One Night Stay at CBD Plaza Hotel

I reached Naga City at around 7 in the morning after traveling from Metro Manila to Naga City for 10 hours. I have a long day ahead so I decided to snatch few hours of sleep to reduce the exhaustion caused by the bus travel. Fortunately, my friend in Naga City already arranged everything. So, all I did was to walk a short distance from Naga City bus terminal to reach CBD Plaza Hotel.

CBD Plaza Hotel is one of the new hotels in Naga City. I believe that it is one of the most decent lodging places in the city. CBD Plaza Hotel is a four-storied building located along Ninoy and Cory Avenue, which just on the opposite side of the Naga City Bus Terminal. The hotel is just a walking distance away from SM City Naga.

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CBD Plaza Hotel, Naga City

My friend placed me in CBD Plaza Hotel’s “Single Room” that costs 1,000 pesos per night. The room is decent enough and is much better than the room that I stayed in when I am in Cebu. I forgot to take a photo of my room so I grabbed one from CBD Plaza Hotel website.

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(Source: CBD Plaza Hotel website)

CBD Plaza Hotel offers six kinds of accommodation. The cheapest is the Economy, which cost 600 pesos for one person. The most expensive accommodation is the Executive Suite that has one queen-sized bed and two single beds. Executive Suites costs 2,800 pesos per night.

I am glad to discover that the hotel offers free breakfast for its patrons. I almost missed the free breakfast because the concierge didn’t inform me of the free breakfast. I am lucky enough to read about the free breakfast on the back of their key holder. The free breakfast is availed at Kakanon Bikol, which is the restaurant beside the hotel entrance. Usual morning meals available at Kakanon Bikol are coffee, sunny-side up egg, tocino, hotdog with fried rice. One person is entitled to one meal only. Kakanon Bikol doesn’t live up to its name because the restaurant lacks authentic ultra-hot Bicolano food. I ate dinner during my last night stay in Naga City and I failed to see any Bicolano dish in their menu.

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The view from my room.

I experienced no problem during my whole stay in CBD Plaza Hotel. It is conveniently located near public transport terminals. The hotel has courteous personnel that are prompt to answer my calls. The only complaint that I have is the coupon for free breakfast. It is inconvenient for patrons to go to the front desk to ask for the free breakfast coupons. I think that it will be better if the coupons were given together with the room keys during check-in.

If you want more information about CBD Plaza Hotel, I suggest that you visit their website.

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On the Road to Bicolandia by Philtranco Bus

I made my first visit to Bicol last December when I got the chance to visit the town of Bulan, which is part of the province of Sorsogon. I thought that it will take years before I got another chance to visit Bicolandia. I was wrong because I was able to visit Camarines in the previous month.

Unlike my first visit, I reached Bicolandia via land transportation, specifically by riding a Philtranco bus. Philtranco traces its beginning in the year 1914 when a two Americans, Albert Ammen and Max Blouse, established a bus company in Iriga, Camarines Sur. Now, Philtranco is one of the biggest bus company in the Philippines and its buses ply the between Metro Manila and the areas to the south like the Bicol Region and the Visayas. Philtranco buses also travel between Metro Manila and Pampanga.

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(Source: Philtranco Radio Portal)

I am fortunate to travel to Camarines in the middle of the year because I avoided the peak travel periods that usually occurs during the Holy Week and Christmas Season. Weeks ago, I read a blogger's complaints regarding Philtranco when traveling during peak travel season. The blogger complained about the crowded and noisy Philtranco Pasay terminal. I am glad that I did not experience such an ordeal. On the contrary, I found the Philtranco Pasay terminal half-filled with people when I went there.

If you are planning to ride the Philtranco bus, It is recommended that you buy your ticket an hour or more before your chosen departure time. If you are traveling during the peak travel season, then it is recommended that you book your trip weeks in advance.

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No queue in front of the ticketing counter of Philtranco Pasay terminal.

Philtranco buses have wide windows that allow its passengers to see the sights while traveling. And because of the long travel time, Philtranco buses have an on-board comfort room so passengers can pee while traveling. I did not use the comfort room because my urine might pour on places other than the toilet bowl because of the shaking inside the bus. The bus also has reclining seats that allow passengers to sleep more comfortable during the whole trip.

I chose to travel during the night that's why the bus' wide windows are useless because it is too dark for me to see the sights outside. I also traveled in Philtranco's air-conditioned bus that made me shiver and wish that I should have brought a jacket. I also tried not to fall asleep because I have some fear that I am not able to wake up. I have that fear because buses here in the Philippines are known to be accident prone. Many provincial buses fell over cliffs or collided with other vehicles because the driver fell asleep or the breaks malfunctioned.

My voyage is fast because of the absence of heavy traffic. I am glad that no unfortunate thing occurred while we traveled the road to the Philtranco’s first stop in Gumaca.

Second part of this post is the stop-over in Gumaca and the second-half of the trip to Naga City.

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