Category: <span>Travel</span>

Date: 27th May, 2013

I arrived at Legazpi city around 7:45am. I then crossed the road over to the jeepney terminal and boarded a jeepney going towards Albay Cathedral. I was in Legazpi for two things: to see Mt. Mayon and to get to Donsol from here.

Mt. Mayon Legazpi city jeepney terminal — I didn’t expect to see Mt. Mayon this soon! It’s got amazing presence doesn’t it?

Barangay Maoyod Legazpi Philippines — I got down at Albay Cathedral and followed the instructions the hostel had put up online

Legazpi village road Philippines — But when I stood at a junction looking confused, a kind man through his house window called out to me and just told me right away “Mayon backpackers hostel is that way”. He knew just looking at me where I was headed 🙂

Mayon Backpacker house Legazpi Philippines — Like many hostels, Mayon Backpackers Hostel is another home-turned-hostel

Mayon Backpackers hostel interiors — It wasn’t a hard choice. This was pretty much the only hostel listed on hostels.com for Legazpi.

Mayon Backpackers hostel Legazpi Philippines — The mixed dorm room was clean and the air-conditioner worked well. Not that I needed it right now. A single bed here cost me ₱900 (Rs. 1300/$20/€15) for three nights.

I hadn’t slept well the night before because of how freezing it was inside in the bus. Add to that the slight cold I already had got a little worse because of the lack of the sleep. So I freshened up, switched off the aircon and went to bed after taking some medicines Janet had bought for me.

I woke up in the afternoon and decided to step out for lunch.

Albay Cathedral Legazpi Philippines — Albay Cathedral is the big landmark near the hostel

Inside Albay Cathedral Legazpi Philippines — I had seen enough churches on my last trip to Philippines so I avoided them this time around

Cathedral San Gregorio Magno Legazpi — Popularly called Albay Cathedral, but it’s really St. Gregory the Great Cathedral

Bajaj motorbikes Philippines — Saw quite a few Bajaj motorcycles

I took a jeepney going to Legazpi City as I didn’t feel like having lunch nearby. Plus I wanted to see the main town area. Legazpi City is barely 20 minutes by jeepney.

Roundabout pillar Legazpi city — It was pretty sunny, so I entered a nearby mall and had a burger meal at Jollibee

Legazpi city road Philippines — I just walked around aimlessly as it’s something I like to usually do in new places

Legazpi city public market Philippines — Legazpi city felt more like a town; picked up some Dunkin’ Donuts for tomorrow’s breakfast

Turkey geese for sale Philippines — For sale

Pacific Mall Legazpi city — This seemed to be the most popular mall in Legazpi City

Mt. Mayon from Legazpi market — There she is again

Mt. Mayon volcano Legazpi — The most perfectly coned active volcano in the world

Mt. Mayon volcano zoomed-in — Planned to get much closer to Mt. Mayon day after tomorrow

After a while, I got bored as there was little else to see or do in Legazpi City. So I took a jeepney back to Albay.

Skate boarding Legazpi evening Philippines — There were a bunch of boys skateboarding and trying to pull off all sorts of tricks

Legazpi city hall Philippines — I went to City Hall and found the local tourism office. I asked them about how to get to Donsol.

Kawasaki Bajaj Rouser Legazpi Philippines — More Bajaj bikes. This model, Rouser, is considered quite hip in Philippines. I think it’s a re-badged Pulsar.

I had dinner with a hostel mate from India who was in Legazpi on business. We sat down at a Japanese restaurant near Albay Cathedral.

Japanese food tempura sushi miso soup — Fairly inexpensive, so don’t expect much in terms of authenticity. Whole set meal cost ₱200.

Castro art shop Legazpi Philippines — An art shop I saw on the way back

Way to Mayon backpackers — I went back to the hostel, and went to bed early after taking the medicines

Date: 28th May, 2013

Today morning I woke up early and took a jeepney to the bus terminal, from where I would get in a van taxi going to Donsol.

Legazpi Express jeepney terminal — Legazpi city’s main transport terminal

Donsol Libon express vans — I boarded the ‘express’ van going to Donsol; one way ticket costs ₱75

The van left the terminal only after they could fill it with as many passengers that could fit inside. Thankfully they had functioning A/C.

Rice paddy field Philippines — This journey was going to remind of my home state of Kerala a LOT

Pilar port Philippines — Pilar port was one of the stops

Donsol town road Philippines — An hour and half later, I was in Donsol

Donsol Butanding sign Philippines — Butanding, it’s what the Filipinos call whale sharks

I hired a tricycle taxi to take me to the whale shark center (cost ₱40).

Donsol trike ride — It was a 15 minute ride to the ‘butanding’ center

Donsol road to beach — It’s humiliating to admit the roads in the villages of Philippines are better than most roads in India’s cities

Philippines Donsol paddy field — This would look like any village in Kerala…

Donsol village road Philippines — …except for the concreted roads and footpath!

