Zamboanga ; The Asia's Latin City

Written by : Dg Norfarini Datu Hassan

It was a sunny and breezy day back in the Philippines. My parents and I went on a trip to Zamboanga city in the Philippines. Since it’s school break and it was also some sort of a ‘reward’ for my yearly achievement in school. It was a three weeks holiday and we decided to stay at my uncle’s place for the whole weeks. We used the ferry service from Sandakan’s port and the journey took around 9 hours. Upon arrival at Zamboanga’s port, my uncle picked us up and we went straight to his house.

We began our tour in the city by going to the Zamboanga City Hall. There were no taxis in the city but I saw plenty of tricycles. Fares vary and depend on the passenger’s negotiating skills. However, it was not that expensive. “Excuse me po, kung magkano ang pamasahe?” said my mom to one of the drivers of the tricycle. My mom has a great negotiating skill so we got cheaper fares as compared to how it was normally charged especially to tourists.

My parents can speak up to three to six different languages, especially mom. She speaks Malay, English, Tagalog, Bisaya, Bajau, Suluk and Chavacano (Spanish-based creole language spoken in the Philippines). It was rather convenient to travel along with them.

There we were able to see the stunning Jose Rizal's monument standing tall in the middle of the City Hall. We took some pictures to add in our family photos’ collection before proceeding to the local markets. There’s not much we can ate as most of the food vendors sold non-halal foods. Luckily with a little help from my auntie who also live there, we managed to find a place to fill our empty stomachs.

Then, we walked to one of the most famous Zamboanga’s attraction, the Fort Pilar. It is also known as the Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza. It is a popular worship spot and even muslims come to pray here.

After that we went back to the downtown area to have our dinner. One of the famous foods in the Philippines is probably the ‘Chicken Adobo’. It is a popular dish where the meat, seafood, or vegetables marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic, which is browned in oil, and simmered in the marinade.

Afterwards, my stomach was craving for some seafood so my parents brought me to this seafood restaurant where they served Curacha also known as spanner crab as the main dish. “Ang sarap talaga bagayan ng ulam ang Curacha!” I exclaimed happily to my parents.

The buzzling sounds of the tricycle or ‘traysikel’ as what the locals called it, could be heard throughout the city. It was nighttime already and we decided for a few stops at some souvenier shops nearby before going back. My mom bought a whole of bunch of dried mangoes packed in packets. It costed her around 400 PHP which was around 32 MYR that time.

The next following week, we went around the city using a different kind of public transportation. It’s called as ‘jeepney’ in the Phillipines, it resembled a van like we use here in Malaysia but it doesn’t have any windows – means that it use natural air instead of air conditioner.

The jeepney was very attrtactive and it was one of the most seek attraction for the tourists from overseas. It has beautiful colors painted on the whole vehicle which makes it stands out in the road. We arrived at the Mindpro Citimall and began our food hunting there.

The Mindpro Citimall is the first and largest shopping mall in Zamboanga City, as well as the 4th largest shopping mall in Zamboanga City which is located at La Purisima St. We went to eat at this well-known fast food restaurant in the Phillipines – Jollibee. Jollibee is a local fast food restaurant and you can say that it is as famous as KFC or McDonalds.

Like any town in the Philippines, the town center was studded by campaign posters. We also went to Taluksangay Mosque to perform prayers before we proceed with our journey. The rest of the remaining days of our little trip began and ended with beautiful and unforgettable memories. We were able to enjoy ourselves and at the same time still spending within our budget.

At first I thought my trip would be another ordinary trip like I used to have, who would have thought it would brought so many memories. As its nickname, Asia’s Latin city, Zamboanga City has set a standard that I least expected of. It was more than I was expecting it to be. The abundant sunshine, cheap seafood as well as the relaxing pace of life was truly an exotic experience for me.