All around the General Santos City you will see lots of fresh fruits and vegetables being sold. The fruitstand you see at left is typical of what you'll see along the roadside.

Here in this fruit stand you can see many different fruits. Bananas (Saaging), Pineapple (Pinya), Watermelon (Pakwan), Mangoes (Manga), Guava (Bayabas), Apples, Grapefruit (Suha).

Some of these fruits are grown for local consumption as well as for export. Items in this category include the Bananas, Pineapple, and Mangoes.

Others of these fruit are grown strictly for local consumption.

There are other fruits that are popular in the area, but not pictured, including Lansones, Durian, Jackfruit (Langka) and Lyches (Rambutan).

There are many popular beaches in the General Santos and SOSKSARGEN area that can be enjoyed. One popular beach is London Beach, but there are many others as well.

There are also a number of swimming pools around the GenSaan area, including the Villa Aurora Swimming Resort shown at the right.

The Sarangani Bay area is one of the "frontiers" of scuba diving activity in the Philippines, and for those of you who like to dive in unexplored areas, this may be the place you've been looking for. Diving and other water sports are just beginning to become more popular, with more foreign tourists coming into the area all the time. If you're interested in diving in the Sarangani area you might want to e-mail Mike Kingery at SARANGANI DIVERS, for information on local diving. His E-Mail address is: sardiver@mozcom.com. Mike and his wife pioneered recreational diving in Sarangani bay, and offer PADI training and dive tours.

At left, a Panoramic View of Lake Maughan in T'Boli, South Cotabato.

If you take a trip to General Santos City don't miss the many scenic sights of the provinces! South Cotabato, Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat are filled with beautiful places for your enjoyment!

The three provinces have a wide variety of people and sights to see. Being in a coastal area, of course you'll find plenty of beaches and coastline, but also lakes, farms and plantations and other sights.

You'll also find people of many different types. Christian, Muslim and tribal people like T'Boli and Blaan who have occupied this area for thousands of years!

In General Santos City, and all through Southern Mindanao you will find friendly and hospitable people! These people have settled Southern Mindanao from all other parts of the Philippines! Here, you will find people from Luzon, the Visayas and other parts of Mindanao as well. Because of the rapid economic growth in the region, there is currently an influx of new immigrants coming into Southern Mindanao.

At right you see a Blaan woman dressed in her tribal clothing. You will find many Blaan and also T'Boli people in the SOSKSARGEN area.

The T'boli live in almost total seclusion and are known for the quality of their brassware and weaving. Their Saturday market is especially colorful. This is the time when you are most likely to see T'Boli people in their tribal dress.

But, overall, you will find that the people in General Santos City and all of SOSKSARGEN are friendly and hard working people. Their main goal in life is to improve the standard of living for their families, provide their children with a good education and enjoy life!

All around GenSan, as throughout the Philippines you will find many different types of people. These younger people are certainly different than other more traditional people of the area. As in other parts of the world, much of the younger generation is finding their own way and making changes in Philippine society.

Currently in Mindanao, changes are taking place everywhere you look. One of the major changes that is just beginning was brought about by a peace treaty signed recently between the Philippine Government and those representing the Muslim community in Mindanao. This agreement seeks to bring Christians and Muslims together in a peaceful way that will benefit all the people of Mindanao, and also bring peace to the island for the benefit of everybody. It is highly likely that GenSan will play a key role in this process, perhaps even as the capital or financial center of the Autonomous area that has been created! But, in any event, our hopes and prayers are for peace and continued development in Mindanao, for all the people there!