Hello Again, Once Again its that time of the year where I go and vacation around the Philippines. I'm going to show you around Davao City during my little vacation with the family. I used a simple SONY dslr camera to take these shots, thank you guys for taking the time to read this article so please read on. We will discuss the following locations:

• The Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai International School
• Waterfront Hotel
• The People's Park
• Duterte's House
• Night Market
• Philippine Eagle Center
• MALAGOS GARDEN RESORT
• Cocoa Center
• Japanese Tunnel

So my stay in Davao City was 4 days. On March 14 2018. Me and my family arrived in Davao City from Manila at around 8AM. Expect a 3 hour flight. As soon as I left the plane, I know I am in for some treat. So what is the first thing that greets you when you arrive and are on your way, Durian!!! Why? Mindanao grows around 90% of the Philippine Supply for Durian.

So lets move on, what to expect as soon as you board the taxi? First off is a strict security measure wherein the airport security needs to check every exiting visitor from the airport bound to the city for safety measures to avoid previous issues few years ago. Which means they don't want another Maraawi type of war. I will say there are clean streets that await you and a fair amount of traffic that is really tolerable unlike in Metro Manila. Metro Manila is horrible when it comes to traffic.

Alright so along the way, Davao presented something interesting , they actually have Japanese International schools. So if you are from Japan and want to study in the Phlippines, go to Mindanao, its the safest city of all the Philippines.

The Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai International School.

What made this school significant along with its college school counterpart, Mindanao Kokusai Daigaku is these schools were visited last year by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe together with his wife during the 2017 ASEAN Summit.

Waterfront Hotel

So we arrived at the hotel, Waterfront Hotel via cab. The entrance was a huge road where you’ll have to pass from a gateway check point. Parking is really vast but I really suggest just getting a cab and you’re in for a treat for how courteous and honest these cab drivers are, SERIOUSLY... Kudos!!!!

At the entrance, bell boys will usher you and assist in carrying your luggage. Place is always secured since this city makes it as one of their top priority.

Since he took care of the city for 23 years as a former mayor, some business establishments voluntarily has some free life size posters or standees of him everywhere. Just a funny but very real side note, Free photo ops without his security aid stalking you... hehehe.

Let’s talk about the hotel itself. The staff was fairly accommodating yet very active in assisting us. The space is very spacious at the lobby as there is an ongoing activity or convention for some guests who are checking in.

After the staff had finished confirming our reservation, I explored some parts of the hotel like the bar, poolside, garden area and the multipurpose hall. Everything was spectacular especially the beach side area where you can just take a moment and have a breather.

So of course once you are rested, of course you want to eat, so what is there to eat, here are a few samples from the restaurant from within the hotel.

Things went smoothly after we got our room and left our stuff, a buffet breakfast awaits us for just $11.

The cake comes at $4 by the way. Miso soup, personalized omelet and some tomato paste chicken are my selected dishes along with of course, rice. I added some oatmeal to make things healthy.

Things are looking great so far so good after an hour of resting. Roamed around a bit to check out some nice sceneries inside the hotel.

The People's Park

We decided to head out and check the city. I have to start with the famous landmark, the People’s Park. Basically, this was dubbed as the Philippines best park not just because of the free entrance, but the vast area and sceneries it can offer.

A $2 cab trip from the hotel can take you there as fast as at least 25 min or so depending from the hotel that you will be staying at. The most basic rule is the strict anti-littering policy and no smoking zone at all times. In there, you can enjoy some of the sculptures like my favorite, the Philippine Eagle replica. Really huge. Some sculptures depicting the ethnic lifestyle and its heritage of the people can also be seen here. Also, as Davao being the Durian fruit capital of the country, you can also check out the Durian Dome and explore it from inside.

A flock of doves just keeps the park very lively along with the sceneries that you can enjoy. Surprisingly, they have a bonsai contest happening and I was able to capture some of the entries. Really amazing with their creativity.

These 2 really takes the cake I mean the spot.

Duterte's House

After that, I dropped by to the President’s house. Yes that is indeed President Duterte’s house. As you can see, it’s just a cozy place. No security or bodyguards outside. The thing is, upon entering the village entrance, there is a check point. As what I have pointed out earlier, Davao harnesses’ it’s peace and security around the city and also the fact that the entire Mindanao is under military rule but they will just ask you to login to the guestbook and that’s it. A bunch of CCTV cameras are scattered at some corners. There is one posted here at the President’s place that can keep an eye on the safety of all of the neighbors.

You can find a souvenir shop along the way in case you wanna bring a memorabilia like some shirts, pins or magnets and even mugs.

Night Market

As nightfall catches up, I went out with a friend to the ever famous night spot in Davao city called, the Night Market. The place is totally secured and safe 2 years after the fatal attack in the city. Now, this place is once again packed with lots of people and of course, delicious food.

The Night Market usually opens at around 6PM within the vicinity of Roxas Avenue. This place is jampacked with different kinds of delicacy, from Takoyaki’s, mochi’s and grilled seafood, pork and chicken.

If you want to spice things up, you can try the fried dynamite or some shrimp rolls. Prices may vary like the grilled stuff may come at a cheap price around $3 and the rest may be as low as a $ a piece.

As for my dinner, here is how it looks. I ordered 2 slabs of grilled pork, 2 fat squids and a chicken grill. All in all for only $13 with a pint bottle of Coke. The experience here is eating it with your bare hands. And as you can see, we were provided with disposable plastic gloves. Non-toxic so no worries.

