A regular reader of this site, “Bob New York” recently made his first visit to the Philippines. He went to Iligan City, in Northern Mindanao. Before going to Iligan, Bob did a lot of research about the place, including consulting with me more than once! I gave Bob the “thumbs up” telling him that I thought that Iligan was a safe place to visit, and that he would enjoy himself.
Well, since his return to the States, Bob has really been telling me how much he enjoyed his trip! He has put together a YouTube Video showing a slideshow of some of his photos from the trip. Have a look and enjoy!
Thank you, Bob, for sharing your photos! I’m glad that you enjoyed your trip!
Gidday Bob,it was great to see your youtube post,I am an Australian due for my first visit to Phils and Iligan…arriving 29th of July,it was good to get a preview of what to expect,thanks Brett.
Hi Bret,
As you can see from just the small sampling of pics in the video I really did have a fantastic time in Iligan City. I had spent two years learning about it by websurfing. A very interesting site with near daily updates and plenty of pics of whats going on in Iligan is skyscrapercity look for the Philippines section and then Mindanao and you will see a thread in there for Iligan. More info is available at http://www.iligan.gov.ph as well. I sincerely hope you have as great a time there as I did. Let us know about your Iligan Adventure via Bob Martins site here and let the rest of the world with an interest in Mindanao know about it as well !
Bob New York
The skyscrapercity site is kind of a sore spot for me. There are dozens of photos on the site which are stolen from my website without permission. Because of this, I won't allow links to them on my site. I will allow a mention, but not a direct link, because they are stealing from me, and I don't want to reward them for that.
Hi Bob, I always thought they asked for permission to use your photos on that site as from time to time I had even seen them with yout copyright on them. You would have though they would have at least asked you. OK Bob no problem, I can fully understand your thoughts on this and will refrain from any mention of that site on yours in the future. Thanks for telling me.
To Bob New York, Just finished watching the video from your visit to Iligan City. It looks like you got the royal welcome. You make it look very inviting and worth visiting. Perhaps they should make you their unofficial consul/ambassador from New York. 🙂 I hope that you get to visit there again in the not too distant future. If you write any more posts for Bob, I personally would like to know something about your "enterege". I think that it is always interesting to hear about the people and the friendships that are strenghened from these kinds of exploration. Also, is your next trip to visit Iligan City, the broader area, the province. . .? Great job! R L Graham
Hi R L Graham
The entire Iligan story began quite accidentially. While websurfing one night an address appeared on my screen ending with " 9200 Iligan City, Philippines ". I bearly even knew where The Philippines was. I began researching Iligan City from that address that appeared on my screen over 2 years ago. I was amazed how much one could find out about a place by all of the things posted on the internet about it. The more I looked, the more interested I became in Iligan City. Many pictures of things I saw remeinded me of things of when I was grouwing up here in the suburbs of New York City that are long gone now. Could I re-visit a little of my childhood in Iligan City ?
During the two plus years in researching Iligan and Mindanao I made a few acquaintences here and there on interactive web istes like this one and others. You have seen some of them in my pics.
I recieved so many cautions and warnings not to go to Mindanao, not to go to Iligan, dont go here and there etc. Every thing indicated that going to Iligan City and Cagayan De Oro should not present any real problem or danger as long as I kept myself aware and used common sense such as I would do in New York City or any other big city for that matter. Even some Filipinos where I work told me dont go to Iligan LOL. The one single source that proved most accurate and reliable was none other than Bob Martin, and as he predicted, I had a great time. In fact it was the best vacation I can ever remember !
I hired a Jeepney for an entire day, had my Entourage with me and we all toured the many sites and attractions in and around Iligan that required that kind of transportation, Thats the way to " Tour Iligan " and what better way than to do it with Iliganon Friends !
Many of those who I had numerous communication with online, long before I visited Iligan, I treated them all as individuals. Many had never met the others before my visit. By the time I concluded my visit to Iligan, they all became friends with eachother and those friendships remain ! Now thats a bit of magic isn't it ?
I have never considered myself to be the typical tourist, if there is such a thing as a typical tourist in the first place. Iligan City had things I was interested in and things I wanted to see and do. I was able to see and do the things I had set out to, that is part of a great vacation wouldn't you think ?
Obviously it is not London, Las Vegas, New York City, Atlantic City or Paris. A few people thought I would be disapointed in visiting Iligan. For me it was just the opposite. I like to see what I call " real " things. Sure the natural attractions in Iligan were a thrill, especially Tinago Falls. As I am involved with a local University near where I live in the USA, I considered it a privlidge to be able to freely tour MSU-IIT for as long as I cared to and I was quite impressed with it. Going to repair parts stores was also interesting as we don't have many of those here as we used to. I am glad I was able to visit the existing Gaisano Dept Store ( now replaced with a brand new Mall ). I had not been in a " real " department store like that since the 1960's and it brought back a lot of memories, the staffing and service was great there, you don't always have that luxury here anymore. The forms of transportation like Jeepneys, Calisa, Motorela, and the tricycles were a lot of fun. I never had the chance to experience those before.
