Libotero – Philippine Travel Photo Blog

FINAL POST of a series.

DAY 3.

It was a very long night of nothing but pure fun. From Sarangani Highlands to the General Santos Plaza and then to Piyesta KTV and Resto Bar, our night ended at 2am! Kuya Avel brought us back to Hotel Dolores and we finally said our goodbyes-and-see-you-soons. Once again, I’d like to thank the SOCCSKSARGEN Bloggers, especially Kuya Avel for being very accommodating and for making our first trip to SOCCSKSARGEN truly unforgettable! ‘Til we meet again!

Upon arrival at the hotel, we informed the front desk receptionist of our flight the next day so that they could arrange for a taxi that would pick us up since there aren’t much taxis in General Santos City yet, compared to Cebu and Davao. We then rushed to our room and hurriedly packed up our things for our flight to Cebu since we had to catch up with our sleep. We had to wake up as early as 7am for our 10am flight. That’s less than 5 hours of sleep.. ZzzzzZzzz

DAY 4.

On our last day in General Santos, we had breakfast in Jollibee. Weeee. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel just in time as our taxi was already waiting outside. Travel time to the General Santos City Airport takes 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on traffic conditions.

The General Santos City Public Market is located just beside Dolores Hotel. This is where we ate breakfast on Day 2 of our stay.

At the airport, we bought some pasalubong items. They’re mostly located on the 2nd floor of the airport. Tuna chicharon, frozen tuna, fruit preserves, fruit jams, durian candies, and several other local products can be found there.

The pre-departure area of General Santos City Airport. The airport has Wi-Fi! Amazing… Massive improvements and renovations are going on at the airport.

Our aircraft left the General Santos City Airport right on schedule! Bye, bye SOCCSKSARGEN! By leaving GenSan, I’m bringing with me photos, experiences, (mis)adventures, and memories that I will treasure forever. I can’t wait to be back. See you again, SOCCSKSARGEN!

- END OF SERIES -

Part 16 of a series.

DAY 3.

While strolling around the General Santos Park, we found some stalls selling street food. We bought some Japanese sweet corn and at P15 per piece, it is one of life’s simplest joys!

Anyway, after breathing some fresh air at the park, Kuya Avel brought us to Piyesta KTV and Resto Bar at the alfresco strip of Robinsons Place General Santos. Eric was also brought there on his first night in Gensan so it was his 2nd visit.
(more…)

Part 15 of a series.

DAY 3.

After enjoying a very sumptuous dinner at Sarangani Highlands, we thought that the night was over but then we were treated to even more surprises!

From the hilltop, Kuya Avel brought us back to the city proper, to the very center of General Santos City, Plaza Heneral Santos.

One of the several unique lighting fixtures at Plaza Heneral Santos

When viewed from above (see map below), the area where the plaza sits actually resembles a wine glass wherein the park itself is the bowl of the wine glass bound by President Roxas Avenue while Pioneer Avenue, the city’s pioneering business district serves as the wine glass’s stem. Finally, P. Acharon Blvd. is the wine glass’s foot. Amazing, eh?

Courtesy of Gensan’s former mayor Acharon, the park was actually redeveloped just a year ago. The price tag: P34 million!

Paved walkways, landscaped gardens, water features and decorative lampposts, are among the improvements that were seen in the park after the redevelopment project

Upon stepping into the park, I actually recalled Davao’s People’s Park. They’re in the same league in terms of cleanliness and maintenance. Gensan’s Plaza feels more open and natural though since I felt that People’s Park was too orchestrated, but I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with that. Having said that, I hope all the other public parks and plazas in the country are of the same quality as Gensan’s Plaza and People’s Park as we all need a clean, green and safe respite from the stresses of urban living!

Plaza Heneral Santos

Pioneer Avenue, as seen from the park

At the northern end of the park is the General Santos City Hall.

General Paulino Santos

Who is General Paulino Santos anyway?

Inscribed on his monument are the following:

“Hen. Paulino Santos
(1890-1945)

Isinilang sa Camiling, Tarlac, noong Hunyo 22, 1890 kina Remigio Santos at Rosa Torres. Nagtapos bilang balidiktoryan sa Akademya Militar ng Pilipinas noon 1914. Itinalaga bilang pangatlong tenyente ng konstabularya ng Pilipinas.

Bilang komandanteng panlalawigan at gobernador, napaunlad niya ang edukasyon, agrikultura at komunikasyon sa Lanao.

Naging direktor ng mga bilangguan; nagtatag ng Davao Penal Colony at nagsagawa ng madaliang paglilipat ng New Bilibid Prison sa Muntinlupa.

Naging unang puno ng Estado Mayor ng Hukbong Pilipino, patnugog ng National Land Settlement Administration. Sa kanyang masigasig at mabisang panunungkulan, anim na pamayanan ang itinatag sa South Cotabato.

