An Afternoon Around Leifeng Pagoda and West Lake of Hangzhou

Hangzhou was never part of our original itinerary for our four day trip to Eastern China, I actually have never heard of this city before, but it got me really curious as to why the explorer Marco Polo declared it as 'the most splendid city in the world' together with Suzhou, even comparing them to a paradise! We only had one day to spare for Hangzhou with plans to see the Impression West Lake Show, but after telling my mom how much the tickets cost, she said to just cancel the plan and just spend the allotted money for pasalubong. Being the obedient daughter that I am (LOL) and after all, mothers knows best, I listened to her. So, we decided to spend the whole day walking around the most-famed icon of this city, The West Lake.

Good vibes at West Lake, China

A Swift Journey to Paguriran Island and Sorsogon City

We did not really have an itinerary or places to see when we risked this trip to Bicol, well of course, we knew we had to see Mt. Mayon, but we mostly relied on my phone’s lousy internet capability and the trustworthy locals whom we met on the road for their best recommendations and cheap ways on how to reach those places. The province might be not be known for its beaches, but Sorsogon also takes pride for the beauty of Subic Beach at Matnog, Sorsogon known for its white sand reminiscent of Boracay but with less crowd, less pollution and less commercialization. We were supposed to go there as we were enticed by the pictures we saw at the internet but due to budget constraints, I opted to scrap this plan and look for another place where we can still enjoy an affordable beach escapade. So we were told to take ourselves to this quaint town of Bacon. To all the meat lovers out there (like me), this is not a town that prides itself for selling bacon. Our main purpose here was to see Paguriran Island. I was worried because if it is an island then definitely we would need more money to charter a boat, just like at Subic Beach, but she assured we will have no problems so we went off and followed her advice.

The rocky lagoon that is Paguriran Island