When I first had thoughts of visiting Iligan, one concern I had was what if the local food did not agree with me. I discovered Jollibee while websurfing and did a lot of research on the parent company. The wide spectrum menue they offer compared to a fast food franchise here, and the reputation Jollibee has, assured me that if all else failed I could easily survive eating at Jollibee ! It just looked like fun place to eat. When someone told me " Jollibee is for Kids " I replied, " some people will pay anything to feel like a kid again " Alll I have to do is buy some burgers and fries at Jollibee ! Sure, I can go to McDonalds, Burger King etc. here in New York but I can't go to Jollibee so I really did look forward to going to it, and with over 5000 of them in the Philippines, the one I wanted to go to, is the first place I went ! I had no problem with any of the great food there, or any place else I ate in Iligan although I had to keep in mind a few of the many precautions I had recieved before going .
I still have " virtual visits " to Iligan almost daily right here on the internet and when I view new pictures I can now see and sense the full depth of what I am looking at in additon ot the sights and sounds of Iligan !
Yes, I most definetly do plan a return to Iligan City and Cagayan De Oro as well. The only other place I am planning on going is to Davao to Meet Bob Martin. Midnanao.COm was one of the early finds in my websearch on Iligan City and I enjoy this site as well.
The real highlight of my journey to Iligan was in the genuine friendships I had cultivated in the two + years of websurfing the place which include people of all age groups and various backgrounds. you can not buy something like this in any packaged tour at any price.
There are so many things I could include about my trip to Iligan although it could be more than this blog could contain but I think you can have an appreciation of what a great time I had. Bob Martin has met a couple of my Iligan friends who attended his recent seminal so I think now he has a better understanding of what a great time I had there.
Your comment about " Getting The Royal Welcome " ? Well I guess there really is some truth concerning " the warmth and hospitality of The Iliganons !
Hi,
I live in SF, my wife is from Iligan. I have 1 question. Why did you fly from JFK to Alaska to Taipei to Manila? Air Philippines have flights from LA and SF direct to Manila. Just seems like you took the longest way possible.
Hi Theo,
Just checking out my new acess and means of getting around the sight since Bob made the changes. I'll answer you 'longed way' question, since maps, GPS, navigation and piloting are my 'thing'.
The shortest distance from New York to the Philippines _is_ across Alaska. That's because we are on a globe and the shortest distance between two points looks like a curve when you plot it on a flat map. If you have access to a globe (library, maye), take a piece of string between two fingers and use it to find the shortest route between points … some of them turn out to be very interesting and often counter-intuiive.
Cathay Pacific and several other carriers have flights from JFK to Manila … usually with a fuel stop in Alaska and they are by far the quickets and shortest way for east coast folks to get here. When is your trip? 😉
Thanks for clarifying that. Dave Your answer is the same way my travel agent expressed it to me. I gues it is the flat map that creates the illusion. It was the longest distance I have ever gone and I think I had jet lag for several days after returning home but I sure had a great time while I was there !
I built a house in Iligan a few years ago and spend long periods there from time to time. I have never had any problems crime or hostility wise. Only occasional disturbances from late night sing-a-gong from the neighbor, but not frequent enough to be an issue. And for sure some nights the disturbances go the other direction!
I do love to spend all day in the cool waters of Timoga, sipping brandy and munching on lechon manook.
There are a few things I have to adjust to over there. I can't always construct something the way I want, I have to adjust to the building materials that are available. Some are mystifying, such as a store carrying one type of coax cable, and only a different kind of coax connector. Yes, the old fashioned hardware and parts stores are fun and you never know what you can find especially in the small baragay stores. Those guys really can help figure out how to make do with what is at hand.
I can get fantastic tile work done super cheaply, perfect trim installed or cabinets constructed, and really fine wrought iron projects, but I can't find a good high quality painter that is affordable.
The markets have a great selection of meats, seafood, fruits, but not a good selection of vegetables.
The people are super friendly and I have warmly welcomed and treated fairly in every transaction (that I know of anyway!).
It can be time consuming and at times outright frustrating to try and find materials or parts you can get at home easily but seem not available in other parts of the world. I have run into those situations in the UK and to a minor extent when I was looking for a few simple items in Iligan. At times like this you have to sharpen your creativity skill and develop alternatives. On my most recent visit to Iligan City, I spent some time in a " housewares " type store. A small independently owned and operated store crammed from floor to ceiling with many interesting things, some of which I had never seen before. I could have spent an entire day looking at all of the interesting items they had.
Where I live, most of the small independent hardware and houseware stores have vanished with the implementation of corporate " superstore " chain stores like Home Depot and Walmart.
What is the situation like between Naawan and Illigan City now?