Namatay sa Kiangan, Mt. Province noong Agosto 29, 1945. Bilang parangal sa kanya, ang bayan ng Buayan (Dati’y Dadiangas) ay pinangalanang Heneral Santos na pagkaraan ay ginawang lungsod.”

What’s in a name? We all had a short History lesson from the inscription, that General Santos City was originally named Dadiangas and then renamed to Buayan before it got its current name.

And what is DADIANGAS?

Dadiangas is actually a bushy, erect and spiny perennial plant whose English name is “Turkey Berry”. It is sad to note though that there is only ONE Dadiangas Tree left in the city proper and it sits right at the center of the General Santos Park.

It’s amazing how a lot of places in the Philippines were named after plants. Mandaue and Talisay in Cebu were named after trees, Mantawi and Talisay, respectively.

(…to be continued)

Part 14 of a series.

DAY 3.

For Day 1 and Day 2, we’ve already accomplished 2/3 of our itinerary which was to visit Gumasa Beach in Sarangani and Lake Sebu in South Cotabato. What remains is a city tour of General Santos City. We were supposed to do that in the afternoon of Day 3 but then I opted not too as I was feeling too lazy. So, for the rest of the afternoon, I was just asleep at the hotel room!

At around 5pm though, Eric woke me up and told me to prepare as Kuya Avel would be picking us up at 6pm and would be bringing us to a secret dining place.. Hmmm, exciting!

Later on, Kuya Avel, together with Kuya Gilbert and Kuya Marz, picked us up at the hotel and drived us to somewhere elevated. The secret dining place turns out to be Sarangani Highlands!

Sarangani Highlands is located on a hilltop overlooking Sarangani Bay.

It has an awesome view of both the sea, downtown Gensan and majestic Mt. Parker and Mt. Matutum on a clear day.

During nighttime, you can get closer to nature with the garden’s beautiful landscaping. Lush plants, flowers and a neatly trimmed lawn welcomed us upon entering the garden.

Pay attention to the details at the restroom area!

Aside from the regular dining service at the restaurant, Sarangani Highlands also has function areas, both air-conditioned and al-fresco, that can accommodate guests for private parties, meetings and other company activities.

One of the function halls at Sarangani Highlands

Moving on, the food and the service were amazing!

Some of the food served before us

Black Fern Soup

Sizzling Gambas

The very tasty Sizzling Bangus Fillet

This has to be my favorite among all the dishes served. The Sizzling Sisig tickled my taste buds. It is very rich and creamy, a must-try when in Sarangani Highlands!

Crispy Pata

Dadiangas Salad. This one’s unique as it has mustard to complement the different flavors of the fruits.

After dinner, Kuya Avel and Kuya Gilbert awarded me and Eric a token of appreciation for the successful Byahe Na! Fireside Forum with the SOCCSKSARGEN Bloggers.. Aww, I was so deeply touched.

Thank you so much Kuya Avel, Kuya Gilbert, Kuya Marz for bringing us to such an enchanting place!

Sarangani Highlands is located in Purok Wal, Tambler, General Santos City
Telephone Number: +63 83 3040752
Email Address: saranganihighlands@gmail.com

(…to be continued)

Part 13 of a series.

DAY 3.

From Lake Sebu, the trip back to General Santos took us less than two hours. For much of the bus ride, we were asleep! As we arrived in the Bulaong Terminal, a suspicious-looking guy took my baggage and offered to bring it for me to the tricycle. I said no, no, I can manage and carry it by myself, but he insisted, so I let him. When I was already seated comfortably at the tricycle, the guy was annoyingly demanding for his “pangkape”. Oh gawd, I can’t count how many times I said no, no, no, but then he wouldn’t stop and since I feared that he might hurt me, I gave him P20. Sheeesh!

TIP: When at public transport terminals, be quick as possible. Don’t show signs of being a tourist or a weakling!

We took a quick lunch at Mang Inasal at Robinsons Place and went back to where we stayed on our first night, Hotel Dolores.

Dubbed as “your downtown business hotel”, Dolores Hotel is located at General Santos City’s premier business lane, Santiago Boulevard. The malls are just a tricycle ride away but actually, if you aren’t feeling lazy, you can just walk to the malls. Gaisano, KCC and Robinsons are all on one street! The hotel has 40 standard guestrooms designed for their guests’ utmost comfort and come equipped with cable TV, IDD/NDD telephone. Function rooms are also available for small parties, seminars and meetings.

For more details, you may contact Dolores Hotel at
Dolores Hotel
Santiago Boulevard, General Santos City
Telefax: +63 (83) 552.4139, +63 (83) 552.7128

For the rest of the afternoon, I just slept at the hotel room, LOL, while Eric was blogging at the hotel lobby. The afternoon was boring but the evening was definitely action-packed. Find out why in the next post…

(…to be continued)

Part 6 of a series.

DAY 1.

