This is General Santos City in Philippines !!

Posted in Asia, Food and Wine, France

This was in my on air off the beaten paths of Asia, and more of the Philippines, A unique far away City call General Santos City. I went there by plane and drove around on a business trip that allowed me to see another corner of our world, Therefore, let me tell you a bit on this is General Santos City in Philippines !! Hope you enjoy it as I

The City of General Santos City or GenSan was previously known as Dadiangás, and is the southernmost large city in the Philippines. It is geographically located in the province of Cotabato del Sur, but is administered independently of it. I had to take a loong air trip to get there!!! I had to go the night before on a hotel at Nantes airport and the next morning walking to the airport and take my AF flight to Roissy CDG and then China Southern Airlines to Guangzhou, China , changing again on China Southern to Manila inter airport. Finally, on Cebu Pacific Airlines to GenSan City.  General Santos International Airport is approximately 14 km away from the central business district of the city. A concrete 6 km Philippine-American Friendship Road and the 30 km General Santos Diversion Road connects the airport to the Pan Philippines Highwayleading to the city proper as well as to the nearby provinces. General Santos city is located at the head of Sarangani Bay of the Celebes Sea along the southern shore of Mindanao.

gen-santos-city-airport-ent-jan16

I then, headed to my hotel upon arriving late a night: I had local driver and stay at the Microtel by Wynham hotel  which was nice and friendly, the place to be in town me think. And yes pic was blurry ,but only one I have ,,,,

gen-santos-city-microtel-hotel-arriving-jan16

Next day for lunch , I ate at Big Ben Restaurant, where the tuna steak was great as the city is famous for it ,tuna that is,

gen-santos-city-big-ben-resto-night-jan16

I took my time upon my first full day in town, and did a lot of walking ,the city is base around lots of malls or shopping centers where the locals and nearby areas come in for shopping and night out.  And of course, tried one of these buggy transport idea!

gen-santos-city-buggy-transport-stand-jan16

I went for dinner at Giligan’s where the tuna feast continue, and great San Miguel beers, the resto is a chain and this one was inside the Veranza mall a nice shopping place too.

gen-santos-city-gillians-resto-mall-veranza-inside-jan16

As said, General Santos City is the shopping capital of the Soccksargen region.(formerly central Mindanao) These malls are home to both national and international brands of retail merchandises as well as restaurants and cafes. So , if want to browse for some bargain shopping, its the best one two combination in town,at the Veranza mall.

gen-santos-city-veranza-mall-entr-jan16

A bit of history tell us that the first inhabitants of General Santos were the nomads B’laan. Within the framework of a colonization movement organized by the Philippines State, General Santos Paulino led the installation of 62 Christians from the Island of Luzon on the shores of Sarangani Bay. The first settlers came aboard the steamer “Basilan” of the Compañia Maritima on February 27, 1939. gradually leading the B’laans to move to the mountains and lose their traditional livelihoods. During WWII, the Municipal District of Buayan where General Santos is located today was occupied by Japan. Remains from this era can still be seen at the Guadalupe site. Six years later, in June 1954, the city was renamed General Santos in tribute to the pioneer general. The city of General Santos is the largest producer of tuna in the Philippines. GenSan is the second largest fishing port in the country.

The local govt tourist office for General Santos city : https://gensantoscity.weebly.com/tourism.html

The Microtel hotel in Gen Santos City : https://www.microtelgensan.com/

The Facebook page of Big Ben’s Restaurant : https://www.facebook.com/bigbensteaks/

The Giligan’s restaurant locations (region XII) : https://www.giligansrestaurant.com/store-directory

The KCC Veranza Mall of Gen Santos City : https://kccmalls.com/mall-branches/kcc-mall-of-gensan/misc-pages/veranza/

There you go folks, another spot in my globettroter globe and nice experiences, good friends still in touch, and always looking forward for a repeat visit. Again, hope you have enjoy this post on this is General Santos City in Philippines !! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

Unknown's avatar

Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.