Around Tagbilaran City

After our island hopping in the vicinity of Panglao island, we just freshen up a bit back in our resort and we checked-out by lunch time. We hired the services of a driver that will take us back to Tagbilaran City, the capital of Bohol province, where we will be staying overnight until our flight early next morning back to Manila.

We stayed in a pension house/tourist inn-style hotel called El Portal Inn.




We got a family room for the four of us (PHP1250 + PHP175 in excess of 3) with two beds and got the basic ammenities of an airconditioned room, hot/cold shower, TV and refrigerator.


For lunch, we went to Island City Mall in search for the "prawn farm". We saw this billboard and have since then drooled on the idea of actually dining there.


Prawn Farm Restaurant is located inside the mall.


It was father's day and they were having a father's day special buffet. Seafood like squid, shrimps, fish, and of course, prawns as well as other meat items were served.


my first plate


dining area


preparation area behind the glass


The food was great and we left full and filled-up until that evening. Right after lunch, we decided to watch the movie Drag Me To Hell for the rest of the day was our free time.


Just before sunset, we rode one of the tricycles that took us back to the inn where we spent an hour's worth of rest.


During our chitchat inside the room, someone raised the idea of having a massage and it was decided upon to check out Le Spa Massage. The experience was just okay, not so bad, but my colleagues didn't actually like it there.


After the massage, I saw a church across and decided to drop by. There was a mass service going on since it was a Sunday but we were already late so I just stopped and pray.


For dinner, we originally toyed the idea of eating whole roasted chicken that can be bought on the streets for PHP99. For some reason however, we had to scratch it and looked for a place more convenient.


We then went to Plaza Marcela, a mall only a few blocks away from our inn and decided to eat there instead.


There was nothing much inside the mall and the only choice we got was Jollibee so that's where we had our dinner that night.


For a long time, I haven't had Champ burger in Jollibee and since we were there already, I ought that it's the right time to savor it again, and that's exactly what I had for dinner - served with fries and Coke Zero.


Early the next day, we checked-out of the inn and went to the airport using the shuttle provided by the inn for our flight back to Manila.


me, in front of the plane


And once again, we were off - this time routed back home!


Up above in the sky, Mayon Volcano can be seen from far away. However, the clouds and the weather during that time made the supposedly fantastic view become more of a silhouette. Good thing I previously had a weekend getaway to Bicol and was able to see the volcano clearly at a more closer view.

Weekend Bicol Getaway!

Jojo, Kent, Dru and I flew early last Saturday to Legazpi City for a quick weekend in Bicol. We started having these volcano hiking trips recently and our original plan was to see the Mayon Volcano and hike up if weather permits. This trip fitted into perfect timing since I have been uber stressed these past few days and needed to do something to unwind.

We touched down half-past 8 in the morning in Legazpi Airport. First thing I noticed when I deplaned was a beautiful scene of the volcano and the plane side by side.


We stayed in Hotel Venezia, an experience that I liked so much. I was surprised to see a full service hotel in a city which I find very relaxed and laid-back. The experience is great having the hotel shuttle picked us up from the airport, a junior suite, spread of breakfast and cookies waiting in the room every night after turndown service.


We just settled for about an hour in our room and off we went to Cagsawa Ruins. This is where most of the postcards of Bicol and Mayon Volcano is taken from. The belfry on the right is the only remnant of then a church after the volcano's eruption in 1814.


The cloud is covering the tip of the volcano while we were there. We tried to wait and see if things will get better but, after an hour of waiting, we got tired and decided to leave. This is the best view that we got - the volcano partly covered by the cloud!


As we leave the ruins, we were amazed by this ingenious stick invention being sold outside the park. Rub the companion stick on a stick with propeller in one end, shout "hoy!" and the rotation of the propeller will reverse. We were teached how to "trick" others after we bought a set. Pretty neat!


Mount Mayon is famous for having an almost perfect cone shape (that is if it's not covered with clouds). After lunch and on our way to other places, we stopped by different points when we see the volcano is worth taking a picture of.


the volcano and some other "ruins"


Our next stop was in Busay Falls. However, we just dropped by and didn't stay long because it seems that my companions are allergic to people. argh! peace! :P


We wanted to get to this other falls, which is an hour and a half away. The party got lost on the way and after passing through some unpaved roads, we finally reached Vera Falls. We had to climb down what seems to be a kilometer of steps going down and this scenery greeted us!


It's all worth it! We were the only visitors during that time so we practically had the place for ourselves! A beautiful and serene place to relax and unwind!


I didn't swim, because I didn't expect that we'll be swimming today so I don't have extra clothes with me at that time. Instead I just dipped my feet and legs and focused on taking pictures of the place.


kent, dru and me


The next day we left early for Donsol, Sorsogon to do the "Whaleshark Interaction". The place is about 2 hours away from where we stay. After registering at the local office, we went to board our boat for the activity.


How it works? Basically the guide will circle around the area and spot a whaleshark. If we happen to see one, our motorboat will stop around 20-40 meters away so that we don't disturb them.


Next is that you will have to jump to the water and follow the whaleshark. This is Dru, Kent and Jojo, about to jump to the water.


You will have to swim around 20-40 meters and try to get near a whaleshark after jumping.


This is a picture taken by Jojo underwater. Unfortunately it's hard to get a good picture of the whaleshark.


We had a good number of sightings, so they jumped off the boat and tried to catch up with the shark about 5 times. For the record, I did jump in twice to the water. However I did not succeed and was not able to join them in this activity. I stayed on the boat, watched the whalesharks from aboard, and ate choco chip cookies.

Like all good things, this has to come to an end. We left early today to fly back to Manila and I went straight to a client call. It was a quick trip but it definitely got me recharged and I was back alive and kicking again after having a few days of being down. It was a nice experience considering we only went there for Mayon Volcano and we ended up doing some other great things.

Journey towards the crater of Mount Pinatubo

I just got home a few hours ago from a day trip to Mount Pinatubo. It was a long and tiring trip which includes a couple of hours drive from Manila, an hour ride in a 4x4 and another hour hike going up the mountain and down inside the crater - multiply all these by two to include the trip going back.

Taal Volcano day trip

I was back home in Manila yesterday but I went today with some friends to supposedly hiking (ended up horseback-riding) to Taal Volcano. Sun was not on us and it was windy but it definitely was an experience!