For the past few weeks, after my husband and I had celebrated our early 8th Anniversary in Bicol, there's still something with it that I can't get over. I know soon this will fade away but as long as this is still with me, I am very eager to give it out and share what this feelings are.
I did mention in the past blogs that I had really enjoyed our Bicol three days and two nights stay and I would love to get there again if given a chance since there are still more things that we need to see. Indeed the Philippines has more to offer, either known ones or yet to be known. It is indeed more fun in the Philippines.
Going back to the topic, I had entitled this as I can't forget Sumlang Lake because of different reasons. And I would like to enumerate these things so that I can also share to you what these stuffs that had surprised me. It is indeed more fun to be able to share to others how our experience was during those moments.
1. I can not forget Sumlang Lake because of its wonderous ambiance.
My husband and I were taking our time in Cagsawa Ruins as we planned to be at Sumlang Lake during sunset and we both believe it would be the best time to chill in a peaceful location.
From Cagsawa Ruins, we got on a jeepney towards Camalig, the town where the Sumlang Lake is located. It's funny how we look really like locals during this trip and that's how we would like this trip to be.
We asked the driver to drop us in the area where the Sumlang Lake is located which he did and we were both thankful for it.
A little walk from the main highway and we reached an area with a prestigious view of Mount Mayon. I really felt like Mayon was just something I can reach by hand, like literally!
I can't express this much with words so I am instead showing this to you through pictures.
As you can see, the great Mayon is at the distance, clouds covering its top area while a huge lake is sitting in front of us with rafts moving around peacefully and hammocks situated here and there. It is indeed a perfect view to end that second day of our trip.
2. I can not forget Sumlang Lake because of its hammocks.
A hammock is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a woven network of twine or thin rope stretched with ropes between two firm anchor points such as trees or posts.
Upon reaching Sumlang Lake, these attractive hammocks had already caught my attention. I found them chic and classy and it has a taste of nativity. I later got amazed when I learned that these are owned by the Barangay captain and she had given them to the Sumlang Lake to help boost its tourism. However, these kinds of furniture are also made and available in Bicol itself.
I have been actually eyeing the hammock which was hanging in the coconut tree however, it was a bit frustrating that it was never left empty the entire afternoon that I have been there.
My patience was really tested on that day and although it was really never empty, I was already satisfied with taking a photo of it instead,thus the image below.
I just can't get enough of how nice the location plus the hammocks were that it complimented with the location. Imagine the perfect shaped cone of the Mayon Volcano in front of you with a cool hammock you are sitting. That is just the best way of ending our second day in Bicol.
3. I can not forget Sumlang Lake because of its affordable services.
One of the reasons why I fall in love with Sumlang Lake is the major fact that the services are quite affordable. Imagine that the main thing that they are offering as a service is the bamboo raft tour around the huge lake and that only is worth 25 pesos. That's basically less than a dollar worth, and also consider that the raft has its own human driver. The 25 pesos fee by the way is a per person base. So, it really doesn't matter if there are three or more persons inside the boat, the driver will still cater as long as each person had already paid the 25 pesos fee. This also means that even if there's only one passenger, they still would be able to accommodate.
They got a pretty descent process as well of priority number as well.
Also, aside from that, they got another raft which is located in the middle of the lake which is pretty fixed and would only be moved if they would like to. And of course we also availed that which would give us the privacy of using it for an hour for Php 200.
4. I can not forget Sumlang Lake because of its friendly locals.
Both my husband and I had no issues in terms of engaging with the locals even the guests or the tourists who came as well to the lake. Everyone is courteous enough and that we had definitely enjoyed both the lake tour as well as the private raft at the center of the lake. It was even became an unforgettable experience because we were not disturbed when we took a nap while we were in the private raft.
We definitely appreciate their hospitality and their friendliness. I also noticed that no one had dared to scam or trick us during our entire trip. This includes the hotel, the tricycle drivers, the jeepney drivers, the people around the town / city whom we have asked for locations.
Overall, I found Bicol as a laid back place to have a vacation. It is very different to the other tourist destinations that I or we have gone to for the past years.
5. I can not forget Sumlang Lake because of its peacefulness and serenity.
Peaceful and very serene. That would how I will be describing Sumlang lake to anyone who would be asking me about it.
If all the tourists here would try to also spend an hour at the raft located at the center of the lake, they'll appreciate the peacefulness of this location. In fact, they'll get to see Sumlang Lake way better than just the Lake tour. This is because it will give you the option or shall I say chance to observe the rafts moving from here and there and it is beautiful. White looking at these rafts moving here and there, my husband and I are able to feel the relaxing feeling. It was like we were both watching the beauty of Mayon and the lake much more.
Which was even more interesting part was that the timelapse video which we had taken both with the Gopro and the DSLR camera which was really fun!
Here's the time lapse video coverage which I had taken on the Gopro camera:
6. I can not forget Sumlang Lake because I slept for two hours there.
This is the funny part here of the story.
So hubby and I rented the one and only raft which has been sitting at the center of the lake and since it was super calm and peaceful, I didn't notice that I or rather we were already sleeping. More to that, we only had one hour of stay at that raft but ended up staying there for almost two hours instead!
The last thing that I can remember was that I was laughing and talking with my husband about our funny moments together and we were even discussing about how nice this experience is and then, that was it. I didn't notice that I was already asleep!
I also didn't know what had awakened me but I just notice one of the locals one a stand up paddle approaching us. He then told us that he will be taking / fetching us towards the main land.
Honesty, I was a bit embarrassed about what had happened and thought what if there were other guests who would have life to rent it but then was not able to do so because we were still sleeping. But I was relieved with the sight of the local workers who were already counting their earnings on that day.
It was an unforgettable event and I was glad that they didn't ask us to pay additional in pesos for overstaying.
7. I can not forget Sumlang Lake because I fell in love with it.
Obviously, this had fulfilled our goal of being able to see the great and beautiful Mount Mayon! Well, we had seen it from the different spots in Legazpi, Abay and Camalig but it was in Sumlang Lake that was the most beautiful that we both fall in love with its beauty and even got mesmerized with
the perfect cone which is created by God Himself.
To see more of our 8th Anniversary Travel special in Bicol, you may check our photo album below:
Bicol - 8th Anniversary Travel Special in Photos
Hope you had enjoyed this blog entry! Till next time! For now, check out my other blogs about our Albay Anniversary Special:
ATV Ride to Mayon Volcano's Lava Front
Mayon Backpacker's Hostel Review
How I Lost A Few Kilos at Lignon Hills - A Hike Story
Bicol - 8th Anniversary Travel Special in a Nutshell Part 1
Bicol - 8th Anniversary Travel Special in a Nutshell Part 2
xoxo,
