"Rambutan in Kidapawan" Kidapawan by joiwatani

My personal journal:

It's been awhile since I travelled in Kidapawan. So, I can only write what I remember. (Please don't be abrasive when you write me because I tell you, because the last time I visited Kidapawan was in 1981!)

There is so much development going on all over the Philippines. And, Kidapawan is no exception. This will be more historical than up-to-date travel journal. If you needed an up-to-date information of Kidapawan, please refer to Lonely Planet books or any new Philippine travel guide book...

When I was young, my mother brought me to this cool little town in North Cotabato. I was six years old then. Every year, after that, we visited Kidapawan. My mother was raised in Midsayap, North Cotabato while his eldest brother moved his family to Kidapawan.

My late uncle Greg was a civil engineer and he designed and built most of the buildings in North Cotabato. We had the privilege then to go to movie houses an watch movies for free! He was also the manager of the water district and a decade before that, the general manager of national company. Before he died, he was teaching at the Mindanao State University.

Anyway, my uncle used to bring me in huge logging trucks to get in to the jungle. We drove to the core of Mt. Apo. I remembered those days when the tropical forest was so thick. He pointed out all the wild orchids we saw on the way and he asked his people to climb them so he could bring them home for his wife to raise and propagate them.

We also gathered wild mushrooms and we cooked them on the side of the rugged trail where we camped. When there were noises, it echoed that the jungle seemed to shaked. It seemed like the flapping of the wings of birds verberates. There were woodpeckers. My uncle said that I had to be careful because there was a monkey-eating-eagle and this bird can pick me up easy and gobble me up! I was scared of these birds! I would hide under my mother's skirt!

My uncle's house was filled with orchids in Kidapawan. They smelled so good in the summer when all the "vandanas" bloom. These orchids have elongated stems and they their off-shoots showered with pink flowers. There were also cattleyas.

The wildest orchid called "waling-waling" is one of my aunt's orchid's collection. If my recollection is right, she has 48 different kinds of orchids. She prided herself of being a member of the Mt. Apo Orchids Club.

He also had an avocado, mango and rambutan tree. In the summer time, they bear so much fruits that the fruits rot on the ground with the exception of the rambutan because I would pick them up and ate them!

Rambutan is found in the southern Philippines

There are the fruits that are very popular to buy and eat in Kidapawan. They are called 'rambutan'. The fruits are kind of spiky but the spikes are soft. Inside the fruit is a white, fleshy, juicy, jelly-like delicious thing that you can eat. It has a seed though that is big!

My uncle Greg has a rambutan tree at the back of his house in Kidapawan. The tree has a lot of branches that are small. When I climbed the tree to get the rambutan fruit, he warned me to be careful because I might fall!

I know when the fruit is riped. The green fruit turned to deep red. That is when it is ready to be eaten!

There

When the rambutan is riped, the peeling is easy to come off. If not, you have to use a knife to prop it open.

• Pros:Love the orchids, the rambutan and the mangos in Kidapawan!
• Cons:We don't have enought time to visit!
• In a nutshell:It's one of the places I want to visit every year because I wanted to see my relatives!