The Highlights of my eventful September
3 nights later Me, Kikit, Sarah, Nicole and Madayaw took the bus to Gensan to meet with our fellow inmates (Mindanao Tourism Council and The Travel Teller) that went ahead of us earler that day.
We went to the town of Saranggani in the morning. Ten minutes after we arrived at Glan's Municipal Hall to meet Miss Lodar the tourism officer, our walking tour around the town to see the Centennial structures started, and realising that i left my drawing gear in the van i had to go buy new a drawing book and a pad paper and a ballpen.
This house is our second stop from the Parish Church, on our way here, we passed by the market and bought Bananas and Banana Turons because we were hungry already and did not get to eat breakfast earlier. O also left my drawing book and pens in the van so i had to go out and buy a sketchbook, notepad and panda ballpen at the shop infront of the school for 17 pesos total.
House of first elected mayer Emilio Alegado. September 12 201, 12:07pm created in 1949. Glan, sranggani, 197A 546 E. Alegado St.
There are many old houses around the town but it is not well preserved and the government is prohibited in spending money on private-own structures.
After taking pictures and videos at the old alegado house, we had a very nice lunch, of tinola, kinilaw and sisig, all tinola! And i am ashamed to admit that i did not write down the name of the restaurant but my friends told me it was 'Namtam'
After lunch, we rested for awhile and met some private owners of the resort to discuss plans of making Glan's tourism better. Well, mostly we just listed, and i ended up sketching imaginary and real people.
That night we ate at the birthday celebration of Ms. Lodar's mother and we were very thankful for it. The food was good, and i suggest we make it a yearly pilgrimage.
Because we were hogging the videoke machine at the birthday party, we soon realise that we have to politely leave the party. So we went to 3 sisters bar were we proceeded to drink 5 buckets of Redhorse Stallions and 3 more Red horse Grande. And we have the recordings as proof of how drunk we were. :) and special mention to the band which was so amazing specially when they played that Aegis song. (imagine rock sign here)
When we got back, (we stayed that night at the training center) the people from the other room where inviting us to drink but i was already so drunk i could not answer the door anymore.
The morning after, i woke up early and took a bath, good thing because the water ran after shortly after. We had breakfast and then i sketched the old acacia tree infront of the training center building.
We went to Barangay Gumasa for our ethnic costume pictorials together with the DPS Photographers. We went to Rosal Resort for our pictures and Isla de Jardin for more pictures, videos and sumptuous Lunch.
Before going home, i had the chance to draw more boats that was on the beach because of low tide, at the Glan Port.
since Glan's 100 years of Township will be celebrated two weeks from now, here are a few highlights of the upcoming events and festivities (shamelessly copied from thetravilingkit.com) search for more info using #glan100
At General Santos' Tuna Festival, it was a interesting in a sense that although the street dancing contingents were few, most of those who were there that joined the street dancing actually did a good production job in making their floats, costumes, and dance and chants fun. There were also improvised musical instruments like the bamboo 'whatever they called it' that they bang using sticks like a xylophone with the notes hanging vertically. The rest needs more practice and needs to study the street dancing at the Kaamulan Festival. I hope the Tuna festival's street dancing will get better and better with each passing year.
I took a couple of shots and posted it in my instagram account. search for it using: #tpc-gensan
That night we spent our dinner with Smart Communications liaison Ms. Haydee and Coco Martin at Max Restaurant and stayed at Antonio's Apartelle. Smart Communications was kind enough to lend us a Pocket Wifi Device that allowed me to post instagram photos the entire trip, you can search for it using #smartlivemore or #smartdigitaltourism
Special mention to Antonio's which has a very relaxing atmosphere away from the sounds of traffic and music. And they also have a speedy internet connection. And Redhorse Stallion was priced at 60 pesos per bottle. And they had pink-colored dream catchers!
On our way to the Bus terminal, we caught a glimpse of Mount Matumtum from afar.
As we were going home, we accidentaly stumbled upon the chocolate festival at SM City Davao showcasing the best of locally produced chocolate products from Cacao plants in Davao City and nearby farms. We wanted to buy but we did not have cash anymore at that time.
Before we officially went home, i went to look for moleskin notebooks but they ran out so i got this instead which is similar to the notebook i got in singapore many years ago.
my last sketch drawn on the bus from General Santos City to Davao City
- First Byaheng mindanaw raided our house to celebrate my 34th year
- Second we went to glan saranggni to experience one of the oldest towns in Mindanao. Exploring their heritage structures and enjoying their beaches in our ethnic costumes
- Third we spent an afternoon witnessing GenSan's Tuna festival and ate street food!
- Fourth We attended the chocolate festival
- New Notebook
3 nights later Me, Kikit, Sarah, Nicole and Madayaw took the bus to Gensan to meet with our fellow inmates (Mindanao Tourism Council and The Travel Teller) that went ahead of us earler that day.
We went to the town of Saranggani in the morning. Ten minutes after we arrived at Glan's Municipal Hall to meet Miss Lodar the tourism officer, our walking tour around the town to see the Centennial structures started, and realising that i left my drawing gear in the van i had to go buy new a drawing book and a pad paper and a ballpen.
I only decided to sketch the church 3 mins before everybody left for the marketplace so i had to make it quick and write while i was walking.
at the school, there were several 99 year old acacia trees also planted by Americans, Sepetember 12, 2014.
There is no front main entrance, only front-side entry. Sta Catalina de Alexandria Church created in 1949 by a parishian, our first stop of Heritage structures, before this we visited the first school created in 1900s by Americans september 12, 2014 11:37am
It was almost noon when we got to the market so most of us ended up buying Banana Turons, and i asked Kikit to get me a bunch of native bananas. Their market was clean compared to other markets around the Philippines.
