See, Taste & Feel | Dazzling Davao

Davao – The largest city on the island of Mindanao.  One of the most beautiful, progressive, liveable, friendliest, cleanest cities in the Philippines.  One of the safest cities in the country, it also features lush green forest, great attractions and a diverse culture.

We had the chance to have our first trip to the Mindanao region last June 12 to 15.  Our destination – Davao City.  Our official business was to attend our nephew’s Christening – Shawn Andrew’s welcoming to the Christian world.  And since it is our first trip to this part of the country, we also planned a handful of activities to do, sites to see and places to visit.  Definitely we will make the most out of this trip … our first trip to this beautiful part of the country.

Davao … we only heard stories about how beautiful this place is.  First hand stories from friends and relatives who have been there.  Now, it’s our time to see, feel and savor its beauty. We were excited just thinking about it; having this opportunity to experience Davao for ourselves.  No more stories and tales, this time it will be for real.

Our trip to Davao consisted of a trip to Iloilo and an overnight stay at the Fine Rock pension house.  From Iloilo city we took a plane to Davao – 8am trip. We stayed at the My Hotel from June 12 – 15.  Going back we took a plane back to Iloilo around 6am then a ferry trip from Iloilo to Bacolod at 10am.

Special thanks to Mrs. Jucaban and his son, Turko, for fetching us from the Iloilo port and helped us settle at Fine Rock pension house … also brought us biscochos, toasted kinihads and more for additional pasalubong.

June 12 – Iloilo International Airport

• Iloilo-Davao trip takes about an hour.
• We arrived at the Iloilo International Airport 2 hours before our scheduled boarding time.  Definitely excited about the trip.
• Hand-carried our luggages and pasalubong box bound for Davao.
• Thanks to Mrs. Jucaban and her family for a bag fullof biscocho and Iloilo delicacies as additional pasalubong.
• Ate breakfast and had a generous dose of coffee after checking in and settling at the boarding area.
• Armed with my camera, took pictures of the airport while waiting for our boarding time.

  

 

 

June 12 – Davao International Airport & Crocodile Farm and Zip City, Diner at Jack’s Ridge

• Arrived at the Davao International Airport 10 minutes ahead of schedule.
• Waited for Ahia and his wife, Love, who were to pick us up.
• Went to the hotel to check-in.
• Almost all hotels are fully booked – the less expensive ones at least.
• Settled at My Hotel
• New hotel, clean and spacious rooms. Wi-Fi access and great location – walking distance from Davao’s People’s Park.

• Ate at New Sunya – a local carenderia fronting the hotel. Great meal, delicious food.  We had
  • Sinugba (grilled) belly
  • Kinilaw
  • Sinigang
  • Pork belly
  • Pansit Guisado
  • Chicken soup
• Picked up Amam and his fiancé Vima from the airport at around 2pm.  They flew straight from Manila to Davao – roughly a 1.5-hr flight.

 

• Went straight to Davao Crocodile Farm to validate our tickets for the White Water rafting and Zip City passes.
• Toured the farm. Fascinating reptiles.  They also feature eagles, parrots, tigers, ostriches, turtles, snakes, civets, bear cats and other exotic creatures.

• Got a good look at Pangil (fang) – the Philippine’s longest saltwater crocodile in captivity.  About 18 feet long and about 60 yrs old.

 

 

• Went to Zip City at barangay Langub.  300-meter long zipline crossing the left side of the cliff.  Travel time is about 45 seconds.  Highest distance from the zip line to the base of the cliff is about 250-350 meters.  Great experience!!! Definitely worth another try … next time.

• Went back to the hotel to pick up some things.
• Attend Shawn Andrew’s pre-Christening seminar – I was a designated ninong (godfather) by the way.

• Went to Jack’s Ridge for dinner.
  • Cliff-side resto bar
  • Used to be occupied by the Japanese forces near the end of WWII.  One of the forces’ important outposts giving the Japanese forces a commanding view of the Davao City and the Davao Gulf.  Stories of hidden treasures and loots stored in the caves dug by the Japanese soldiers – loots the Japanese soldiers gathered from other countries and brought to Davao.
  • Overlooking the city of Davao
  • Great ambiance
  • Good food – and it’s less expensive too.  P1200-dinner fed all 7 hungry vacationistas – includes bottomless ice tea for all!!
  • It also features a hotel - Jack’s Ridge hotel – several other bars and restaurants, a mini ampitheater and a lover’s lane with a wonderful overlooking view of the city.
  • Toured the place, took some pictures before heading home – the hotel that is.
  • Great time to visit Jack’s Ridge is at sundown with Davao’s city lights illuminating the cliff-side view.

