by Madison Barera
Life in the city become more hectic and stressful. Traffic jams, pollution,and there is always the noise of the vehicles. People in the cities have little time to relax, they need to stay one step ahead of others.Unlike in the countryside, life is much more relaxed, there is little hassle and no point of competing even in time.Furthermore, the countryside is known for its fresh air and quite surroundings, which good for one’s physical and mental health. So if have you fortunate enough of time, you should spend it in the most appropriate and worthy manner, so as to derive the maximum pleasure of it. Travelling does not necessarily mean to travel out of the country or abroad; it means travelling as much time as you can – travelling next to your town or countryside. It is basically pampering yourself and living the most out of it.
So have you decided how to spend your vacation? Why not try Bicol region especially the Albay. Bicol region is located in southern part of Luzon in Philippines .The region has six provinces; Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, and Masbate. Since the country is in the tropical, there are two seasons, the wet and the dry season. Bicol region is commonly known for bring exposed to natural calamities, typhoons, storms, and volcanic eruptions. These is one of the reasons why most of the foreigners and local tourist wanted to explore more about the region, specially Albay. Albay is one of the most visited region in Bicol; in fact last 2019 the provincial record was about 1.27 millions of tourist arrivals. The emerged of numbers of visitors are captivated by the beauty of the near-perfect cone shape, Mt. Mayon volcano. Legazpi City, the official capital of Albay offers a lot of adventures, beaches, and spicy cuisines.
Aside from breathtaking views, the best medicine for stress soul is food, which the province will surely never disappoint you. The first and original dish of Bicolanos is pinangat meaning ‘to wrap’, the taro leaves wrap the fish, pepper, and other basic condiments and cooked in coconut milk; mostly you can buy this in Camalig. An almost hundred year old restaurant in Daraga namely called Balay Cena Una was visited for its authentic foods. Kandingga a bopis version, bicol express, basic soup which is cocido, and ginulay na santol (cotton fruit cooked with coconut milk). A restaurant in Legazpi named Colonial Grill offers sili ice cream and tinutungan na kanin ice cream; a cooked rice. You can also buy pilinut candy, pili tart, and other sweet delicacies with souvenirs that offers usually in Pasalubong Center in malls and terminals. These dishes are featured in different TV shows like GMA Affairs, Pinas Sarap, Rated-K and etc. Along your trip in the province you will wonder, why most of the cuisine of Bicolanos were always spicy, the most variable answer is that it has always been their culture and tradition. Additionally, according to Abdon Balde – a bicolano historian; the climate in the region is mostly rainy, so usually the natives cooks food for their family have always chili to make their body temperature increases.
Besides learning about the history, customs of people, and gaining great deals of knowledge, travelling teaches us what kind of other cuisine we should try. Travelling while learning and get to the opportunity of seeing or knowing these delicacies at first hand. Giving more opportunity for the place be more recognize in other not just for localities, but around the world. countries. Whatever your reason in visiting Albay, in a away, you are going to reach your destination and be comfortably resting in this place.
The Lit Creatives 