Legaspi, Philippines

The port city of LEGASPI (sometimes spelt Legazpi), is an unimpressive, tricycle-ridden metropolis with a congested and polluted main road (Peñaranda Street, also called the National Highway), very few restaurants and a poor selection of hotels. About four hours south of Naga and less than two hours north of Donsol by bus, Legaspi is, however, the best place to spend a night if you are going to climb Mount Mayon, whose almost perfect cone-shaped bulk rises from paddy fields to the north of the city. The countryside and coast around Legaspi are marvellous and worth taking time to get to know, with some quiet beaches around the town of Santo Domingo to the north, one well-preserved Spanish Baroque church and the eerie remains of another church that was buried in the devastating eruption of Mayon in 1814.

In Legaspi itself there's really not much to see. At the rear of the City Hall compound there's a small museum in the Albay district (Mon– Fri 9am–5pm; free) that doesn't offer much to detain anyone except the most ardent historians and occasional high-school student. The miscellaneous exhibits include old coffee-grinders, World War II tin helmets and stuffed lizards. Museum staff are working valiantly to improve it, but have no budget and are dependent on donations. It is, believe it or not, the only functioning museum in the Bicol region.

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