I Am Blogie

Arrived in Zamboanga City this morning. It’s my first time here, so I’m really excited about seeing the city. Fortunately, on the plane with me was fellow Mindanao blogger, Yolynne Medina, who has offered to take me around later in the afternoon. Also on the plane was the owner of the hotel where I was already planning to stay, Jardin de la Viña Hotel.

The weather right now is beautiful, a bit on the warm side, but the blowing wind from the sea is quite invigorating. Awhile ago I had a very engaging conversation with Yolynne and Mr. Eric Laviña II (the hotel owner) about developments in their city. A piece of good news is the establishment of their first contact center, e.AXS Communications, which is an entirely Zamboangueño investment.

This trip was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I’d long wanted to visit Zamboanga City, but had never gotten around to planning the trip. But last month, upon learning of an airline’s airfare promo, I decided to book my flights. And now I’m here!

As an amateur linguist, what’s immediately interesting for me here is their local tongue. Although they also speak Tagalog and Cebuano, among themselves they use Chavacano (pidgin Spanish). I can somehow make out what they’re saying, but the fun part for me is hearing them talk and listening to local love songs on the radio — the words and the accent are so different from what I’m used to in other areas of Mindanao.

I’m looking forward to meeting up with Ryann Elumba, Jerome Locson and other Zambo bloggers. That’s actually part of why I’m here — to help grow the Mindanao Bloggers Community.

More here and here.

Finally, I was able to go to Mati last Sunday (27 September). It was to attend a birthday party of someone I’d gotten acquainted with recently — two months ago I’d gotten to know a group of guys from Mati who’re living in Davao. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go sightseeing. I had planned on staying for a couple more days, but I felt a fever coming on when I got to the party so I decided to head back home the next day. (Good thing, too, because I did catch the flu and was bedridden this entire week!)

Mati City is the capital of the province of Davao Oriental, and is located about 3 hours (by car) northeast of Davao City. The roads going there are mostly cemented or paved in asphalt so it’s a pretty smooth ride all the way. In terms of economic development, Mati is about 10-15 years behind Davao… but who’s to say, really, if they won’t be able to surprise us and catch up in just a few short years? That depends on the city’s leaders, if they have the political will… but that’s another story altogether. The important thing to consider now is, Mati — despite its bucolic atmosphere — has the modern comforts that one might look for: Internet access, reliable phone lines, 24-hour convenience stores, and the like.

What Mati is known for are the beautiful beaches that dot the city’s coastline. Dahican, Botona and a couple of other spots are excellent nature getaways, and become surfing havens around September and October. For family overnight vacations (if you don’t mind roughing it out), the Cinco Masao beach resort might be a good choice.

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I’m definitely going back to Mati before the year ends. And from Mati, I’d love to take a road trip to the East Coast. There’s a town called Cateel (pronounced katee-il), north of Mati. It’s where my paternal grandmother hails from, and I’ve never been there — it’s about 6 hours away from Davao City by bus.

For me, aside from the sights (Cateel boasts of Aliwagwag Falls), what’s interesting in Davao Oriental is the prevalence of Dinabaw (or Dabawenyo or Camayo), the native tongue of the Davao region. The name of Davao City’s annual cultural festival, Kadayawan sa Dabaw, comes from the Dinabaw word “madayaw“, which means good or beautiful. This festival is the celebration of everything that’s good & beautiful about my beloved city.

Hopefully, soon, I can make time to go back to Mati and explore as many parts of Davao Oriental as I can!

Here are a few photos that I managed to take during my very brief stint in Mati.

When I was in the big city last week for WordCamp Philippines 2009, my organizing team and I stayed at a delightful little hotel in Makati, Jupiter Suites. Honestly, I had never heard of it before (even though my mother’s family hails from Bel-Air Village in Makati), but I’m certainly glad I know about them now!

Situated right smack in the center of things in the country’s premier financial district, Jupiter Suites will be appreciated by businessmen and transients as it is surrounded by all kinds of food establishments (from fast-food joints to the more high-end restaurants), a convenience store, a bookstore, a pharmacy, and more! Glorietta and Greenbelt are a short hop away, and so are parks and churches.

Jupiter Suites, formerly known as the Jupiter Arms Hotel, is not a big, posh property; in fact, it’s only three floors, with less than 20 rooms, in my estimation. However, their accommodation facilities are good, the rooms are spacious, and the place is well-maintained. What I appreciated the most — apart from its strategic location — is their brand of customer service. During our whole stay, the staff were very friendly and helpful, and several times went out of their way to make our stay in Makati more pleasant. We were there for a major international bloggers’ event as organizers, so, as much as it was exciting for us, it was also quite stressful. Staying at Jupiter Suites definitely helped ease the transition.

