Davao Transportation Options

I will admit, we use cabs for most of our travel, but there are some unique travel options available here in Davao.  A cab will run you 40 pesos at pick up and a 10 min ride will typically be under 100 pesos ($2.15 US).  The cabs take you right to your door and they are air conditioned. 

Davao Jeepney



Jeepney Queue at Victoria Mall

 When you get comfortable with the area, get adventurous and try a Jeepney.  Jeepneys are small vans, trucks, buses, etc that have turned the back into an enclosed set of benches for riders.  Jeepneys drive back and forth on the main streets.  It is 8 pesos (20 cents US) to ride a Jeepney.  They stop anywhere along their route if you wave them down.  If you are standing on the side of their route, the driver will honk to ask if you want him to stop for you.  You hop in through the open back, grab a seat and pass your money up to the driver through other passengers.  Believe it or not, if you need change, the other passengers will pass that back to you - amazing!  When you want to get off, you rap your knuckles on the roof or try to get the driver's attention.  Each Jeepney has its route painted on the side, but other than that the decorations are up to the driver.  These things are colorful!  Some are even themed, there was a Megadeth themed Jeepney that I wasn't able to get a picture of.  You would be amazed how many people can fit in one of these during rush hour or when it starts raining.



Inside a Jeepney



Packed in a Jeepney



Three types of transportation

 If you are headed down side streets, there are other options - pedicabs and motorcycle cabs/jeepneys.  These are both small passenger cabs bolted onto either a bicycle or a motorcycle.   These are not as colorful, but useful for smaller neighborhoods where Jeepneys do not have routes.  Pedicabs are a little daunting, they are so small and slow - but on sidestreets they are great.  The pedicab will run you about 15 pesos (40 cents US), but you want to tip the driver after all the peddling in the heat!  The motorcycle cabs are a little more, but can fit 3 people or more if they have a Jeepney frame. After you get over the fact that the driver is sitting on a motorcycle seat next to you, it's kind of fun.

 

  

 

Last Weekend in Davao

So my last weekend in Davao I wanted to do some shopping and see some real sights of Davao.  Friday night I tried to organize a team dinner at a hilltop restaurant with a great view of Davao - but it rained, hard, for hours (ie, no view).  A lot of people decided to stay at the hotel - but a few ventured out to a Filipino fusion restaurant downtown.  When we finally got there, the restaurant was closed due to flooding, but a really nice french restaurant upstairs was open and busy.  We ate well and Christophe loved talking french with owner.  Christophe got me to try pate, but I didn't like it.

Coffee on the Beach!

Saturday I invited Brenda to come have breakfast with me and some of the team on Paradise Island.  You take a short ride to the dock and just hop on a boat for a 5 min ride across the channel to Samal Island.  Paradise Island is a nice resort with tables right on the beach.  I was amazed how big the fish were, until I noticed that you could buy fish food and feed them.

We were back on the mainland by 11am and headed to Brenda's place by Jeepney so she could show me some local sights.  It was Brenda's week for groceries, so she picked up the house grocery list and we caught a pedicab to the local market.  I learned from my work here that most locals shop at street markets for fruits and vegetables fresh from local farms.  A lot of the supermarkets import their food based on contracts awarded in Manila.  I'll admit, we have been doing our shopping at stores, so I was excited to see the market.

Fish Stall at Adgao



 

How can I describe Adgao Market?  It is blocks of open air stalls selling everything and anything - fruits, vegetables, animals (alive and butchered), household goods, clothes, fish, rice, toys, toiletries, etc (it was really hot on Saturday, the smell was something to be remembered).  Brenda has her favorite vendors, so we quickly got all the vegetables and fruit she needed.  We went to her vendor that makes her peanut butter - yes, he makes peanut butter right there in his stall - but he was out already.  I was soaked in sweat and loaded down with groceries in less than an hour.  We took a motorcycle Jeepney back to her place.  It is literally a pedicab frame bolted onto a motorcycle that the driver is riding.



Aldevinco Aisle



Next we went to Aldevinco for some local shopping!  I had been wanting to go, but the place is a little daunting without a local.  Aldevinco is a block of shops with a roof over them - each shop has it's own glass walls and a door, which makes it possible to shove a ridiculous amount of goods into every nook and cranny.  Brenda and I could barely both make it into some shops.  The clerks sit outside and offer you goods and try to pull you into their shop.  This market is also a money exchange and knock-off goods spot.  The rule of Aldevinco that everyone kept telling me - BARGAIN.  There are rarely prices marked on goods and you barter down from whatever price they quote you. It works, I didn't pay asking price for anything I bought.  There are bags, clothes, wood carvings, jewelry, and lots of junk.  We were there for hours. 