Philippine Eagle Center

The next day, we headed out to the Philippine Eagle Center, located at Malagos, Baguio District, Davao City. It is recommended to go there via car rental with a chauffeur/driver since it is away from the main city. Entrance fee is only at $2.86 for adults and $1 for kids.

The place is so educational about wildlife, focusing on the Philippine Eagle itself and its other nearby species. Inside the main hall, you can find some artworks and sample merchandise.

Upon entering the sanctuary, you will be welcomed with some flowers and plants. The security recommends you to sanitize first in order to avoid any unwanted contact from avian flu and also to prevent it. Tall trees are everywhere as to provide the Eagles with enough leg room for their flight.

As you keep wandering around the sanctuary, you can find the adult Eagles on their diff cages. They are kept there for only a limited day then they will be moved to a dome shaped aviary in order for them to stretch their wings.

And here we can see the legendary Philippine Eagle from the 90’s named as “PAGASA” or hope.

Eagles aren’t just the creatures living here. You can also find some owls like this guy.

We have some monkeys to party wth. Macaque to be exact.

Surprisingly, you can find a crocodile sunbathing at an Eagle sanctuary. The big fella probably weighs a ton.

And look at that disclaimer. Just like a regular Philippine congressman or politician’s working ethics.

This place is really fascinating. From its museum of the ancestral Eagle’s, to some of its exclusive delicacies like this honey dipped fried banana fritters and sesame spring rolls. All good for just $0.38 a piece!

MALAGOS GARDEN RESORT

This place boasts a lot of awesome stuff that it can offer. From a petting zoo, up to an aviary and its own cocoa plantation. This resort is one of the best place to stay.

From the entrance, you will be greeted with some of the historic figures from the country depicted in their artistic sculptures.

Here we see a fine figurine of the first Filipino hero who defended the country and slew Ferdinand Magellan named as, Lapu Lapu.

Upon heading out to the garden entrance, the sceneries are to be expected as spectacular as they can be.

I first tried checking out this dome aviary. Boy am I in treat for a delight.

As soon as I entered the caged dome, a metallic staircase welcomes me. And wow, little parrots are just walking underneath it.

A beautiful red bench awaits me if I prefer sitting down and just observing the surroundings.

Actually, I prefer roaming around and standing at the top of the steel walkway. Everything looks lovely from above as well as from bellow. Turtles are trying to get my attention and so they did! So cute!

As soon as I got down from the walkway, this spectacular creature appeared before me… Look at those fabulous colored feathers! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get its name due to my amazement.

It just kept walking and waiting to be photographed, like this little fella is anticipating for my shots.

More birds here. One of them is a talkative white parrot btw that answer’s back.

But what really caught my attention is this beautiful red one like it’s just really striking a lot! Check it out

A little bit feisty if you try to pat its head, it tries to follow your hand while it moves its head.

So after I finished bird watching at the aviary dome, I checked out the petting zoo. On my way there, I met this rare albino carrabao. Amazing isn’t it? The place is so filled with greeneries.

Never seen such a big ass chicken in my entire life.

Over here we got some ducks

And to my right, we can see some sheep’s and a ram, I think.

As I went around this mini farm, they got some huge brown goats. Some people were feeding and petting them.

Cocoa Center

After wandering around the petting zoo, I ended up getting a bit hungry. So here I finally found one of the resort’s most precious dessert; the tablea ice cream. It only cost at around $3 for 3 scoops. Truly, mouthwatering.

I went around to check if they sell chocolates. Not only do they sell them, they also GROW them. This is my first time encountering a Willy Wonka themed placed. A museum and a factory at the same time.

Nice sculpture gimmicks right there. Kinda really takes you to that Willy Wonka land

Moving forward, I did not just found out that this Chocolate Museum offers awesome chocolate candies but they will allow you to customize your own chocolate. You can pay $8 for a box of 2 customized chocolates. They can offer you some ingredients that you might be interested to pour into your chocolates and a tray with various shapes and designs.

So I selected nuts. Lots of different nuts. After pouring that warm tablea chocolate over the tray, you need to wait for like 15-20 min to let it cool down at the freezer. This is where the Museum tour kicks in.

Look, a faucet that offers chocolate!

Japanese Tunnel

My last stop for this day was the legendary and historical “Japanese Tunnel” used back in WW2. The Entrance fee is at $1.25.

It is located along the South Diversion Road, in Hillcrest Subdivision, Matina Balusong in Davao City. You may hire a personal tour driver or a cabbie from your hotel. This used to be an Imperial Japanese base until the end of the war. Now, it’s just a family resort where you can stay and check in and enjoy its public swimming pool.

Moving back at the tunnel, first you’ll be greeted by this geisha statue.

The said tunnel was 800-meter long as per the land owners while they were excavating the area in preparation for the resort. It gets chilly underneath by the way. Im a bit nervous about what awaits me ahead.

As I progressed, I saw the Buddhist prayer room on my left and the military lounge at my right.

I was with a tour guide. She’s just basically describing what the things are displayed at, just like this armory.

The tunnel has some low celling level at some point before we reached the last stop. The officer’s quarters.

At the end of this tunnel, this part basically connects to the 3 sections of the city during the war. Unfortunately, due to the 2010 earthquake and other city developments, those routes have been closed hence, you can see the cage in front of the statue.

Overall my time was purely enjoyable. Lots of places to go to know more about Davao City. Many places to eat, food is always good. I will go ahead and end this article here since there is more to be posted. My next article will focus on Samal Island. Good bye for now. Stay Tuned for part two.