Davao! [Part 1]

So I just recently came back from Davao a few days ago and I wanted to share my experience with you guys. Overall, I fell in love with Davao. As I traveled from the airport to our hotel, I was at awe with my surroundings. The place game this sort of rustic, cozy, provincial feeling. Yet at the same time, it still had that city sense which made it more modern.

May 15, 2013

Our flight was scheduled to depart at 6:30 am. We decided to play it safe and be there 2 hours before the departure time so that we could check our luggage in and settle in so that we wouldn't have to rush when we get there. Between 4-4:30, we were already checked in. In order to pass the time, I went over to the laptop station and continued my FRIENDS marathon (I was about halfway when I started). This was my first time to fly a plane without my parents with me, it was just me and my sisters. I was a littler nervous at first because I didn't know what to do or where to go, but it turned out fine in the end.

We got out of the airport in Davao at around 8:30. The man who picked us up (he was friend of my dad's) told us that the Inn we were staying at was about 14 km away. A big difference between Manila and Davao is the way people estimate distances. For example, my house to Manila would be about an hour's drive. However, places in Davao are measure in kilometers. In my opinion, I think people should start estimating in distances rather than in time because sometimes time is ineffective because of different factors (traffic, weather, street conditions, etc).

Once we got to the Inn, we transferred rooms to a bigger one because the one initially given by the company my dad works for was way smaller. Our room was on the first floor, and was closer to the front desk and had wifi access, so it worked out in the end. We went to the cafe/restaurant that the inn was partnered with and had breakfast (I only had a piece of bread with some nutella on it before I left for Davao). I was hungry enough to order some bacon and eggs with garlic rice since I didn't eat anything on the plane since I was asleep for the entire trip (I fell asleep before we took off, and woke up just as we were close to landing).

Once we were ready and our dad was done with his conference, we first went to SM Davao to purchase tickets for the Pearl Farm beach resort for the next day. After having merienda at KFC, we took a cab to our next destination: The Philippine Eagle Research Center.

So, when we got to the research center, the place looked really cool. The buildings looked old, but it didn't bother me. The place was very nature-y too, it was filled with trees and a lot of different types of plants. We strolled through the park and saw many types of eagles nesting around. Some were quiet and peaceful, while the others were just plain noisy. To be honest, the entire place kinda creeped me out. I have this irrational fear of birds, and just being around them made the hairs on my arms stand up. This place was especially creepy because there were birds out of cages, on perches, with their legs chained to the ground or something (whatever, they were chained). The thought of any of them escaping gave me goosebumps. But aside from that, the experience was pretty cool. I was able to appreciate the beauty of the place.

For dinner, my dad took us to this place called Jack's Ridge, which is a huge compilation of restaurants  as well as a sort of resort since the place has an amphitheater, a pool and some cottages. We ate at this restaurant called Taklobo. Our table had a great view of the lights of Davao City. The food was amazing as well, especially their kare-kare, lechon kawali and Marlin, which were my faves of the night. The only thing that seemed off was the prices, particularly the centavos, because they seemed American. Usually, we'd get centavo prices that end with 5 or 0, like 0.50 or 0.75. But here, the centavos were like 0.63, 0.42, 0.89 etc. But other than that, the food was terrific.

That's it for now folks!! I'll update you guys on what happened the rest of the trip on the next few posts! Byeeeeeee!!

Keep Dreaming.