Traveling is Once Again a Vacation | Hundred Islands

Remember the good old days when traveling only requires you to pack your clothes and go? When your parents will hand you a sandwich when you feel hungry on the road? Or after a tiring swim, you run to your parents and they'll give you lunch? And once full, you run to the beach again and swim without having to worry of anything. Everything you need is already prepared by someone else.

This is what I felt when I traveled with my officemates. Fyi, this is the first time since 2007 that I've traveled with co-workers. Anyway, while Im busy on the details of the trip, my officemates are busy with the food and transpo. Amazing. Uso pa pala ngayon ang happy fiesta na baon sa isang trip! ^_^


Hundred Islands is a 5-hour drive from Manila. It is accessible from the town of Alaminos City, Pangasinan. Called so because this natural attraction has 123 islands, but not all islands are given a name yet.

Hundred Islands Map

We arrived at 5:30am. Although the sun was not in sight, the (pesky) vendors immediately flocked our group and began selling their stuff. Prior to this trip, I already arranged an island hopping tour with Mang Fred, he's a boatman in Hundred Islands. Mang Fred's contact# - 0910.604.7426. Unlimited island hopping using a medium boat costs us P1,800. Fyi, you have the option to tour just 3 major islands for a cheaper rate. It's your call.

Lucap Wharf

Anyway, I have to warn you with something. One of the man who approached us said that we'll be needing lifevests and snorkel sets. We told this man that our boatman already assured us that he will provide lifevests for us. He said iba daw yung lifevest sa boat at sa pangsnorkel. Kalakohan! And even before we agreed, he came back and handed us the lifevests + snorkel sets and the ready made receipt. Para di nalang magkagulo, we agreed to pay him.

oportunista - nakakabawas ng ganda ng isang lugar

And as expected, this man tricked us. Aside from we already knew that we have lifevests in the boat, the lifevests that we rented from this man were mostly defective. What's worse is that only 2 out of 8 snorkel sets were functional. Sayang na ang pera, sayang pa kasi di naenjoy nung ibang kasama ko ang pagsnorkel.

Moving on..

fits 6-10 people

Disclaimer: Wala po akong anumang malalim na relasyon sa sinuman sa aking mga officemates. Kung ang isa po sa kanila ay may nagawang kasalanan sa inyo o may pagkakautang sa inyo o tinakbuhan kayo nung kayo ay nabuntis nila, wag po kayo sakin magagalit. Kami po ay magkakasama lamang sa trabaho. Wala po akong kinalaman sa kanila. Pero pwede ko pong ibigay ang mga tirahan at cellphone# nila.. kapalit ang tamang halaga. Char! =)

time to shine!

The weather was a bit gloomy but it didn't matter much. As long as the waves aren't notorious and we can come back safely, we're good to go!

1st stop - breakfast time

unli rice, fried/hard-boiled eggs, hotdogs, and coffee

nutella for me!

All the effort and food preparation was made by Chris. Everything you need, dala nya!

see, siya pa mismo maghihiwa ng keso para sayo
parang tatay lang

Next, we went to Governor's Island where the famous viewing deck is located.

viewing deck

Joven and Carol making a fight scene

Aside from the PBB house, we also take a look at the cave beneath the pathway to the viewing deck. Not much to see here.

Governor's Island Cave

dahil nakakatamad bumalik sa taas, mas ok nalang mabasa sa baba

With all due respect, the beaches and shores aren't outstanding, in my own opinion. We just enjoyed every adventure we could do. And this is the spot where we enjoyed the most - Imelda's Cave.

care to jump?

mysterious cave, sabi ni Ar-Pee

I would love to jump but (im scared, duh) Im just not in the mood to swim..

Joke lang, opcors!

it's very safe to jump into the water, specially when there are no rocks underneath.

Next, we headed to where the Giant Clams are found. Sayang lang nalowbatt agad ang underwater camera. Toinks!

boats arent allowed to go near the snorkel spot. guests need to swim.

Joven - aka "Batang Pier"
ang galing nya lumangoy, inggit ako!

Ar-Pee and I snorkeled as if there's no tomorrow! haha

I was really surprised to see the giant and colorful clams beneath the water. They are huge. Plus, the corals and soft plants are beautiful as well. Too bad, the snorkel sets my officemates rented were mostly defective.

Rick deserves a medal for being the Most Masunurin. He never took his lifevest and snorkel set off. Yan pala effect ng takot sa tubig.

Eto namang isa, matigas ulo. Sabi na ngang ang nagkaka-edad, madali na mapagod.

sabi ko kasi maupo ka nalang, napagod ka tuloy. Ü
sa ginagawa kong to sa manager ko, malamang hindi na mangyayari ang pangarap kong promotion. ^_^

As lunch time came, we settled in one of the tables in Children's Island. While everyone was busy preparing the food, I was just setting up our music. What I have was the mini and portable speaker which I received as a birthday gift. Good enough, but I wish we had something like a 3 channel passive soundbar , for sure that would give us quality and clear sound trip for this beach getaway.

at Children's Island

preparations by the guys
ginusto nyo yan, wag kayo magrereklamo na tamad ako.. Ü

And I was really impressed with our food. Happy fiesta!

fried chicken

adobo

yummy ensalada

leche flan

and of course...

maiwan na ang lahat, wag lang ang alcohol!

pineapple as pulutan

I've never experienced eating a complete meal in a beach trip, specially this food was all prepared by none other than my manager.

payong collection shot with my manager

We spent time to rest in this place. The area is not really good for swimming because of rocks that hurts our feet.

