Blogs from Mindanao, Philippines, Asia - page 4

I reside in the Socsksargen Area in Mindanao, Philippines. So I'm going to talk about my hometown and its outskirts first of all. I grew up in Gensan, officially known as General Santos City, named after its founder Gen. Paulino Santos. It lies at the southernmost tip of the Philippine map, cradled between mountains and the seas. ------------------------- The article below narrating the history of the city is taken from the Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Santos_City#History HISTORY OF GENERAL SANTOS CITY On February 27, 1939, General Paulino Santos led the first and largest batch of settlers organized under the National Land Settlement Administration to the shores of Sarangani Bay. The 62 pioneers, who mostly came from Luzon, industriously tilled Cotabato's fertile expanse of land. After this first influx of pioneers, thousands more from Luzon and Visayas ... read more

While doing a voluntary work in Dapitan together with my friend Glenn Balagot, we took a side trip to Dakak Resort.... read more

Running around like a headless chicken, arriving in Bongao from Sibutu i tried to make the Sitangkai boat, we got to the pier where it is docked and luckily it was still there but for a reason, it has broken down! i was told normally it leaves at 10am but they are repairing it and may leave at 1pm if not the next day, patience already gone, just had it with inter island travels in the south, I quit and called it a day! Made a decision to skip Sitangkai and book my 1st flight out for Zamboanga. SEAir is the only one that does the route, I went to the office it was shut for lunch but the manager is there and told me come back later with cash to pay the fare and I ... read more

Today I am off to visit another island called Simunul, where apparently an ancient missionary of Islam was buried, Sheikh Makhdum is his name.The first Muslims in the Philippines are said to have arrived at Simunul. The first Mosque in the Philippines was Built here by Sheik Karimul Makhdum. This Mosque is called The Sheik Karimal Makdum Mosque. Inside this mosque stands 4 hags where it is repainted every year. Anyways, getting there is really simple, just get on the boat from the Chinese pier. First I have to drop off my backpack at the hotel reception and make my way to the pier. I walked from Rachel's hotel, and started asking people at the Chinese pier where is the boat to Simunul, apparently there are 3 destinations to the island municipality, namely Tubig Indangan, Tampakan ... read more

The name of Tawi-Tawi is a projection of the Malay word "jaui" meaning "far." Prehistoric travelers from the Asian mainland would repeat the word as "jaui-jaui" to mean "far away" because of the distance of the islands from the continent of Asia. The word "Tawi-Tawi" was picked up to later become the official name of the province.Tawi-Tawi lies at the southwestern tip of the country. Irregular in shape, with splashes of white sandy beaches and rock-bound coasts, the province has 107 islands and islets with a combined land area of 1197 km² (462 square miles). Tawi-Tawi is an island province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The capital of Tawi-Tawi is Bongao. The province is the southernmost of the country sharing sea borders with the Malaysian State of Sabah and ... read more