W@W Davao

Thanks to Philippine Airlines' mileage program, I get to fly to Davao City for free (plus VAT & fuel charge - not so free). It's good that the company I currently work for is a loyal customer of PAL, and whenever I can, I use my credit card to do purchases because "sayang ang miles" (HSBC paid advertisement). It's my first time to avail PAL's local flights for I've been taking advantage of Cebu Pacific's zero fare promos in my previous domestic trips.

Here are some of the highlights of my very first trip to one of the must see island in Mindanao:

1. While looking for a place to eat inside the boarding area, I saw Tourism Secretary Joseph Hotchkiss "Ace" Durano browsing a magazine inside a "Christian" bookshop. Part of me wanted to approach him, congratulate him for his tourism programs, and take a photo-op. The usual shy me resorted to just zooming the cam and took a blurry picture of Secretart Durano.



2. I stayed at Joey's new house in downtown Davao City which he designed himself. The subdivision has this ridiculous policy that you cannot build a house that has a value of less than four million pesos. Working in Los Angeles for almost seven years, he surely can afford to build one. I asked myself where did my hard earned money go after working abroad. Other than a scholarship grant, I don't really know. 



3. I carried a green-black-gray baby crocs (not the overpriced and somewhat dangerous plastic sandals). Davao crocodile park is selling crocs skin belts for as high as 21,000 pesos.



4. I had my first cup of Dragon fruit shake which tastes like kiwi, strawberry and pear. Dragon fruits are native to south america but they do grow it here in the Philippines.



5. I ate Durian fruit in one of the popular Durian market in the city. They have a saying "Durian smells like hell but tastes like heaven." I don't have problem with the smell, really, but I don't agree with the "heaven" part either. It's not that I don't like it. It's probably one of the fruits that I will not crave for a long time. I still like it when it's in yema, pastillas, pulvoron or tart.



6. For three consecutive nights, I was drinking Red Horse beer - a brand of beer I never really liked but I do now. Our drinking sessions usually starts from 10pm until 4am. I enjoyed our 'probinsya - kanto' type of 'inuman', complete with 'bangko' and long wooden tables. My new found friends often forget that I don't speak 'bisaya' so I just laugh with them whenever they crack jokes.



7. A trip to the world class resort in Samal Island, Pearl Farm, completed my stay in Davao.

Happy Three Years

Last week, I received call from Joey, one my 'barkadas' and 'kainuman' when I was still working for Uncle Sam. It's been three years when I decided to go home and I do miss my friends there, our adventures and misadventures. On the bright, it also means that I've been working for Trend Micro for three years though I started as a contractual / consultant.


Dinner at Max's Restaurant Glendale


San Fernando Valley with Paul, Richard and Waki


Hollywood Boulevard with Billy and Trish


Universal City walk elementary and high school classmates

I was still sleepy when Joey informed me that he just arrived in Manila and he's heading straight to Davao City. He was asking if I'll be visiting him in Davao. I said "Syempre naman! Tuloy na ako." I've never been to Davao and visiting 2 new provinces is part of my to do list for this year. Now, I have a chance to cross them out. I called PAL reservation hotline to confirm my flight.


Pearl Farm Resort

More entries and pictures to follow...