 

June 13 – Shawn Andrew’s Christening at the Davao Assumption Church, Loleng’s Mountain Spring Resort & People’s Park

• Went to church early for Shawn’s Christening – mass was scheduled at 9am
  • Took some pictures during the ceremony
  • Took pictures of the family after the mass

  

    

• Proceeded to the reception.
  • Got to interact with Love’s family
  • Great family, closely bonded and fun to be with. Very accommodating and caring.
  • Took pictures of the reception party for souvenirs.
  • Party ended at around 3pm

• Went to Loleng’s Park. A 1.5-hour drive to one of the mountains in Davao – Toril, Davao City.
  • Great nature park. Offers a cool climate and breath-taking view of Davao and the Davao Gulf.  Amenities include a fresh water swimming pool, lagoons for boating, chapel, sports venues with its basketball court and a restaurant.
  • Great view of Davao’s East side.  Overlooking the Gulf of Davao and a view of Samal island.

 

• Proceeded to People’s Park (Palma Gil St., Davao City)
  • Features a mini-forest, sculptures and lagoons.  A giant sculpture of the Philippine Eagle near the entrance, fountains and ponds and numerous sculptures of Mindanao’s indigenous tribes adorn the park.
  • Formerly known as the PTA grounds
  • Fascinating how clean and well-maintained the park is.  People going inside will pass thru an inspection from the guards stationed at the entrance.  Cigarettes, liquors, weapons are some of the things that are not allowed inside the park.  Military men and police officers roam the park – for added security I’d guess.

 

• Went back to the hotel to freshen up  a little and went out for dinner.
  • P99-pesos buffet, eat-all-you-can dinner.  Fried shrimp, eggplant, pansit, chicken, soup and fruits – exclusive of drinks.
  • Had a hefty meal to prepare us for next day’s activity – White Water Rafting!!!

June 14 – White Water Rafting at the Davao River & Butterfly Garden, replica of Michelangelo’s David

• White Water Rafting point-of-origin is at Davao’s Crocodile Farm.
• We arrived early – 8:00am
• Went inside the park and waited till the shop opened.

• Went thru the orientation at around 9am.  Excited and scared of the scenes we saw on the video.  Great rapids, boats capsizing and all. We all listened attentively to the orientation on what and what not to do.
• Took the shop’s service to Tamugan, our start-off point for the rafting – 1 hour drive from the park.
• We were informed that the water level was above average and higher that what the guides expected.
• When normally there are 25 rapids, we were told to expect more from start to finish and a 80-90% chance of capsizing. – more excitement, got more scared. 
• Went thru verbal orientation on how to paddle, do a safety swim and things to do when the raft capsizes.
• Went to the river, on to the raft and off to our first small rapids.
• After a good run, we stopped at a calmer portion of the river to perform our practical run thru the things we were taught.
• One-by-one, we went overboard, go thru the safety-swim position and got saved and pulled on board by our partners.  We were taught the basic paddling commands and terminologies: hard paddle, easy paddle, back paddle, forward paddle, left side, right side, up stream and down stream.

 

• Guide: `3 most important things to remember when we capsize: 1. Don’t Panic, 2. Never Panic, 3. if all else fails, go back to number 1.`  Every set of rapids are followed by calm water.  In case of a capsize, we need to go thru the rapids on our own and will be `saved` on the calmer portion of the river, after the rapids – a good 2-4 minutes of going thru the rapids, in a safety-swim position holding on to your paddle before you reach the calmer portion – I’m wondering how many liters of water one drinks bobbling thru the rapids before reaching calmer waters.
• Sounds easy, sounds like adventure but doesn’t sound too comfortable either when your guide tells you that his priority is to save the raft before saving anyone.  Off the raft, we are essentially on our own diskarte (means) to survive thru the rapids before the raft comes to our aid for rescue.
• Our guide, Arnel, is an official lifeguard and certified white water rafting guide – whatever that means.
• Another guide, a look-out, is on a separate canoe-like-raft. He surveys the river ahead of us, stopping at the rapids to take our pictures while we cringe and shout paddling thru the rapids.
• Took a lunch break along the river bank clearing. Packed lunch were provided – part of the package. Includes a tetra pack juice and a bottled water plus a mentos candy, more to take that sea-sickness, butterflies off your stomach than giving you fresh breath.
• Now we are ready to take on the river again. We had some instructions before we head off – we will be approaching the Washing Machine after a couple of small rapids. Say what? Washing what?  The Washing Machine is a part of the river characterized by three consecutive rapids – level 3 according to the guide – that is known to capsize many adventurers thru Davao’s rafting history.
• Then there’s also the equally challenging Drop-and-Suck. What the ****!! A single large swell among small rapids that is also notorious for capsizing many a rafter.  Big rock underneath the river allows the water to swell really big and drop to the boulder’s other side to create a little hole with a vortex that when it catches a raft will surely mean an inevitable capsize.
• As we approach each of the huge rapids we ready ourselves for our captain’s instructions – feet securely fastened to the raft’s foot straps.
  • ‘Easy paddle!!’
  • ‘Stop!’
  • ‘Hard paddle!! Hard Paddle!! Hard Paddle!!’
  • ‘Stop!’
  • ‘Forward paddle left! Back paddle right!’
  • ‘High Fiveee!!!’
• We struggled, paddled real hard, got confused on the instructions as we manage thru the rapids, banging on the rocks below – sometimes on the river side – turning like a disk among the rapids and swells of the Davao river.  Sometimes we feel we are not moving, sometimes it feels like we will capsize.  People thrown from one side of the raft to the opposite end – still have the presence of mind to jump back, sit straight, secure foot strap and PADDLE!!! Amazing resilience, flexibility and a rush brought about by the pump of adrenaline in our systems.
• Exaggeration? Mildly! Maybe a little disillusioned from the excitement we experienced thru the ride.
• It definitely was a memorable first white water rafting experience.  Should we do it again? If we had another chance, HELL YEAH!!
• High Five!!! Wooohaaaaahhh!!!

