LUZON BENDS like a wicket-keeper’s finger for almost 600km from Manila to the port of Matnog, jumping off point for Samar and islands beyond. Along that route are volcanos and jungle and waterfalls and (apparently) beaches.
Manila is best left quickly. There's a couple of mildly interesting parts in Chinatown, but overall, it's a sprawling, choking advertisement for all that is wrong in Asia.
Fortunately, once you're out of Manila, there's no shortage of relaxing destinations.
Just two slow hours from Manila, Lake Taal and Tagatay is a popular destination for Manila residents.
There's a couple of interesting markets and some good (yes, good) regional food.
There are parks and picnic spots and falls all around. People's Park In The Sky is an unfinished Marcos palace on a hill with great views.
The cooler, cleaner air is a welcome change from the capital.
Most of the jungle & volcano destination happen at the pointy end of the island.
The region, known as Bicol, is home to mounts Isarog, Bulusan and Mayon, as well as some of the country's best food.
After the eye-watering fruit prices in South Korea, Bicol had plenty to offer.
"Lugaw", rice soup, was a nice dish to discover. Bicol also does some of the Philippines' spiciest foods.
Unlike Thailand, where you nearly always find something good, in the Philippines, you can almost sometimes find something OK to eat. In Bicol, the odds were better.
And there is (almost) always sweets like these cakes and rice based treats in the markets.
Still, Philippines isn't about food. You're here to frolic under a waterfall in the jungle under the gaze of a volcano.
The city of Legazpi is home to one of the world's most picture-perfect volcanoes, Mount Mayon.
Some excellent views can be had from the port part of town.
Legazpi sprawls for a few kilometres out to the hills, where the old Daraga church sits.
Daraga church replaced the nearby Cagsawa church after Mayon destroyed the parish and its sheltering parishioners in 1814.
Cagsawa provides some of the best views of the volcano, and a chance to try the chili ice-cream. It's good!
Our last stop on Luzon was the little town of Irosin, on the south side of Mount Bulusan.
Sadly, a typhoon meant we never got to trek up the mountain or swim on the lake. Nearby waterfalls were good though.
I guess there are worse things that can happen when you travel, though.