Venue 88 General Santos City

  Recently, I reunited again with my one true love, General Santos City. Wherever we may go, nothing beats the comfort of home and for me, it always feels great to come back to the place where I was honed to become the person that I am now. The one week vacation I had was definitely well spent with family and friends. Of course, it gave me sometime to discover the changes that happened for the past 2 years that I was away. One of these was the former Le Jardin Arnevel now called Venue 88. 

  For those who are looking for a place in Gensan to beat the heat, then it's time to take a look at this simple yet elegant resort and events place.  The first time I came here was back in 2009. The look of the place before was more of native Filipino style because their cottages were built of Nipa huts and the place was sprawling with Bermuda grasses and a couple of trees. After 4 years, voila! A transformation has took place. It's now better and more pleasing to the eye. The two pools are still there. One for adults which I guess is about 4feet or more and one for kids. The pools offer a shade at each side to avoid sunburns for those who want to take a dip. The place is cleaner and the cottages are elegantly designed in a simple way. Also, you can book one of your special events here. When I went there with friends, we got to see a nice and short display of fireworks thanks to the bonggang event that was currently happening in their event's hall. 

  Entrance fee will be Php50 for those who come in the morning until 2:30pm(use of the pool will be till 10pm). For those who come in from 2:30pm onwards, it would be Php75. Cottages are available at Php500 and Php250(common). There's also a corkage fee for drinks. 

How to go there?

  One can simply hire a public tricycle from the downtown proper to Mabuhay Road. It will take less than 30minutes to reach there. If you're 4pax and up, one can pay Php10-15 depends on your haggling skills. 

  You can click the link to check their facebook page for contact information: Venue 88

Lemlunay, Maasim, Sarangani Province

When my ex-roomies went back home, they treated me to an all-expense paid Lemlunay trip. Lemlunay allows you to enjoy the magnificence of the sea or take a dip in the infinity pool. 

Lemlunay's infinity pool.

Lemlunay Dive Resort in Maasim, Sarangani Province can be reached after 30 to 40 minutes drive from General Santos City proper. If you don't have your own car, you can take advantage of public vans or jeepney going to Maasim. One-way fare would cost less than Php100. Upon reaching the resort, a Php300 fee will be required. This includes the entrance fee, the use of the infinity pool and a sumptuous meal.

The resort is situated on a cliff overlooking the beautiful sea of Sarangani. Lemlunay is also the home of South Point Divers. As soon as you leave the last step of the stair, you can already have a taste of the deep underwater beauty because of the sea's rich marine life and owing to the fact that the resort's front is the Tinoto Wall. You can rent snorkeling gears, dive gears, or you can enroll on a dive course for a certain amount of fee.  

A breathtaking view from the cliff.

Their menu offers a wide range of food choices and although I haven't tasted all of them, I'm quite sure they're all delicious. These are some of the foods that we ordered. 

Garlic Chicken

Fish Fillet with Chips

Pork Liempo

Grilled Fish

Kids can also enjoy the resort's playground while you enjoy the nice ambiance resting on a hammock. If you wish to stay for the night, they have rooms for you to check in. One room costs thousands of Php per night.  

Trying out the seesaw.
(Photo courtesy of my friend)

Lemlunay rooms facing the infinity pool.
(Photo courtesy of my friend)

Nice backdrop.
(Photo courtesy of my friend)

We did try dipping in the sea but hadn't gone too far due to unbearable surface waves.

When we went there the place is still under its renovation phase. Regardless, the resort is one of the best in Sarangani. 

General Santos City: Overview of my Home Sweet Hometown

General Santos City or known as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines is my hometown. It is called Tuna Capital because of the Tuna Industry in the City. Shortly known as Gensan, it is also the home of the famous boxer Manny Pacquiao. Nowadays it is also called as Home of the Champ because of this.

People from the Luzon and Visayas islands are quite scared and hesitant to go to Gensan because of the bombing cases years ago and thinking that Gensan is an unsafe place. Well, I am still alive and kicking right now. We are all a magnet of accidents and trouble. Anywhere can be unsafe unless there is constant vigilance.

There are a lot of ways to reach GenSan. Via plane, bus, ship/boat, you choose. Common transportations in the city are tricycles, public jeepneys, trisikad (a mini version of tricycles which are only allowed to travel within subdivisions and barangays), and habal-habal (motorcycles). There are a few taxis but with unfixed fares.

Photos below are taken downtown, General Santos City's Park (July 23, 2010). I chose to take some shots of the park because it is found at the heart of the city and the most well-known landmark in GenSan.

The renovated and improved Plaza Heneral Santos was unveiled to the public September 4, 2009.

 Pathway. At the end is the City Hall.

Statue of General Paulino Santos Sr.

Unlike before, the park is now adorned with ornamental plants, well-arranged trees and pretty landscapes.

Pioneer Avenue facing the General Santos City's Park. From here, you can see tricycles,and habal-habal.

Gensan is a lovely booming smalltown with neighboring cities such as Koronadal and Davao. Since Gensan is my hometown, I will show more posts about this city in the future (the benefit of having your own blog-biased, LOL!).