Albay Province. The Quest for Sili Ice Cream

My cousin and I have been doing some travelling for the past few days. My cousin just went home from the US and she missed a lot of things here in the Philippines, from foods, the beaches, friends, et cetera. She wanted to eat a lot of Pinoy foods, yung mga foods na madalas nyang kainin dito sa Pilipinas and she wants to visit those places na madalas nyang puntuhan nung nasa Pilipinas pa sya nakatira. So one lazy morning, we decided to hit the road at nagjoyride papuntang Albay. One of our plans for the day is to try the Sili Ice Cream at 1^st Colonial Grill in Daraga and to swim at Busay Falls.

So off we go to Albay. We are using our uncle’s old car and we are hoping that it can go for a long distance drive. We are crossing our fingers. Mahirap kasi magtulak ng sasakyan.heheh! We left our house at around 10 in the morning and we did a running tour or should I call it a moving tour of some of the towns that we were passing by. Our first stop was in Guinobatan. This town is famous for putong bigas with macapuno fillings. Masarap sya and we bought several puto and ate it. We plan to buy several more but we decided that we will buy later na lang na paguwi namin para medyo mainit pa at bagong luto.

Guinobatan's specialty, the putong bigas with macapuno

the rice puto with macapuno fillings

After eating several puto, we then continued our trip. Our next stop was Camalig. We visited the old church of Camalig and took some pictures, nagpictorial muna kami ng konti lang, mga adik kasi kami sa pagpapapicture.hehehe! So after doing some photoshoot, we then hit the road again. Palitan kami ng pinsan ko sa pagdrive ng kotse kya hindi naman masyado nakakapagod sa pagdadrive.

St. John the Baptist Church, Camalig, Albay

Our next stop is in the town of Daraga. We visited the Cagsawa ruins and of course, we also have our photoshoot. Malas namin natabunan ng ulap ang Mt. Mayon so we weren’t able to admire its beauty and we don’t have a shot with the Mt. Mayon and the Cagsawa Ruins as a backdrop. After doing some photoshoot, my cousin did some shopping for souvenirs. I think she spent around more than an hour just doing some shopping for shirts and other items. At ng nasatisfy na ang pinsan ko sa pagbili ng mga souvenirs, we then left the place and proceeded to 1^st Colonial Grill in Daraga to have a taste of the Sili Ice Cream and also to take our lunch. Upon arrival at the restaurant, we immediately ordered the Sili Ice Cream but according to the waiter, tunaw pa daw ang Sili Ice Cream nila and not yet available. We travelled for several kilometers for that ice cream tapos wala palang available. So we just ordered the Malunggay Ice Cream and the Tinutong na Bigas Ice Cream (roasted rice flavoured ice cream) and informed the waiter that we will be drop by later in the evening to check kung matigas na yung Sili Ice Cream at pwede ng maiserve.

Cagsawa Ruins, Daraga, Albay

1st Colonial Grill, Daraga City Branch, Rizal St. 

We ordered our lunch, and since we were craving for the dessert and not for the main meal, we just ordered simple lunch, and after eating our main meal, we informed the waiter to serve the ice cream. They brought the Tinutong na Bigas Ice Cream and the Malunggay Ice Cream at siempre, before eating those ice cream, nagkaroon ulit kami ng pictorial, at ang bida sa pictorial na yun ay ang ice cream. Inabot din siguro ng 10 minutes yung pictorial namin, buti na lang hindi pa naman natunaw agad yung ice cream at hindi pa naman naging soup.hahaha! The Malunggay Ice Cream tasted like an avocado ice cream and I think it was something leafy in taste. I really don’t like the taste of it. The Tinutong na Bigas ice cream tasted better. It tasted like a coffee or a coffee mocha ice cream. It has a tinutong na bigas toppings but I would suggest na huwag nyo ng kainin yung toppings kasi mapait yun.

Grilled Liempo and Tinapa Rice

the colonial ice cream

Tinutong na Bigas Ice Cream

After na masatisfy na ang curiosity naming sa mga kakaibang flavour, we then left the restaurant and travelled to Malilipot town of Albay. This town is famous for the multi-tiered waterfalls called the Busay Falls. Malilipot town is about 20 to 30 minutes travel from Daraga City, that is via a private car. But if you will be using the public transport, it could take you about 45 minutes to an hour travel.

