Conquer Compostella Valley in Mindanao

Compostela Valley is a province of the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao - also one of my favourite spots while travelling in Mindanao. The province, called COMVAL for short, used to be part of Davao del Norte, until it was made independent in 1998. The province borders Davao del Norte to the west, Agusan del Sur to the north, and Davao Oriental to the east. To the south west lies the Davao Gulf.

Compostela Valley is subdivided into 11 municipalities namely Compostela, Laak (San Vicente), Mabini (Dona Alicia), Maco, Maragusan, Mawab, Monkayo, Montevista, New Bataan and Pantukan.

The capital town of Nabunturan is only a two-hours drive from Davao City. There are also several privately owned airstrips in the province, mostly owned by multinational companies.

Come and conquer COMVAL!

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(My deepest gratitude to Miss Fe Fuentes Maestre, PGO Comval Province!) 

Franz Lehar - A Master of (Light) Classical Music

  Check out more on:

www.klausdoringclassicalmusic.webs.com 

Bulawan Festival

Jean Sibelius - A Classical Music Composer

His music lets you relax. Believe me... .

http://www.klausdoringclassicalmusic.webs.com

Are You Lonely Today? A Typical Expat Question!

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http://www.germaninthephilippines.tropicalpenpals.com

I Decided to Be Happy as Expat in The Philippines!

Yes, I did so! You know, why? The world is full of bad news  and all of us are very easy to be influenced by "negative people" in our surroundings. Yes, also among us expatriates... .

Sometimes I really get tired, because even I can feel how these people fritter away my energy, strengths and good mood while chatting away my time.

Okay, let's swing ourselves into the saddle and let's explore the positive flanks and directions in our daily (expat-)life. A couple of days ago a good friend of mine from a Western country texted me: "Write with an open mind about what you see and hear, smell and touch. It could be an inspiration. Life is so beautiful for us to keep on going - also here in the Philippines!"

Honestly, this guy is true. There is no paradise on earth. Each nation in the world has its positive and negative sites. But, I decided to stay here in the Philippines with my family, and, I decided to be happy, to be glad, to be content, to be fortunate, to be fitting... . One thing, I learned here is this: "If we like to be happy,we must open our eyes and find people in our surroundings, which have the special talent for listening. We have to find people who will walk the first miles with us then steadfastly believe that we can walk alone after a while. I found such people here. Many, many!!! don't get me wrong: I Never forgot my home country. But now, I am living here in the Philippines.

Being happy means also to find the courage, that we can have it.  Ask yourself, what's your emotional dependence. When we are emotionally dependent, we look to others for happiness, our "self"-concept, and our emotional well-being. We give up what we want and need out of fear of rejection, abandonment or confrontation.

No, also in the Philippines isn't everything right and correct. I observe that our expectations can kill us emotionally because we suffer under the tyranny of them. We are losing our happiness. Culture Shock, here, there and every where!

But I decided to overcome the shock. I am glad, I was able to do so. I am happy now. A happy expatriate - living in the Philippines for good!

Rats, rats - and more rats!

I wrote already about it several days ago:

http://www.germaninthephilippines.tropicalpenpals.com

Regarding to MindaNews more provinces in  Eastern  Mindanao and many parts of the Philippines have been reported attacked by swarms  of field rats , in an infestation that an official blamed on climate change and human interference in Nature's food chain.

After farmers in eight barangays in the northern hinterlands of Davao City whose farms were devastated appealed for help, reports indicated that areas in South Cotabato, North Cotabato and Sarangani areas were also attacked by rats.

My friend and City Agriculture Officer Leo Avila III said that rats attaked provinces in the Visayas and in the rice-producing areas in Central Luzon too. I learned from Leo Avila, he would also ask the Provincial Agriculture Office in Davao del Norte to confirm reports of rat infestation in its northwestern town of Talaingod which shares boundary with Davao City's rat-infested northern barnagys.

Taking necessary measures to lessen the rat infestation in rice and corn-producing areas in the provinces and put-up systems  of preventing future occurrences seem to be essential and inevitable.

Johannes Brahms - another German Classical Composer

 - and a child of Romanticism.

He remains also as one of my favourite composers. His compositions have been become a world power - equal to Beethoven and Wagner.

Brahms in the Philippines? Classic music under palms? Sure, why not...!

Check out more:

http://www.klausdoringclassicalmusic.webs.com

When in Manila...

When in Manila...

If you and your friends will be visiting Manila any time soon (as I will next week!), I believe that the following product could be your alternative tour guide in enjoying the beauty and wonders of Manila.

It's the "Enjoy Travel Manila Guidebook", a 3-in-1 guide consisting of

1. an independently written, edited, and curated travel guide for visiting tourists, returning residents, and newly settled expatriates.

2. a free downloadable mobile application and street maps for easy navigation.

3. an Enjoy Card with over PHP 100,000 worth of savings at top restaurants, shops, attractions and hotels.

The guidebook is indeed the perfect travel guide for you and me. It could be also a welcome gift to foreign friends and/or expatriates who are planning to visit Manila. The guidebook is sold for only PHP 599.

Check out more on

http://www.enjoythebest.com.ph

Shallow Gimmick and Samal Island

By friendly permission of Mindanao Daily Mirror, where I am also writing my regular column "In My Opinion", I like to share with you the Editorial from February 18, 2011:

Shallow gimmick

The local government of the island Garden City of Samal has come up with a gimmick ostensibly to entice more tourists, specially foreigners, to visit the island city and enjoy the amenities offered by beach resorts therein. The booklet, shaped and designed like a passport, will be available at the Davao International Airport, overland transport terminals, and malls in Davao City.

At first blush, the "passports" look great as tourism, particularly, beach resort operation, and is the island's main industry. Scheduled for release next month , the booklet contains discount coupons of beach resorts, a list of activities and other tourism information guides. so says Nelson Aquino, officer-in-charge of the IGACOS tourism office. Some 30 beach resorts are operating in the island most of which are located along the coastline facing Davao City.

On closer look, the "passport" is nothing bunch a shallow gimmick and an empty gesture to welcome visitors. The local government's effort to attract more tourists to the island will be more meaningful and significant if it revises, better yet repeal altogether, the controversial revenue ordinance that imposes heavy fees on users of the island's recreational facilities as well as plain visitors.

Anyone who goes to Samal Island even for a short visit is charged with an entrance fee of 5 Pesos. In all likelihood, it is the only place in the world that imposes an entrance fee for visitors. That's only for starters. The so-called environmental user's fees also include: Island hopping or plain sightseeing: 20 Pesos per person per day; strolling at mangrove board walk: 20 Pesos person; mountaineering: 20 Pesos per person; spelunking: 25 Pesos per person; extreme adventure sports: 30 Pesos per person; snorkeling or scuba-diving: 50 Pesos per person; photo documentation: 500 Pesos per day; research: 500 Pesos per group; and video documentation: 1,000 Pesos per day.

Noting the unfriendliness and oppressiveness of the ordinance to beach resort users, resort owners and operators have filed a suit before the Regional Trial Court in Panabo City seeking to declare the new revenue code as unconstitutional. The local government's imposition of exorbitant fees to users of beach resort facilities is one sure way of driving away tourists.