I arrived just in time at Terminal 3, problem is our flight was delayed because of “aircraft situation.” But this thing won’t dampen my spirit as this is the first day of my Mindanao Challenge. For those of you who don’t know it yet, MINDANAO CHALLENGE Php400 is a solo backpacking trip touring SOCSKSARGEN, DAVAO REGION and CARAGA for 16 days, spending only Php400 or less on everything- food, accommodation, transpo, etc…
Three unforgettable things happened today:
1. Airplane Surprise! My seat mates in the Cebu Pacific airplane were surprised to learn that I was the one they are reading on Smile magazine. And so they offered me some bread, thanks Ezekiel and Arjel. Blessings on your mission trip. I wrote an article about my 3-day budget trip on Zamboanga City. It comes with a suggested itinerary, daily expenses, foods to try and backpacker’s tip. Grab a copy while on board Cebu Pacific.
Tweet: Seatmates are smiling when they saw my article on Smile mag. Thanks @cebupacificair for publishing my Zamboanga budget travel article
My first article with Cebu Pacific Smile magazine (Shoestring Diaries: Zamboanga City On A Budget)
2. Surprise, its the Mayor! I was surprised to have talked with the Hon. Darlene Antonino-Custodio while I was hanging out at General Santos City Hall. Thanks to Bariles of GenSantos.com!
As I said in my tweet, Mayor Darlene is so “warm and down-to-earth.” She is so simple and welcoming. During our simple chat, I learned that she loves the outdoors. Hats-off Ma’am Darlene!
Btw, if you don’t know her, she s the one who beat Cong.Pacquiao during the 2007 congressional race for South Cotabato.
JourneyingJames meets Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio
3. Surprise Dinner. I had a very sumptuous dinner at Piyesta with bloggers in the area (they call themselves SOXBloggers, short for SOCSKSARGEN bloggers). Its funny to note that we are introduced by our URLs. Nice to meet gensanboy.com, gandaeversomuch.com, gensantos.com and kikaymuch.me.
JourneyingJames with SOX Bloggers
Tweet: Lami gyud ng pancit, fried chicken, tuna shanghai, sweet n sour pork & kurasticks sa piyesta, robinsons.
Thanks you so much Kuya Avel for your generous accommodation and for lending me your laptop so I can blog my Day 1 experience.
Expenses for Today: Php50
Php 50 – Multi-cab fare (GenSan Airport – GenSan City Hall)
Dinner – c/o gensanboy.com
Accommodation c/o gensantos.com and gandaeversomuch.com. Thanks to CouchSurfing!
Word for Today:
Lami gyud. Very delicious! Use when you like the food that was served.
Reflection for Today:
“Peace comes from being at home with ourselves… It comes from accepting ourselves and celebrating all that is good, while working on that which needs to change… Peace comes from being loved and having the satisfaction of achievement and the challenge of new goals.” (Dare to Journey by Charles Ringma, Reflection 51)
Ang nice ng mga taga-Gen San noh? Miss na miss ko na sila dyan wah but i’m going back this September for the S3X Tour III 😛 Are you going too?
Sayang wala akong Cebu Pac trip this month. Hindi ako makakakuha ng copy ng Smile Mag 😐 Congrats on your first published Smile feature 😀
YES! YES! YES! i dont think i can come sa s3x tour.
thanks thanks! sana may kasunod pa. paging SMILE 🙂
congrats on your Cebu Pac Smile article, James! good luck, ingat and enjoy the rest of your trip, mukhang success first day mo. P50 lang! 🙂
thanks brenna! oo nga, unbelievable. di ako pinabayaan ni kuya avel. salamat po ulit bosing bariles
wow… VIP treatment! puntahan mo si pacman!
oo nga! gusto ko makita si aling dionisia! hahaha
wohoooo wow bilis naman maka blog 🙂 day 1 50 pesos lang!!! 🙂 ang galing!!!! enjoy Gensan, Saranganni and Davao….
i really did enjoyed. let me know kapag may burgers na sa piYESta ha! i will order one.hahaha
Wow! You’ve reached Gensan already. I was really waiting for you to blog Gensan kasi I was reading all your tweets. =) Galing! Can’t wait to read another blog kung ssan ka next sa Mindanao. Punta ka na siguro Davao.
You inspire me a lot to visit other places in Philippines. Ang galing! I was sharing it with my friends to go backpacking during our short breaks.
Ingats! Ride Yellow Bus to Davao. =)
wow, thanks a lot! i hope they would be encouraged to backpack the country.
you’re blog was of help when i was still preparing for the trip. salamat ulit!
pag ganyan ng ganyan di ka na magugutom, makakatipid ka pa! ingat sa susunod na leg
oo nga, baka naman wala ng magbasa kung puro pasarap ako noh? hahaha
thanks jerome!
Wow James sikat ka na talaga!!! Congrats and looking forward to getting the Cebu Pacific SMILE Mag to give me that smile for knowing daming familiar faces sa June 2011 issue. I actually collect the Mag but hasn’t taken Cebu yet for the month.
simpleng byahero lang po, just wanted to promote zamboanga city and the goodness of my muslim friends in rio hondo.
yep, familiar faces and names sa june 2011 smile issue. kudos SMILE! you made us smile 🙂
Haha laki pala ng picture mo sa Smile galeng. Cute ni Mayor Darlene ah…nice you met Sir Avel and Oman, Marz, Donna and si GensanBoy. Wonderful people indeed.
oo nga, dalawa pa. salamat talaga SMILE! maganda si mayor darlene and very simple.
What a great start to your Mindanao Challenge! Have fun James! Can’t wait to your next posts… 🙂
oo nga eh! thanks for following the adventures.
This is awesome. Ang galeng mo! Ang sarap ng adventure na yan with only 400 Pesos for 16 days. Astig! Kudos!:-)
yeah! thanks nonoy, hope you can share it to others. daghang salamat!
astig! ang babaet nila..
wow! Sosyalin si James! Nice welcome ah 😀
50 pesos?! waaah! ambangis
ang taray ng P50, swakto!
Congrats James. Avel also invited us to visit Gensan. We’re just neighboring province. Waiting for the next post.:-).
congratulations James!
wow nice sir james. i just read yesterday your article in Smile mag when I was on my way here in Iloilo via Cebupac. Kudos to you, GL on your journeys!
thanks jeff! see you on the road.. di na ako nakakatakbo
Congrats po sa article nyo.. 🙂 galing nyo…
Ibang klase.. nameet nyo po si mayor?… 🙂
thanks tripper! yes, i met the mayor. she’s cute!haha
Hehe.. Cute nga po siya…
Thanks po sa Pag-share…:)