Donsol tourist center Philippines — This is where tourists need to come to begin the whale shark sighting tour

Donsol beach road Philippines — This was yet another very remote destination for me

Rains Donsol sea — I went inside and it was raining in the distance… which was disappointing to see

Whale shark interaction guidelines Donsol — But even more disappointing was the fact there were barely any tourists there — just me 🙁

Granted, I chose to come early because I read they only have 2-3 tours in a day and some bloggers said going for the early morning tour has the best chance of seeing the whale shark. But the fact there were only cleaning staff there and one tourist — me — I took that as a worrying sign.

February 2013 Butanding sightings — They had monthly charts declaring when the whale sharks were spotted

March 2013 whale shark sightings Donsol — The season when whale sharks sightings are usually high is between February to May

Donsol whale shark sightings calendar — But looking at this, looks like even during peak season there’s no guarantee of seeing the whale sharks

Donsol whale shark sightings calendar Philippines — And this is the month I’m in. No sighting yesterdays or the day before.

Butanding whale shark model Donsol Philippines — I sat there hoping there would be other tourists. After not getting a chance to do the Mt. Pinatubo trek in Angeles City, the last thing I wanted to hear was that same shit about paying a huge sum and renting a whole boat for myself if other tourists fail to show up.

Whale shark facts information — I passed some time by reading up on whale sharks

Whale shark Butanding center information — For those who are worried about swimming with sharks, don’t worry…whale sharks don’t have sharp jaws, and largely feed on plankton

Donsol whale shark model — Whale sharks are the largest fish on the planet, and their mouths look like that

Sea view Donsol Philippines — Good thing was the clouds cleared up and the sun was out again

Donsol sea hills in distance — I wonder what hills were in the distance

Donsol black sand beach Philippines — The beaches here at Donsol have black sand

Donsol black sand beach Bicol Philippines — A result of volcanic activity?

After an hour or so of waiting, and just as my hopes were getting dashed, an American family walks in saying they were here for the whale shark tour. Phew! My day was saved — for now.

The office staff finally showed up and told us since it was going to be a total of 5 people in one boat, the cost per person would come to ₱1000 person — which is what I was hoping to pay. But I also had to pay ₱300 extra for I had no snorkel mask or flippers with me.

The staff were insistent on reminding us there is no guarantee we would spot whale sharks. I paid up knowing the risk — as this is common place anywhere you go to see wildlife in their natural habitat. This isn’t a zoo, no animal was going to pose for our cameras.

American tourists Donsol whaleshark tour — At least the tour was happening

Donsol sea rainclouds — As soon as we set off, the skies turned grey again

Donsol fishing boats — It didn’t seem to stop these fishermen. In fact our guide asked them if they had spotted any butandings today. They said ‘no’ 🙁

The water did get a bit bumpy under the grey clouds. I looked down at the waves and wondered how would I even see the whale shark in such grey waters. I wasn’t going to get in the rough waters without a life jacket of course.

Butanding sighting tour watcher boat Philippines — They had a spotter up on a pole like this

Mt. Mayon from Donsol sea — Mt. Mayon from sea

The seas eventually calmed down a bit, and the sun even came back out again. We went deep into the sea, more than 2kms from the coast. An hour of going left to right, going around in circles, speeding up, speeding down… nothing.

Mithun sad in Donsol — Sunshine didn’t put a smile on my face

Some of the Americans dozed off as this was turning into one boring boat ride. I know I agreed to take the risk… but this sucked.

Donsol butanding guide — Our guide too was bored, and I sensed he knew there wouldn’t be any whale shark sightings today

Donsol boat water on top — There was a spotter up on the roof of the boat as well

Whale shark sighting tour Donsol watcher — I’m guessing this guy was bored as well

Donsol coast Philippines — After more than 1.5 hours of cruising, eventually the guide gave up and told us all that there wouldn’t be any whale sharks today.

Donsol coast Bicol Philippines — It was time now to go back

Back on the shores, I returned the snorkel and flippers I paid for but didn’t use and just left the tourist center disappointed. For those who are wondering what it must be like to spot the whale sharks in Donsol, watch this:

I was pretty hungry as I left Legazpi pretty early in the morning.

Filipino prawn curry rice Donsol — I went to a restaurant next door and had a Filipino prawn curry and rice meal

Donsol restaurant Bamboo interiors — There weren’t many tourists today. Another sign I was “late” to visit Philippines.

I hired the same tricycle taxi to take me back to Donsol. I told the driver I needed to get a jeepney going back to Legazpi.

Donsol central terminal Philippines — The tricycle dropped me here

Donsol village road — After a bit of a wait, I boarded a jeepney leaving for Daraga — which is the jeepney they told me I had to board to get back to Legazpi city

Plantations Bicol road — This journey reminded me of what it’s like driving through Kerala’s narrow highways more than ever

Concrete village roads Philippines — Coconut trees, banana plantations, and rice paddy fields — reminded me of home

Bicol highway trees — The only difference was the concreted roads and the fact most drivers were *slightly* better than the Indians at maintaining lane discipline

One odd observation along the way was that the jeepney would be stopped at different towns by people who would collect some money from the driver. Now I assumed the jeepney would drop and pick up new passengers along the way. But the men who would stop these jeepneys would make the guy wait for quite some time before the jeepney could set off again, and the guys who stopped the jeepney looked a bit, well, menacing.

