A Ride Around Albay's Finest, Misibis

One of the best accommodations in the province of Albay is Misibis Hotel, but a lot of tourists may not be able to afford its high price. The good news is that there is definitely a way to enjoy the surrounding without actually arranging an expensive stay with the private resort or a day of tour. Many hotels in the city offers a tour to a nearby eco park, the Misibis Eco Park which is a few meters away from the resort as well as a little port where you can hire a guided island hopping adventure for a meager price. And so, that is what we did.

 

This is taken at the viewing deck on the way to Misibis Eco Park

 This is the entrance to the eco park, and below is the road down the port.

 There is the port if you will continue towards the pavement and not go right to the main entrance of the park.

If you do go right, this is the entrance to the eco park.

This is the famous amphitheater of the park 

 This is the way up to the chapel

 Some snapshots I took while looking around

 Nice of the government to think green with this solar street and park lights

 This is the way up the chapel and some other structures in the park like the hanging bridge and cabins

Scenic View of Mayon and the City at the Oriental Hotel

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 Today's best hotel, not only in Legazpi City but Albay, Oriental Hotel has the best view of the Mayon, the city, old Albay, and Daraga, as well as the gulf of Albay.

Stay in the hotel comes with buffet breakfast and access to a number of amenities like the infinity pool.

The hotel also offers city tours and other attraction tours in and around Albay as well as nearby provinces like Donsol for Butanding watching in Sorsogon and Bacacay for a day of adventure in Misibis.

Mount Mayon, Alert 2

Mount Mayon today

Authorities have already raised alert level of Mayon Volcano to #2. To those who are going to travel and picked the volcano as an attraction, be guided accordingly. 

Mayon Volcano: What It's Like to Live Near the Famous Perfect Coned Mountain

The Tourism Office of Region V says that a noticeably huge increase in tourist traffic in the province. It seems that everyone is eager to see the Mount Mayon up close and personal. But how does one live with this beauty, as well as the danger it poses when it erupts? Well, I should know because I live kilometers away from the danger zone. I tell you, it’s not that fun. People losing their belongings and worst lives, students making up for disrupted school schedules, failing economy as agricultural lands are washed out—I’ve seen them all and fortunately, or rather unfortunately, I’ve captured some of the dramas that simultaneously occur with every eruption of the picturesque Mount Mayon.   

The picture above is probably one of my very first captured photos during my teens. The others have been damaged by other storms that hit our historic town, Daraga. Though locals usually think of the danger when they see these photos, tourists spend on them as souvenir. They do come by too just to witness the raging lava spill out of the volcano’s crater. I must admit though that watching this occurrence is really spectacular, especially at night when one could see the fiery liquid rolling down the mountain.  

To adventurous travelers then, stay safe if you choose to travel, visit, shoot, or tour around the province. Make sure to check with the authorities on the status of the destinations here ie Mayon Volcano before going on a trek or climbing activities. J

Why I Juander

As a kid, I have always wonder how it feels to be in someone else’s shoe—being in another place with a different culture, belief, life. Eventually, I realized that it’s an impossible dream. I can never teleport or live a double life, but I sure can go and wander around any place I want given time and resources. And so, I started planning for simple travels like around the city or next town or even the neighborhood. There might be something new or interesting I could find just around the bend, you know. God might have heard my quest to go places that He let me be with the right crowd and school and became one of those that travel to compete for just about anything the school wants to compete on. Modesty aside, I might be one of the very few lucky students of my age who have roamed around the region at that time—at the expense of my school and teachers. If there’s one thing I spend money on, its camera. My very first camera was a KB 10 by Kodak. This camera lasted my 4 years in high school and then 5 years in college. I still even had it when I started working.

Traveling and photography are my only passions in life. Even after school, I choose to pursue a career that involves traveling and of course, photography. From a lomo, point and shoot camera, I switched to a smallish digital camera. It’s one of the very first from Sony, the DSC Cybershot. This one lasted my exploring hands and eyes for about 8 years before I made up my mind that a more professional and creative tool to document my memories would be a wise investment. So I went for a digital single mirror lens reflex camera. Among many brands, I chose Nikon. My first DSLR was a D3100, an entry level of the brand to enthusiast photographers. Fortunately, I chose a very well rounded camera but taking it to the beach and low temperature areas proved to be a bad idea when its steel parts started to buildup rust. Also, I’m not the most careful photographer. I dropped it along with some rocks I took as souvenir from the famous Misibis Island in Albay. That incident rendered my camera useless but armed with the warranty, the service center was forced to restore it without cashing in a single penny from me.

