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Mindanao is my native land. This is where I belong, feel secure and am at peace. To be in Mindanao is to feel the embrace of a warm, soft blanket.

Mindanaoan - Blogging the REAL Mindanao!


Mindanaoan is off to yet another fun adventure! Mindanaoan will be off to the Queen City of the South – Cebu City - today to take part in this year’s colorful Sinulog 2010 or what’s dubbed as the Sinulog at 30.

Here’s hoping that I will have a safe trip today via Philippine Airlines (Mindanaoan’s favorite airline as of late). Nay, make that a trip that will push through! I’m a bit worried because it’s been rainy the past few days and I heard about the Cebu Pacific Air passengers who got stranded at the CDO airport. Hundreds of passengers who were supposed to be bound for Cebu were reportedly left to fend for themselves as the airline refused to provide food and accommodation because, according to the Cebu Pacific Airlines management, they weren’t obliged to provide anything especially if the flight got canceled due to force majeur. Ouch!

Anyways, I hope that my flight will be safe and smooth. I have lots of activities lined up in Cebu City and I cannot wait to join in the Sinulog 2010 festivities!

Will you be in Cebu City as well? Let me know :)

And for my Cebuano readers — if you have any tips for me (where to go, what to do, what to buy, where to eat etc) please, please feel free to share them! :)

By the way, for those of you who want to check out what you can do during the Sinulog Festival 2010, here’s a copy of the Sinulog 2010 schedule of activities: (click on the image for a larger view)

Cebu City here I come!

Sinulog-2010-schedule-of-events

So yes, Mindanaoan was in Metro Manila for two days. Hence, the obvious lull here in my humble blog. My two-day Manila trip was a surprise Christmas gift from two very special friends whom you’ll learn more about in the next few days. Needless to say, the trip was the most expensive one I received this year…and the sweetest impromptu gift, I must admit.

For now, I’d like to share some of the shots I took last December 23, 2009 at SM Mall of Asia, considered the 3rd largest mall in the world.

Truly, the festive Christmas spirit can be felt at MOA!

I did a little bit of Christmas shopping there, watched “Avatar” at IMAX 3D theater, ate at a relatively new restaurant and bought Krispy Kreme for pasalubong. I wanted to visit Trinoma, too, but 2 days just isn’t enough!

Anyways, here are some of the photos I took while I was at MOA.

Here’s a shot of the huge Christmas tree by the bay:

christmas-at-mall-of-asia-4

And here’s a shot of the uber tall Christmas tree inside Mall of Asia:

xmas-tree-at-mall-of-asia-1

More photos after the jump…

Continue reading →

Summer is drawing near and I’m pretty sure that most, if not all, of you are thinking of places to go to during those hot summer days. And with airlines now offering more flights to and fro Camiguin Island, Mindanao, I’m sure many of you are considering the place dubbed as the “Island Born of Fire” as one of your summer destinations in the Philippines

tiascamiguinTia’s Beach Resort in the Island of Camiguin, Northern Mindanao, Philippines can be considered a good place to stay especially if you’re on a budget. The last time my mother, brothers and I stayed there was last year during the Holy Week. We planned to go to Camiguin at the last minute so practically most of the hotels and inns were already fully booked. Good thing my brother remembered Tia’s Beach Resort and how he and his friends liked staying there. We ended up getting the very last available cottage – good for a family of 5. We paid roughly P1,000 per night. Not bad, right?

Tia’s Beach Resort is located in Tapon, Poblacion, Barangay Mambajao, Camiguin Island. I think others call the place Tia’s Beach Cottages. By the way, Tia’s also has another branch which they call Tia’s Pension House. That one’s not along the shore, though.

The nipa-and-wood cottage we paid for had an airconditioning unit, three beds (we got two extra beds for P100 a bed), an electric stand fan, beddings, a clean shower room and comfort room, a mini veranda and a sink which can also double as a mini kitchen. The friendly staff can only provide a roll of tissue paper and two sachets of shampoo so if you have a large group, don’t forget to bring some toiletries with you.

Tia’s has a restaurant which serves good and affordable food. You can also request the kitchen staff to whip up something special like the scrambled eggs with tomatoes we requested them to cook for us. Their restaurant also has a videoke machine so feel free to sing your heart out.

Tia’s Beach Resort Camiguin is also near the Mambajao Public Market so if you want to buy fresh seafoods or do some groceries, you can easily do so.

Perhaps the only thing that some travelers might not like about staying at Tia’s is the fact that you need to walk roughly 150 meters before you can reach “the main road” (or at least the parola area where there are several other restaurants and public utility vehicles for hire) – unless, of course, if you’re bringing your own private vehicle. Actually, you need to cross the Mambajao Airport strip (I kid you not!) before you can reach Tia’s. Don’t worry, though, the airport strip isn’t used very often. Besides, a guard will also warn you if an airplane’s about to land.

Anyways, bottom line is — Tia’s Beach Resort Camiguin Island is safe, clean, has friendly and courteous personnel and has very affordable rates. I recommend staying at Tia’s to barkadas, budget travelers and large families.

For more hotel reviews by Mindanaoan, please check this page. Don’t forget to subscribe to Mindanaoan so you can always be kept updated with the latest here in the island. Just enter your email address below. Salamat! :)

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Listen up, all you Havaianas fans! There’s a day-long treat in store for all of you in a Havaianas Beach Resort and Spa somewhere in Samal (or should I say Island Garden City of Samal – IGaCOS) Davao City, Mindanao…but only if you write a one-page essay stating why you love your Havaianas. You must email that essay along with three creative photos of you wearing your Havaianas pair/s to martish.marketing@gmail.com and if you’re lucky, you get to spend a whole day Havaianas adventure in Samal on March 21, 2009 (Saturday). Deadline for submission of entries is on March 14, 2009. By the way, winners, their friends and VIP media guests will be grouped into teams during the island event and the champion team will receive P20,000.00 cash. Exclusive Havaianas items will also be given away as minor prizes. Interested? Check out the poster below (CLICK on the poster for a larger view):

havaianas-davao-event

Good luck Mindanaoan! Did you like this post? Subscribe to Mindanaoan and be updated with the latest events, contests, happenings and many more!

Good news Mindanaoan travelers! If you’ve been meaning to visit bustling Hong Kong or clean and beautiful Singapore then now is the time to travel! Cebu Pacific Air is offering another round of its infamous zero fare promo for Davao-Hongkong (and vice versa) and Davao-Singapore flights! The seat sale promo starts today, January 16, 2009 up to January 22, 2009. There are 70,000 seats available for Cebu Pacific Air’s international seat sale so that’s 70,000 chances for you to travel to your Asian destination of choice!

Actually, the airline is offering zero fares for flights to Bangkok, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, Kaohsiung, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Shanghai and Taipei as well. Pretty exciting deal, eh?

I did a mock reservation just a few minutes ago for a Davao to Singapore flight. For round trip tickets, I was only billed roughly P6,000. Same goes for the mock reservation I did for a Davao to Hong Kong trip. Not bad for an international trip, I must say!

This zero fare promo is valid for travel from February 1 to March 31, 2009. Do note that this is nonrefundable, and is exclusive of applicable surcharges and government taxes.

So what are you waiting for fellow Mindanaoan? Grab this opportunity now and expand your horizons!

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