Feature Friday: Albay Rising | The Other Side of Mae

Feature Friday highlights businesses, people, fashion, and basically anything under the sun!

Since I blogged about Albay last night, I realized that I haven’t finished writing about it while digging into my pictures folder. So after almost two years, allow me to do my unfinished business. It would be unfair to the province if I won’t brag about it completely. I owe to it my eat, pray, love journey with the JCI-Ozamis Red Rose ladies plus a JCI-Greater Dipag veteran, Kuya Boyet.

So first stop was the Mayon Rest House which is not a rest house at all. It is actually a view deck of the majestic Mt. Mayon from which the once bustling Mayon Skyline Hotel is situated. The said hotel was devastated by typhoon Reming way back in 2006 and what is left behind is only its dilapidated building. As you might notice, paranormal sightings are actually evident in the photos below. That is, if you can see.

However, Mayon Rest House still thrives to be teeming with life. The place has been converted into an overlooking nature park and the government of Albay had chosen it to house the Mayon Planetarium and Science Park. This is often a venue for educational field trips for gradeschoolers because it is not only Mt. Mayon they will see but also outer space. Additionally, a native restaurant is also open on top of the hill for hungry Juans but you can also bring your own food and have a picnic in their gardens.

Next stop was Hoyop-Hoyopan Cave. It was named after the dialect hoyop, meaning “blowing of wind” because of the cold winds that flow freely from the different openings of the cave. Since we were not geared for caving, the tour guides just allowed us to enter the portals which we can manage. We didn’t get through a needle’s eye so all we had to do was just walk and bend a little to protect our heads from the stalactites. It would be more fun if we had squeezed, crawled, and knelt our way to the darker and inner chambers but at least we had walked through the cave without scratches.

The following day, we visited Lignon Hill which offers a panoramic view of the whole city of Legazpi. According to our attorney/councilor tour guide, it’s best to visit the place by night for you’ll get to see twinkle twinkle little stars not just up above but also down below.

Then we headed to Embarcadero for pasalubong shopping. Native handicraft is promoted by the Albayanonsas their cottage industry. Their designs can actually compete with any other imported brands. You know namanus, Pinoys. We are not really into supporting our own. But Albay’s handicraft proves that we have something to be proud of.

But the Embarcadero is not only a place for shopping but also a place for recreation. Night life in Albay is peaceful with its almost zero crime rate. Roaming around the place until midnight was not scary so we went out every night for the balls we had to attend during our JCI conference.

So now, that’s Albay! A province rich in natural resources, of inherent Filipino roots, and of good people. Through ups and downs caused by catastrophic eruptions of Mt. Mayon, Albay is rising and is showing to the world the many wonders it got.

Good Place Deserves a Good OOTD! 🙂

This is not yet the whole thing of Albay for I will be featuring its best eats tomorrow so stay tuned. 🙂

If you want to learn more about Albay, visit my blog post How to Find Refuge in Albay in Your Distress.

I Want to Retreat to Albay

Do you know that you, too, can earn while sharing your travel adventures through writing on your blog? Visit my article How to Make Money by Sharing Your Story for your reference.

I Want to Make Money by Sharing My Story

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