Basilan: Isabela, the rising city
Guns and the beach at Sumagdang Beach Resort
Isabela City, the main capital of Basilan region, is a city on a rise, thriving amidst the adversities. Now we look at the place as a war torn region filled with strife. True there’s disorder here, but isn’t it the same with any other place? Basilan somehow got the pounded with so much media hype it’s reputation got hammered down. Sad truth. But given the chance even a glance the people of Basilan welcomes visitors and are happy if you were brave enough to go there despite its reputation. So in my 401th (or is it ’st?’) post (wow, didn’t notice that I already got past 400 until I saw my log), let’s take a look at some of the scenes in and around Isabela City.
Welcome to Isabela, the Port
A 1- 1 1/2 hour boat ride from the city of Zamboanga, we reached this port of Isabela via its channel. Actually from the port in Zamboanga, there are also some other entry point to Basilan like heading straight to Lamitan. We headed to the main city first of course since we had to make our regular courtesy call to the authorities there especially the DOT (Department of Tourism) to gather some information about the place. Oh yeah! There’s a Jollibee branch there which is kinda nice to know that it has reached this part of the country, we didn’t eat there though (Why should we?). Does the presence of a Jollibee (or other fast food branch) tell how much a city is developed?
Ready to dive! Throw some coins into the water
At the port, we encountered a number of these beggar children on boats. You’ll hear them say something which I can’t really understand. But I’m quite sure they are asking for money. But if you try to throw some coins in the water, they’ll dive in to get it. What’s amazing is they actually get the coins! Boy, they are really good swimmers. At the port, we were met by two tricycle drivers who will serve as our drivers. They call themselves, Moi-Moi and Nonoy. We got them when our ultra sleek PR person Alexine met this Basilan Local in Zamboanga City and gave us some contacts there. We thought it would be safer if we somehow know someone from there.
The Channel view resort [SE K800i]
At the Tourism office in Isabela City, we were attended by Ms. KT, who seem to be the head or manager of the department and pointed us on places we could stay for the night. They gave us a couple of brochures, which they seem to have just printed there on an inkjet printer at that time. She suggested the nearby inland resorts Channel View Resort and Farmland Resort.
Our rooms at Farmland Resort
It wasn’t a long drive via our tryke uphill to Channel View Resort. Indeed it’s a nice resort, and offers a good view of Isabela Channel. The accommodations are good looking as well, but the price is a bit steep for us. 1000 pesos for a room good for only 4 people? We’re cheap stake budget travelers! There, we were also noticed and met by PNP Col. Sheppard who were there since his family swam on the nearby resort, Farmland. We got into a bit chit-chat and he was dumbstruck why of all the places we would go to for vacation, why go to Basilan, and without any invitation from a local there at that matter. Like I said before, he cleared that the Abu Sayaf threat is no longer there, but at that time during the elections where the winner hasn’t been announced yet, it was pretty dangerous to go around unguarded. Especially with new faces as ours. So he offered some of his men to accompany us the next day on our tour of some of the places.
Nice pool and garden at Farmland Resort
Shortly since most of us are already hungry, we hopped on the Col.’s pick-up along with some of his PNP men as we made a short drive to Farmland Resort. We bid goodbye to him and promised to drop by the station tomorrow to pick up our escorts. Farmland Resort is such a nice place. It does look like a farm sans the grazing cows and pigs and all. It has a very nice pool and what’s better, we got 2 rooms, each good for 4 for only 500 pesos. I has nice comfortable beds, air conditioned and a basic toilet and bath. The food there was also great from sea foods to meat (was too hungry to take photos). And what we enjoyed most was the pool since most of the establishments in the city closes by 6pm, don’t expect any night life here. At the farm we felt safe inside so we enjoyed the pool that night swimming, eating and some drinking. We’re not the only ones at the resort, some guest were at the huts singing their heart out at some good ol’ karaoke tunes while we have all the pool by ourselves.
