On the Road to the Home of the Generals 3

Summer has always been known to be a time when we could crave for a change of scene and actually get it. Summer has always been one of the most awaited times of the year because it is during this season that people find themselves feeling less guilty to go out and have a little bit of fun in the sun. We are only a few weeks away from the end of the summer, and the only question is: have you really gotten your summer’s worth of fun?

If your answer is “no”, then you definitely have to do something about it. I know it is not as easy as people make it seem; it requires a lotta cash and a lotta spare time. However, when I feel like a change in routine (to change my perspective and mood) is in need, I go on a road trip to nearby cities. One of my favorite places to visit is General Santos City. The city of Generals and oh-so-fresh tuna has a lot to offer, it has all the urban comforts I need, and the people seem friendly and nonchalant about how other people are; and this is probably one of the reasons why I love the city so much.

The next time you feel the need to maximize your Summer, gather all your fun-loving friends, pack for a night, hop on a car and head off to General Santos City. And that was exactly what I did last weekend.

This article started on two issues ago and was continued with last week’s article. We stopped at a visit to Piyesta at around 7:00 PM. Here is the rest of my itinerary:

9:00 PM: We decided to leave Piyesta (although it was quite tempting to stay until the wee hours of the morning) to check out other bars in the city. We asked some locals about other hot spots in GenSan and they directed us to J Mix otherwise known as one of Manny and Jinkee Pacquiao’s latest investments. This bar is like no other in the city as it combines a relaxed ambience with posh interiors and impeccable service. They featured bands during weekends that seemed to entertain a mixture of yuppies and students as they nonchalantly indulge in great conversation, wonderful food and drinks. Like other bars in the city, they have their own specialty drinks. We were excited to try all of their unique creations but decided to stick with their best sellers.

We started with strawberry margaritas which were expertly mixed by their mixologists (read: bartenders). Unlike other watery margaritas we have tried before, this was flavor packed and gorgeously presented with a cherry on top. Actually, J Mix’s strawberry Margarita resembled slush, but it was doubly exciting to know that it packed a punch. The next on our cocktail list was their signature drink, the J Mix shots which is a mixture of tequila, grenadine, and orange juice among others. These shots looked cute and festive, plus they served it really cold (which is unusual for shooters), but a sip of this potion definitely proved how potent these are. I was curious to know whether the punch that these shots offered were intentionally as hard as Pacman’s. Three shots of this and I was done for the night, or so I thought.

I watched curiously as the bartender set his stuff on our table. He had filled a margarita glass halfway with rum and then laid a flat bottle opener across its width which was then used as a base for a whole bottle of Bacardi 151. Then, the bartender topped the Bacardi bottle with a shot glass and poured triple sec and tequila all over it drenching the shot glass, the Bacardi bottle, the bottle opener, and the margarita glass with two of my favorite poisons. And then, to our surprise, the bartender lights everything up. The result: a gorgeous (blue) flaming set-up that was definitely picture worthy. As the bartender rushed us to sip the warm and oh-so-potent mixture he explained that this was another one of their signature drinks: the Flaming J Mix. As our heads spinned from all the alcohol we decided to take a break from all the uberly strong drinks and get ready for some dancing.

12: 00 AM: By midnight we decided to check out one of the most popular party spectacles in Gen San: the popular foam party. Admittedly, we were just lucky to catch this twice a year event. Usually they have a foam party at the East Asia Royale Hotel during the last night of the Kalilangan Festival so we were quite surprised to see that they had another one of these hot events to open the season of sun and sand. We paid a hundred bucks just to get in the enclosed parking lot of the hotel and we were shocked at what we saw. Loads and loads of people from Gen San, and even some familiar Davaoeno faces, gathered together in an all out booze fest. People were dancing on their chairs as they enjoyed the performances of different bands from around the country and the mixes from the local DJs. At first we felt overwhelmed because the crowd was just too huge for our taste but once we settled all our apprehensions went out the door. Unfortunately, we did not want our ensembles to get wet (as we did not want to have to bring home wet clothes to Davao) so we did not actually dive into the part of the compound where they had foam. Fortunately, we stood close enough to witness this marvelous event. People were literally bathing in foam while swinging their hips on a floor that was filled, waist high, with foam. Three huge foam machines spat out massive amounts of foam every thirty seconds or so, and the crowd loved it. They did not seem to mind that they got wet, or that they were slipping and stumbling on the floor; all they wanted to do was to party. And this was something I had missed from the old party days of Davao: a sense of being care free.

Another hour passed and we decided to leave that gloriously free-spirited partyphile nirvana. As I walked away from the blazing lights, thumping beats, and a gorgeous back drop that is the illuminated façade of East Asia Royale Hotel, I had realized that this short trip to the city of the Generals was enough to keep me sane.

This overnight experience proved that sometimes, all a partyphile really needs is a whole new party experience to remind him that life is a party worth celebrating.

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