I went to GenSan

Yep. V sign for peace. Hehe.
Yay because it's not a selfie~

Last 22 May 2014, I went to GenSan. This was a sampling trip for the research project in school I enlisted myself to. What's in GenSan? Fish! Lotsa fish!


I was accompanied by one of the research assistants of this project and her friend from her congregation. We left Davao very early in the morning, around 4AM, and arrived at GenSan at around 7AM. Since I didn't sleep the night before, I was in my own dreamland during that travel duration.

It wasn't my first time setting foot on GenSan, but the particular places we went to GenSan this time were new to me.

We first went to the famous Fishport Complex, which was really huge. Before we could enter the selling area, we changed our shoes into boots so we wouldn't slip from the wetness of the floor. Even if it was still 7:30AM, the place was swarmed by fishermen, fish vendors, everyday hagglers, and trucks of restaurant suppliers. Noise was everywhere. The smell of raw fish mixed with the odor of people was all over the place. It was truly packed with people that it would be impossible not to bump someone. Prices were fought over and were agreed on. For a moment I thought it was a battlefield of the raw fish specialists.

After getting our samples (It was a battle well fought), we stored them in an ice box filled with crushed ice to keep them cool, fresh, and frozen.

We bought crushed ice from this ice supplier. I don't know the name of
this ice-crushing equipment, so let me call it THE ICE CRUSHER.

It was time for a rewarding breakfast. The fishport complex was also conveniently lined with affordable places for eating. We had bulalo for viand. I commend the taste although I don't frequently eat bulalo , but I don't like the fact that I found several strands of hair, probably a man's, in my bowl of bulalo. It's a food safety concern. I swear I'm not eating there again, despite ma'am's recommendation. I'd rather bring my own snack if we have to eat there the next time we go to GenSan. Or I can just go to the malls and it in the food chains. After several minutes of staring blankly into space, we finally picked out our wallets and/or coin purses to pay for the food. Ma'am paid in bills, so we had to wait for the change. Because of our tiny chats, we forgot that time was running and had to back. We were finally inside our van, which was parked near the eatery, when ma'am realized that she had not yet retrieved her change. Her church friend went back to the eatery to fetch it for her. He didn't immediately come back because he and the waitress of had to argue about the change. The waitress had repeatedly insisted that the change was already given back, but it really wasn't. The church friend was persistent enough that the dishonest waitress finally gave in and returned the said change. After the church friend told us about the incident, I realized that we should really be wary of liars around us, regardless of where we are. At least, it was an educational experience.

While returning the boots to the changing center and wearing our original shows, I took a few photos of the charts available for the public to look on. I think the regulars of the fishport are experts when it comes to this kind of knowledge:

We left the fishport complex to go to our next destination for sample gathering. It was around noon that we came back to the center of the city to stroll around inside the famous mall of GenSan, KCC. It was my first time ever to enter this place, so it was a very special moment for me. (I have classmates who live in GenSan.)

Just before entering the mall.
I wanted to have a memento of this ephemeral event in my life, since I don't know when I'l definitely be coming back to this city.

 The mall was sooo huge inside! We entered the department store and checked out the ladies' section. I can say they had more choices than SM City Davao and the distance between stands allowed us to walk freely. There was minimum restriction to our movements and I loved the atmosphere of the place. I also noticed that the dresses and blouses are very pretty and they were being sold at prices lower than what are found in Davao. I wanted to purchase some blouses even though I'm not a shopaholic there but my money just wasn't enough. Maybe next time, I will bring more with me. (I'm really looking forward to coming back to GenSan!)

We went upstairs, too, and set foot in the new mall, Veranza. Yes, it was just beside KCC. The three of us didn't bother going beyond the bridge which leads deeper into the said mall, and only stopped to take photos of the artificial waterfalls. It is a famous spot in the mall for selfies.

Veranza and the waterfalls: high costs for both water and wattage
in exchange for this unnatural beauty.

We went back to KCC Mall since there wasn't much to do inside Veranza. After walking around, we entered the tiny space of books of cheap prices, Booksale! Well, well. It wasn't like a "holy place" for me as other people would call it for them. Nonetheless, I took time in trying to find good books, not that I could really tell which ones suit my preference and which ones do not. Looking at the cheap, ultra-within-budget paperbacks, I could finally appreciate this place. It finally occurred to me that it's no wonder that people, especially the bookworms, want to come back here again and again. There's no stopping these people.

I noticed that there was also a section for second-hand manga. I know some of them. Because I was still so unwilling to buy books, I just let myself search through the shelf instead of buying something. It was a miracle that I was able to spot an affordable piece out of the beyond-my-budget English-translated Japanese pieces. Yes, it was an English release by Del Rey of the debut work of NISIOISIN, Zaregoto Volume 2: The Kubishime (Strangling) Romanticist. Seeing a physical copy of a light novel made my heart beat abnormally fast. I was in my own heaven. Until this very moment, I'd only have digital copies of light novels. Of course, I'd want one for myself even more because physical light novels are extremely rare (and a cheap one at that). And I haven't even read Zaregoto Volume 1. Not minding that fact, I decided to buy it! It was actually a push-or-pull battle within my mind, and I concluded to push it. It's my only souvenir from GenSan.

From top to bottom, left to right: when I saw it, when I newly bough it,
and after I cleaned it at home.

We all had books with us, so we left the shop with satisfaction. It was lunch time and we stopped at Mang Inasal to eat. (I didn't actually eat there. I just accompanied them and quietly sat while reading the book.) After that, we walked around some more, and finally returned to our van. The next destination was the city public market, where we obtained our last sample. The last sample was supposedly hard to find, but we unbelievably found it! Yep, what a lucky day~

It didn't take us a whole day to get our samples, so we were able to go back home earlier than anticipated.

What I really look forward to in coming back to GenSan is my next visit to BookSale. Hehehe. I might find more light novels there and, just maybe, I will buy some books for a change.