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Iloilo City: Advice
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What advice would you give to someone who is moving to Iloilo City, Philippines?
zacharyjazz
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What advice would you give to someone who is moving to Iloilo City, Philippines?
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Enjoy the food. Food is undoubtedly Iloilo’s biggest “attraction.” Signature Ilonggo dishes are Pancit Molo & La Paz Batchoy. Be sure to try the batchoy of either Deco’s or Netong’s.Ilonggo yema is different, too; it’s soft & round. Try the butterscotch & yema of Biscocho Haus & RGies.Ilonggo street pork bbq & isaw taste different, too. I think it’s kinda sweeter, and we don’t dip them to vinegar unlike how it is in Manila. Try the isaw at the street vendors in front of St. Paul’s hospital or Don Benito.Drop by Home by Midway to try their Kansi. Kansi is the Ilonggo version of bulalo. Home is a restaurant across SM Delgado.You should also try talaba. Talaba in Iloilo (and Guimaras!) just taste different. Can’t describe how, you just have to try it yourself.Cakes of Tinapayan are good, too.Learn the dialect, Hiligaynon. Don’t go speaking in English & Tagalog and then complain and get frustrated why Ilonggos ridicule you or say things like, “Ay! Nosebleed!” Ilonggos are trilingual, but be polite enough to learn Hiligaynon as well. Most people who live in the province of Iloilo speak Kinaray-a – that’s a different dialect altogether, so they also make extra effort to learn Hiligaynon. If they can do that, so can anyone else. You don’t need to watch Dinagyang live. Every January, Ilonggos celebrate Dinagyang. At times, there’s a week long celebration – with streets being closed because food parks are put up (with bandanas!). There’s this annual tribu competition that is held at the Iloilo grandstand. You can watch the Dinagyang tribu competition live on tv. No need to experience how hot the grandstand is just so you can watch the competition live. Don’t speak ill of the mayor. Ilonggos love their mayor and what he has done for the city (with the help of his predecessors). Despite Duterte labeling Iloilo as a “shabulized” place, Iloilo is still beautiful to live in. A big part of that is thanks to the Iloilo government. Don’t ask for Uber. Download the LOG app. Iloilo doesn’t have Uber… yet. Not sure if they’ll welcome Uber anyway. Iloilo’s traffic isn’t as congested as Cebu, most definitely not worse than Manila traffic. Ilonggos experience the good customer service of Light of Glory (LOG). I heard they have an app, so better check Google Play for the app. Say “Sa lugar lang” when you get off the jeepney. We don’t use para. We use sa lugar lang or naog which directly translates to go down. Say “Lihog, bayad.” when paying for jeepney fare. We don’t say, pasuyo po we say “bayad, palihog,” or “palihog, bayad.” Palihog means please. We don’t use “po,” so don’t be offended. Just get used to younger people talking to you without po in their sentences. Get used to the frequent power failures. Iloilo has PECO as the electric company. Power failures are common but they usually last for 30 minutes only. And since you’ll be living in Iloilo City, visit Guimaras every now and then, too. Guimaras has the sweetest mangoes.
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Learn the language (Hiligaynon). Don’t be afraid to ask for directions. Try the local food delicacies (KBL, KMU, Apan-apan, Tinuom, Lina-ga, Pata, Kansi, Batchoy, Pancit Molo, Iloilo style Lechon, barquillos, Bingka, Baye-Baye, Linopak, Puto-lanson, etc. ). Join the locals, as exercise and fitness is big in Iloilo, Learn to “ride a bicycle” as Iloilo has a very long bicycle lane along the Iloilo Diversion Road, try and join the “Zumba” at almost any public plaza or start Jogging at the Iloilo River Esplanade which is a long fitness strip along the beautiful and clean Iloilo river…