Paki-basa ulit ang Disclaimer..

Carol, Joven, Rey, Rick, Marie (sister of Rick), driver, Me, Boss Chris, Ar-pee

After oversleeping, we headed to our next destination. This Cathedral Cave is really interesting, but sadly the waves are so strong, our boat can't dock anywhere near.

Cathedral Cave

There are also other islands that we passed by but we chose not to go anymore.
The last spot we visited is Cuenco Cave. I like seeing rock formations as much as seeing crystal clear beaches. This place is a must-visit.

Cuenco Cave

rock formations inside the cave

Overall, we we're satisfied. The islands and caves we visited may not be outstanding, but it's still a good place to visit if you're up for a day trip beach getaway. Probably we'll try a more adventurous trip in our next team outing.

why I like traveling with my officemates?
need I say more? ang daming pagkain! everything I need, dala nila.damit ko nalang ang kelangan ko dalhin. hehe

why I don't like traveling with them?
they made me realize kung gaano ako katamad na babae.

Hindi lang nagprepare ng food tamad na agad, pwede bang "hindi ko talent magluto" muna? ^_^

Fun Snapshots in Cagsawa Ruins

Hotel Venezia + Small Talk Cafe
Hits and Misses of Misibis Bay

To equalize our expenses in the luxurious resort of Misibis Bay, our group agreed to spend a night in an affordable hotel. We just need a place to stay for a couple of hours before our flight on the next day. Im glad I found Ellis Ecotel. This newly-renovated budget hotel is surprisingly located inside Embarcadero de Legazpi, Bicol's urban mall and shopping center.

Legazpi boulevard at night

Im never fond of mall strolling, that's why I usually get tired and I've no energy left to go home. Finally I can experience sleeping right away after strolling in the mall.

Embarcadero de Legazpi
i like the idea of staying in a budget hotel inside this mall. ^_^

Lucky us, Ellis Ecotel has an ongoing soft opening promo rates. The single room only costs me P550, that's a 50% savings!

Ellis Ecotel at the 3rd Floor of Embarcadero de Legazpi

lovely reception area

Checking-in was a breeze and the staff were all accommodating. They explained that they were just having a soft-opening and they asked us to bear with their ongoing-constructions on some rooms. That wouldn't be any problem at all!
Here's my single room:

elegant looking standard room filled with mirrors

single bed with flat tv, aircon, chair, and private bathroom with hot/cold shower

What more can I ask? I got the best value for a private room inside a mall. And most of all - I have the luxury to place my things anywhere! In tagalog, pwede na magkalat!

best part of getting a single room: pwede magkalat to the max!

Ellis Ecotel
3F Embarcadero de Legazpi, Legazpi City, Albay
http://ellisecotel.com
reservations@ellisecotel.com

Another advantage of staying inside a mall is that restaurants are just around. There's no contest, everyone picked to dine at Bigg's, Bicol's most famous fast food chain.

appetizers

Bigg's BBQ Ribs
the best tasting ribs I tasted is still in Bacolod- bigger and cheaper!

We can't find a good place to have a drink, so we ended up buying some booze and staying in our hotel room. Ayos!

vodka delight!

Since we came to Legazpi unprepared, we needed to ask the locals time and again how to go to our next target destination. A trip to Legazpi wont be complete without paying a visit to the mighty Mayon Volcano. We're okay to ride a jeep or a bus to reach Cagsawa Ruins, but time is our concern. Good thing we found out we can hail a taxi that can bring us to Mayon and back. It's much cheaper than renting a van (van rental costs P2,300 for a day tour). The guards in Embarcadero called the taxi operator and not after 5mins, a taxi appeared before our eyes. Ang galing, taxi by request! =)

Metered rate from Embacadero to Cagsawa Ruins only costs us less than P200. We asked the taxi driver to wait for us, and he willingly agreed. Paying P500 is cheap and convenient compared to riding a jeep or renting a van. Kudos to Mrs.Vee who insisted to pay for the taxi fare. Big thanks!

hello mighty Mayon

around 1,500 people were buried alive inside this church when Mayon erupted in 1814

Upon arriving, a few locals approached us and offer their photography services. Aside from viewing the Mayon, it became a famous activity to do some tricky snapshots in front of the scenic view. So be it, our group agreed to get the boy's assistance and off we started our fun photoshoot! Bawal ang KJ!

i play the giant while Rem plays a pa-cute na dwarf

this time, Mrs.Vee as the giant

why I like traveling with Remay?
he's prepared to expose himself in my blog ^_^

im not your superwoman shot

high jump competition?

Looks fun but trust me, the sun is melting us down. Sobrang init.
Here's our behind the scene shot..

who says we didn't have an umbrella at all? ako pa ^_^

After this fun activity, we gave the boy P200 and left. We rushed to Ellis Ecotel to pick up our things and off we go to the airport. Goodbye Legazpi, til we meet again.