Where Integrity Resides!

There may be only a few Honest Stores in my country but this is not new to me. I remember the first time I encountered an Honest Store was during my last travel to Southern Leyte, Philippines, particularly at the Kuting Reef. My second time to experience was in an Honest Store in Pine Ridge at Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Philippines.

“This store is too small for dishonest people”, was the line I could not forget when I had been there last time.

And yes, this is so true. The Honesty Store at Pine Ridge was too small for customers who had bad intentions when it came to buying. As for me, I always take care of my dignity and reputation, so whenever I am in an Honesty Store, or even in any other store, I always make sure that I am doing the right way.

My quick travel to Pine Ridge Bukidnon led me to an Honesty Store since this was one of the first structures I had seen as I ascended to the three famous peaks. To get there I need to climb up the stairs built for trekking.

The Honesty Store was on the right side with less than a hundred steps to climb. It is a two-floor structure. It may not be huge but it has a spacious area for dining in. Here are some quick snapshots of the view where the Honesty Store was located.

I enjoyed the views just before I started ascending the stairs. What a refreshing view although tiny raindrops fell while I was going to my destination as I have mentioned in my previous post. I found solace in every scenic view and truly had a great day.

Although I was just wearing my slippers, it was not difficult for me to climb up because of the stairs and it led me to pause for a while at an Honesty Store at the beautiful spot surrounded by tall and verdant pines. Perhaps the Honesty Store may be small but I firmly believe that it is mighty.

When I first saw the two-floor structure, I thought that it was a lounge for travelers. But as I explored the first floor, I was very surprised to discover that it was an Honesty Store. Upon discovering it, I got a selfie and I must say that this was my second time buying in an Honesty Store in the Philipines.

What a great feeling to shop here as I was surrounded by the evergreen scenery. Aside from being excited to buy once more in this kind of store, I stopped trekking up because a few raindrops started to fall. So I wanted to buy a soup that could warm my stomach.

There was a variety of coffee and tea at the counter with the hot water dispenser available so I could just buy any warm food and beverages. But I wanted to buy noodles after I had seen my favorite flavors.

It was an unplanned trip and a quick visit to this amazing spot, so I never had lunch in the city. I was expecting that there would be a cafe or a store here.

But still, I was lucky since finding the cup noodles was fine before having a heavy meal. Good thing, I found the cup of noodles in Bulalo Flavor and I had a tasty and relaxing meal while being surrounded by pines.

Aside from the Bulalo cup noodles soup, there were many items for sale and most of them were necessities. Here is a shot of some goods available at the store.

Most of them were necessities for campers. The prices of the goods here may be expensive compared to local stores but they are all worth it especially since this place is far from the city and market. It took us more than thirty minutes to arrive here from the city.

Since the place was surrounded by thousands of pines, it was so refreshing. Most of all, what attracted me more was the presence of the quality pine cones at the counter.

I just bought the cup noodles and it was sixty pesos each or 1.07 dollars. And then I bought fifty pieces of pine cones I would be using for my crafts at home.

Each pine cone was only for five pesos so I was able to buy plenty of it. I bought a total of fifty pieces and some of them were given to my aunt because she loves to make decors out of them too.

And I just dropped my payment every after I purchased the glass bottle. I placed the exact amount so there will be no need to change my bills.

I enjoyed buying in the store. I am looking forward to finding more Honesty Stores here in my country. Perhaps it is the best place where integrity resides and indeed too small for not honest customers.

---

Disclaimer: All texts and pictures are my own unless otherwise stated.