City itself is a picture of rustic charm. You can walk through the well-lighted center of the city any time, day or night without fear. Bais prides itself on a crime rate of 0.2 percent. The heart of the city is a few blocks encompassing the town plaza, which is used as tennis courts and an event center; the Spanish house at one end of the football field (where free children’s movies are shown every Friday night); restaurants, and the new Mercado de Bais, the upgraded version of its wet market, where some of the finest barbecue meals can be had for very little cost. Just off the football field is Nene’s store, famous for its halo-halo. Dumaguete residents make the long drive just for a taste of the cold, sweet signature dessert.

Most of the city’s attractions and environmental programs spring from the passion of Mayor Karen Villanueva. The first-time local chief executive, now seeking a congressional seat in the province, has managed to enhance the strengths of the community while managing its economic development and growth. She has segregated areas for residential development and protected farmlands from acquisition of property developers. She is the main reason Bais has remained one of the most peaceful places in the country.

“Our goal is for Bais to be the best place to live,” says the tireless Villanueva. “The city and province have so much to offer that people are only now starting to learn about. That’s why when we say it’s more fun in the Philippines, in Bais is where the fun starts. Naturally.”

A large chunk of the city’s 32,000 hectares is devoted to the Tindog-Bato (standing rock) watershed, where various medicinal plants and varied species of trees are grown. Bais also provides some amazing food choices, like clams so big you can’t eat them in one bite, homemade nangka bars, and an abundance of fruits year-round. Corn is grown alongside the sugar cane, and the two are harvested alternately.

Villanueva also has plans to resuscitate landmarks around Bais Bay, such as the fourteen-room Bahia Hotel, placidly overlooking the water. Bahia, which houses media and other guests of the city, provides a spectacular view of the environs, and will soon have a swimming pool on its hillside perch. A short hike up the hill is the site of a lighthouse with an even more encompassing view of the opposite side of the island, where the air is cool and relaxing. The surrounding area is perfect for mountain biking, running and hiking.

A 20-minute drive away is Barangay Sab-ahan, where a resort provides shelter for tourists who will learn how to plant and harvest coconuts. It is also home to a local breed of chicken literally twice the size of the varieties available in Metro Manila.

Contact information for Bais City tourism activities is available through (035) 402-8338 or [email protected] or [email protected].