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.