Visiting this premier city of the south over the long holidays means missing out on seeing some of its main attractions.I 'm not expecting vintas (they sparingly make an appearance -- only during special festivals and on postcards) but I was hoping to at least be able to visit the Fort Pilar Museum (closed) and the stilt village of Rio Hondo (no barangay official was around when we visited). But it isn't to say that we didn't enjoy our stay in Zamboanga, the so-called exotic pearl of Southern Philippines.
The city's other moniker is city of flowers which comes from the Malay word "jambangan" or land of flowers. But it is also likely that the name comes from Samboangan, from "samboang" meaning 'boat pole' and "an" or 'place'.The Yakan Village was mercifully open throughout the holiday interim. Located in the outskirts of the city center, it can be reached via jeep or the most common mode of transportation, the tricycle, in 35-45 minutes.S eeing the colorful, eye-catching (and most coveted) woven wares, it became very tempting to splurge even though I'm not big on bringing home souvenirs. Still, I wasn't able to resist taking home like a dozen small items as it would be a pity not to patronize these wonderful sellers and their acclaimed wares.
In any case, we were using Zamboanga City as our jump-off point for Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, and later on, Dipolog up north. We found our home in Amil's which is walking distance to the popular Mindpro Citimall but lies on the quieter street of Pilar.
In any case, we were using Zamboanga City as our jump-off point for Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, and later on, Dipolog up north. We found our home in Amil's which is walking distance to the popular Mindpro Citimall but lies on the quieter street of Pilar. Info: Amil's Pension House, tel. nos. 992.4296 and 992.0730 • Thanks to Jens Peters' guide for some of the info I used for this post.
13 comments:
I've been following your posts lately, eagerly waiting for your Bongao adventure. This is a mere teaser.
While I have been lucky to visit the South numerous times but always on limited and rigid schedules. It must be exciting to be there just for leisure.
hindi pala madalas makita ang vintas? sayang naman.
wow! ganda pala dyan bro. nag-iba rin tingin ko sa mindanao simula ng makita ko mga post nyo ferdz.
Even if some establishments were closed, it was interesting to see zamboanga during d holidays.
farl, daghan salamat bai. will do the posts as time allows.
pao, sa postcards lang nagreregular appearance ang mga vintas bro, hahaha
erick, i think the bigger aim in posting these mindanao accounts is to change people's mindset about the place :)
wulfriend, onga eh. masarap din kumain going from one place to another kasi :D
it's so odd to think that i grew up in that region yet never had the chance to visit the yakan village in zamboanga.
but originally yakans are from basilan. so expect more of those clothes in basilan.
thanks to this oggie.
Hi! I would just like to ask how was your stay at Amil's. I will be going to Zamboanga next month and am in the middle of doing some research on places to stay. Thanks! =)
Hi Kat, Amil's is a clean, cool, pleasant place to stay in. Very near the center where the stores and mall are, also walking distance to the pier. Mabait at madaling kausap. For our return trip from Tawi-Tawi, a text message was all it took to book a room.
That's great to know! =) Do you know the price range of their rooms? By the way, did you get an air-conditioned room or fan room lang? Thanks again. :)
Kat, we got the air conditioned rooms which cost like, if I remembered correctly, in the vicinity of 800-1000, twin beds, tv inroom.
Thank you so much for the info. Thank you also for posting about Zamboanga. It's really helpful. =)
Kat, you're welcome. I just checked my notes from my trip way back then and the twin bed, air conditioned room at amil's then cost P1,000 per night.
Hi Oggie!
Wow! I really appreciate your help. =)
Post a Comment