Terrorist, Bob. I knew there were some problems with a blockade along that stretch of highway? Gen-Gen's uncle lives in Illigan city…
Asawa ko is from Bukidnon. 4 years ago i rode the coastal road between Illigan and Butuan over and again seeking beach property. PNP would have road blocks and search buses and Jeepney occasionally. I read in the Enquirer about some rebel problems north of Illigan. I remember there was a roadblock and thought they held hostage a bus but can't remember too many details. This was an isolated incident was put down quickly .I feel safe around that route but would probably not venture much farther west without a guide.
Wasn't there some shelling going on around Dipolog a few months back, as well?
Get your map! Dipolog is Northwest of Illigan. You have to go south around Panguil Bay and then drive back north to Dipolog.
I had a client that hired a taxi and drove from Cagayan de Oro to Zamboanga two years ago. I personally felt that was a little foolhardy. I would do it with a private driver and my brother-in-law, but not alone. Of course, there are a lot of good people there, but I don't know of too many Anglos routinely traveling that stretch.
Lanao is off limits to me, but thearea is promoted by WOW Philippines.
I would love to see that coastal road down to Zambo and might actually put it on my list now! Thanks for the input.
Hi Robert – When you say Lanao is off limits, I am assuming you mean that Lanao del Sur is off limits. Most parts of Lanao del Norte are quite good (Iligan is LdN).
If you want to make a journey down the Zambo Peninsula, I'd be happy to go with you, depending on the timing. Just let me know.
If you want to be safe and still visit Lanao del Sur, check out Wao. It is the only Christian part of Lanao del Sur, and is quite safe to visit.
Would love to take that trip with you and heartily appreciate the invitation. Plan to be spending a little time in Mindanao beginning sometime in June. Will be in the Philippines about three months. I will let you know when I'm in the neighborhood!
p.s. no durian in the car
Durian in moderation, please. For me, it's "so many mangos, so little time"!
Would you go there north to Cagayan de Oro and through Illigan?
I returned to Iligan and CDO about 6 months after the photos in the video were taken. I went by Taxi arranged for me by a known friend in Iligan from Lumbia Airport to Iligan. There were some one lane baracades in the road ( National Highway ) although the taxi was never stopped by Police, Military, or for that matter anyone else. Although Iligan may have still been on a heightened alert from the incidents of August, as an out of town visitor I didn't notice much of a difference from when I first visited in April 2008. Once again, I had a great time in Iligan City although I did not venture outside of the city other than returning to Cagayan De Oro 10 days from when I had arrived.
I returned to Cagayan De Oro by the same taxi and driver that picked me up at Lumbia Airport and I spent a few days in CDO visiting friends there before returning home to the USA. Had a fantastic time in CDO as well.
I try to keep up with current news about the areas of Mindanao that interest me and there are many commercial news sites that are good for this as well as this website. For me, Bob Martins information and advice have always had a very high degree of accuracy.
Hi, I am a Canadian and I have lived in Iligan City for almost a year and a half now. I can tell you one thing, and that is that the reports of violence here are really blown way out of proportion. You will be surprised to find it is a pretty happy and peaceful place. If you are passing through though, drop me a line… I know of all the great spots in the city and I would be happy to guide you.
Good call on keeping the Durian out of the car; I love Filipino food but I just can't get past the smell of that stuff!
hi sir i have a girl friend in iligan city lanao del norte i want to fly there to visit her but she tells me iligan city is not safe for me to go there because of the muslims,, i have read a bout what you say, a bout the reports of violence there in how it as been blown out of proportion ,,, could you pls give me some up to date on how safe it is pls thank you ,,,,,,robert
Hi John – Yeah, Iligan has a reputation of being a wild west town, but like you say, it is blown way out of proportion. I've been to Iligan many times, and find it quite peaceful there.
Durian? I love the stuff! The fragrance is wonderful!
hallo bob,
have u been in tinago falls in iligan? thats place is awesome!!! my husband and me like that place so much.
PS. media always put exagerated news!!!
Tinago Falls will always be one of my most memorable sights that I visited in Iligan City. So pure, clean and refreshing with the sound of the water falling into the lagoon from so far above and the mist it created in the air. Things such as this are what convinced me to travel half way around the world to visit Iligan City. Seeing Tinago Falls in pictures and videos on the internet is one thing, being there to experience and absorb the full ambience and excitement of it all made my visit so worthwhile !
hallo everybody!
my husband dont like durian also! my family does.. they always say durian smell like hell but taste like heaven.
hallo,
I was just wondering if you've been in Davao del Norte which they called now Compostela Valley Province.. I was born this place and i assure you that there is nice things to see and it is also safe.. In New Bataan you can have a cold spring which you can make your drinks cold.
In monkayo, such a lovely place which u can have a hot water from the hot spring.You can even boiled an egg in some part of the spring. SOme of foriegners is amazed already of that place espcially japanese but i dont know if there is really alots of people knows that place. Well, incase you
By the way bob how can i post some story? I really love to write though. So maybe you can tell me how i can do that. thanks.
Does this poor guy know there is a Jolibee right in Jackson Heights , Queens,NY these days.