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I went on a Davao trip with friends last June 4 to 7. I start my new job tomorrow so it was a blessing that I'd be able to unwind with friends before I start the 1pm-10pm grind at SGS. Our itinerary was pretty awesome--Pearl Farm, Whitewater rafting, Zipline...needless to say, we were all pretty excited. We stayed at this budget hostel called We R Inn (no kidding). They offered triple sharing rooms at around Php920 a night. This meant we'd only be shelling out less than 500 each per night. It was an awesome deal and we got free breakfast to boot. Tipid travelers eh. :) On our first day, we just checked in our luggage and took off for a day tour of Pearl Farm. I've been hearing raves about this place so I was pretty excited to go. The verdict? Ok lang. I don't know if I was expecting too much but it wasn't as fantastic as I expected. It was a nice place for sure but it wasn't all-out Barney-how-I-met-your-mother-AWESOME. Still, the water was nice. The sand was great. We had fun throwing a disc around and swimming. The weather was really sunny and warm (which was strange because classes were being suspended in Manila at that time due to rain and flood). We also played a 10-minute game of 3-on-3 basketball (my team lost). The food wasn't too bad. Anyway, it still wasn't a bad way to spend the day. Sulit naman yung price of the Day Tour. We had dinner that night at a seafood restaurant called Ah Fat Seafood Plaza. This is obviously a very popular place as it has two branches right beside each other. Parang Emerald Garden ang dating. We were starving so we ordered a lot--steamed shrimp, oyster cake, shanghai fried rice, garlic fried chicken, pancit canton, cold cuts (with my favorite jellyfish) and this crab dish. When the food arrived,we were surprised to see how big the servings were. We are all big eaters but in the end, left-overs were a-plenty. The best part? The bill was unbelievably low (as compared to Manila). We played a guessing game and my guess was more than double the actual bill. The next day, we were off to our whitewater rafting trip at Davao river---the highlight of our trip. The fee included almost a full day of rafting--25 rapids--a simple packed lunch of Chicken Afritada (which none of us finished because we were all too excited too go rafting again), a shirt, CD with pictures and videos, as well as a zip line ride and GCs at a local restaurant. In case you're wondering, rafting is perfectly safe. Some in our group were non-swimmers but they still had the time of their lives. On the very first rapid (I naturally volunteered to be in front for bragging rights plus feeling ko talaga magaling ako lumangoy eh), I was thrown off the raft. It was a good thing we were taught what to do in situations like these. Seriously--before we went to the rapids, we had to jump off the boat one by one and we had to learn how to lift people back in the boat. Still, I was caught by surprise since I was sucked under water and hit my hip on a rock (I have the nasty, ugly bruise to prove it). Surprisingly, I was still clutching the paddle because the guide kept saying that the paddle was our life. When I surfaced, thanks to my life vest, I was swept away by the current. But not before I had a few moments to bid my friends, "Bye...sulat kayo." So my friends paddled to save me and I got lifted back in the boat. Although I was a strong swimmer, I was admittedly a little shaken up because I couldn't believe how strong the current was. Five minutes later, however, the guide asked us to jump off so we can go down the current without the raft. We hesitated a bit but Jack, our trust river guide and I-tim leader, grabbed one of my friends as he jumped off. Siempre..papatalo ba ako? I immediately jumped off the boat. Now that was the highlight for me. It was fun going downstream at a rapid pace without the help of the raft. To my surprise, even Leah (one of the non-swimmers in our group), jumped off the raft to join in the fun. So nawala takot ko at game na ulit. Basta---this is definitely one of the best experiences in my life. Jack really gave us our money's worth. He'd tell us to HIGH FIVE (raise our paddles in the air) just when we'd hit a big rock just to up the fun factor. Another scary thing that happened to me--Jack asked us to go down again just for fun but to hold on to the grab line. Eh medyo mayabang