Blogs from Legaspi, Philippines, Asia
April 4th 2011
There is a week long convention in the city of Legazpi, court judges or something that made it difficult for us to find a hotel/GH to stay in, going around and round, we decided to check out Xandra hotel in downtown, people told us it was crap but they have available rooms and it wasn't too bad at all in the end, we had a big room with toilet. We already started to get hounded by this guy who claims to be a guide for Mayon, we told him we arranged something already but he keeps lingering around so we just have to learn to ignore him. We went for a walk to the LCC mall and have late lunch there, we were supposed to meet this dude , a Mayon guide in the hopes we ... read more
May 21st 2010
Woohhhhooo - Whale Sharks After leaving Palawan, we flew back into Manila and spent an afternoon of Westernisation (I know, sad...but we were only really after the air-con!). We headed to the Mall of Asia and went to the movies! Saw some stupid American comedy - stupid, but chilled out for a few hours. Ashamed to admit it, but we then ate McDonalds! Our overnight bus journey departed at 7pm, so we headed to the bus station and the bus left right on the dot. They showed a movie on board (Bedtime Stories, way better than the one we saw at the cinema!) and then we popped one of the 'little yellow pills' and tried to sleep. I managed to get quite a bit. We arrived in Legaspi - and were both dead. Even though we ... read more
Mount Mayon - Once in a lifetime is more than enough!
Published: April 14th 2010Asia » Philippines » Legaspi
April 14th 2010
Worst day of my life! Sam, Eddie and I thought it would be a good idea to take a stroll up to the top of an active volcano that erupted 12 weeks prior. The guide book states "The perfectly triangular cone of Mount Mayon makes it look, from a distance, like a child's drawing of a mountain. But don't be deceived, Mayon has claimed the lives of a number of climbers in recent years. It is the most active volcano in the country and has erupted more than 47 times in the last four centuries. As recently as December 2009 hundreds were killed by mudslides of volcanic ash.... The slopes of Mt Mayon are not as silky smooth as they look from a few miles away. It takes at least 2 days to reach the summit, ... read more
April 5th 2010
So Foggy, Eddie and I headed to a small, unfrequented (and unexpecting) town in the region of Bicol called Legaspi with the main aim of spotting some whale sharks in the region. Day 1 we arrive there (don't ask me the day or date!), get picked up and find a hotel. The landing passed over this active volcano, but more about that later. Hotel was the only place in town with it's own pool so we were pretty happy with that! Think the name was Vista del Mayon if anyone is interested. It has a view of Mount Mayon (the volcano) out the back and at night you can really see the orange glow from the crater at the top. We went and had something to eat and then set off to do some Zip-Lining up ... read more
March 17th 2010
Après avoir passé un très beau séjour à Donsol... nous voilà maintenant dans la ville de Legaspi où nous y passerons deux nuits pour essayer d’examiner le volcan Mayon qui est supposément un des plus beaux volcans du monde. Il a d’ailleurs été nominé pour devenir une des 7 merveilles naturelles mondiales... à mon avis, il est très impressionnant mais pas assez pour devenir une des 7 merveilles... La ville de Legaspi nous a aussi permis de profiter un peu des avantages de la ville puisqu’on y retrouvait l’internet et aussi un très beau centre d’achat où nous y avons d’ailleurs passé la mojorité de notre temps... il y avait un Mc-Donald avec du Wi-Fi... un luxe... Un luxe... ce que nous n’avons malheureusement pas eu dans notre chambre... Lors de notre première nuit, nous avons ... read more
April 24th 2009
UP AGAIN! We had arranged for guidance up Mt. Mayon volcano and transportation back and forth for P600 each for 5 people. This didn't include food, so we went grocery shopping before we went to bed the night before. We slept a bit but had to wake up at 4:30AM and out the door at 5:00AM. We started the trail at the end of the local golf course as the sun was rising in the distance. It seemed that we were starting pretty far way from the volcano, unlike with Mt. Merapi in Java where we started right at the base. It was a long hike to camp 1 where were able to fill our water bottles in a flowing freshwater stream. All of us were pretty sweaty and tired already, but there was a lot ... read more
January 27th 2009
27.01.09 - Legaspi was our final stop in the Philippines. I have no particular thoughts about it as a place. Our hotel, Dreams, was one of the few good value places we stayed, with a cheap room with cable TV and hot water (albeit a little grubby). Mount Mayon remained mostly enveiled in cloud the two days we were there. The taxi/tricycle drivers were as dishonest as they ever are, and Shakeys Pizza continued to be our favourite home grown fast food outlet (try their garlic parmesan fries if you can!). We took a night bus from Legaspi to Manila on the night before our Singapore flight. This was as unpleasant an experience as night buses ever are, but had the positive of being a short trip. And then we were away!... read more
September 22nd 2007
Legaspi City, Albay, Bicol (Sept 16, 2007) - the land of Mayon Volcano, the almost perfectly-shaped cone and the most active volcano in the Philippines. This volcano had recorded over 50 eruptions, the first on 1616 and the most recent last 2006. While on my way to Legaspi, seeing from the top, the lava trail is still obvious as this just erupted on the fourth quarter of 2006. I realized how cruel the eruption had been especially to the residents near it. Anyway, when we landed in Legaspi airport, I get confused as the baggage will only be picked up manually. You have to be keen if the baggage men already bring out your bags. At least the crews are strict in checking if you got the right bag unlike in other domestic airports. Good thing ... read more
April 20th 2007
Hi all, and I know....long time no hear from! I won't go into a lot of detail here, only to say first off, as we wrap up our project here in the Philippines, the remaining 9 of us in the Hands On house are deeply saddened by the sudden loss of our friend and fellow American, Julia Campbell. Julia was somone who had touched each of our lives in some way, shape or form. She was a Peace Corp volunteer here for the past two years in the nearby "big city" of Legazpi. This is the place that for the first three months I was here, we had to travel to to get to internet, do any sort of shopping other than for mangoes or "Asian market food," or treat ourselves to delicious brownies at a ... read more
March 24th 2007
Still trying to figure out what I have been working on these past nearly three months that I have been in the Philippines. I have been on so many job sites and done so many things I never thought possible (ceilinging, anyone? More on that one in the future...), i just don't even know where to begin. ONe of these days I will just have to sit down and write a long short-story about life in smalltime Santo Domingo. To keep this one brief, please take a moment to go to our website, www.hodr.org , and view the current photos (under the photo gallery tab) as well as the 60-day director's report. There will soon be a 90-day report up as well, so please keep your eyes pealed. The most exciting news of the week is ... read more