Leaving the Farmland Resort group pic
The next day we headed of back into the city where we had our breakfast. There were some annoying young beggars there at the streets who irritatingly kept tapping your arms. Anyways, once we got our escorts, we bought some supplies to bring in our trip. Our food and of course, food for our escorts as well. Isabela city is pretty much like other provincial developing cities in our country. Would have wanted to do some street photography but I was hesitant to take pictures of the people here. Not to attract much attention as well.
Our boat to Malamawi Island and Isabela Channel [SE K800i]
After all our supplies were taken care of, we headed of to the port to bargain for some boats. There we found half naked Kaiser Adams scratching his scrotum while our girls were negotiating for our boat. I think we got a good price for that one. So we boarded and headed of to Isabela Channel.
Kaun Purna Mosque at the Isabela Channel
Passing by Isabela Channel you won’t miss this large imposing structure called the Kaun Purna Mosque. Along with it are more stilt houses from the Badjao’s, sail boats and more mangroves.
The group in Malamawi Beach with our PNP escorts (photo by M. Carlos)
Our first stop was Malamawi Island where we visited the white beach. I wasn’t able to post a picture of our PNP escorts before so here we are with our reliable guards.
This isn’t a Coral! It’s a kural!
Pardon the captions here but as we were heading back from Malamawi, we asked our boatman to take us to some spots where there are good Corals and fishes for snorkeling. Our manong goes “Cge me alam ako madami nyan! Madaming isda. Daanan natin mamya…. (I know where there are plenty of those. Plenty of fishes! We’ll pass by later”. So here we are excited and getting ready with our snorkeling gears, until we noticed we were heading towards some stilt houses. We go like “Sigurado ka merong mga isda dito?(Are you sure there are fishes here?)”, then manong pointed to some Kurals (Kulungan)! Nyek! Oo nga naman Kural! Hahaha. Si Manong nagpapatawa! Well anyways, we still checked out the Kurals but we didn’t snorkel of course. There were large Talakitoks there and some other fishes.
Sumagdang Beach and its coconut plantation
Not to dampen our zest to snorkel, we just asked them to take us to another beach called Sumagdang Beach, which is nearby city proper around 4 kilometers. It’s a nice picturesque beach but its not that clean. It seems that during weekend this place would be flocked by people. There are cottages there and some basic facilities. Fortunately for us, there weren’t any crowds at that time and even thought there are fees for entrance and the cottages, again there was no one manning the resort so we didn’t have to pay for anything.
Time to go back to Zamboanga
After Sumagdang Beach we headed back to the port so we could catch our 3:30 pm ferry ride back to Zamboanga City. Our stay in Basilan has been fun. There are a lot more places which we wish we could have gone to, but given the sensitivity of the situation at that time, we have to confine ourselves on certain areas. True we have to tag along some guards along the way, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun in the midst of impending danger.
Tags: Badjao, Basilan, Beach, Farmland Resort, Isabela Channel, Isabela City, Malamawi Island, Mosque, Sleep
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Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 at 2:13 am 
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June 27th, 2007 at 3:43 am
kakainggit ka naman ferdz…is there any place in the philippines you havent seen? good post, plagi naman eh. keep it up. btw, i miss your daily snap.
June 27th, 2007 at 8:12 am
ok pala jan… pero kakatakot ngalang..
June 27th, 2007 at 8:27 am
nice post, ferdz–how adventurous. great photos too, especially of the guns at the beach. i remember the badjao kids when we used to ferry to mindanao as a kid. you’re right…they always get the coins.
June 27th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
It truly is a beautiful place! Though it’s war torn, there is still something special amidst this place.
(:
June 27th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
ayos to ah… ang tapang nyo…
pwede bang mag apply dyan sa work mo, parang ang sarap ng ganitong trabaho, laging pumapasyal kung saan saan…:)
June 27th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
basilan ka naman? wow ha! honestly, gusto ko din makarating jan. just for the sake na makapunta ng basilan.
yung sa pier.. dati nung bata ako aliw na aliw ako sa mga nanlilimos na yan. kse galing mag-dive at mag-swimming. lalo na hindi pa ako marunong lumangoy. hehehe
btw, multiply ko is prettytin. hehehe. syempre pinaninindigan ko yun
June 27th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Wow, I didn’t know Basilan can be a lovely place.
i wish I could dive like a pro like those kids.
