MAITUM, the farthest town of Sarangani Province was celebrating its Bangsi Festival and I was invited to judge their photo contest, and so I got to visit the town after a decade or so. It remains to be a quiet town, rural, and being so, does not have accommodation facilities except for home-stay.
The home-stay facility is the residence of Municipal Councilor Perlita Ampodia, just a corner away from the munisipyo, where you get to sleep in one of four rooms on the second floor. The toilet and bath is shared. So all four rooms share one toilet and bath.
I got the middle room on the back part of the house, and that's the best place to be. As you see, it's a munisipyo, and it's piyesta. Meaning, there will be videoke till dawn. Since the room is at the back, then all you get is the muted noise. The room has an aircon and just the basics -- a bed (two beds, but there was only me), and a study table with a mirror.
The cabinets are full of personal stuff of the family, so don't put your stuff there. There are gable windows that give you a view of... the main house's roof and the trees behind.
Used to sleeping with the lights off, I did turn off the light, only to realize that in the barrio... the night is dark. No, make that pitch-black. I opted to turn on the study table light instead and just draped the towel from above to mute it down a bit, otherwise I wouldn't be able to even see my hand. Yes, it was that dark.
The pleasant surprise is upon waking up and waiting for your breakfast that the councilor, herself, prepares. The man of the house is fond of bonsai plants and he would tend to his plants just outside the dining area, you can go ahead and gawk. Gawk-worthy too are their cactus and succulents on the front yard. It was wow.
Look closely at the photos of the cactus and bonsai to find a five-peso coin I deliberately placed there to show scale. To complete the homey feel was the resident cat. That was one peaceful stay, that allowed me to tackle a lot of personal work... As a friend would say, 'twas short and sweet.