New forum member from the Philippines

[rahman]

Thanks for the photos. I'm delighted to see the traditional handicarafts still being produced, and with good quality. Don't see that kind of quality nowadays.

[zamboanga]

bobby,

welcome to the forum.

i wish the other lurkers who are also based in mindanao will join us here.

for the benefit of all here is a simple road map of mindanao.

when i was still with the government, i took several trips from zamboanga to iligan via public bus. travel time was over 14 hours.

general tip for blade hunting: maranao and maguindanao pieces are found starting from iligan city going to the east. tausug, samal, and yakan pieces are found in areas west of iligan city, starting in the city of pagadian going south.

carlo

[tagalanao]

Originally Posted by zamboanga

for the benefit of all here is a simple road map of mindanao. when i was still with the government, i took several trips from zamboanga to iligan via public bus. travel time was over 14 hours.

Carlo, I love driving all over Mindanao, especially now coz most of the roads are paved (except the way to your Zamboanga). Most of those highways in the map, I've driven them all, except to Zamboanga, of course. My wife has forced me to avoid the buses, especially starting the late 1990s when bus bombings became more frequent. October last year, for a photo assignment in the Zambo-Basilan-Tawitawi area, I tried the Iligan-Zamboanga bus, leaving Iligan at 1a.m. It was torture! I promised myself never to take that trip again until the roads are paved. On my way back home, I tried my usual route - fly from Zambo to Cebu, then take the boat to Iligan, or Cagayan de Oro.

Coz of the picture I've acquired driving all over Mindanao through the years, I've started work on this Mindanao photo gallery ...

www.thelandofpromise.com

... in the hope that I can sell prints. But I haven't updated it yet in 2 years, and couldn't get the time to put shopping carts.

Originally Posted by zamboanga

general tip for blade hunting: maranao and maguindanao pieces are found starting from iligan city going to the east. tausug, samal, and yakan pieces are found in areas west of iligan city, starting in the city of pagadian going south.

Wow, I didn't know that! Next time I'd be in Pagadian, I'll look for blade shops there. In Iligan, you can't find old blades, only recently made ones from Tugaya. In Marawi, not much old blades, too.

Bob