There are pearls of every shape, size and configuration.  I drove the sales girls crazy picking out one I liked, but I love my set.  I also bought two Malongs, a cloth sewn into a tube that is used for anything - dress, skirt, backpack, towel, baby sling, whatever.  The fabric choices are crazy.  Here are some of my spoils:

 

Malongs



Bamboo Purse





Abaca Coin Purses











It was late when we considered ourselves done shopping and Brenda reminded me we hadn't had lunch.  We went to a local place and I had a traditional noodle dish - Pancit - before saying bye to Brenda and heading home late.

Sunday, some of the team went to another water park, yes, there are water parks everywhere.  I decided not to go and slept late - it was glorious.  Some of the team that stayed at the hotel went to a local Malaysian restaurant that was the closest I have had to Indian food in a long time, so good.  We also went to the local grocery store and checked out the pool at the hotel next door before heading home.  I finished off my relaxed weekend with a massage, including hot stone therapy, life is hard.

Starbucks Mugs

Those of you that know about my Starbucks mug "problem" will realize that this admission is the first potential step in my recovery - eh, probably not.

Starbucks has been selling location mugs for several years.  I began my collection in 2006-2007 when I was travelling for work to a lot of different client sites.  The mugs contain the location name, sometimes facts about the city or country or sometimes just a pretty picture of something the area is known for. 

I have over 30 mugs now from various US states, cities and countries I have visited.  They are double stacked in the cabinet and on top of the microwave.  We recently had an earthquake in the eastern US and I was worried first about my car being in a parking garage and secondly about my starbucks mugs tumbling to the floor - they survived, whew.

I often ask friends going places that I have been to before I started collecting these mugs to bring me back a mug - thank you for enabling me, I love you all for it.

So, I'm in Asia for the first time and I already have 2 new mugs.  Interestingly enough, Seoul will accept American money, but give you change in the local currency.  I made one of my teammates go to Starbucks with me in Manila to pick up a mug - the collection bug has not bit him (yet).

Davao does not have a mug yet, but Brenda has promised to keep an eye out and I have almost 2 years before she leaves.

Island Hopping from Davao



Team Sleeping on the way out

Sunday the team chartered a boat to go island hopping around Davao and try snorkeling.  We chartered the boat for about 8 hours - including 4 crew, lunch and snorkeling equipment for about 1000 pesos a person/roughly $23 us dollars!  The company is relatively new,

the boat was nice and it even had bean bag chairs on the deck to lounge in.  The crew had cool drinks and even brought around cool wash clothes from time to time.  It took about an hour to motor to the first snorkeling spot and a lot of the team napped. 

First Snorkeling Spot



The first snorkeling spot was a little off one of the islands nearby.  The water was so clear you could see coral about 15-20 feet below.  The water was really salty, and of course I swallowed some.  It was really easy to float and you could see some fish and coral below.  Cecile even dove for some starfish - they were everywhere, different shapes and sizes. We stayed anchored for a little bit, then piled back in the boat to head for our lunch spot.

We motored to a beach that had picnic tables and a resort with cabanas.  We got a secluded spot of beach all to ourselves - except for local selling pearls and seashell jewelry and fish and an armed security guard, oh well.  A lot of the team did end up buying from the jewelry sellers, we had a great fresh fish lunch and the guard was very helpful and nice.  Here are some pictures from our time at the beach, including my pink toes in the crystal clear water. 

The local fishermen brought a cooler full of fish to our table, and even though we had pork and chicken kabobs from the charter boat, we couldn't resist adding fresh fish to the menu.  This beauty is a local fish, lapu lapu I think, weighing a little over 2 kilos (5 pounds) that we bought prepared for 650 pesos/$15 us dollars!  The fish was picked clean and we gave the left over prepared meals to the local jewelry sellers.

The boat crew let us laze around, a lot napped - there were hammocks, grassy areas, and the crew even brought bean bag chairs ashore for us to use in the shade.  We had fresh coconuts from the trees above our heads split open for drinks.  Some of the team stayed in the water for what seemed like hours, but the snorkeling right at the beach wasn't the best.  Eventually, everything was packed back onto the boat and we headed for the last dive spot. 



