Blogs from Mindanao, Philippines, Asia - page 6

flight from Manila to Davao took a good hour and a half and I slept right away. Arriving just before 6pm as we stepped out of the tube gate the 1st thing I notice is the strong smell of durian, welcoming me to Mindanao!! The terminal is nice and clean, after picking up my backpack I came out and waited for Olan outside, not 10 minutes later he showed up, 1st time meeting is always awkward but he right away made me feel at home, he is my 2nd Couch Surfing host. he has his own car and he immediately showed me around the city by night going through neighborhoods, the main drag, the bar area, what i noticed is they have their own version of jeepney, its much smaller and I thought immediately, my backpack ... read more

It's March 2009, LynLyn and I were coming in on the Suplicio Lines boat from Cebu. The night was rough. Crossing from Cebu the wind picked up pretty good and I don't think there was much cargo below. LynLyn was fine, thank God, she had taken here Drammamine about two hours before bed time. Badjao is a tribe in the Philippines that lives in boats. The People of the Sea or Sea-Gypsies. They are here in the port of Iligan. Listen carefully and you'll hear them calling to me because they see my white face ''americano". They're calling in English, "Friend, Friend!" and "money"...hahaha. This guy is telling me not to throw money and maybe he's right. I don't know. What does my subscribers think?...I only have one. What do you think honey?... read more

The world is far too beautiful to stay in one place forever. Every day I'm overwhelmed with it all. I guess that's why I'm always trying to capture the moment, but the pictures can never do its justice. You've got to be there, feel the water, and taste the air and so on. I'm never as happy as I am when I'm traveling, in the ports/ terminals, even on the plane and bus... there is something very appealing to me about being on my way to discovering something new. I make a conscious effort to avoid trendy destinations and seek out roads less traveled... We all know there are good and bad people anywhere we go in the world but forgive me if I disagree that any single location is the best place to be... For ... read more

Last Friday night after work, I took off on a weekend getaway trip to another regional island south of Cebu called Mindanao. I packed my backpack for the weekend to see one of my best friends for roughly 36 hours of non-stop fun. My friend Mike, who used to live in Los Angeles last year, moved back here to the Philippines for his corn milling business in an area called Initao Beach. I haven’t seen Mike since last year prior to him leaving nor have I had the opportunity to take time to go visit him since I’ve been here. I did tell him before he left that I would find a way to come visit him here in the Philippines no matter what. Thankfully, with the internship here at BigFoot I was able to ... read more

Ich verließ Camiguin mit einer der zahlreichen Fähren, die vom Ostküstenhafen Benoni nach Balingoan auf Mindanao fahren. Diese Überfahrt dauerte lediglich eine Stunde (135 P). Von Balingoan bekam ich direkt Anschluss nach Cagayan de Oro, anderthalb Stunden mit dem Minibus (100 P) südlich gelegen. CDO ist eine der größten Städte Mindanaos mit fast einer halben Million Einwohnern, aber das Stadtzentrum ist sehr kompakt und, auch ohne große Sehenswürdigkeiten, verhältnismäßig attraktiv, mit einer großen Auswahl an einladenden Cafés, Bars und Restaurants, dementsprechend ist Cagayan ein guter Ort für einen Zwischenstopp. Ich fand auch ein preiswertes Zimmer direkt im Zentrum, im Park View Inn. Dieses Hotel hat zwar einen irreführenden Namen - kein Parkblick weit und breit - aber sehr gepflegte Economy Rooms mit sauberem Gemeinschaftsbad für 325 Pesos. Auf meinem Spaziergang durch das Stad... read more