Bicol highway Mount Mayon — I knew I was nearing Legazpi when I saw the incredible sight of Mount Mayon

Mt. Mayon Bicol highway — The driver saw me taking photos and told me there was another spot that would give me a better view of Mt. Mayon. So he stopped here and I took a photo using my DSLR. I didn’t take long because I was NOT going to hold up the other passengers just so this one tourist could take a photo!

Albay town Bicol Philippines — I finally reached Daraga after nearly 2 hours on the road.

Legazpi town traffic — I got down and boarded another jeepney going to Albay Cathedral

Bicol University gates Philippines — Passed by the famed Bicol University

Delica Japanese restaurant Legazpi Philippines — I finally reached Albay Cathedral at around 5pm. Delica is the Japanese restaurant I dined at yesterday night.

Albay Barangay Legazpi Philippines — I walked back to the hostel

Filipino villagers buying fish — How fish was sold at the villages. I inquired about the prices (out of curiosity) and found the prices to be way higher than what the same breeds cost back in Kerala.

Albay village Philippines — This reminded of walking through Chala, my parents’ village

Coconut trees backyard Legazpi Philippines — Back at the hostel, I went upstairs to the open terrace to take some photos

Rooftop Legazpi coconut tree hills — I could show you a similar hill-scape back in my village. Funny to think I came this far for ‘home’ 🙂

Even though I had wasted nearly ₱1500 for practically a bunch of joyrides, when I could saved it and slept in… oh well. What’s done is done. Next time, I decided I would rather go to Oslob in Cebu where it’s easier to swim with whale sharks.

I went out at night for dinner alone as the other Indian who was staying at the hostel had to return to Manila. And there was no new guest in my room.

Night basketball match Legazpi — A local basketball match being played at night

Mang Inasal chicken leg — I ended up eating at Mang Inasal. I was still feeling slightly under the weather and I drank quite a lot of the hot clear soup (sinigang?) they served with every meal. It really helped warm up my body.

Mayon Backpackers hostel night — After that, it was back to the hostel for some work before catching some sleep

So far my visit to Legazpi was turning out to be a dud. So I had my hopes up high for tomorrow, when I finally get to go up close to Mount Mayon.

Next post(s) in this series:

Philippines 2013: Lignon Hill Park, Cagsawa Ruins and Mount Mayon

Philippines 2013: Aerial view of Mount Mayon; arriving at Coron

Previous posts in this series:

Philippines 2013: Leaving Boracay; Kalibo to Angeles City

Beachfront hotels and resorts on White Beach, Boracay

Philippines 2013: Bulabog beach, Mount Luho viewpoint and sunset at White Beach

Philippines 2013: Boracay island tour, Puka beach and snorkelling

Philippines 2013: Flying from Manila to Boracay, White Beach

Philippines 2013: Taal Lake Volcano and Peoples Park, Tagaytay

The crap I went through to get my Philippines tourist visa this time

Date: 23rd May, 2013

I had some fun in Boracay these past three days, but I was kind of happy to leave the island. The humidity, the lack of proper sleep because of the same, and the sand… ugh, my body yearned for a proper shower and a thorough shampoo rinse. It was time to head back to ‘the city’.

I checked out from Frendz Resort, and made my way to boat jetty. I took a tricycle taxi, and for once paid the local fare of 25 pesos for the ride.

Boracay boat jetty — After paying ₱100 terminal fee + ₱25 boat ticket, I was finally leaving Boracay island

Boracay Aklan boat ride — And heading back to Caticlan jetty

Caticlan boat jetty Philippines — Back at Caticlan

Although I flew into Caticlan airport when coming to Boracay, my Air Asia flight to Clark was going to be from Kalibo airport, located in the north of Aklan province — which is an hour plus drive from Caticlan. Not to worry as there are several van taxis just outside Caticlan jetty. Most of them charge the same ₱175 for the journey.

Kalibo bakery Aklan Philippines — Even though the van is supposed to be air-conditioned, it was still kinda hot inside

Kalibo hospital Aklan Philippines — The journey took more than an hour

Still, we arrived at Kalibo airport with enough time to check in. I didn’t feel like going in just yet, so I had my lunch from a restaurant right across from the airport. Continue reading “Philippines: Leaving Boracay; Kalibo to Angeles City” »

Travel

Philippines: Lignon Hill Park, Cagsawa Ruins and Mount Mayon

Philippines: Arriving at Legazpi; going to Donsol to see whale sharks

Philippines: Leaving Boracay; Kalibo to Angeles City

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