June 27th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Hey ferdz! Ako din !Tagal ko na ring hindi napadalw
Those shots are absolutely cool! Very disturbing lang para sa kin yung mga gurls na yan na may bitbit na shotguns! Tamang Inggit lang lol
Regards
June 27th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
wow. holding the guns pa ahh.. hehe. pero you are right about saying how any place in the world is all the same and very susceptible to attacks or whatsoever.
June 27th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
I wish to visit Basilan….the more controversial the place is the best it is to explore…
June 27th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
The boys on boat begging money were muslims…we called them Badjao…
Even,partly Visayas there were boys and even families surviving this kind of living (unmindfully of the possible disease they might catch ) asking money to the Ship passengers…
June 27th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Those kural that you mentioned were fish cage…these are the usual sites that you’ll see in Mindanao….
June 27th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
The pictures that you posted here reminds me in the 70’s where we traveled down to Mindanao …partly Iligan City…
June 27th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
The beach looks similar in my home province Siquijor……..sana mabisita mo man lang province ko.
June 27th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Oh, glad you had a good time in Basilan. Hope you find time also to go around here in our city—Zamboanga. Bienvenidos!
June 28th, 2007 at 12:41 am
the jollibee sign stood out and it made the port so real. you know, the port looked old, but jollibee made it look modern parang two cities in one.
anyway, did i miss soemthing? what happened to daily snap? i miss my daily snap fix.
June 28th, 2007 at 12:44 am
oooopps. sorry, di ko agad nakita yung previous post explaining why daily snap is down.
if it will make any difference, i miss it:)
June 28th, 2007 at 8:26 am
tagal ko ng pumunta dito pero lately ko lang nabuksan yung profile mo, hehe. kamusta naman yun. you know why people kept coming back here? well aside from the great photos (given na yun), i really like the way you gather you stories and write them down into a really nice and personal essay, and i guess doing that comes with a good writing skill. yun na yun. daling i-imagine ng mga kuwento mo. (naks naman…)
comments about the photos. love the first shot. why? love the concept. guns and beach. san ka pa? i love the irony of the whole concept, pwedeng title ng tula, GUNS and BEACHES. akin na lang yun ah. yung 10th shot wacky…astig na mga babae, may dalang baril. yung fourth shot maganda rin kase na optimize mo yung use ng pattern. ganda ng epekto sa akin.
pero ang pamatay sa tingin ko ay yung 8th shot, yung boat. akala ko gumamit ka pa ng special lens, SE K8001? alam ko mataas ang resolution ng mobile phone na yan, but i never thought it can take that kind of shot, hehe. galing naman.
June 28th, 2007 at 9:09 am
LOL about the kural!
The place is nice, though I think it is over-rated for the violence and insurgency which I think happen only in some places, not the whole place. But still, it is nicer to be safe than sorry. Do take care though when you travel to these “hot spots”/places.
June 28th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
panalo! gaganda ng pics at kakaiba talaga dyan… experience pre!
June 28th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Great photos, especially the “kural” one! Hehe. I wish things will get better so more people can visit Basilan. I know some friends who have been there and all have said it is a beautiful place.
June 28th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
nakita mo ba yung capitol nila? ang ganda nun kita ko sa picture dati. majestic muslim architecture
June 28th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
hi, got into your site thru lady cess. this is my first visit.
nice pics. i never imagined basilan could be those places in your pics. just the mere mention of the name, parang katakot na pumunta. he he. tapang mo ha.
June 28th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
The lead picture is very powerful.
Wow! Another travel adventure and this time in Basilan. Amazing! What a wonderful life you have, Ferdz.
Great pics!
