Loving DUMA

Hey guys! Just came from Dumaguete. Sorry to some for my super late reply on emails n text, and for ditching the lakads =)

Wana share with u my experience on this trip. Just stayed overnight at Duma but I'm feeling attached. Duma is a great escape from the busy life in Manila. They're very laid back. Plus the food was so good! Enjoyed "Why Not?" a lot. They serve European food and it's so cheap! It's like Santis. They serve a variety of cheese, sausages, wines etc. The ambiance's great too. Cozy feeling. Good location too coz its near the sea. imagine the stretch of Roxas Blvd. cut into half haha. They call that the Boulevard. It's a stretch of restos near the sea with diff cuisines. They serve buffet breafkast at only P199. Take note, all imported. I can't understand how "why not" can priced it that low.Was able to go to this local coffee/pastry shop Sansrival. its like Dulcinea with more quality pastries, and 1/3 the price! And since everything's so cheap, I took advantage of the room service for my breakfast and midnight snack =) Don't get me wrong ha, Duma is still very rural.

It's the only province I visited where locals can speak straight English too. At least the ppl I encountered. This is because a lot of Europeans settled there. Apparently, Filipinas there hooks with "online bride". When you go to the boulevard, feels like your in a different country coz there's a lot of foreigners. Europeans in their 50's with Filipinos around 20's. They would even approach you and just chat.Shocked me quite but its normal daw. And walang sinabi mga "conios" sa Manila. The sons/daughters of the asukareros (sugar plantation) r just so exag! They buy same cars but in diff colors; goes out with 'at least' 100k cash; still use bells or the don style clapping that we see on the m0vies to call their maids.Go to your store to buy this and that but if after awhile they don't want it, you have no choice but to accept it. and btw, these kids never experienced working at all. Money just comes along.

Too bad wasn't able to go around for nature trip and some watersports - beach n diving in particular. People were telling me all the great places I can go and it's getting me excited. Can't wait to dip into the water. Duma is a great hub if you plan to tour Visayas. Just 30mins fastcraft to either Cebu, Dipolog, Bicol, Siquijor. Population of Duma locals r just 100k. But is about 400k in the morning because of the ppl visiting from intercities.

I was also trying to understand the buying behavior of the people and the market in general. Its pretty different compared to other provinces I've been. The people, food, attitude.....it's just interesting. A big chunk of your potential customers are students coz of Siliman University. A lot of rich, "dropout" foreign students studies there.

We launched HEAD badminton and organized a tournament. People were so excited. And we got a lot of participants from neighboring cities. They said they never had that experience before. They were so appreciative too. Small token lang happy na sila. The badminton court was packed. 12 midnight na but madami pa dn tao. The local radio station were talking about it - I was interviewed by the way haha. the local TV station was also present. Compared when we launched in Manila, we even have to convince ppl to join us and I'm not even sure if they listened on my presentation. Kaya if you guys have new or wana launch a product, you may consider introducing it in Duma. The brand would really stick on their mind,and you can really make the locals happy. Although small market pa din. But its easier to convince and make them switch compared to Manilenos. The market is so young pa kasi and anything new excites them. Problem lang is tapping the rich people. Coz they usually travel to Cebu and buy their stuffs there. They have this notion kasi that products in Duma are more expensive, could be counterfeit or not new.

That's it guys. can't stop talking. cya guys soon! =) God bless n tc!