Previously: Quezon Beach
After basking in the awesome Quezon Beach, we headed to the house of the barangay captain of Igasan, Patikul for courtesy call. When we entered the door, my eyes were shocked by the view of a banquet attended by respectable people in their royal apparels, men and women celebrating the Feast of Ramadan. SPO1 Moridz greeted everyone with a kiss. What if I would do the same? I was so confused and reluctant, afraid I might offend all them. In traveling shorts, I opted to glue my feet on the doorstep and gave everyone a forced smile.
A SURPRISE PARTY!
Later, I was ordered to get inside another room and was introduced to Kapitan Faridz K. Bahjin. I was so behaved and soft spoken. The captain was so accommodating and was glad to accept me as a visitor.
Later, two lady servers came in with different foods, some I have never seen before. An invited guest or a gatecrasher, I was so shy to be treated that well. My escorts came in and joined me in the table.
Previously: ARRIVING IN SULU
At the Sulu Provincial Police Office, I waited for my then escorts to Patikul. At 10am, the long wait culminated. There arrived a police car labeled PATIKUL MUNICIPAL POLICE STATION.
So I would be escorted by no less than 4 police officers. The team leader SPO1 Maradjani Abdul Moridz stepped down with the three others. He directed to the office and talked in a high tempered voice I narrowly understood.
Dont be afraid of Sulu. Be afraid of terrorism which can happen in your own home, the metro or even the White House in Washington, D.C.
SULU, an autonomous province in southwest Philippines, garners extremely opposite impressions. While a few view the province as paradise, most see it as an Armageddon--- a battlefield.
According to www.bbc.co.uk:
"The islands of Sulu, in the south-west Philippines look like the type of tropical paradise you would see on the front cover of a tourist brochure."
"But appearances can be deceptive. This is a violent and unstable region - a breeding ground for international terrorism."
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