June 28th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
i like the first phot and the one with the boat with planks of wood, really nice.
you are tagged, ferdz. please visit my site.
June 28th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
I LOVE the pics of the sexy girls wielding the M16’s he he
Boy, your expedition must have no dull moments with your armed escorts always by your side 
June 28th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
woah! im sooo jealous! i know i’m not yet ready to storm the gates of the basilan island…even with those photos, i still am scared to visit the island
June 29th, 2007 at 8:59 am
Such scenic sights. Natawa ako duon sa kural.
June 29th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Do you record how many miles you travel each year? Last time I checked your blog, you were in Bohol, and now you are in Basilan. You’re faster than I can surf the net!
such a beautiful place. If not for the bad publicity brought by the Abu Sayyaf many years back, Basilan would be a perfect ecotourism destination if developed properly.
June 29th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
grabe sobrang catching ang first pic. astig din meron narin palang resort sa basilan. =)
June 29th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Congrats on your 401st post.
I think Kaiser Adams just lost some of his coolness by scratching himself in the open like that. hehehe
Nice “babes with guns” pic. Sila ba ang mga PNP escorts ninyo. Puede pala ganyan ang suot ng mga PNP. hehe
interesting mosque by the sea there. That’s the first time i’ve seen a mosque directly by the shore.
June 29th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
hanep ferdz. makes me think back to the time you first texted me about this trip
di bale, next time!
June 30th, 2007 at 1:10 am
hey, sama naman ako minsan sa trip mo! hehe.. kainggit ka eh
July 1st, 2007 at 11:30 am
Great photos and details as usual. I’m always attracted to your boat photos. I simply love them. You seem to be having such great fun. Keep it up.
July 2nd, 2007 at 7:06 am
whoa! i miss malamawi! was there last december. friggin cold december. nag swimming ako with a friend. i might be back there before year end.
July 2nd, 2007 at 5:40 pm
ang ganda pala sa basilan no, hay nakakalungkot lang kasi nowadays kapag sinabi mong basilan parang nakakatakot ang dating… parang ndi safe kahit sa mga pilipino.. hay sana lang magkaroon na ng peace sa buong pilipinas ng umunlad naman tayo
July 3rd, 2007 at 1:08 pm
good cover of basilan. matagal ko na gusto pumunta. hmmm, when kaya yung yakan festival nila? also would want to watch an authentic yakan wedding.
July 4th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
i’m dying of envy… i’m super dead na! going to basilan has been a target of mine since i started travelling… hayyy… one day… one day… i’m going there. kakainggit!!! grrr…
July 6th, 2007 at 6:04 am
[...] for Lakbayan, but the places he’s traveled to were certainly off the beaten path. He went to Basilan. Basilan! Who’d have thought Basilan would be so beautiful? Thanks for sharing your photos [...]
July 8th, 2007 at 3:21 am
i hope the philippines will really be a terror free country
July 19th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Hi guys! Thank you for featuring our place- Farmland Resort. Glad to hear that you had a good time there. Hope to see you again.
January 31st, 2008 at 7:48 pm
basila n is a terror free island come and visit our place
April 1st, 2008 at 6:05 pm
oi!! babalik ako zambo-basilan this june long weekend!!!!
April 29th, 2008 at 3:52 am
it’s nice of you to explore basilan..grew up there myself and you’ll get used to it wiht all the happenings there..
May 14th, 2008 at 9:35 am
hey!! basilan pipz,need help!! may rizal monument po ba sa city nyo? part po kasi ito ng requirement namin sa rizal subject.. we need a response.tnx. email me: izzie_0388@yahoo.com
June 27th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
hi..!nice captions,,…!
June 27th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
ferdz?!?nice tawaga…!
July 7th, 2008 at 10:13 am
kristel mae meron po kame nyan
lahat naman siguro ng plaza meron dapat rizal monument.. thanks 
July 16th, 2008 at 11:24 am
wahh.. i ms home
not scary there at all… kaso lng our city only gets attention when there’s trouble somewhere miles away…tsk2x