I must say I have never ever been petrified to the extent that I was thanks to the warnings of some well meaning souls. The minute I landed in Cotabato airport which is very small and low tech, I had this immense fear suppressing my rationality. It was a wonder that I could actually understood sole taxi-driver who approached me at the airport, Piong. "Taxi, ma'am?" he asked. I must have looked practically white in the face. But I recovered quickly enough when he told me what the cost was. It was Php 2500.00. This was exorbitant I thought, but it was the only way to get to Tacurong unless I wanted to squeeze in with 10 other people on a very unstable van with luggage. This is not a reflection of class either I just had too many bags to manage. Yes, luggage can make life miserable. In total I was carrying about 30 kg of basic amenities to sustain me for 6 months. 2 kilogrammes of spices and curry powder which my partner is convinced is unnecessary. It is early days yet and I intend to live where I can cook. Of course, it is not enough, but thank god for luggage restrictions on planes.
Taxi man, Piong brought along an assistant who hardly spoke to me except to point out the various municipals we whizzed through. I had been warned the night before of all the kinds of dangers which could occur on the road to Tacurong. This also most made me miss the grogeous view of the mountains and the open fields of vegetation. This is rice planting land, though I think they use GM seeds because each patch of paddy had a ridiculous foreign sounding plaque announcing its identity. But the fileds were beautiful, rolling hills and the road is in great condition.
Every kilometre was punctuated by a military check point. Soldier with automatic rifles guarded these areas and flagged down most vehicles. I was riding in an aged white MPV that has seemed worse due to the dirty condition of the exterior. The quality of the air was amazing, compared to Manila which is polluted. The verdant paddy fields were lush with young paddy and many traditional looking houses lined the ribbon like road which wove through many municipals and barangays (villages). People were selling things in makeshift stalls all made out of oil palm fronds, beautiful weaving. I did not take any photographs due to my overwhelming fear of having my camera confiscated, I do not know if this was warranted or not.
So I fervently noted the areas we passed through, but my geography is appalling so I need to retrace my route via a proper map. However, we did pass through an important land mark. The Magindanao Massacre
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguindanao_massacre) was a gruesome kidnapping and murder of politicians and journos in 2009. It is still fresh in the minds of the people here as Piong pointed out the area to me. I must say, I went white for the second time in a day. The possibility of violence and danger is ever present here due to the struggle for power and how easily weapons are available. I saw three stores selling ammunition and fire-arms on my way to an appointment.
I checked into Beldent Star Hotel (mid range hotel costing about Php 850 per night with hot water and cable television). I walked around in Tacurong city which has a thriving public market and millions of people. It is a commercial hub with many shops. I had many stares which made me very uncomfortable. I guess I just shrugged it off and walked around town, I saw yummy pastries displayed behind thick clean glass. I saw many local eateries promoting sislig and steak.
I decided to take a safe option and went to Jollibee, a fast food joint which claims unappealingly to have globalized the world. I met my contact Dennis Merigles who is most kind and helpful. He has single-handedly provided me with so many contacts and ideas. I think I have been most fortunate.
The one area which I wish I was a lot more fortunate is food. Yes, I am missing curries, sambals and spice. The food here is mild and very simple. There is a lot of western food and plenty of meat. I can only have bangus (milk fish as it is called here). I always eat white rice, some cucumber and delicately fried bangus. The rice here is amazing! The quality is fabulous, there are many varieties of them. I plan to check out the common market tomorrow as it is Saturday and observe the locals on a market day.
I am looking for accommodation because I really want to start eating my own food. I will not survive on bangus and it may affect my sanity. I wish I could post pictures but it really is not opportune for me to act like a tourist. So my words will depict the sights.
Taxi man, Piong brought along an assistant who hardly spoke to me except to point out the various municipals we whizzed through. I had been warned the night before of all the kinds of dangers which could occur on the road to Tacurong. This also most made me miss the grogeous view of the mountains and the open fields of vegetation. This is rice planting land, though I think they use GM seeds because each patch of paddy had a ridiculous foreign sounding plaque announcing its identity. But the fileds were beautiful, rolling hills and the road is in great condition.
Every kilometre was punctuated by a military check point. Soldier with automatic rifles guarded these areas and flagged down most vehicles. I was riding in an aged white MPV that has seemed worse due to the dirty condition of the exterior. The quality of the air was amazing, compared to Manila which is polluted. The verdant paddy fields were lush with young paddy and many traditional looking houses lined the ribbon like road which wove through many municipals and barangays (villages). People were selling things in makeshift stalls all made out of oil palm fronds, beautiful weaving. I did not take any photographs due to my overwhelming fear of having my camera confiscated, I do not know if this was warranted or not.
So I fervently noted the areas we passed through, but my geography is appalling so I need to retrace my route via a proper map. However, we did pass through an important land mark. The Magindanao Massacre
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguindanao_massacre) was a gruesome kidnapping and murder of politicians and journos in 2009. It is still fresh in the minds of the people here as Piong pointed out the area to me. I must say, I went white for the second time in a day. The possibility of violence and danger is ever present here due to the struggle for power and how easily weapons are available. I saw three stores selling ammunition and fire-arms on my way to an appointment.
I checked into Beldent Star Hotel (mid range hotel costing about Php 850 per night with hot water and cable television). I walked around in Tacurong city which has a thriving public market and millions of people. It is a commercial hub with many shops. I had many stares which made me very uncomfortable. I guess I just shrugged it off and walked around town, I saw yummy pastries displayed behind thick clean glass. I saw many local eateries promoting sislig and steak.
I decided to take a safe option and went to Jollibee, a fast food joint which claims unappealingly to have globalized the world. I met my contact Dennis Merigles who is most kind and helpful. He has single-handedly provided me with so many contacts and ideas. I think I have been most fortunate.
The one area which I wish I was a lot more fortunate is food. Yes, I am missing curries, sambals and spice. The food here is mild and very simple. There is a lot of western food and plenty of meat. I can only have bangus (milk fish as it is called here). I always eat white rice, some cucumber and delicately fried bangus. The rice here is amazing! The quality is fabulous, there are many varieties of them. I plan to check out the common market tomorrow as it is Saturday and observe the locals on a market day.
I am looking for accommodation because I really want to start eating my own food. I will not survive on bangus and it may affect my sanity. I wish I could post pictures but it really is not opportune for me to act like a tourist. So my words will depict the sights.
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