Adventures in Bicolandia: Aboard the Bicol Express! Part 2

This is a continuation of my previous blog entry. I was supposed to have it in one blog post but unfortunately I wasn't able to save the contents after I blogged about our 3rd day in Bicol.

After living the island life in Caramoan, it is time to travel back to Legazpi City and meet Mt. Mayon.

Day 4: January 10, 2016 (Let's go back to Legazpi!)
600 AM - Wake up call. Prep and eat breakfast.
*Noodles: Php 15.00/person

730 AM - Checked out in Island View Lodge and depart to Guijalo.
*Tricycle fare: Php 300.00 = Php 100.00/person

820 AM - When we arrived in Guijalo, we were the only passengers aboard the pump boat. The boatman waited for more passengers and left Guijalo 20 minutes later. If not peak season, I guess the pump boat schedule is flexible because we were supposed to catch the 8:00 AM schedule.

Motorized pump boat schedules: 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM EVERYDAY.
* Boat fare: Php 120.00/person

* Man made float: Php 10.00/person

843 AM - Depart from Guijalo to Sabang

1120 AM - All the vans going to Naga City were all occupied. We were the last 3 passengers left bound for Naga City so we decided to just pay for more to immediately leave for Naga City. Instead of paying Php 100.00, we paid Php 500.00 so that makes Php 166.67/person.

130 PM - We had our lunch in SM City Naga in Triboo Grill.
* Lunch: Php 128.00/person

240 PM - Depart from Naga City to Legazpi City. We suggest to ride a van since it is much faster than riding the bus going from Naga to Legazpi.
*Van fare: Php 140.00/person

500 PM - We still didn't have a hotel to stay so we asked the tricycle driver where is the best place with affordable room rates. He brought us to Sampaguita Tourist Inn. We first checked the room and found it to be smelly and not pleasing. There was a hotel just meters away from Sampaguita so we checked the rooms and decided to stay here for the next two days. We availed the 12 hours stay to save money.We left our baggage in Twilight Zone Hotel and went to Embarcadero Mall, Ayala Malls Legazpi and LCC Mall where we ate our dinner.
* Dinner: Php 65.00/person
* Tricycle fare: Php 10.00/person

800 PM - Checked in Twilight Zone Hotel and re energize since we are off to meet Mt. Mayon the next day.
*Room rate: Php 1,000.00 = Php 333.33/person (12 hours)

Day 5: January 11, 2016 (Meeting Mt. Mayon)
800 AM - Checked out in Twilight Zone Hotel but we asked the receptionist if we could leave our baggage since we are still going to stay for the night and thankfully he agreed to let us leave our baggage for the day.

We had our coffee in Dunkin Donuts to wait until 9:00 AM since I had to withdraw money already!

940 AM - After we went to the bank, we rode a tricycle going to LCC Mall. From there we rode a jeepney going to Lignon Hill.
* Tricycle fare: Php 10.00
* Jeepney fare: Php 8.00

1000 AM - Lignon Hill is a mountain view park. I suggest if you come to visit here you should hire a van or a motorcycle going to the top of the park. It was too far to walk for tourists. When we got here, Nanay Puring greeted us a marketing talk about the Mt. Mayon ATV (all terrain vehicle) experience. We decided to avail the Php 2,500.00 package that will bring us to the foot of Mt. Mayon where the lava from the 2006 eruption was situated. Also included in the package was a van that would pick us up from Lignon Hill going to the ATV area.

While waiting for the van to pick us up, Nanay Puring brought us into the Japanese Tunnel. It was eerily creepy inside with Japanese statues and the Japanese flags placed in each corner of the tunnel.

So creepy but still smiling for the photo op.

1030 AM - The van from Your Brother Travel and Tours picked us up and drove us to the ATV area. They are the pioneer in offering ATV experience in Mt. Mayon, After giving us a brief introduction about the experience and giving out safety measures, we were ready to conquer Mt. Mayon! =D
*ATV experience = Php 2,500.00/person

Mt. Mayon didn't welcome us.

