Dole Kalsangi sits at the foot of Mt.Matutum, a mountain famous of its challenges and large old century trees. It has been always my dream to visit this place as I heard a lot of good comments and saw a lot of grandeur photos from some of my friends whose family members work at Dole Philippines (Dolefil). But as backpacker stories and pictures are not enough, thus when I happened to be invited for a Corporate Social Responsibility day tour, with the end part of the itinerary to dine at Dole Kalsangi, without a doubt I registered for the tour. On the way to Dole Kalsangi (highest point), acres of full grown pineapples welcome us with the almost perfect cone of Mt.Matutum as the backdrop. The road to Kalsangi is a slight uphill dirt road, perfect for all terrain vehicles, motorcycle, and mountain bikes. You could easily notice if you're already closed to the exclusive residential once you feel the cool breeze of the wind and the hundreds of Norfolk Pine trees along the road (left and right side). This grand entrance to the golf course serves now as the top destination for those who wanted to take a pre-nuptial photos and videos, same as what happened to my friend Jaime Espina. Once you reached the entrance gate, you will be asked for your reservation and the Dolefil regular employee should appear in front of the guard on duty. One Dolefil employee is only allowed to bring a maximum of 10 guests, then atleast one of the guest should present one valid ID and afterwards the gate will be wide open.
When we entered the vicinity the first thing which I notice was the design of the managers and directors houses, it reminds me of the architecture, atmosphere of US as I had seen from movies, magazines and books. The houses have no gates, the surroundings and lawns are very well maintained. Everything seems to be perfect, this type of environment would surely make anyone feel comfortable and stress free from the buzzing city life. It was mentioned also that Norfolk pine trees before usually are cut down to serve as Christmas trees for the Expats managers. But nowadays since mostly of the managers are from the locality of the Philippines, the trees were never cut down anymore and have grown taller making the place a more peaceful and cool environment.
We arrived at Dolefil past the hour of 12:00pm a perfect time to taste the continental foods. There were different viands for their continental dishes, there were shrimps, beef, pork, fish and it is all garnished very well with healthy vegetables and the plating was excellent. It was also the first time; I happened to see a number of chefs working hand in hand while the guest/visitors could freely looked at chefs as they prepare the sumptuous meals. I was served with a slice of salmon, the taste was very perfect and it reminds me of our product tasting with Big Bay Glory. The garnish not only served as decoration but was also perfect with their vinegar. I don't know exactly the name of the vinegar, perhaps I was carried over of its superb sour taste, a perfect partner for all types of viands. Each one of us was also served with Kalabasa (squash) soup which was very creamy, smooth and delicious. It was mentioned also that their sandwiches and giant burgers is a must try. After we had our free lunch, we were treated with nestle chocolate temptations as our dessert. To make our Dolefil experienced complete, we were served with their famous pineapple juices and it was very refreshing.
Within the area, is an 18 hole golf course club, the picturesque was very perfect, to the point that I wanted to lie the lawn under shade of the Norfolk pine trees but since it was not allowed, then I have no choice but just to stare the beauty of Kalsangi has to offer. Aside from the golf course, they also have Olympic size swimming pool, children's playground, tennis court, a view deck where you could see Polomolok and a portion of Gensan, Sarangani Bay and of course Mt. Matutum. They also have large board games of snakes and ladders and chess with giant pieces. Since the whole place was occupied due to a number of guest and visitors, we haven't tried playing it.
Note:
Dole Kalsangi is an exclusive residential, in order to witness and experience the place, you have to ask a sponsorship from any of Dolefil regular employees and he/she will booked your way to this magnificent place on Polomolok, South Cotabato. Ask your sponsor also to guide you on your way to the club. Enjoy Kalsangi at its best. Jump shot :) hehehehe. This was just a side trip after the Dolefil Chairs for Trees visit.
This was the first time that I was able to purchase a
Deuter product. The product I'm trying to tell you was the Deuter Race Bike Cycling 10Liters Backpack. The design of the backpack was very well groomed, neatly tailored and looks more athletic. Its clean design was made of technical hexlite 210 / microchip-nylon, which made the product perfectly lightweight, weighing only about 520grams. This backpack was the smallest of the Deuter race series and was designed with an optimal ventilation system making the product more comfortable to use.