We arrived at Busay Falls at around 5 in the afternoon, and since it was already late in the afternoon, we then agreed that we will just spend an hour swimming in the waterfalls. It was my second time to be at Busay Falls and I’ve been to several of its other falls too. Gusto ko sana ipagmalaki sa pinsan ko kung gaano kadami ang falls sa Busay pero kulang na ang oras namin para mapuntahan pa ang ibang mga falls kya sa main waterfalls na lang kami nagenjoy sa paglangoy. We enjoyed the cool water of Busay and even though we still want to stay much longer at that place, kailangan na din namin magbyahe na papunta ng Legazpi City. So by around 6pm, we then left Busay Falls and went to Legazpi City.

Busay Falls, Malilipot, Albay

I have been to Legazpi City for several times but I’ve never been to one of its new attraction, which is the Embarcadero. Actually hindi na nga sya new attraction kasi medjo matagal na din sya nageexist. Mga more than a year na din ata but I’ve never been there so icoconsider ko na lang sya as new.hehehe! So we arrived at Embarcadero a few minutes before 7pm. Nawala kasi kami because I don’t know the street going to that place. Nagtanong tanong na lang kami para makarating sa Embarcadero.

When we arrived at Embarcadero, we toured the area, naglakad lakad at siempre, nagpictorial ulet. Buti na lang digital na ang mga camera dahil kung kailangan pa ng film ng camera namin, malamang ilang roll ng film na ang naubos namin.hehehe! After we toured the mall, we then travelled back again to 1^st Colonial Grill to check if the Sili Ice Cream is now available. Binalikan talaga namin yung restaurant kasi yun naman talaga ang gusto namin na matry. Buti na lang sa pagbalik namin medjo matigas na ng konti yung ice cream so we were able to ordered one. We also ordered a meal for our dinner and since our main reason for going back to that restaurant is the Sili ice cream, konti lang yung kinain namin for dinner. After namin makain yung main meal, pinaserve na namin yung sili ice cream plus we also ordered the pili nut ice cream. At dahil first time namin kakain ng kakaibang food, hindi mawawala ang picture taking. We again spent about several minutes taking pictures of the ice cream and of course kasama na din ang mga mukha namin sa pagpicture taking. When we tasted the sili ice cream, my cousin was somewhat disappointed because she was expecting that the ice cream has that kind of taste where you will have the chili effect in your throat. Hindi namin nalasahan ang anghang ng sili, or maybe because we were Bicolanos and Bicolanas at sanay na ang mga dila namin sa anghang kaya parang walang wala lang yung sili flavour. But the sili ice cream still has that sili effect but just a so very much slight anghang effect.  Anyway, it still fulfilled our curiosity and we were still a happy traveller. Mas maisusuggest ko pa din na tikman nyo na lang yung tinutong na bigas ice cream because it tasted much better.

Sili Ice Cream of 1st Colonial Grill

And because it’s getting late in the evening already, we then decided to start driving back home because it would be difficult if masiraan ang kotse na gamit namin. We weren’t able to buy the putong bigas in Guinobatan on our way back because the putong bigas stalls are already closed when we passed by the Guinobatan town. We arrived at our house at around past 11 in the evening. It was such an awesome travel. Both I and my cousin had so much fun doing the joy ride and dropping by on the same restaurant twice on a single day just to taste the Sili Ice cream. We did a lot for a day. Ang layo ng natravel namin. But we didn’t spend that much kasi minimal lang naman yung gastos namin sa mga lugar na pinuntahan namin. I hope you would also travel sa probinsya nyo or sa ibang katabing probinsya para naman madiscover nyo ang mga ganda at mga kakaibang bagay sa lugar nyo. Happy travelling! Woooot!

Waterfalls hopping in Albay

2 cities, 2 municipalities, and 2 waterfalls for the amount of less than 400 pesos. It has been raining for two weeks now at my hometown and this summer season has a rainy start. A day before our waterfalls hopping trip, I asked my sister if she wants to go with me to Legazpi City to try the go-cart at Embarcadero and she said yes, so that means this is one of those “biglaang lakad moments”. Me and my sister haven’t traveled together on any major lakwatsa so this would be our first time to travel together for an adventure.

PNR train fare table

My initial plan was to go to Legazpi City and visit Embarcadero, however, a more adventurous plan popped through my head. So I texted my friend who is based in Tabaco City and asked her if she’s available for a weekend getaway. And just my luck, it’s her day off from work. Me and my sister now have a free beautiful tour guide.hehehe! So my friend texted me the information that I needed to know on how to get to Tabaco City and I also informed her about our estimated time of arrival at Tabaco City.