1100 AM - After a test drive with the ATV, we started our journey to the lava area from the 2006 eruption of Mayon. I was worried since it was really cloudy that day. When we reached the lava area, there was no view of the perfect coned volcano just clouds. =( But still we took pictures.

Climbing the molten lava.

All cloudddssssss!!! =(

Lava. They also built a helipad on top of the lava.

300 PM - The van drove us back to Lignon Hill. Here we ate our lunch and waited for around 30 minutes for the skies to clear out. Finally! Mt. Mayon welcomed us with its perfect view of its perfect cone volcano! We immediately took pictures since there were still a lot of clouds surrounding Mayon.

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Mt. Mayon finally welcomed us!!

Going back to the main road was difficult because there were no public transportation in Lignon Hill. There were "habal-habals" (public motorcycles) but there were no available drivers. My friends and I mustered the courage to hitchhike with other tourists and fortunately one group agreed to let us ride back to the main road.

441 PM - Travelled from Lignon Hill to the Cagsawa Ruins. We had to ride a jeep that says Daraga Loop 1. The driver dropped us somewhere we could ride a tricycle going to the ruins. It was difficult to find a tricycle because it was already rush hour. One driver negotiated to take us to the ruins with a much higher fare. We decided to just take it since we have no much time to wait for a much cheaper tricycle. We let the driver wait for us until we finished taking pictures in the area.
* Tricycle: Php 120.00 = Php 40.00/person

The iconic view of Mayon...all clouds. Sigh.

538 PM - The tricycle driver dropped us where we could ride a jeepney going back to Legazpi.
* Jeepney fare: Php 10.00/person

600 PM - Arrived in Twilight Zone Hotel. Again, we asked a favor to the receptionist if we could just leave our baggage in the room while we take our dinner somewhere and they agreed! You guys should come stay in this hotel. The staff are hassle free.

We had our dinner in Bigg's Diner in Embarcadero Mall. Bigg's Diner is a food chain in the Bicol region. The place had an American diner vibe but with too much expectation we were left disappointed after dining. Their meals were too expensive and "okay". Jollibee was a better option.

Jollibee burger steak is way better.

After dining in Bigg's Diner, we strolled the streets in Legazpi City and came across the Streetfood Strip in the city. There were a lot streetfood from barbecue, chicken skin, burgers, hotdogs, and most especially the only one that caught my attention was this....

CHILI HAM AND CHEESE WRAPPED IN A LUMPIA WRAPPER!

Chili ham and cheese with lotsa mayonnaise!

Streetfood Strip in Legazpi City.

We just walked going back to the hotel and spend the night and re energize for our last day in Bicolandia.

Day 6: January 12, 2016 ( It is time to part ways...)
730 AM - Wake up call.

900 AM - Checked out in Twilight Zone Hotel. Our flight back to Cebu was 1250 PM. We left our baggage in the hotel and went to the Sleeping Lion and the New Legazpi City Sea Wall and Boulevard.
*Tricyle fare: Php 50.00 = Php 16.67/person

1000 AM - We went to Pacific Mall to eat our brunch. We dined in Graceland. Graceland is also a fast food chain in the Bicol region. They offer a better variety of food than Bigg's Diner.

Bangus with laing.

We couldn't leave Bicolandia without having one last ice cream session in 1st Colonial Grill. During our 1st day, we ordered the level 2 spicyness of the Sili ice cream. For our last day, we mustered the spicyness of the level 3 Sili ice cream. If you are not fond of eating spicy food, better just stick with level 2. =) Since I love eating cucumbers, I ordered 2 scoops of Pipino ice cream and level 3 Sili ice cream.
* Brunch: Php 135.00 + Php 24.00 (drinks) = Php 159.00/person
* Ice cream: Php 89.00/person (assorted flavors)

1100 AM - We traveled back to Twilight Zone Hotel to get our baggage and rode a tricycle going the Legazpi Airport.
* Tricycle: Php 100.00 = Php 33.33/person
* Entrance ticket in the airport: Php 20.00 = 6.67/person

1200 PM - It is time to part ways with Mt. Mayon and the Caramoan Islands. We waited for our flight back to Cebu with mixed feelings of sadness and happiness but still grateful with the happy experience during our Bicolandia adventures.