Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GETTING AROUND
By motorbike
Habal-habal are the main form of transport
in T'boli; short trips cost P10 but it's best to hire a rider for
half a day to travel around the lake (P250).
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Punta Isla Lake Resort
A short ride out of town along
the lakeshore
T
0919 515 015,
W
puntaislalakeresort
.com.
Rudimentary but adequate fan cottages or dorm
beds. There's also a breezy restaurant serving a
decen
t
selection
, incl
uding tasty tilapia burgers. Dorm
P100
,
cottages
P950
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
While it is potentially one of the most beguiling areas of the Philippines, the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
, a patchwork of several
predominantly Muslim provinces in the western part of the island, is not entirely safe
to visit. Created in 1989, the regional government (based in Cotabato) has the power
to levy taxes and apply Shariah law to Muslims. Despite this autonomy, the region
remains extremely poor and the epicentre for anti-government protest.
Marawi and Lake Lanao
Nestled on the shores of Lake Lanao just 25km south of Iligan (see p.408),
MARAWI
is
the centre of the Islamic religion in the Philippines: 92 percent of the population is
Muslim. During the Marcos years, the area around Marawi was where kidnappers were
said to hide their victims, but these days the city is generally peaceful, with incidents
related to the fight for Muslim autonomy rare. If you do visit, it is still highly
recommended that you do so with a driver and a guide. Contact the Iligan tourist
o
ce (see p.408).
Marawi's greatest natural attraction is placid
Lake Lanao
, which sits in a green bowl
circled by distant mountains. It's the second-largest lake in the Philippines and easy to
explore via a circumferential road; there are said to be some 350 mosques ringing the
lake and it's the best place to see striking
torogans
, the traditional wooden homes of
Marawi's upper class.
At the
palitan
, a two-storey market in the heart of the city, you can find virtually
any type of clothing from jeans to traditional tribal garments, colourful raw cloth
8
ARMM TRAVEL ADVICE
The US, UK and Australian governments (and most Filipinos) usually advise foreigners to
avoid ARMM
entirely, but the situation on the ground is less clear-cut. Most of these
places feel pretty friendly most of the time, but while actual
incidents
are rare, those that
do occur often end in tragedy - a car bomb killed eight people and injured forty others in
Cotobato City in August 2013, while Zamboanga City was occupied by separatists for
nearly a month in September the same year.
Kidnapping
is still a lucrative business,
likewise piracy, particularly on Basilan, an Abu Sayyef stronghold on the northernmost
island in the Sulu chain, and if any unequivocal recommendation can be given it is that you
definitely shouldn't go there.
Hopefully the 2014
Bangsamoro Agreement
(see p.448) will finally bring peace to the
region, but in the meantime it's worth considering if you really need to make that trip to
Marawi, Lake Lanao or even Zamboanga, when there are several thousand more, extremely
beautiful, islands to explore in the Philippines …. If you do decide to go, seek the advice of the
local tourism of
ce before visiting any of the following locations, and where possible arrange a
local guide when travelling. Avoid travelling at night altogether.