Since I will be travelling with my sister and I don’t want to pay all the travel expenses, I told her that we will be travelling the cheapest way possible. (kuripot na kuya.haha!) I told her that we will only be spending 300 pesos each for this waterfalls hopping. I named it the 300 pesos challenge.heheh!

The next morning, the adventure day, we headed out to PNR Iriga City Station to catch the train going to Ligao City. By the way, PNR has a trip from Naga City to Ligao City but this is every Saturday and Sunday only. For weekdays, the train route is Naga City to Sipocot. PNR also has a daily trip from Manila to Naga City and PNR also have a 3x a week trip from Manila Tutuban Station to Ligao City. The travel time is 10 hours for Manila to Naga route and 12 hours for Manila to Ligao route. They have a sleeper coach, reclining seat coach and an ordinary or economy coach.

Anyway, back to my story. So we took the 8:30am train bound for Ligao City. The fare from Iriga City to Ligao City is 27 pesos and the travel time is 45 minutes only. Riding on a train is much cheaper and faster than riding a bus from Iriga to Ligao City. The train plying the Naga-Ligao route are non-airconditioned train. Oh, by the way, another tip, if you will be riding the Naga-Ligao PNR train, make sure you ride the 2^nd coach or the middle coach. Why? Because the 1^st and the 3^rd coach has a bumpy ride. Masyadong matagtag at baka mauntog ka pa sa dingding ng train at magkabukol.hehehe!

PNR Iriga City Train Station

PNR Iriga City Train Station

PNR train

PNR non-airconditioned coach

After arriving at Ligao City, me and my sister did a quick city tour, taking pictures of some of the landmarks in the city. After that, we then boarded a jeepney bound for Tabaco City via Sabloyon road. The jeepney terminal is located across the Novo Store.  The travel time from Ligao to Tabaco is about an hour and the fare is 42 pesos. It was raining when we arrived in Tabaco and we were hoping for a good weather pero masyadong nagpakitang gilas si ginoong ulan kya naging maulan ang lakad namin.

Ligao City Hall

Jeepney bound for Tabaco City

After meeting my friend in Tabaco, we immediately proceeded to Vera Falls. We rented a tricycle going to Vera for 150 pesos but the driver said that the tricycles can only go up to Barangay Soa because the night before our trip, the bridge was washed out by heavy rains. So we agreed and upon arriving at Barangay Soa, we then transferred to a motorcycle. The travel time from Tabaco City to Brgy. Soa is 15 minutes only while the travel time from Brgy. Soa to Vera Falls is another 15 minutes ride. The motorcycle rate is 50 pesos per person and for one-way trip only. There’s also an alternative means of transportation, near the city hall of Tabaco, there are motorcycles bound for Vera falls for only 70 pesos. Hindi kasi namin nahanap agad kya sumakay na lang kami ng tricycle at nagcutting trip. By the way, make sure na sabihan nyo ang driver na balikan kayo sa Vera falls para sa paguwi nyo or else you’ll end up walking several kilometers. The trek to Vera is an easy 10 minutes down the staircase from the parking area. There is no entrance fee at Vera and there are no cottages near Vera Falls. Pagdating namin sa Vera, masyado akong namangha sa ganda nya kasi there are a lot of minifalls that popped out from the side of the main falls. And since it rained hard the night before our trip to Vera, there was a huge volume of water. Naglunch lang kami sa Vera at nagswimming for an hour and then umalis na kami pabalik ng Tabaco City para mapuntahan pa namin yung Busay Falls.

Vera Falls, Malinao, Albay

Vera Falls, Malinao, Albay

From Barangay Comun, Malinao, this is the neighboring barangay of Brgy. Soa, we rented a tricycle for Busay Falls in Malilipot town. We paid the driver 200 pesos to bring us to Busay Falls and then Busay to Tabaco City. If you don’t want to pay that much, you can catch a tricycle bound for Tabaco City at Barangay Comun. The fare is only 12 pesos and then from Tabaco you can ride a tricycle to Busay Falls. So we travelled to Busay from Brgy Comun, and the travel time is roughly about 30 minutes. Upon arriving at Busay falls, we took some pictures and decided to explore the other waterfalls above the main falls. Busay falls is a multi-tiered waterfalls, and the locals told us that Busay is a 7-tiered waterfalls, that means there are 6 more waterfalls to see. We asked around for a guide and a local from the area offered to guide us to the 3 other falls. We want to see all the 7 waterfalls but he said it would take a whole day to explore the 7 falls but since it was already late afternoon when we arrived at Busay, we agreed to just visit the other 3 falls above the main waterfalls. So off we go to the other 3 falls. The 2^nd falls is just a mere 15 minute hike from the main falls. The 3^rd and 4^th falls are just another 15 to 20 minute hike. The 3^rd and 4^th falls are just near to each other but the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th falls would take hours or hike. So after swimming at the other 3 falls, we then trekked back to the parking area. We were rain-soaked since it has been raining the entire afternoon.

