We left for Naga last night. It's quite a rainy night, it has been pouring since the afternoon. I read from the news that there are two tropical storms in the country now (Cosme and Dodong) but they are headed towards the North so there's nothing to be worried about.
When Dadijun arrived, we brought the comforter to the cleaners so it will be ready as soon as we get back. We, then, headed to the grocery to buy some chichas for the trip. Early dinner is ready by the time we got home so we were eating by 6pm. We called the cab service around 7pm. It was a lucky night for us because there was already a cab ready in 15 minutes considering that it's a Friday. By 8pm we were already at the Ali Mall bus terminal, an our and a half early for our 9:30 trip.
The bus left the terminal at a quarter before 10. Traffic was super heavy at the South Super Highway, by 12 midnight we have just reached Turbina, Calamba. I awoke just in time to hear the peddlers talk about the nasty bank robbery at Cabuyao. And from the TV I watched all about it from the news. I had a hard time getting back to sleep after watching the news. The place is quite familiar to me since we lived in Sta. Rosa for more than 5 years. It's sad to hear that Laguna is now becoming a haven for criminals.
A few months back, news spread about kidnappers in Calamba and even Akyat Bahay events in Laguna Bel Air. A kumare of mine was one of the victims where they pushed the A/C out of its slot and let a small child come through it to open the doors for them. So sad.
The bus that we rode was slow. The driver had to stop every once in a while to pick up passengers. We had no choice but to take the Raymond bus tonight. The Isarog Lazy Boy buses were all fully-booked for the night. I made a personal note to myself to buy Isarog tickets for our trip back to Manila as soon as we reach the Naga terminal.
We arrived at Naga around past seven in the morning. We were already an hour and a half late as expected. Dong and Olec (Dadijun's brother-in-law and nephew met us at the bus station. We headed straight to their place afterwards for a hearty breakfast prepared by Ate Cel, my sister-in-law.
After breakfast, we were brought to Tita Ops house as we will be staying there. Rap played with his cousins. It's been almost two years since our last visit. As much as I wanted to stay up longer for a little chit-chat, my body couldn't bear it much longer. I slept in our room and woke up in time for lunch. I was coughing harder now, I guess the long travel took a toll on my health.
Early in the afternoon, Dong accompanied us to the terminal again to buy tickets for our trip back to Manila. We were lucky this time. We were able to buy Lazy Boy Extreme seats. It was 250 pesos more expensive than Raymond but the seats are wider so we only bought two tickets for the three of us. The bus has its own restroom so I guess there will be less need for stopovers. And wiwi breaks will now be free! I had to pay 5 pesos for each wiwi break in each stopover that we had.
On our way back home, we made quick stops at the new business centers along Magsaysay Avenue. Naga has now transformed from a quiet city to a thriving business center in Bicol. The first time I went here, I enjoyed visiting the small specialty shops at the Centro. Now, most fast food restaurant from Manila have branches here. The hotels here are now comparable to what we have in Manila. They say it's all part of Gov. LRay's efforts to make Camarines Sur a premier tourist spot in the country. We will be spending Rap's 8th birthday at the Camsur Watersports Complex on Tuesday.
We retired early after dinner because tomorrow will be another long day that will start as early as 6am. We will be going to visit Tita Myrna's family in Daet which is a two-hour drive away. We were able to rent a van from Dong's friend. My cough has worsened to a nasty one. I'm still blogging, though. Thank God for mobile internet!
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