PUNONG Gary’s Place in Silay

February 21, 2019

My sister in law brought us to Punong to have lunch in Gary’s Place in Silay City, Negros Occidental about a half hour to forty five minutes leisurely drive from our hotel in Bacolod City.

It was a long drive on a rough road from the highway to the restaurant.

I know, we are thinking of the same thing. Why are we on a Toyota vehicle? Of course, guests cannot be choosers. No issue here. We are just too happy to have a comfortable ride courtesy of my bro and sis in law.

Bacolod is blessed with an abundance of gifts from above—agriculture and sea’s bounty.

The mature trees give me a glimpse of what to expect. It is like a drum roll before the curtain opens. What lovely trees.

The main entrance is a thatched nipa hut roof with Balinese doors.

What used to be nipa huts were replaced with concrete structures so they last a life time.

There are some Balinese influences

Our imported tour guide

This giant ficus benjamina is like the flower vase of the island-like resort. It sits in the middle of a court-yard-like sprawling garden.

There are two eagles inside a tall cage in the property. I pity birds who can’t fly because they are in captivity. No matter how much we feed them and care for them if they can’t flap their wings, they lose the very essence of their being. They are birds, they should be able to soar and explore, and not just to sit there idly and watch the world go by. If I were to build an aviary it’s going to be huge, taller than a tree and wider than a road so these lovely creatures can roam and soar freely.

The Ledesma’s vacation place feels like an island because it’s mostly surrounded by water.

The private quarters of Architect Ed Ledesma is cantilevered over the body of water. I bet when you’re in that room, the protrusion gives you an illusion that you are right on the water.

I actually want to have a sculpture or sculptures of my husband and I making-out inside the chicken coop. Kunwari we’re young lovers. Some 3 years ago I told renowned artist Nemiranda about my idea and of course he was more than willing to do some extraordinarily romantic sculpture for me, I just didn’t pursue it because of the cost.

There’s a lapping pool.

A few hours before we left the hotel that morning, I was on the phone with Cecile Ledesma, an OMB reader from Bacolod. When I mentioned that we’re going to have lunch in Gary’s Place, Cecile told me that Gary’s Place is “Instagramable”. She’s definitely right.