Day#5 Luzon Tour (Laguna)

We woke up at past 5am and took turns in the bathroom. We were all set at past 7am and just went across Star Andrea Hotel at Aling Ester's Canteen to have our cheap but good breakfast. Mine was only P61.50 (tortang talong, 2 pieces of pandesal, rice, Nescafe 3-in-1 coffee and shared half of the adobong baboy with Flong.

8:10am-took a jeepney ride to Rizal Shrine. (fare-P7.00)

8:20am-10:00am- visited Rizal Shrine (free entrance), the Palayok (a giant clay pot with the map of Laguna drawn all over it, it is just across the church) and St. John the Baptist Church (located just across Rizal Shrine). I bought some souvenirs from Rizal Shrine (postcard, magnet and a tiny claypot). I wanted a Rizal t-shirt but there was just only one available which Zaldy bought.

10:10am-took a tricycle (fare- P10.00) from the church back to our hotel to retrieve our bags.

10:25am-12:30am We took an aircon Bus from Calamba to Cubao (fare-P87.45) right across the hotel. This trip would've been shorter if not for the road repairs we encountered along the way that totally stalled the traffic. When we arrived at the Cubao terminal along EDSA, we had to take a taxi (P150.00) to take us at the back of the Araneta Center where the buses for Bicol can be found. If not for our huge bags, we could've saved as it was just a short distance. Anyway, we bought our bus tickets (Isarog Lines) before getting our lunch at Wendy's. I totally recommend their macaroni salad (P97.00). It is good for 2-3 persons and it is all worth it. After lunch, we took the MRT3 from the Farmer's Plaza station to North Ave. station (fare-P11.00; MRT stations: GMA-Kamuning-Quezon Ave.-North Ave./Shaw Ave.) to windowshop in TriNoma while we wait for our scheduled trip to Legazpi on that same evening.

6:30pm dinner at the TriNoma foodcourt. (I decided to try bangus sisig with coke.) Then, we headed straight back to Araneta Center thru the MRT3 again. As it was early yet for our 9:00pm bus departure, we decided to try Razon's Halo-halo, Araneta Center branch. This Pampangueño halo-halo is well-known for the creamy halo-halo and their delicious palabok.

9:25pm exact departure time of our bus with bus fare of P800.00 (Isarog Lines) for Legazpi and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......

Note:
There are several buses that ply the Manila-Naga-Legazpi route but their schedule are mostly during the night considering that the trip would take about 9-10 hours. They do have day schedules but the night schedules are more frequent. By the way, it is more advisable to purchase the bus tickets a day before the actual trip or at the very least, several hours before the actual trip as there are a lot of passengers. Another thing, it is much better to choose the bus with more leg room (such as those with lazy boy seats) as 9-10 hour land travel can be excruciating if you cannot stretch your legs much.

Contact numbers:
Isarog Bus Lines (Araneta Center) - (02)9133551
Peñafrancia Tours (Araneta Center) 09228882739