We woke up to another cold morning in SOCSKSARGEN due to the heavy rain. We were worried that the downpour will go on throughout the day and that we will never get the chance to go on White Water Tubing, the climax of our SEx (SOCSKSARGEN Experience). I guess the force above heard our prayers and maybe liked our sun dance routine that the rain cleared just in time for sunrise.
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| The Sunrise that looks like a Sunset |
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| Breakfast |
After breakfast and paying out dues at Lemlunay, we bid this breathtaking place goodbye to head onto the highlight of our vacation. Along the highway just outside the resort, we went aboard a van with a bunch of friendly people bound to Maitum (Php 80 / each).
The travel time from Maasim to Maitum is about an hour but it felt like just 15 minutes because I enjoyed the beautiful sceneries of the mountains, the sea and the fields. We arrived at the crossing and rode a habal-habal to get to New La Union.
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| Habal-habal ride to New La Union |
Kuya's habal-habal is very pricey, Php 500 for 2 persons round trip. It is worth a taxi ride. Like most people in this part of the country, kuya is very hospitable and also partly because we have no other choice as he is the only habal-habal rider available, we agreed to his price.
This place is called New La Union because the ancestors of the people here are from La Union (the Northern part of the country which is thousands of miles away from Saranggani). This is also the reason why people here speaks Ilocano and not the usual Bisaya.
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| New La Union |
For the price of Php 150 / each we were able to experience White Water Tubing at its best, just right after the rain. Now we know why it was raining earlier that day, so we could have a higher water level and the best rapids! Everything does happen for a reason. :)
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| Wicked Rapids! |
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| With the Best Guide, Kuya Bans |
After a quick shower a.k.a. banlaw, we again got on our expensive habal-habal ride and was dropped off the van terminal that is bound to General Santos (Php 80). We arrived at General Santos, took a tricycle to KCC mall (Php 10) and had our lunch at around 3 PM.
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| Dessert at KCC Mall |
Because Amigotel said that their generators are not working and there is a rotating brownout in GenSan (I appreciate their honesty), we decided to stay in Jovinaj Travellers Inn which is a Php 8 tricycle ride away from KCC mall. We took the De Luxe room (Php 1,150) with hot and cold shower and free wifi.
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| Jovinaj Travellers Inn |
After utilizing their free wifi service, we decided to go out and eat our dinner at Antipolo BBQ Station, an idea I got from Chasing Philippines. It is the best Isaw I have ever tasted, not to mention cheapest. Each BBQ and Isaw stick costs only Php 5. Antipolo BBQ station doesnt have fork and spoon available, so everyone must eat with their bare hands. Something me and my friends enjoyed so much that we probably consumed the most number of bbq and isaw in our entire lives.
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| Antipolo BBQ Station |
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| BBQ at Isaw |
After consuming 7 sticks of ihaw-ihaw goodness, we walked around and as if we were not full enough, we bought green mango and tuna siomai from the vendors around Gaisano Mall.
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| Green Mango and Tuna Siomai |
In our last night in SOCSKSARGEN, we again took advantage of the good food this region has to offer. We then resigned to our room to once again utilize the fast internet at Jovinaj and to wake up early so as not to be late for our flight back to reality.
The rest of the SOCSKSARGEN Experience:
