Traveling and living in Mindanao, The Philippines
by The Longest Way Home ~ February 6th, 2010. Filed under: How to live overseas, Philippines.
Children fishing in Davao
To most people looking at the Philippines, from overseas, there are pristine beaches, lush rice terraces and all manner of diving opportunities. But, there is also one giant black spot; Mindanao. Just about every country has it black listed as a no go area.
It’s not my place as a traveller to get into internal politics nor disputes. Nor do I fill my journal here with such writings.
The basic outline is that there are several internal conflicts in the region resulting in kidnappings, prison breaks, bombings and other not so peaceful actions. Including the killing of more journalists than anywhere else in the world as of late 2009.
Rural Bus in Mindanao
Local bamboo ferry
Indeed in 2008 the President declared it a warzone, its still one today in certain regions. Or at least under emergency rule at one time or another – just don’t tell anyone as you’d never guess it was!
So what better place for me to go and live in for a while?
In truth it has nothing to do with it being a warzone more than it is unexplored. The place is not visited that often by tourists, nor travelers. Davao, is an exception and an extremely safe city. As is Cagayan de Oro which is the gateway to Camiguin island. Even Zamboanga City to the far west is a safe place, if you know how to travel safely.
I’ve found Mindanao to have more indigenous festivals than any other region in The Philippines. There are cool forested regions, the food is good and never have a I seen any misgivings. The army is certainly more present in Mindanao than anywhere else, but then that’s a good thing considering the troubles there. Stop and search procedures on buses take place regularly, though never very thoroughly.
Having lived and traveled in other hot zones like West Africa, Pakistan and during the riots in Tibet I
The Army is a presence in Mindanao
know all too well the pluses and minuses of such regions.
- They can be expensive due to the fact that few tourists go there, so the accommodation is usually equipped only for the business class.
- The people can be shy due to the over cautious attitude often needed in such places.
- As a foreigner I stand out and am talked about more than anyone else. My movements noted, and I will be the center of all things gossipy. This can be good, and bad. But I know how to handle it.
- Getting to some areas may be difficult, due to both communication and transport changes in such regions. e.g. Not everyone will quite understand why I would want to go into the highlands …
Devoid of backpackers, tour groups and package tourists Mindanao offers a refreshing cultural aspect of the Philippines that many people simply do not get to see or experience.
Whilst the beaches are not a touch on Palawan, nor are there massive rice terraces like in Banaue, there is a wealth of festivals and local culture that’s hard to get anywhere else in world. It’s hard not to feel alive in such a place!
Welcome to a new part of my travels and search for home in the Philippines. It’s time to see the places others fear to go and time to get to know some locals … And oh yea, did I mention that I might have secured some short term “work” cough, I mean “volunteer opportunity” cough, I mean …
Coming soon:
Seeing the Unseen: Introducing some people …
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Feel free to leave a comment below!
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February 7th, 2010
I lived in Mindanao for the first 15 years of my life and I never encountered any of those stories that are plastered all over the newspapers. There *are* conflicts in certain places but not all of Mindanao is unsafe. As you said, the presence of the army is comforting in a sense.
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The Longest Way Home Reply:
February 7th, 2010
-SleeplessInKL- Yes the media hypes a lot of what goes on in Mindanao up a lot. Unfortunately the media has also had a lot of tragedy there too, so it’s hard not to blame them in that sense. I think that if these issues can be resolved Mindanao has the potential to be one of the main attractions in the Philippines, if handled correctly.
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February 8th, 2010
Following you …
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The Longest Way Home Reply:
February 9th, 2010
-Ivy- Glad you are Ivy!
Marc h Thanks Marc, I am hoping to shed some positive light on this great region, stay tuned!
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February 9th, 2010
Adore this. Am really looking forward to reading about Mindanao, never heard much about it before. I looked in the bookstore about Lonely Planet and they say so little about it! So you’re right. Loved the last post too. Keep going
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February 10th, 2010
sounds amazing and living in an emergency state actually is’nt as scary as it sounds.just lots of checkpoints although i am very dissapointed that i’ve never been asked to show my ID :p
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The Longest Way Home Reply:
February 10th, 2010
-riko-
Well your comment certainly made me smile. No, I’ve not been asked for ID in most places either. I think those that look like tourists get away with this. We’d spend most of our time searching for it. Takes too long, which is probably a good thing come to think of it. And yes, living in an emergency state, is far from scary.
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February 12th, 2010
…what kind of volunteer opportunity did you find? Join the army? Sorry, just jocking.
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The Longest Way Home Reply:
February 13th, 2010
-Ivy-
Don’t think I could handle their rations!
-riko- Now that’s got to be painful! My commiserations …
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February 12th, 2010
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May 3rd, 2010
I spent December and January mainly in Dipolog. Completely safe. Had a few excursions to see my inlaws in the sticks about 3 hours drive south. Plenty of army check points but we were only searched briefly once. The pick up was full so I think they were looking for assault weapons hidden among my tools. Most of the problems now seem combined to the far south of Zamboanga and the muslim autonomous zone.
Hope you enjoy Mindanao. I did!
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The Longest Way Home Reply:
May 4th, 2010
-Maaarrghk!- Yes most of the problems are in the autonomous zones. A shame, as some of these places offer a lot in terms of hospitality, natural beauty and resources. As I’ve written before, the security of bus checks and mall checks in The Philippines, are something I find monumentally ineffectual to the point of actually being dangerous themselves.
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