I guess it's all in my head.
Last month, I had the chance to tag along with my colleagues for a client presentation in Cotabato City. I wasn't particularly nervous about the trip but I was clearly thinking about what a typical war zone in Mindanao would be.
My imagination demanded that I see potholes of past IED explosions and dozens of checkpoints en route.
To my dismay (and fortune), there was none. In fact, our road trip was very pleasant. The roads were fine and there was no hint of danger all the way. Even as we were passing Pikit, the notorious place where skirmishes between the government army and Muslim rebels have been very frequent, we've only witnessed the normal bustle of a small town.
In Cotabato City, the streets were still busy past seven o'clock in the evening, a far cry from what I heard that the city was a ghost town after six o'clock.
Still, precautions were still followed. We couldn't travel back to Davao in the evening. We had to look for a hotel with a private parking lot for rental cars. We opted to stay inside our hotel for dinner.
I wonder what the other cities in Mindanao look like?
My imagination demanded that I see potholes of past IED explosions and dozens of checkpoints en route.
To my dismay (and fortune), there was none. In fact, our road trip was very pleasant. The roads were fine and there was no hint of danger all the way. Even as we were passing Pikit, the notorious place where skirmishes between the government army and Muslim rebels have been very frequent, we've only witnessed the normal bustle of a small town.
In Cotabato City, the streets were still busy past seven o'clock in the evening, a far cry from what I heard that the city was a ghost town after six o'clock.
Still, precautions were still followed. We couldn't travel back to Davao in the evening. We had to look for a hotel with a private parking lot for rental cars. We opted to stay inside our hotel for dinner.
I wonder what the other cities in Mindanao look like?
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