A Day Tour @ Kutang Bato

It was with uncertain excitement when a cousin dragged us to Cotabato City, cutting our leisure trip of Davao.  I was told Cotabato City is 4 hours drive from Davao City. We left shortly after early dawn and arrived at the earliest morning. It was not so 4 hours. Cousin drove so fast I swear we made it in less than 3 hours.




And guess what welcomed our initial sight of the city? Living to the image of  Cotabato ==> an armored car (a tank) !!!. .joining the traffic as if it was just an ordinary vehicle!. .or was it really just another transportation to the eyes of the locals who are used of seeing camouflage cars on a daily basis? Must be. .

Strangely enough, the moment I stepped a foot to this city, I immediately felt like I wasn't in my comfort zone. It felt like I was in a foreign land. Not in my own country. It didn't help that the locals are actually tagalog speaking.  Definitely this is a Muslim city. I was not sure if it was the armored car or the local covered women or the fierce image that Cotabato has allover the country, but my self preservation told me to camouflage. I wanted to go around the town unnoticeable as possible. I had this weird imagination that if I would be seen differently, I would be punished, haha.

Anyway, I asked my dear cousin to first of all bring me to a store where I could buy a scarf  like the ones being worn by the local Muslim women around their heads.

I had fun choosing over pretty stylish head coverings.  I settled in buying ordinary scarves that I could use in my trips.

So on our next stop ( a beautiful mosque in the city), with my head already covered just like the locals, I felt I achieved my camouflaging well. Then we went to the airport, just to see , and I saw how heavily guarded it was with armed security people around, I chose not to use my camera in the airport premises.

It was nearing lunch so cousin brought us to his house here. Currently a resident cos he married a local of this city. Remember my post about the Ampatuan's mansions in Davao City? Same thing here. This another cousin resides too, near the mansion of Ampatuan here in Cotabato City. Above photo was the state of the said mansion during my visit. Again, similar to Davao's mansion, it looked abandon and unfinished.




Then we went to Notre Dame University which is the oldest college in the city. The campus was huge and looked like pretty close to a UP campus I've seen somewhere in the country but not as big as the Diliman. My cousin-in-law proudly toured us around the campus. It wasn't a tourist attraction but cousin-in-law wanted to show us where she had graduated. Ahhh. . .okey.

More driving around.  There was no familiar Philippine jeepney here like the ones in the roads of Manila and other cities of our country. Instead, colored modified vans ( lite ace? ) could be seen in the roads of the city as the regular mode of public transportation.




We got off the car to check the new city hall of Cotabato City.

It looked beautifully Arabic with white high pillars.

Next we stopped at the other fortress of power in this side of the political Ph. The ARMM. ( not really in that order. I forgot which came first among all those stops we made).




This too conveyed a unique architecture of the south. Only it 's not as pinky and grand like the ARMM in Maguindanao.

We passed by a bridge, a huge one, and I saw locals spending their afternoon at the sides. Standing and sitting looking out to the sea , might be taking a fresh? ocean breeze? You know how in Manila people enjoy passing their afternoons at the baywalk? The scene looked like that.




Then to cap our day tour of the historical city of Cotabato, cousin nudged me to take a photo of this hill with houses sitting on it. Why??? Cos it's the Kutang Bato. Exactly where the very name of this city was derived. Underneath it, he added, are the kutang bato caves can be found. 

So there. I'm ending this veryveryvery long (photo loaded) post of Cotabato City. And am so thankful cousin made it  possible for me to experience a day in the City of  Cotabato .

Memory Lane

Memory Lane at Tagaytay is one stop dine-shop-spa-salon place owned by the family of a local movie celebrity Jolina Magdangal. The Magdangal mom was even there during our visit, attending the cashier.

My girls fell in love with the vintage 50's/60's theme of the place. Memory Lane is seriously cottage-y /country home through and through. The girls took loads of photos of every corner.

The main house was full when we arrived at the place.

We were escorted to the annex house located at the back of the main house. I think this one is being used for private gatherings

The vintage cottage house vibe is liquefying up to here. The table linens reminded me of old country kitchen I've seen in the magazines. Foods laterlaterlater @ My 3rd & 7th Sense.




vintage hollywood posters on the walls




vintage trinkets corner with the family-owner portrait

mini shop found at the main house



selling cd collections of the celebrity-owner

the salon which looks like just another beauty parlor in a small town. . .

is actually very city-ish  according to their menu price tags.



I really thought_ the place looked so familiar and was pretty sure it wasn't my first visit. Until I found this photo taken a year or two ago. haha. Now I remember, we went there to eat breakfast but the place was still close. They are only serving lunch and dinner.


Valentine's day is up in the air, I know couples are busy googling for a place to dine. I would have had suggested this place if it's only all about  it's pretty vintage thematic ambiance. But the sad news is I'm ververyvery disappointed about the food which personally I think counts a lot in a date. Until Memory Lane hasn't step up in food category, I don't think this place deserves a romantic page down your memory lane.

Superstar Virgo

Welcome aboard the Superstar Virgo. One of the Star Cruise's  ships which sails from Singapore on to the seas of neighboring Asian countries.

If only we had this kind of cruise in our country I would have had done it earlier. Oops, just now I googled just to make sure and have to stand corrected, cos I gathered that we actually have cruise here that locally crossing our seas. It's like island hopping ( I'm personally proud of our island beaches here in the Philippines, so far they are still the best for me) only this time you get to board on a cruise ship. Maybe I'll try that one soon. 

From Manila, I had to fly to Singapore to avail this cruise. We boarded at the HarbourFront Centre in Sg.

I rarely board a ship. The last before this ( if my failing memory serves me right), and the only time I experienced one was decade ago going to one of the cities in Mindanao. It was a passenger ship. It had a pool on a roof deck and a ballroom. Then nothing else. It was huge thu'. 

But never as grand as this Superstar Virgo!!!!

If I would ignore the body of water surrounding this vessel, I would easily forget that I was on a ship but felt more like in one of the finest hotels instead. 

More so especially inside the ship. Everything looked so "landed". . by that I meant like really forgetting that I was afloat in the  middle of  an ocean somewhere.

We stayed in a balcony class cabin. Apart from the obvious comforts of the room, this cabin class also went with some privileges. Like we didn't have to stress ourselves with eternity long queue of  custom and check-in. 

The private balcony combats the usual claustrophobic tension during the cruise one would feel in a regular closed window cabin. It was also a big treat that I needed not to go out of the room and walk long  to an open deck just to breath some ocean fresh air. 

It didn't stop me thu' to take a walk  up in the uppermost deck.

Aside from the grand Parthenon Pool ( 2nd&3rd photos ), there was a kiddie pool for the littlest swimmers.

One could stay forever in a cruise like this and would never run out of things to do for entertainment. Duty free shopping, casino, spa, library, gym. .  . . endless dots of amenities.

We caught some dance and acrobatics shows at the theater.

foods at my food blog *laterlater*

Cruise fine dining required dressing up. You know me, I travel light and didn't bring appropriate get ups. So I tweaked some and somehow halfway able.

These random cutees were simply adorable. Couldn't resist but to snap on them (hope parents won't mind).

Ofcourse this cruise is not all about offshore. Later you can drop again cos I'll share to you some beautiful places_ off the ship, that went with this cruise.

see ya.