My travels and passion to capture every single memory of my wandering around required a better camera and lens over time. I felt it was time to move on so I sold the camera and bought another one, the Nikon D3200. It has almost the same features as my old cam but higher pixel counts allowed it to capture more alluring images. Today, I have already and finally bought a better lens. I am also making little money out of my passion, both traveling and photography. So if you have the same passion as I have, just go ahead and live your dreams. There’s nothing sweeter than earning even how little from doing what you love doing the most. J

NOW: Reconstructing

Please bear with me as I build my dream site, i Juander. This is gonna be a travel guide site. The url is supposedly "i Wander" but because I'm a Filipino, I thought I had to use 'Juan', a very prominent local name, which has the same sound as 'Wan' in wander. 

So chill while I prepare the destination, attraction, where to stay, and food tips I have compiled over my years of traveling. I hope you are as excited as I am! See you, guys!

Doing a makeover or making a monster?

Car modification is cool. However, you may find yourself exaggerating things, making your work of art a total disaster! Better yet, you can keep everything simple yet appealing.

There are lots of auto parts that you should consider when modifying your ride. You can start with the most obvious ones… Those which you can see even from a distance – like your wheels and tires.

With the wheels and tires, the desire to fit alternative ones is the most common modification. This is because of their significant visual contribution on aesthetics. Oftentimes, these auto parts stand as foundations in making or unmaking a car.

Changes to the wheels and tires can alter your ride’s behaviour on the road, so it is advisable to fit wheels and tires that are listed on the tire placard or in your owner’s handbook. Of course, you also need to ensure the good condition of your tires and wheels.

Some experts say that modifying wheels and tires can really improve a road holding, but an incorrect tire and wheel combination can affect the track of your vehicle.

Now let’s talk about one of the most popular location of car modification – the exhaust system. The rumble of a hotted-up V8 makes a pretty loud statement. Enthusiasts extravagantly shell out to fit a larger exhaust system with the idea of improving gas flow while deriving more power from the engine.

Ideally, it will be better to reduce the restriction in the exhaust to maximize the performance but in reality, it doesn’t deliver huge gains because it goes more about the noise than anything else.

Upgraded exhaust systems are popular in the 17–25 age group This is partly personality and show-off factor. The statutory limit for exhaust noise is 90 decibels for cars made after 1983. Nonetheless, fines range from $150 to $500 depending on how far the exhaust noise exceeds the limit. What do you want, fame or fine?

Getting in the interior… Car enthusiasts transform seats for support, safety, comfort, and aesthetics. If you don’t have any reason while doing such modification, better stop it, or make a monster out of your interior. However if you are sure about your plan, you can find optional extras for your vehicle, just don’t forget to get an engineering certificate.

Once a seat is incorrectly fitted, it will dislodge in the event of a crash. Moreover, if you fit a new seat and it ends up too high or low, it could compromise the driving position of your ride. If you have side airbags, have your seats modified or use seat covers since they could interfere with the deployment of airbags..

Getting under the hood.. Engine modifications tend to be more complex as these include either modifying the existing engine or fitting a new engine. Among the common activities are adding superchargers turbochargers, or after-market fuel injection systems.

Powerchips are great. These go into the vehicle’s engine management computer and changes the mapping of fuel and ignition timing, maximizing the power. Nonetheless, this is expensive if you base on the “not so great” net gain.

Never modify your ride if it is likely to affect engine management, oxygen sensor, catalytic converter, or the mufflers in the exhaust system. You can boost the power under the hood using other techniques. You don’t have to modify your ride into a monster.

More techniques are yet to be counted. If you want to learn more about having a makeover for your vehicle, keep on researching. A lot of enthusiasts are willing to share great tips for your benefits. Next time, I’ll be posting more entries related to this…