hello from davao 1-3

hello from davao
12 apr 2007

the flight from manila to davao was delayed for a little over an hour. the plane left at 6am. the domestic airport in manila was full of people. i was surprised with how the ticketing personnel did their job. they do not explain the details of the flight, like tell which gate to enter. or maybe i just got used to how the japanese did it. they are so complete in giving instructions.

i was a bit dismayed in the security because i had to go back all the way to the check-in counter for a dozen or so of disposable camera batteries. the ground personnel made a sort of mcgyver style in securing my bag with the use of packaging tape.

i saw senator mar roxas along the way. no body guards, he was just another passenger waiting for his cue to enter. i forgot the urge to document the moment hahaha

i was so sleepy during the waiting time and flight so that when i woke up we were about to land in davao international airport. the airport is impressively new and clean. no congestion and the people smell clean. we were fetched by a friend of a friend to the hotel.

going outside, the streets are wide and clean too. with more than one million inhabitants, we didn't encounter traffic jams, yet. they have their unique jeepneys. i saw isuzu type of PUJs.
we had binagoongan and pinakbet for brunch. i slept for 3 hours later to regain my lost sleeping times. my brains have to recover also.

we'll be fetched again later to see more of this place. please visit Davao videos

hello from davao 2
12 apr 2007

we were fetched up by a friend's friend for dinner in their rest house. i was hungry during the 1hr 10mins ride to the bundoks. i don't know the altitude but my ear pressure constantly changed like during ascent and descent in an airplane.

the road was well paved and the air was a bit chilly. we were served the following cardiac arrest delights: pritong baboy (masarap yung sawsawan), grilled tuna and kinilaw (may halong pipino, suka, bawang, garlic etc). coca-cola and red wine were present.

the rest house was very regal and you can see the city atop the mountain. i can last only 2-3 hours. maraming kuliglig at alitaptap na maririnig. the red wine kept me from the chilly wind. the place is so green it would be a shame to throw off cigarette butts everywhere.

davaoenos speak visaya which, to my ears, sound like combined cebuano and ilonggo. the younger generation speak tagalog.

on the way back to the city, i was so sleepy that i didn't realize that we were in front of the hotel's lobby. we felt some need to eat again so off we went to a nearby mercury drug for something to eat. i ate hopiang mungo (the classic type and the diced kind), fish crackers, ube and chocolate ice cream. hey, nestle-magnolia ice cream is now simply known as nestle ice cream. goodbye magnolia.

i was knocked down in bed right after. at least i had 7 hours of sleep. it was a delight to eat champorado for breakfast, longganisa, daing na bangus, pritong itlog and sinangag. we'll go out today and see the city.

check out the uploaded Davao videos

hello from davao 3
13 apr 2007

this is the last day in davao. yesterday, we went to paradise island which is 6 mins away from the main land. this cute resort is very clean and the sand is white although not as pure as in boracay. the sands are constantly kept moist by the waiters. i enjoyed halu-halo in front of the beach.

davao is clean. smokers know where to smoke. i feel more secure walking around the city of davao than the streets of MM. the people are also friendly and it feels safer to ask your way around the city. there are also many non-smoking taxis. it's a bit strange that jeepney drivers still charge PhP7 for journeys that exceed 4 kilometers.

we had great lunch in a place called iron horse. ang sarap ng mga pagkain dito sa murang halagang PhP89 lamang. the grilled panga ng tuna was a winner, kilawin, and laing. for dessert, i binged on minatamis na saging saba, sinukmani, and palitaw. truly a diabetic's gourmet. the mandayaw durian ice cream swept off my feet. i could still smell it when i regurgitated 6 hours later. wow!

what i find quite odd is that in japan, i could hear the borborygmi of my tummy at any time of the day. i could even hear the tic tac of my clock. but here in RP, i do not hear them. i also notice that we put to high volume our radios.

i'll be leaving davao in 1 hour after which, i'll take the night bus trip going to laoag.