CEBU, Philippines – As a young HR professional, I used to frequent Davao City for business trips. My last visit to the largest city in the Philippines was in 2006. Thus, when the opportunity to visit Davao recently presented itself, we quickly booked ourselves on a Cebu Pacific Go Lite plane ride.
On previous visits, I had already made the usual tourist stops: Pearl Farm Beach Resort in Samal Island (incredibly romantic); Eden Nature Park (one visit is enough to engage in soul searching since the place is a bit remote); Marco Polo Davao (which is just as nice and elegant as Marco Polo Cebu).
This recent visit was another experience altogether due to the new friendships we had made and reconnected with in Davao; feasting on the infamous durian; and new thrilling adventures we encountered. Here are highlights of the trip…
Day 1
As soon as we landed, we were whisked away by our fellow JCI Davao brothers to Las Casitas Inn Spa & Resto, a twenty minute ride from the airport. This is a business class inn located in downtown Davao and upon entering its lobby, it strikes one of its homey, all-wood interiors. The rooms were cozy and well-appointed. The only thing we found inconvenient was that they served free dinner instead of breakfast, and their in-house massage service was open only at 4 PM with no Sunday schedule.
Since we were craving for durian, the hotel staff directed us towards the durian fruit stand a block away from our hotel called Anda’s. Following where our nose pointed us to, we had our pick of durian varieties to choose from the fruit stand vendor. This place, which is open 24 hours, also has rickety wooden tables and chairs where you can eat the durian right then and there with your bare hands, which is exactly what we did.
After the durian attack, and since we had to conduct a training session the next day, we had our nails done at Sheila Magpale Salon & Spa. This is located next door to the Grand Menseng Hotel. The parlor staff was quite nice and accommodating and our only “complaint” was that a simple manicure/pedicure cleaning took them two hours to accomplish!
Day 2
We conducted training the whole day in the spacious campus of University of the Philippines Mindanao. That night, after dinner, we went around the city. We observed that Davao has lots of little cafes around town which reminded us of Europe’s cafes. There are also tons of dining establishments and bars to choose from.
We ended up at Annipie’s, a cinnamon bakeshop which is owned by 2008 JCI Davao Chapter President Nick Partoza’s family. His sister, Andrea Partoza manages the place. We sampled their chocolate cinnamons. The original flavored cinnamons and the group consensus was that Annipie’s cinnamons taste softer and creamier than the popular Cinnabons. We ordered several boxes to take home to Cebu.
Day 3
On our last day, we checked out a food and commercial complex just a stone’s throw away from our hotel, the Paseo de Legaspi. Owned by Peter Lat and his family, this elegant complex houses offices, restaurants, bars and a coffee shop called Tata Benito’s (a whole latte love). Peter shared that it is named Paseo de Legaspi since it is located in the old Legaspi Street. The Lat ancestral home, located in the center of the complex, has been converted into a hotel. According to Peter, the Japanese and American soldiers used to stay there during the Second World War.
After a delicious lechon lunch, about a dozen of us opted to try out the zipline activity offered by Outdoor Adventure, the largest ropes course facility situated in a private nature sanctuary just minutes from downtown Davao City. We ziplined on the Xcelerator, a zip ride 250 feet off the ground. Outdoor Adventure is operated by Project Challenge Adventure, Inc., a non-profit organization created to teach values formation and positive life skills to the youth of Davao.
Afterwards, we stopped by Chime’s department store (the Davao version of Rustan’s), where we had snacks and coffee. Dinner that night was at the sumptuous Diamond Chinese Restaurant located in Victoria Plaza.
We didn’t have time to visit these places anymore but we were told that for lechon manok, a recommended stop is Penong’s or Banok’s. Both brands have around five restaurants each scattered around the city. And for the “best halo-halo in the Philippines,” one should try Aling Foping’s located in Matina Town Square (which was closed when we dropped by on a Sunday afternoon).
Indeed, we truly enjoyed our visit to the “City in Bloom,” inspired and enriched from our adventures and friendships!
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Our deepest appreciation to the JCI Central Davao 2nd ACM/RCM Area 5 Working Committee for ensuring we had a worthwhile visit, most especially to their 2009 Chapter President Ted Espinosa and Area 5 National Vice President Richard Tandoc.
Many thanks also go to our new, special friends from JCI Davao, Inc.: 2008 Chapter President Nick Partoza, Steve Arquiza, and Mark Basili for spending extra time with us while in Davao.
Daghang salamat and we hope to see all of you in Cebu soon!
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About Davao
Davao City is a sprawling metropolis of over a million people located in the Southeastern part of Mindanao. It is one of the largest cities in the world with a land area of 2,443.61 square kilometers. The nearby cities of Cagayan De Oro and Butuan are just six hours away by private vehicle. One can also take the Rural Bus Liner, which has an hourly schedule to these destinations.