House of first elected mayer Emilio Alegado. September 12 201, 12:07pm created in 1949. Glan, sranggani, 197A 546 E. Alegado St.
There are many old houses around the town but it is not well preserved and the government is prohibited in spending money on private-own structures.
After taking pictures and videos at the old alegado house, we had a very nice lunch, of tinola, kinilaw and sisig, all tinola! And i am ashamed to admit that i did not write down the name of the restaurant but my friends told me it was 'Namtam'
After lunch, we rested for awhile and met some private owners of the resort to discuss plans of making Glan's tourism better. Well, mostly we just listed, and i ended up sketching imaginary and real people.
imaginary
imaginary
real
'Kap' on of the resort owners at Brgy. Gumasa, Glan, Saranggani.
Rosal Resort
coffee cup
tourism meeting, mayor's office
323pm sept 12 2014
real
Olan listening to Ms. Lodar talking about tourism plans before he gave some suggestions about promoting the destinations.
Olan the travel teller 3:38pm 9/12/14
After the meeting, we went to another old house that has been renovated by its 3rd generation owner, and it is by the beach.
Fishing boats and bangka at Barangay Lago outside Hacienda Don Juan.
530pm and there were small waves and the tide was low, i just drank two cups of native cocoa 'sikwate' september 12, 2014 Glan
600pm september 12 2014
old sewing machines turned into a long table in an old house at Hacienda Don Juan
Barangay Lago, Glan, Saranggani
I also took pictures of the prodding child. If you can search it on instagram with this #tpc-glan
That night we ate at the birthday celebration of Ms. Lodar's mother and we were very thankful for it. The food was good, and i suggest we make it a yearly pilgrimage.
Because we were hogging the videoke machine at the birthday party, we soon realise that we have to politely leave the party. So we went to 3 sisters bar were we proceeded to drink 5 buckets of Redhorse Stallions and 3 more Red horse Grande. And we have the recordings as proof of how drunk we were. :) and special mention to the band which was so amazing specially when they played that Aegis song. (imagine rock sign here)
When we got back, (we stayed that night at the training center) the people from the other room where inviting us to drink but i was already so drunk i could not answer the door anymore.
The morning after, i woke up early and took a bath, good thing because the water ran after shortly after. We had breakfast and then i sketched the old acacia tree infront of the training center building.
833am one of the century old acacia trees surrounding the public school
glan, saranggani september 12, 2014
it is a sunny, tree in front of...
I was not able to finish writing because the people who were watching me sketch turned out to be artists and they came over and started talking to me and wanted to see my notebook, i was invited by felow artists to contribute to the mural they were making on the concrete structure that prevents roadside landslides but sadly we were going back to general santos that day so i could not join in the mural making
We went to Barangay Gumasa for our ethnic costume pictorials together with the DPS Photographers. We went to Rosal Resort for our pictures and Isla de Jardin for more pictures, videos and sumptuous Lunch.
Before going home, i had the chance to draw more boats that was on the beach because of low tide, at the Glan Port.
Fishing boats on the beac, there is no water because of the low tide. there is a man fixing one of the boats at the Pier, September 13, 2014, 1:45pm, Glan, Saranggani, while waiting for Jon and Hannah
since Glan's 100 years of Township will be celebrated two weeks from now, here are a few highlights of the upcoming events and festivities (shamelessly copied from thetravilingkit.com) search for more info using #glan100
- Coco Village - It will showcase coconut products of Glan, which is tagged as the "Coconut Queen of the South"
- Barangay Showcase - All 31 barangays of the municipality will create a miniature of their community and display their products.
- Lumad Village - It will exhibit the culture, costume, rituals and cuisine of the indigenous people in Glan
- Lubi-lubi Street Dancing Competition - It's a two-day event to be participated by various schools in the municipality and contingents from other cities and provinces.
At General Santos' Tuna Festival, it was a interesting in a sense that although the street dancing contingents were few, most of those who were there that joined the street dancing actually did a good production job in making their floats, costumes, and dance and chants fun. There were also improvised musical instruments like the bamboo 'whatever they called it' that they bang using sticks like a xylophone with the notes hanging vertically. The rest needs more practice and needs to study the street dancing at the Kaamulan Festival. I hope the Tuna festival's street dancing will get better and better with each passing year.
I took a couple of shots and posted it in my instagram account. search for it using: #tpc-gensan
That night we spent our dinner with Smart Communications liaison Ms. Haydee and Coco Martin at Max Restaurant and stayed at Antonio's Apartelle. Smart Communications was kind enough to lend us a Pocket Wifi Device that allowed me to post instagram photos the entire trip, you can search for it using #smartlivemore or #smartdigitaltourism
Special mention to Antonio's which has a very relaxing atmosphere away from the sounds of traffic and music. And they also have a speedy internet connection. And Redhorse Stallion was priced at 60 pesos per bottle. And they had pink-colored dream catchers!
On our way to the Bus terminal, we caught a glimpse of Mount Matumtum from afar.
As we were going home, we accidentaly stumbled upon the chocolate festival at SM City Davao showcasing the best of locally produced chocolate products from Cacao plants in Davao City and nearby farms. We wanted to buy but we did not have cash anymore at that time.
Before we officially went home, i went to look for moleskin notebooks but they ran out so i got this instead which is similar to the notebook i got in singapore many years ago.
my last sketch drawn on the bus from General Santos City to Davao City
And the Gods created Prayer,
to give people on Earth a simple way