After the grueling habal-habal experience just to get to Isla Jardin del Mar Resort, Eric and I had no choice but to still take the habal-habal or else we’ll be stranded. But then, this time, we decided to have Manong Driver to just drop us off at the Glan town proper some 10 kilometers away from the resort as vans to General Santos City are already available there!

Upon arrival at the terminal, I was finally able to breath a sign of REAL relief. LOL! The fare to General Santos City is P80 per person, not bad! Throughout the entire duration of the trip back to Gensan, I was asleep! Zzzzzz…. The van dropped us off at KCC Mall and from there, we took a tricycle back to Hotel Dolores.

At the hotel, we grabbed the opportunity to rest for a few minutes and quickly freshened up since we were to talk that night but before that, we ate pizza at Greenwich KCC Mall since our tummies were already grumbling!

This would be my FIRST SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT EVER and as the event drew nearer and nearer, I became nervous. As we arrived at the venue, Little Dubai Kebab Grills, I was very shocked of the overwhelming attendance! That made me even more nervous as I only expected the affair to be an informal round table discussion but then to my surprise, the whole venue was made exclusive for the affair and there were video cameras for a local cable magazine/lifestyle show, Hangin’ Around SOCCSKSARGEN. Woah! Anyway, even before the event, Eric and I agreed that he’d do most of the talking while I’ll focus on what I’ve been doing for the past years which is travelling with the family. For that, he talked first.

Eric opened with the statement, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” and his point was that when you’re in a new place, you should at least try to be like the locals and experience their culture. For example: you should try Cebu’s hanging rice, or eat Pancit Lucban like the locals. He then proceeded to share how he plans his trips. He bases his travel plans on two things: he’d either follow the schedules of a place’s festival/big event or he’d wait for airline promo fares and go to places where cheap fares are being offered. To be able to do that, Eric regularly checks the websites of the different airlines (Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, Air Phil Express, SEAIR, Zest Air) for the latest updates and he’s also subscribed to their promo alerts via email. Next, he discussed about what to bring, what to wear and travelling light. During his travels, Eric usually just wears board shorts. He explains that he does that to make his baggage light but when he needs to attend an event where he needs to wear long pants, he usually wears it during his flights so as not to add to his baggage load. If you’re travelling just within the country, Eric suggests you wear comfortable clothes suitable to our tropical climate. For your toiletries, it’s better to just buy them upon arrival at your destination. As to how many articles of clothing you’ll be bringing, that would depend on your itinerary. You can read my blogpost about my travel preparations as they’re quite similar to Eric’s. Eric then proceeded to share about how he prepares his travel itineraries. He says he does a research about his target destination and checks the weather online. He suggests that you make alternative plans in case of uncooperative weather conditions. In creating his itineraries, Eric researches about the place way ahead of the travel schedule. He checks out forums like VirtualTourist.com, CouchSurfing.org and other forums like PinoyExchange and SkyscraperCity as there are actually a lot of travellers who share their travel experiences and itineraries there. If you have a friend or if you know someone in your target destination, you can ask him/her to help you out in making your itinerary. For accommodations, you should book them ahead of time especially if you’re travelling during the peak season. You should also research about where to eat in your destination. It is a must to try local food/food that is unique to the place when in a new destination. Meanwhile, when airfare is too expensive, Eric suggests some alternatives. For example, if flights to the Kalilangan Festival in General Santos are too expensive or fully booked, he’d try to take a flight to Davao and from there, he’d take a bus to General Santos. When travelling, you should always bring a valid identification card and inform your loved ones where you’re going. And finally, and the most essential: ENJOY!

Even if I’ve been travelling for the past eight years, I still learned a lot from Eric’s sharing. On the other hand, for my part, I just shared my travel experiences with the family, my first out-of-town travel experience alone and my very fresh misfortune which happened just before we delivered the talk, and it was there that I realized that while I’m learning a lot from Eric, I’m completely the total opposite of him. I’ve been used to travelling with all the comforts you could imagine and now, I’m starting a new chapter of my life as I try to conquer my fears and get out of my comfort zones. For that, I’m trying to follow Eric’s footsteps as I feel that I’ll be travelling for the rest of my life. Travel is addictive. Travel is not just about exploring new destinations, I actually think that TRAVEL is LIFE as every travel experience shapes the way I am. CHEESY )

I was so glad as the talk was a TOTAL SUCCESS and I’d like to thank Kuya Orman and Kuya Avel for organizing the event and the SOCCSKSARGEN Bloggers for sparing some of their precious time to meet with us and listen to our humble talk. Your hospitality made me ease up from my being nervous and made our talk an enjoyable one! ‘Til we meet again!

After the talk, Ms. Dimples made us try Little Dubai’s KEBABs! Gawsh, they’re HEAVENLY, a must-try when in General Santos. And mind you, my description of heaven is not an exaggeration as we were too busy eating that we forgot to take photos of the food!

(…to be continued)