Busay Falls, Malilipot, Albay

Busay Falls, 4th falls

Busay Falls, the 3rd falls

Busay Falls, the 2nd falls

We travelled back to Tabaco City and my friend offered her place para makapagpalit na kami ng dry clothes before going home. Nagpaalam na kami at nagpasalamat sa friend ko and then me and my sister did a short city tour around Tabaco City and then after that, we then boarded a bus to Nabua town and then after an hour and a half we arrived at Nabua and rode a multicab bound for Iriga City, and then 15 minutes later, we were at our hometown now and rode again a tricycle at the city center to our house.

Pedicab at Tabaco City

Tabaco Church

Tabaco City Hall

It was a tiring but an awesome day. From the initial plan of just go-karting at Legazpi City, we ended up doing a waterfalls hopping in Albay. We failed on the 300 pesos challenge since we spend more than 300 but less than 400 pesos for the trip. For the amount of less than 400 pesos, we were able to visit 2 cities, 2 municipalities, and 2 waterfalls. Now, isn’t that  a cheap and “sulit adventure”, right?

Busay Falls, Malilipot, Albay

Busay Falls is located in Malilipot, Albay. Busay is a multi-tiered waterfalls.  The locals in the area have said that Busay Falls has about 7 cascading waterfalls.

Busay Falls, the main falls

How to go to Busay Falls:

If you’re coming from Manila, you can fly from Manila to Legaspi City or Manila to Naga Airport.  You can also ride a bus from Manila to Tabaco City or Legaspi City. The travel time is 10 to 12 hours by bus. From Tabaco City, you can ride a tricycle to Busay Falls. Busay is just 15 minutes ride from Tabaco City. You can also ride a jeepney bound for Malilipot and you can drop off at the junction going to Busay Falls. There is a large sign that says, “To Busay Falls”. From that junction you can ride a habal habal or a motorcycle going to Busay Falls. I haven’t tried this method, however, there are a lot of habal habal parked at the junction going to Busay so I guess they are the public transportation in that area. You can also rent a tricycle or a motorcycle at Tabaco City to go directly to Busay Falls. The price is around 80 to 100 for one-way trip only.

the second falls

There’s also another option if you’re coming from Naga City. This is what I did. During weekends, PNR train has a trip from Naga City to Ligao City. It’s about 1 hour and 45 minutes train ride for only 45 pesos. This is the cheapest way to travel because it is much cheaper and faster than riding a bus. However, the train coach are non-aircondtioned. And then from Ligao City PNR station, ride a pedicab and tell the driver to bring you to the jeepney terminal for Tabaco-bound jeepneys. This is near the Novo store. Or if you want to have some exercise, you can also walk from Ligao PNR station to the jeepney terminal. It’s just a 5 to 10 minutes’ walk. The fare for the jeepney from Ligao City to Tabaco City is 42 pesos and the travel time is about an hour. And then from Tabaco City, Busay falls is about 15 minutes tricycle ride.

third falls

fourth falls

Busay Falls is a multi-tiered waterfalls, that means there are other falls aside from the main falls. So if you’re adventurous enough, you can hike to the other waterfalls. The trail going to the other falls begins at the entrance gate. You can also hire a guide if you don’t want to get lost. Just pay from 50 to 100 pesos for the guide.  The 2^nd falls of Busay is located just about 15 minutes hike away from the main falls.  And the 3^rd and the 4^th falls are just a few meters away from each other. The 3^rd falls is about 15 to 20 minutes hike from the 2^nd falls while the 4^th falls is just a few meters from the 3^rd falls.  The 5^th, 6^th and 7^th falls are a bit farther from the other falls so you’ll need at least the whole day if you really want to explore the 7 waterfalls.

Busay falls, the main falls

There are also some cottages near the main falls or 1^st falls. The pool near the waterfalls is ideal for swimming since it’s not that deep. The fee for the cottages ranges from 100 to 150 pesos. If you’re coming to Busay and you’re driving your own car, you will also need to pay the parking fee of 100 pesos for vans and cars and 25 pesos for motorcycle and tricycle. The entrance fee  at Busay is 10 pesos per person.