Walang tulugan in Davao

(Second of two parts)

By the time we got to Davao early last Sunday, I had gone on for 24 hours without sleep. But even if I was so sleepy I still remembered the one thing I wanted to see in Davao: Mt. Apo. I actually have this fascination for volcanoes and could have been a volcanologist had I not landed in this profession. The first thing I did after getting out of the Davao International Airport therefore was to look for Mt. Apo. Our driver Jong quickly pointed to a cluster of mountains and said that the one with the whitest peak was the volcano I was looking for. To get a full view of it, we had to drive for two hours. Forget it. We didn’t have time for that.

There were official functions to fulfill and the one thing we were supposed to do was show up at the SM grounds for the Grand Kapuso Day opening ceremony to be led by GMA 7 top boss Atty. Felipe Gozon (the person responsible for bringing the station to where it is now). We were already late for that, but there was nothing we could do because we were unable to get an earlier flight.

And then we still had to check in at the hotel and put our belongings in order. Since we were already very late for the affair, Startalk executive producer Reylie Manalo decided it was useless for me to catch up and gave her permission for me to sleep – on the condition that I would be ready before 3 p.m. to host the variety show being put up by S-Files executive producer Mildred Natividad after SOP.

At the Marco Polo Hotel, I found out that my room was not ready yet. The girl at the front desk, however, took one look at me and saw for herself how I was about ready to die of exhaustion. It was either she gave me a room that instant or they’d have the entire maintenance crew busy picking up a dead person’s remains (mine) at their hotel lobby.

Clever girl. She checked her computer and bumped off another GMA 7 talent (from Bubble Gang) from his room. It made sense the other GMA 7 artist was not there yet because his flight was delayed and so I got his room (1614).

Upon reaching the much-coveted room, I didn’t bother to check on the view (which is usually the first thing I do when I have to stay in a hotel). When I saw the bed, I plopped into it and was about to doze into dreamland when I heard a knock at my door. When I got up to check, it turned out that the person outside got the wrong room.

Determined to be dead to the world for at least a few hours, I turned off my cell phone and gave instructions to the hotel operator that I was not accepting any call. To make sure I’d get knocked out, I took a gulp of Nyquil (my throat was already bothering me anyway) and for good measure popped a sleep aid.

A few minutes later, just when sleep was about to sink in, there was another knock at my door. It was our staff member Oswald Go telling me that I was needed at the SOP opening number. I don’t remember rehearsing a production number – I told Oswald from behind the door. You’re needed there – that’s the instruction I received.

That was already late morning. There was no point in sleeping anymore because I had to be at the SOP stage at the SM Davao grounds before 12 noon and I had to take a shower, dress up and leave an allowance for travel time because it is a big city where most of the establishments are far apart.

When I got to the SOP set, however, they didn’t know what to do with me. Apparently, there had been a miscommunication because the show didn’t need me until 2:30 p.m. In order to make up for the mix-up, they offered me lunch and I was instantly pacified. In between, I went to one of the booths to meet up with the GMA 7 fans. On the side the Startalk people had a game where the fans could win prizes – like pins and T-shirts with the Kapuso logo.

After SOP Gigsters, I took over the stage to host the variety show and was later joined by Tess Bomb and Teri Onor, who is so talented a singer (aside from being an effective comedian), he wowed the Davao crowd with just one song. Actually, the people in the SM grounds responded warmly to everything we did on stage. But they surely went wild when we started giving away gift packs and T-shirts with the GMA-7 logo. I really wished we could have given them some more, except that there were so many of them. Even I had to give away all the shirts I won for myself when I joined one of the games.

With our official duties done, we finally had the chance to enjoy Davao’s fresh catch and produce. For seafood, we went to Liza’s restaurant (I don’t know where it is – all I remember is that it is by the seashore) and had the best shrimp sinigang you can ever imagine. The following day, I was back there for lunch with my new friend Pilar Uy, who became the close friend of Barbara Dimapilis and GMA 7 executive Rommel Gacho after her daughter Paula Bianca (now 23 years old) joined Munting Mutya in the now-defunct Lunch Date. For that late lunch (we were also joined by our PUM Janine Nacar and writer Ricky Lopez), there was a lot of food on the table, but I only focused on the grilled tuna, which was as thick as a huge slab of steak. Yes, it was like eating steak, except that it was healthier.

Then came the fruits. Everyone else went for lanzones, mangosteen and pomelo, but I only had an eye for durian–that magical fruit that tasted like heaven but smelled like hell.

In one fruit stand, I had two pieces of durian (more than one kilo each) cracked open and finished all of it on the spot. I offered it to my companions, but they all politely declined. Fine –I could have the durian all to myself then.

Before leaving Davao, I went to Durian Park and ordered 25 kilos of the fruit to take home. The trick there is to bring your own Styrofoam box, have each of the fruit cracked open and (with clean hands) you scoop the flesh out and put this in either a Tupperware box or very clean plastic bags. This way, you are not saddled with the thorny shell anymore because that’s additional (and useless) weight when you check that in at the airport. (You can’t hand-carry durian – that’s not allowed and there’s no way you can hide it because the smell is a giveaway.)

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit the famed scenic spots of Davao (like Pearl Farm – and Mt. Apo, my beloved Mt. Apo). In fact, I wasn’t even able to go inside SM Davao.

But somehow I’ve fallen in love with the place. The air is fresh and the streets are clean. The truth is, I wanted to visit Mayor Rodrigo Duterte at the city hall to salute him and give him a one-man standing ovation for making Davao City smoke-free (and also for a job well done). Actually, I don’t know him personally, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about him.

Next time when I visit Davao, I’ll probably make an appointment. Yes, there will be a next time – that’s for sure. If only to buy more durian.