With its air stripes back ventilation and teardrop shape. This lightweight race pack will follow the curve of your back, providing much comfort even if it fully loaded. It has also a highly breathable mesh shoulder strap with anti-chafe pads that will keep our shoulder from being hurt so much.
Some of the other features of the race pack are as follow:
- Adjustable chest strap and hip belt with mesh wings that will provide a lesser movement of backpack when excessively used like during uphill and downhill of biking, spelunking and trail running on mountains.
- Small zipped pocket at the top, where you could place your most need item, for easier access when you are going to need it already
- Front pocket and valuables pocket inside
- 3M reflectors at the front, sides and back that will help during night time especially if you forget to bring a tail light when biking.
- Mesh side pockets that could fit a 1 liter
Nalgene on both sides.
- Integrated detachable rain cover with a Deuter logo 3M reflective
- Includes also a maximum of 2 liter streamer reservoir.
Biking nowadays had gone to the next level due to the introduction of the cyclocomputer. With this advancement of technology I decided to purchase an entry level 8 functions cyclocomputer named as
CatEye Velo 8. This bike device is very simple to use and it requires no tools to install / setup. If I'm not mistaken I think, I had finished installing it around 3 minutes or lesser only.
Comparing to other Velo products, this one has larger button for changing the cyclocomputer display function and larger screen for a more precise recording and viewing. This device can measure a rider's current speed, maximum speed, average speed, trip distance, odometer, clock, elapsed time and calorie consumption. It has also an auto start/stop functionality, which means that the device start measuring automatically when the rider starts pedaling and stops when the bike is in a full stop. The device has also an auto power-saving mode that will activate after 10 minutes if the main unit does not receive any signal. Depending also on the rider's choice it could be set into inches or centimeters. Although it is also impossible for a biker to reach a maximum speed of three digits, still the display could accommodate up to 300 kph/185 mph. It's pace arrow only measures the speed unlike other products that measure the heart rate and cadence. If the current speed is faster then an upward arrow will be displayed on the screen and if slower on the average speed then a downward arrow will be displayed.
Product Package Contents
- Bracket
- Wire - 27" or 70cm
- Sensor
- Magnet
- Nylon Ties (x7 )
Things to be consider during / before / after bike ride:
- Do not concentrate on the computers display screen while riding. Eyes should always stay focused on the road and surroundings. Ride safety must always be upheld.
- Be sure that the bracket, sensor and magnet are not loosened and is working.
- Do not leave the main unit exposed to direct sunlight when not in used.
Proper installation of the sensor and magnet:
- The magnet center must be aligned with the sensor's marking line.
- The distance between the sensor and the magnet be less than 5mm, else it will not work as expected
After more than a week of enjoying my new passion, my co officemate introduce me some cycling accesories such as the prominent ToPeak brand. From their I had gain the idea of what accessories I should put on my bike.
Let me introduce to you the
ToPeak - Wedge Pack Medium, my first mountain biking accessories. Sometimes this pack is also called as saddle bags as this are place under the mountain bike saddle.
Here's the wedge pack features, which will help you decide on why to purchase one:
It has a capacity of 1.07L if not expanded and 1.31L if expanded. Enough to fit my cellphone, camera, charger, extra t-shirt, wallet, coin purse and other small personal things.
It's exterior fabric is made of 1000 Denier Nylon with Dupont Teflon Coating. This only means that the product is durable and the fabric is not prone to ripping or fraying even if used extensively. All the zippers are also genuine brand ensuring tough years of service. Overall the product only weighs 165 grams.
It has also a white coloring 3M reflective strip for maximum nighttime brightness and visibility especially if mostly of your bike parts are colored black. The wedge pack has a quick release mounting system that allows fast and easy tool-free mounting and removal of bags. It has also a seat post strap, which makes the wedge to be attached more stable.
The product is also compatible with red lite LED. And lastly it has a weatherproofing as it is provided with a rain cover for additional protection.