Going In

We could see fish before we even got in.  As we were being tied off to a rock, a scuba diver appeared under our boat.  This was a very popular scuba and snorkeling spot and we could see why.  The coral goes from very shallow to dropping off about 25 feet in a hurry.  Little fish dart around in the shallow areas and bigger (less than a foot long) could be seen a bit deeper.  The coral was all shapes and sizes.  I swam through a swarm of little silver fish with blue horizontal stripes.  I saw striped fish, yellow and orange fish and more starfish. 

There were two people in our group that could not swim, and the guides took them out one by one to try snorkeling with life jackets on.  Everyone had a great time.  By the time we finished, I was exhausted and almost fell asleep myself on the way home. 

 I pretty much spent the day soaking in spf 30, but it was worth it - no sunburn!  A truly great way to spend my birthday weekend.

Back at the dock



White Water Rafting in Davao

Saturday we were invited to go white water rafting by Mr. Dizon - who owns the Mt Apo Highlands Resort we stayed at last weekend.  The Dizon family owns a lot of the tourist attractions in the area and he offered to let us go rafting for free.  All 12 of the group and Jan were invited, but only 4 ended up going.  It is a little ominous that the rafting trip starts and ends at a crocodile park.  The Crocodile Park is a wildlife conservation area and a zoo - there are crocodiles of every age and size, but also tigers, orangutans, snakes, and a lot of birds. 

The guides get everyone to sign a waiver then fit you with a life jacket and helmet.  You are required to watch a safety video (which starts with a skull and cross bones logo and the words "Paddle or Die"), at which point I thought Christophe might try to go home.  Then we all piled into Jeepneys for an hour ride to the river put in.  

Blue Thunder Jeepney



Piled into the Jeepney





Cecile, Christophe, Sarah and Izaskun Still Dry



 As soon as you get to the river they show you paddling techniques, tell you the guides' commands and demonstrate how to pull someone back into the boat.  There were several groups and boats on the trip.  We got our own boat and met our guide, Mac.  Mac loaded us in the boat and had us take turns getting in the river and practice "rescuing" each other while we were still in calm water - being wet actually felt pretty good and knowing your life jacket would work was good to know later.   



Christophe "rescuing" Cecile



Sarah "rescuing" Izaskun

 We started out pretty good, here is some video of some early rapids.  We even give ourselves paddle "high fives" we are so proud of ourselves.

  

 

Sarah Overboard



Then things started to go right/wrong - we ended up in the river a lot.  I even ended up in the river all by myself - sorry the guides didn't get video of that one, but there are pictures.  The team was able to pull me back pretty quickly, but I got a really good taste of the Davao River, it wouldn't be my last... 





Cecile, Izaskun, Mac, Christophe and Sarah on the Davao River


Here are the first rapids we lose the whole boat in - I'm in the red helmet, grey shirt and yes, I'm under the boat drinking more of the river.

How you were supposed to go through those rapids

At this point in the trip, our guide explains that having a light boat is making it harder for our boat to get through the rapids, now he tells us. After this wipe out the guides decided to make us go through the rapids last so other boats could pick us up, instead of running us over.  A note about the Philippines that I have now learned, when a Filipino says "don't worry, don't worry" - WORRY!

The guides took over 600 pictures and videos of every boat in every rapid, here are some of my favorite pictures. 

 

 

 

You are in the river for about 4 hours and they stop the group for lunch along the way.  Lunch was fine, except for rice - we are all pretty tired of rice.  

Izaskun, Christophe, Sarah and Cecile

Now back to what you really want to see, more wipe outs.  I would like to point out that we were not the only boat that ended up in the water, and there were 2 guides in kayaks zipping around to pull you back to your raft.

Kayak Rescue



Man Overboard on another raft



This lovely set of rapids is called "Drop and Suck" and we did not do it right

Here is it done correctly, whatever

We are getting pretty good at rescues - Cecile just got "dunked" during this rapid



Raft in the Cave



The scenery along the river was

beautiful, and it was a little overcast so we were sunburned.  You pass small farms where children come out to wave.  There were also small river crossings of cable cars and sometimes just bamboo rafts that drivers pole across calm spots in the river.  There was even a small cave you could paddle into with water dripping from the ceiling. 

Here is the long caravan of rafts in our group and some great rapid shots of other boats, the guides had their hands full.

We finally made it to the take out point, we were tired, a little bloody from the rocks, but we had fun - until we had to pile into the Jeepney for the ride home. 

We Made It!



Christophe, Mac, Izaskun, Sarah and Cecile



We didn't get back to the hotel until 5, so I was able to grab only an hour of sleep and a quick shower before we went out for my birthday.  The team was nice enough to plan a dinner and some clubs.