Kampong Glam: Wandering Singapore’s Arab Quarter

Singapore’s small size belies the cultural diversity evidenced by its traditional ethnic quarters. This entry will be the first of hopefully three parts – with this first one covering Kampong Glam, a traditional Muslim enclave which has seen recent gentrification due to its proximity to the downtown core.

the sultan mosque – you can’t miss it!

One need not go far to witness something resembling more of the Near East in this Southeast Asian tropical island. In Kampong Glam, minarets and hookah joints prevail over churches and coffeeshops. To be sure, it feels foreign while still maintaining the orderliness and efficiency that Singapore is known all over the world for.

One Day in Cebu

My trips lately seem to be getting shorter and my recent one in Cebu takes the cake! This stopover was actually spontaneous, as my SilkAir flight got delayed in Cebu by several hours. Rather than sulking at the airport, I decided to go out and see what this city had to offer – for 5 hours. To my surprise, I later found this to be a do-able timeframe for exploring this fine city.

fuerza de san pedro

Despite being the Philippines’ second city (after Manila), I had never been to Cebu previously. This is a shame as the city and its surrounds has so much to offer – from bustling and cosmopolitan urban vibe to near-transparent waters just 30 minutes from the city center.

The Six Travel Buddies From Hell

You know who they are. You set off for your trip, with high hopes of the places you’ll go and the things you’ll get to do. And why not? You have the backing of a few people who you’re going with – either friends of yours or other travelers you met along the way. Easy to get along with – or so you thought. A week or two afterwards however and these same people end up bringing misery to your trip with a capital M.  And somehow, somewhere, you end up with a sense of buyer’s remorse.

there’s no doubt that traveling with others has a lot of benefits… but don’t let the disadvantages outweigh it!

And so, without further ado, I present to you the six worst travel buddies that you can have (and I’m not even mentioning the usual culprits here).

One Night in Davao

I arrived in the southern city of Davao on an evening flight from Cagayan de Oro. It was just a short hop over the same island and barely took an hour. The bright lights from the landmass below  greeted us on our plane’s final approach, indicating to me that Davao is a much larger city than I had previously thought.

welcome to davao city!

davao at night

My initial impression of the city as we headed to the hotel was one of relative cleanliness and general sense of order which I definitely couldn’t say for most of the Philippines’ large cities. It’s a lot denser than what I had expected but nevertheless, there exists only one true high rise in the city, the Marco Polo Hotel which is also the tallest building in Mindanao.

Enchanting Hagimit Falls and the Mysterious Vanishing Sandbar in Samal Island

The people of Davao City are blessed to have a resort island so close to the city. Currently dubbed as the “Island Garden City of Samal,” this elongated island is just a few kilometers away from Davao CBD and immediately transports visitors from the hustle and bustle of the city to turquoise-colored waters, enchanting waterfalls and other natural sights.

hagimit falls in samal island

Asia’s Longest Dual Zipline, Pineapples and Alpine Scenery in Bukidnon

Mindanao is not known as the bread basket of the country for no reason. All sorts of agricultural produce are grown here, and most notable are the bananas and pineapples which are exported all over the world. Most of the bananas and pineapples here in Singapore come from the Philippines, and I found the same to be the case in Hong Kong, Japan and New Zealand. What really surprised me though, were the bananas from the Philippines I saw being sold in the roadside fruit stalls in Iran, of all places.

the mountanous terrain of the province offers some spectacular views

Most of the plantations are concentrated in the central and southern part of the island. I visited one of these sites recently, in the landlocked province of Bukidnon. Although very scenic, the province has remained mostly agricultural until only recently when the longest zipline in Asia was built along with a couple of mountainside hotels.

Camiguin: the Island of Fire

A recent 6-day trip to Mindanao took me to Camiguin, that small pea-shaped island just off Cagayan de Oro City. I had wanted to come here for the longest time, friends and acquaintances only have good things to say about the wide variety of activities that this small province (the Philippine’s second smallest) has to offer. Camiguin is also known as the “island of fire” due to the presence of not one, or two but seven volcanoes in just 230 square kilometers of land!

sunken cemetery in camiguin

There are two popular ways to get to Camiguin – both involve passing thru Cagayan de Oro, where there are frequent direct air connections to Manila, Cebu and Davao. The first and quickest option is to take a fast craft (2 hours; departs at 8:30AM daily) from Cagayan de Oro for roughly Php 500 but since departures only occur in the early mornings, the most used method is the second one which entails a one-hour slow ferry from Balingoan (a small town that is about 2 hours drive from CDO) for Php 170 which takes you to Benoni in Southeastern Camiguin. The departures here are more frequent, and average about every 45 minutes in the mornings and afternoons.

Discovering Singapore’s Outlying Islands

all aboard!

… and I’m not talking about Sentosa here. What most people don’t realize is that Singapore isn’t just made up of just one island (or two, if you count Sentosa). Believe it or not, this tiny city-state is actually made up of 63 islands — most of them being uninhabited! I had the chance to check out some of these islands last year with friends and it showed me yet another side of Singapore that I hadn’t known previously despite living here for several years.

A short ferry ride from the Marina South Pier via Island Cruise (SGD 15, roundtrip, inclusive of stops) transports one from the hustle and bustle of an ultramodern city to tiny, mythical tropical islands lined with lush palm trees and some of the best beaches in Singapore. The ferry ride took us to three of the more well-known southern islands (aside from Sentosa). First stop was the larger St. John’s Island – a great getaway for those planning for a swim and/or a picnic.