nga ako sa swimming prowess ko. So I jumped and forgot about holding on to the line. I was surprised and disoriented to find myself under the raft. My initial instinct was to swim and go to the front of the boat (because of the current, sabay kami ng boat going downstream). But really, you can't swim (and you're not supposed to swim) sa rapids. After a while, medyo napraning ako kasi I couldn't find my way out plus I was running out of air. But I'm really comfortable in the water so I didn't panic. I decided to go sideways instead of trying to reach the front and I was able to ease myself out from under the boat (with my hands pushing off the underside of the raft). Siempre paglabas ko, my friends didn't even notice my predicament. So nagulat na lang sila nung kinwento ko. But I wasn't really too worried. Highlights of the rapids -- Kiss the Wall (humapas kami sa wall..HIGH FIVE), Washing Machine and the Drop and Suck. Unfortunately for us, it hasn't rained so water level was low. Therefore, the rapids aren't as exciting as it could've been. Still, they were challenging enough for first-timers like us. All of us made a promise to go back to Davao in August when the water levels are higher. Either that or we're going to Chico River. :) After whitewater rafting, we went to Zip City for the free Zipline ride. By then it was nightfall (since we stopped over to eat) and that was when I realized that I had a morbid fear of heights. Kung anong yabang ko sa tubig--yun ang kaduwagan ko sa heights. When we reached the top of the tower, I suddenly felt the blood drain off my face and I clutched the metal handrail for dear life. Still pride na lang di ba? So I went through with it and yes, I had fun. We invited our river guide to join us for a drink at Chilly Chill (a hang-out for locals near Bak Bak) and we met up with him and other river guides there. They serve Below Zero beer at that place for 30 pesos (seriously...30 pesos). That place also had the best Crispy Tenga (85 pesos) I've ever tasted and the Crispy Barbecue was 6 pesos a stick. Rosie and Leah ordered pitchers of mixed drinks (Daiquiri and Margarita) for 200 pesos each. We drank and ate all night and once again, we were pleasantly surprised when the bill arrived. The next day (our last day), we went over to try the Speed Zip Line called the Xcelerator. I was a little worried because I almost choked doing our night zipline. In other words--naduduwag ako. When we were asked if we were doing the Sitting Position Zip or the Superman Zip, all of my companions opted for the Superman Zip. Sabi ko nga, pride na lang. So despite my fear, I decided to do the Superman Zip. To get there, we had to hike for 10 minutes or so uphill. Now, I'm ridiculously out of shape so it was very difficult for me. I kept apologizing because my pace was very slow. Leah, however, kept me company (I think she felt sorry for me) so everyone else could hike ahead. When we arrived at the peak, I was pleasantly surprised to discover I wasn't scared at all. It was a really nice ride with a really great view. Very comfortable--not scary at all. After our ride, we decided to have lunch at Luz Kinilaw. Foodies are saying this is a must-visit at Davao so it was only fitting that we have our last Davao meal there. Don't expect anything fancy...but the food was great (and cheap). Imagine a LARGE Tuna Belly (trust me when I say LARGE, our party of six couldn't finish it) for 300 pesos. Then of course, I had to order Inihaw na Bihod (Tuna Roe) for 120 pesos. Daph ordered Tuna Esophagus (I think they called it Bagaybay) and we all loved it. It tasted like a better version of Squid. We also tried their Kinilaw and Inihaw na Manok. Everything was good and everything was priced to reasonably. To cap off the meal, we went next door to buy fresh durian. Leah, Maan, Mega and Rosie have never tried fresh durian (kami naman ni Daph sabik sa durian hahaha) but they all tasted the fruit. At eto pa--nagustuhan nila!!! After that, it was time to go home. Our Cebu Pacific flight was delayed for over two hours but a small price to pay for all the fun we had. Tomorrow I start my new job utterly refreshed and raring to go. By the way, the people in Davao were very nice---too nice even. All of a sudden, it is on my list of places in the Philippines I would consider retiring in. Post a comment in response: |
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