  

• What was supposed to be a 3-3.5-hour rafting thru the 30 or so kilometers of river stretch, was shortened to about 2hours because of the above average water level and faster river currents.  This time around, shorter doesn’t mean less excitement.
• Going thru the ride you’ll see Davao’s lush green forest, great river-side views, cliffs and overhanging trees and vines.
• And yes! We defied the odds by paddling thru the whole course without capsizing!!! Amazing!!

 

• We took a shower at the stop point before we boarded our ride back to the crocodile park – soaked, exhausted and packed a hell of an experience with us.
• Took a shower and changed at the shower rooms at the crocodile park and waited for Ahia and Love to fetch us.
• Went to the rear side of the park to visit the Tribu Kamindanawan.  It features different native huts of the different tribes of Mindanao.  Shows to showcase the different tribal ceremonies, dances and arts are featured during weekends.  The local souvenir shop at the entrance also sells native bags, necklaces, bracelets and other trinkets.

 

• We went to the adjacent Riverwalk restaurant to try some of their exotic cuisines  The taste? A little awkward to say the least, but definitely savory.  Contradicting description? Definitely yes, like the tastes of the cuisines. :)
  • Crocodile meat Sisig
  • Ostrich meat Kebob
  • Durian fruit Shake
  • Dragon fruit Shake

 

• Next stop was the Butterfly Garden located at the same subdivision where the Crocodile Park is.
• There were also Dragon Fruit plants cultivated just beside the garden; gave me opportunities to take pictures of it as well.  Also known as ‘Pitaya’, the colorful red Dragon Fruit has a thin rind, scaly skin with a sweet white pulp inside.

 

 

• Went to a local market to buy some Kabugao, Lansones and Durian fruits.

 

• Visited the full-sized replica of Michelangelo’s sculpture – David – at the waterfront area.  The gold-painted statue with fountains around it, is one of the few life-sized replicas of the famous sculpture around the world. 
  At its base is a 50-foot long pool that features large salt water fishes that includes baby sharks.
• Dinner was as at one of the seaside restaurants – forgot the name of the place though – somewhere near SM City Davao near David’s statue.
  • Grilled shell
  • Sizzling Gambas
  • Sinigang
  • Sizzling belly
  • Grilled Hito
• Dessert was one of the Durian fruits we purchased earlier.  Our trip wll never be complete without tasting the King of Fruits form the city made famous by its delicious product.  The Durian fruit doesn’t taste as bad as some people claim it to be.  It doesn’t smell that bad either – although long exposure to the fruit’s smell, in a confined place may have given me an intoxicated feeling.  It was our first try at the King of Fruits, by the way – and it was a positive experience.

• Called it a day and went back to the hotel to pack our things for our travel back home the next morning.

June 15 – Davao to Iloilo to Bacolod

• Woke up early for our 6am flight.
• Ahia and Love fetched us from the hotel and drove us to the airport.
• Checked in, lined-up for final checking at the boarding area.  Just a few minutes to spare before boarding time.
• Arrived on  time at the Iloilo International Airport.
• Took a van from the airport to SM City for P50 – each.
• Took a taxi cab from SM City to the port.
• Checked in 2 hours early for our Super Cat trip to Bacolod scheduled at 10:30am.
• Arrived at the Bacolod port at about 11:30

It was a very exhausting trip. We never had the time to stay in one place for long.  5 hours of sleep was all we had every night.  Every hour, every minute was well spent.  It was truly a memorable, exciting, colorful first trip to Davao and in the Mindanao region as a whole … truly worth a second trip.

 

 

 

DAVAO … HIGH FIVE!!! WHOOHAAAAHH!!! 

More pictures at my Facebook account …

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~ by valtok on June 21, 2010.