Gen San Fun - Traveling to General Santos City / Mindanao

General Santos City is one of the major cities in Mindanao. But despite the beautiful waterfalls, scuba diving sites, rugged mountain ranges, and beaches, why is General Santos City, Mindanao generally, still off the tourism grid?

Mindanao is often tagged for red light travel alerts. That is why many travelers hesitate to come here. Even we had hesitations but why not give this humble part of the country a chance?

We set foot in General Santos, the land of the freshest tuna and world boxing champion, Manny Pacquiao. GenSan is part of SOKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato Province, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos). Despite our fear, people here are friendly too. It is a humbling experience to meet the locals. We felt their warmth. Tricycle drivers are very hard working and willing get out of their way to bring us to our destination. 

Friendly, hard-working tricycles drivers. Talk to them in Tagalog, they answer back in Bisaya. Talk to the them in Tagalog again, they still answer back in Bisaya. Try your luck but they just love their language. Use context clues or pretend that you understand if you want to blend in.

Tricycles can accommodate up to 6 passengers but most of them have only 2 passengers. The fare downtown is P10.

There are many malls in Gen San. One of them is SM that is situated just in front of our hotel. General Santos City is considered a shopping haven for people in nearby provinces because of these shopping centers. 

General Santos Public Park is very cool because of the trees and the free wifi connection. 

Greenleaf Hotel is a four-star hotel with very cozy rooms equipped for business travel, except for inconsistent wifi connection. It is good for family stays too.

Tiongson Arcade in Lagao is an array of affordable fresh sea foods. It is a family-friendly place for dining or having good times with friends. Two city girls went here at 7pm by tricycle and went back to hotel at 8:30; it was pretty safe. 

You can choose from wide array of fresh sea foods. But don’t forget their most famous seafood, the tuna. 

Tuna Capital of the Philippines. General Santos City exports tuna worldwide. Witness the fish trade in action and gigantic tunas in the fish port complex along the Sarangani Bay. 

The guys are friendly and make way for us to take pictures. They are all camera shy though. 

The fish port complex

The most daring part in this travel is when we went to Lemlunay Resort in Maasim, Sarangani by commute. The hotel failed to pick us up in the city so we had to go there by taking public transportation – tricycle and van. 

We passed by the Sultan Kudarat coastal road and lost phone signal. I got scared, honestly, but the locals are kind and the view was mesmerizing. Locals say this place is so lucky because it does not get hit by typhoon.

The basic rooms in Lemlunay Resort are disappointingly less than basic rooms – they are worn-out, secluded rooms. It was very quiet though and has better wifi connection than the Greenleaf Hotel. 

Our disappointment was compensated by the infinity pool overlooking the Sarangani Bay and Celebes Sea. It felt amazing to be at the edge of the Philippine map.

Scuba diving in Saranggani. The water is very clear but the corals are few. Divers say that many fish left the area when the power plant nearby was constructed.

Thought it was a sardine- or tuna- catching facility, but a power plant which was recently inaugurated. 

We decided to go back to Gen San so we searched for a cheap hotel. We found the  family-owned RSG Microtel which opened in January 2017. The owners picked us up, gave us treats, dropped us off to the airport, and even upgraded our room. We felt like a family to them.

Mindanao is very rich in natural wonders and living cultural heritage. The Asik Asik Falls, Lake Sebu, Mount Matutum, Tuka Marine Park, and more are just some of the hidden gems of this region, plus its rich cultural heritage that is still apparent and practiced today.

Just like traveling to other places, traveling to Mindanao requires respect to political, religious, and ideological beliefs. Travelers should be sensitive with the locals and appreciate the place and culture that is a huge part of the Filipino identity. 

South Cebu Adventures

Cebu is one of the best islands in the Philippines known for its beautiful beaches and unique geographical features. South Cebu is a perfect venue for adrenaline rush activities - canyoneering, scuba diving, mountain climbing, and a lot more while North Cebu offers pristine, white beaches.

I can consider this as the most ultimate, most liberating travel/adventure in life, so far! This was our itinerary:

First day:
1. Canyoneering
2. Osmena Peak

Second day:
1. Scuba diving
2. Motorbike driving

Third day:
1. Osmena Peak 
2. Cebu city tour

From Cebu-Mactan International Airport, ride a taxi to South Cebu Bus Terminal (45 minutes to 1 hour depending on traffic at around P330). Ride the Ceres Bus bound to Bato via Barili (2-3 hours at P150) then alight at Moalboal bus stop (just tell the bus conductor). Habal-habal drivers will swarm around you once you alight the bus. We hired one at P50 going to our accommodation at Panagsama beach. (The driver might give you his cellphone number, so you hire him next time; even if you're not interested, save it, you never know when you need him.)

Canyoneering and Kawasan Falls at Badian, Cebu
We hired a tricycle going to Kawasan Canyoneering (kawasancanyoneering@gmail.com). But we realized that we could have just hired habal-habal going to the highway (P50), rode the Ceres bus going to Barili, and dropped off at Kawasan Canyoneering. But anyways...

Trekking before river crossing, cliff jumping, and spelunking.

Slippery rocks, river crossing, cliff jumping, spelunking, and more unnerving steps!

Kawasan Falls

Osmena Peak at Dalaguete, Cebu

You can reach Osmena Peak from Moalboal via two bus rides (from Moalboal, ride a bus bound to Cebu city, drop off at Carcar. Ride another bus going to Oslob, drop off at Dalaguete). On our first attempt to Osmena Peak, we failed. From Dalaguete, we hired habal-habal. Trying to catch the sunset, the habal-habal ride was intense - we drove up to the mountain so fast along steep, sharp curves.

Insane misadventure

Osmena Peak, the second time around 

The highest peak in Cebu that offers picturesque of jagged hills, coastline, and nearby islands

Goats everywhere!

Scuba diving - Sardine run and turtles at Moalboal

Ten minutes from our hotel were a lot of scuba diving schools that offer open water courses. We went to Nelson's Scuba Dive School (oceansafariphilippines@hotmail) and availed the introductory course at P2000 (shore dive) and went on for the second dive at P1000 (boat dive).

Sardine run and turtle watching

After diving, we hired a motorbike and drove around the town. We walked around Moalboal too and reached the dead end, the white beach. What a beautiful dead end it is!

Going around Cebu city

Before heading back to Manila, we went around Cebu city.

Magellan's cross

Cebu city hall

Downtown area

Cebu Lechon, of course!

If there is one island in the Philippines that's jam-packed with activities, it is Cebu. You will never get bored in Cebu!