One more thing that made my stay in Makati productive was their free Internet service. All rooms are equipped with LAN cables for you to hook up your laptop to, and the bandwidth was impressive during my entire stay. I was able to keep up with my Web-based activities, thanks to Jupiter Suites’ free & fast Internet connectivity. (I just wish they provided wifi access instead, so I could’ve moved around the room with my iPod touch… but then again, the LAN connection was pretty decent.)

Next time I find myself in the nation’s capital, it’s going to be Jupiter Suites for me!

They are located on 102 Jupiter Street (near the corner of Makati Avenue), Bel-Air, Makati City. Their landline number is +63(2)890-5050. Click here to jump to their website.

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Disclosure: Jupiter Suites sponsored the accommodations of the WordCamp Philippines 2009 organizers.

The people of Sarangani Province are gearing up for their annual summer festival, which will take place in the last week of May 2009. Everyone is welcome! In fact, a group of bloggers from Davao, General Santos and Metro Manila are going to join this year’s celebration of the Sarangani Bay Festival 2009.

Below are the activities planned for the 3-day event. Thanks to Michelle Solon of Go Sarangani Travel for the information, and for helping in the arrangements for the bloggers.

28 May (Thu) • Kiamba

Ceremonial Opening Program, Lumba Bugsay (paddleboat racing), Bike Adventure Race Challenge, Skim Boarding Competition, Skim Boarding Clinic, Dive Sarangani, Underwater Photography, Beach Football, Beach Volleyball, Sayaw Sarangani – Hataw sa Tag-araw, Beach Concert and Fireworks Display.

29 May (Fri) • Maasim – Glan

Swim across the Bay (from Maasim to Glan), Bay Bodies Pageant, Scubasurero (dive to harvest crown of thorns), Sand Castle Competition, Bay Fair (selling and promotions fair), Beach Party with Club DJ and Fire Dancers, and continuing activities of Bike Adventure Race Challenge, Skim Boarding Competition, Skim Boarding Clinic, Dive Sarangani, Underwater Photography, Beach Football, Beach Volleyball.

30 May (Sat) • Gumasa, Glan

Bombo Bancarera (motorboat racing), San Miguel Concert Party (Manila band), Recogntion and Awarding Ceromonies, and continuing activities of Bike Adventure Race Challenge, Skim Boarding Competition, Skim Boarding Clinic, Dive Sarangani, Underwater Photography, Beach Football, Beach Volleyball.

I’m so excited! These three days will surely be a series of scorchingly hot parties and über-cool outdoorsy events! Can’t wait…

Glan, Kiamba, Maasim and the other towns surrounding Sarangani Bay are largely undiscovered jewels of nature. For example, the beaches of Glan are reputed to have sand as fine as that found in Boracay. And the scuba diving is spectacular, by all accounts (check out my post about Lemlunay Dive Resort). Parts of the bay, I was told by Michelle, are protected sanctuaries, so that divers now see much growth and resurgence of indigenous species in the area. When we went for a dive, we saw the cement domes that were installed in different parts of Sarangani Bay to promote the growth of coral.

And the food! I bet I’m going to gorge myself on tuna, sturgeon fish (I wish!), crab, and other goodies from the sea! On the flip side, however, accommodations facilities in the Sarangani province are rather rudimentary.

The bloggers’ excursion into Sarangani is being coordinated by yours truly, Avel Manansala (of Bariles Republic fame), and the indefatigable Michelle, the wife of Vice-Governor Steve Solon. But blogger or not, anyone is very welcome to join the festivities. Budget? Less than ₱3,000 (including transportation to & from Davao) per person will most certainly suffice. To be there to party with everyone is free, but the clinics, competitions, etc. will have minimal participation fees.

For more information, please get in touch with Go Sarangani Travel — gosaranganitravel[at]gmail[dot]com, (83)552-8015 or (83)304-4398. This festival is being organized under the auspices of the Sarangani provincial government. Check out their official site: www.sarangani.gov.ph.

I’ve found paradise!

Nestled atop a precipice overlooking Sarangani Bay in Maasim, Sarangani Province, is an alluring place called Lemlunay, which, in the B’laan and T’Boli tongues, roughly means “the good place one goes to in the afterlife”. The Lemlunay Dive Resort is a countryside getaway that will take your breath away, with its rustic ambience, relaxing surroundings, lovingly-prepared cuisine, personalized service… all encompassed by an expansive sea of unspoilt blue.

It is a paradise for nature lovers, but most especially for scuba-diving enthusiasts. The resort itself is still being developed — with only a few guest rooms available at the moment — but the diving facilities they have in place are at par with the ones I’ve seen in high-end resorts. I’m not really a scuba diver, but after an exhilarating intro dive I did there (with Chattee, Lyle, Angel and Leonard), I just might become one soon!

