Saturday, October 6, 2012

Indonesia: Masakan Padang

I never thought that I had high tolerance for spicy food until I tasted this. While my companions were all sweaty and hissing between their teeth, I was enjoying the chili sauce burning in my mouth.
























The window showcasing the array of various Masakan Padang usually has the dishes to choose from piled neatly. Masakan Padang or Padang cuisine is named after the city of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra.



If there is one big reason to go back to Indonesia, this is definitely it. The store shown here is located within the Taman Mini, near Jakarta.

Friday, June 1, 2012

The Surallah Roundball


If you're off to a trip to Lake Sebu, it would be worth stopping by for some photos at the Surallah roundball showcasing an art installation by Kublai Millan. Inaugurated in March 2011, this is a landmark dedicated the the T'boli-Muslim-Christians efforts at preservation and patronization of the local cultural heritage.


This was not in our planned itinerary - good thing that the manong driver was thoughtful enough to let us off here.





Other works by Kublai Millan:
Ponce Suites, Davao City
Peoples' Park, Davao City
Risen Christ, Tagum
Durian, Davao International Airport
Kampilan, Sultan Kudarat
Arko, Malungon Saranggani

About Kublai Millan

ZIPLINE: Seven Falls, Lake Sebu


Fees:
    Entrance fee: P20 (adults)
             Zipline: P300 (weekends and holidays), P250 (weekdays)
Souvenir Photos: P100 (2 prints), P50 (soft copy, all photos)

The Experience:
What could be more special than zipping accross the highest zipline in the Philippines and enjoying a breathtaking view of waterfalls with occassional sprays of mist? Probably a lot more. But this experience should no doubt be on your must-do's when you're in Lake Sebu.

The road to the jumpoff is still unpaved and I could still imagine my niece making a sound similar to the vibratary sound you make when you used to hold your face close to the electric fan and make all sorts of noise. The bumpy ride is somewhat like that. Then you have to walk a bit to the entrance and pay P20 per person.


The sound of rushing whitewater will start to excite you (mixed with an ounce of nervousness) as you pay the usual P300 zipline fee and suddenly your in full gear waiting for your turn. Finally, you will get to experience this:


It is adviseable though to come early to the site especially on weekends and holidays as the queue could get a bit long just like our first attempt at zipline which took too long a wait we decided not to go on. This was back in December 2009 and they still probably had issues with operating efficiency. Also, better to zip in the morning as it often rains in the afternoon.

They're better at what they're doing now and even have souvenir photos for sale for P100 (2 different prints) or P50 for a soft copy (you could opt to bring a flash drive or have them copy the files to your camera's memory card).

How to look great on your Zipline photos.

Monday, May 14, 2012

The Gensan Itinerary (Travel Tourism Edition)


Strangely enough, I came up with a 3-day itinerary for a set of bizaare friends (a.k.a. MBA classmates) who were convinced that a summer vacation was possible in my hometown, Gensan. This is how I enjoyed being a tourist for the first time in General Santos City and this is my first blog post. This may not be the ideal itinerary but this was how it turned out (more than 50% different from the original plan).

Day 1, May 12
0520 Departure from Manila
0710 Arrival in Gensan
0730 Leave airport
0800 Breakfast at the nearest Jollibee (Tambler)
0830 Buy necessary stuff like drinking water and gas up the van!
0930 Photo-op at the Surrallah Roundball with art installation by Kublai Millan
1030 Zipline at Seven Falls
1200 Lunch at Monte Cielo (customized meal ordered in advance)
1330 Trek and swim at a private falls
1530 Boat tour at Punta Isla + photo ops + coffee from the vendo
1700 Buying of souvenirs
1730 Departure Lake Sebu
1930 Arrival in Gensan
2000 Dinner at Marietta's Barbecue (near Pioneer Street)
2100 Arrival at home base
 

Day 2, May 13
0700 Breakfast/Early birds could go to church (5:30am to 7am Catholic mass)
0915 Leave home base
0930 Photo Ops at Manny Pacquiao's house
0945 Photo Ops at Road Haus hotel and Kee's Cafe (owned by Manny and Jinkee Pacquiao)
1100 Walk around a private bangus fishpond and leave for Gumasa, Glan right after
1200 Photo ops along the scenic highway going to Glan, Saranggani
1300 Arrival at Rosal Beach Resort, Gumasa
1400 Lunch and beach bumming thereafter
1730 Leave Gumasa
1830 Arrival at home base
1900 Dinner and bridge session afterwards
 

Day 3, May 14
0730 Breakfast
1000 SHOPPING!!! RDEX to purchase frozen seafood and tuna delicacies, buy barter and native garments at the public market, souvenirs at KCC Mall
1200 Bongga lunch at the house
1300 Departure from house
1400 Arrival in airport
1500 Departure from Gensan
1700 Arrival in Manila


Contacts:
Gensan Sierra transport: 09154955531
Monte Cielo Resort: 09179230957

And here's the gang I'm talking about...