A short distance from the cliff’s side, the bottom of the sea drops dramatically to about 30 feet, then a coral wall presents itself with marine life all a-bustle. The variegated colors on the fish and on the coral is a delight against the backdrop of soft-hued sand and dark-toned rock that dot the seascape. I wanted so much to go deeper and check out the coral wall, but I couldn’t because I’m not yet certified. It was too bad none of us thought of bringing an underwater camera. I’ve actually gone diving twice before already, but before the dive at Lemlunay, I had never seen so many kinds of tropical fish in their natural habitat.

Our group of intrepid bloggers (6 from Davao and 2 from GenSan) were hosted by Sarangani Vice-Governor Steve Solon and his wife Michelle to a sumptuous lunch at Lemlunay, whose amiable queen of the kitchen served each a delectable plate of roasted chicken and grilled gindara peppered with heavenly golden garlic. Oh and there was also steamed pompano (also called dolphin fish and mahi-mahi), served in a rich brown sauce with olives and garnished with tomatoes and spices.

The owner of Lemlunay Dive Resort, Paul Partridge, who is also the head dive instructor, gave us a very colorful interview. He told us about how he built the resort in 2005, and his plans for expansion, which will become reality starting this year. He plans to add more cottages, a recreation room, meeting facilities, and a swimming pool. There is also a separate area that will be completed soon, and this will be for day-trippers. For people who want to get away from the city and learn scuba, Lemlunay could be the perfect destination: learn how to dive from the classroom to the pool to the open sea, all in one place. And be pampered with good food while you’re at it!

The diving operation is a separate entity, and is known as South Point Divers. Judging by the way the dive master and the staff handled our group — and to think they had other guests who were also going to dive — I am confident that they will be able to satisfy any seasoned scuba diver’s needs and whims. And I shouldn’t fail to mention, the more exciting dive spots are reportedly full of marine wonders. Michelle (who is a blogger herself) was telling us that there live a growing school of a rare species of wrasse in the waters of Sarangani Bay, which has in fact been declared a marine sanctuary. Head on over to South Point Divers’ online photo gallery to view spectacular underwater shots.

I’d like to thank Michelle and Vice-Governor Steve for giving us a grand time at Lemlunay, the paradise of Sarangani Bay. And to Paul and Joel, the dive master, for making it possible for us to have a wonderful time underwater! Most especially, in behalf of the bloggers of Davao, General Santos City’s lead blogger, Avel Manansala, deserves our gratitude and admiration for organizing that elating weekend in General Santos and Sarangani Province.

For your GPS locators, here are Lemlunay Dive Resort’s coordinates: 5° 52′ 24.00″ N, 125° 05′ 13.00″ E. From General Santos, Maasim is about half an hour’s drive. You can contact the resort via mobile phone: +63(920)914-9259.

Talking about coffee shops recently, a friend and I drifted towards those cafés we hadn’t been frequenting yet. One of which was Miko’s Brew, in Davao, located on Chavez St. (which is more known for lechon than coffee). And then another friend said that this coffee shop actually comes from Tagum, and that this city is now on the rise.

So, off we went to Tagum to check it out, my friend Rodney, his wife Emmy, Karen and myself. We also wanted to have a look at the night market over there.

It took us just over an hour to get to the capital of Davao del Norte from downtown Davao. Davao del Norte, or Davao Province, bounds Davao City to the north and the Agusan provinces beyond. The map here shows the route we took (thanks to Microsoft’s Live Search Maps).

The night market did not disappoint. In fact, we were impressed — it wasn’t what we were expecting. The night market, which happens only on weekends, is a string of barbecue stalls wrapped around the town plaza. But it’s not just a hodge-podge of vendors: the city set up durable, well-built stalls each equipped with a grille and food preparation area. Vendors rent stalls at, get this, ₱50 per day, inclusive of electricity. Beside the stalls are tented stainless-steel long tables for the patrons.

The barbecue bonanza — weekends, from 5:30 PM to 2:00 AM — has been going on for 5 years now, according to the locals. It was the initiative of Tagum’s mayor, reportedly after seeing the night market in somewhere in Thailand. Tagum is lucky to have such a forward-thinking chief executive. Mayor Rey T. Uy clearly has the economic development of his city in mind.

Another enviable development in Tagum is the city hall that’s being constructed now. As you can see in this perspective drawing, the new city hall will look like a proud beacon of Tagum’s bright future. It is scheduled to be completed in September this year.

There does seem to be a feeling of busy-ness in Tagum. Things seem to be looking up out there. While there are still a lot of open spaces, I prefer to think of that as the presence of huge potential. In fact, there are lots of ongoing construction projects, including two big malls. If only Tagum had their own airport, they would surely catch up to Davao and Cagayan de Oro pretty soon.