This visit was short but sweet. It was out first time in Davao and we spent our first two days in Samal (see my previous blog). Coming from Samal, we arrived late noon at the City and went directly to our hotel which was the Pinnacle Hotel and Suites. I have only few photos of the hotel but I will put it on the blog soon. I was with my fave travel buddies, Owen and Arem.
Francisco Bangoy International Airport
Our first night in the City was spent looking for a place to eat, find some goodies and souvenirs shopping.
A p o n i L o l a
Apo ni lola is a goodies shop. All the delicacies and products from Mindanao was there.
We super love this Durian chair.
We made sure we bought every pasalubong we needed to buy so we don't have to go back again before leaving to Manila.
J a c k ' s R i d e
Jack's Ridge is one of the popular spots when it comes to dining experience in the City. Located on the top of a hill in Matina, Davao, the reason it has Ridge on its name, offers variety of food meals, restaurants and hubs with an overlooking view of the City.
We didn't appreciate the place much when it comes to the overlooking because as you can see, it was already dark when we came. The plan to dine in the area didn't happen also as we didn't find what we were craving to eat that night. :(
D a v a o C r o c o d i l e P a r k
If you are looking for a wildlife experience, this place is where you should be. Not only crocodiles as the name of the park says, but a lot more else. Located at Diversion Highway, Ma-a, Davao City, the taxi drive took us almost 30 mins to reach the place. With an entrance fee of P200.00 for adults (this was year 2016), you will see alive animals with some remains. The area housed a lot of wild that seems to had been tamed already. Includes on the entrance fee is the free animal show that last for around 20 mins.
The trio in Davao
Crocodile
Crocs :D
Birds
They look so intimidating. ;)
This was the first time I had a close encounter with the Philippines Eagle. And I was happy. It was one of the priorities to see in Davao and going to the Philippine Eagle Center was part of the itinerary. Good thing the crocodile park saved us for another taxi ride and entrance fee. :)
Others
The Animal Show
Just after we finished roaming around, we saw people gathered around in one area so we move in there too. Turned out they have an animal show which they call "Animal Got Talent". The show happens twice a day every weekend, and we caught the 10:00 schedule. The next show happens at noon.
The show lasted for 20 minutes. We had fun. It was impressive. Good job to the trainees and animals!
Smart Orangutan
You will see this outside the park. I think its another show. Though there was no one on this space. Maybe because we were early.
Outside the park were stores and space to eat. There was a crocodile food, I forgot what kind of. We didn't try it, not only because it was pricey, the main reason was we didn't have the courage to eat it.
E d e n N a t u r e P a r k
It was almost lunch time and we took a taxi going to Eden Nature Park from the Crocodile Park. Eden Park is located at Toril, Davao City. A large landscape and hectares of green surroundings will welcome your sight once you enter the place. Eden is a combination of resort and recreation park. At first, I considered booking at the place but changed my mind because it was not accessible to shops and stores as it was a little far from the City. Most of the time, it won't matter to me as I always prefer serenity but I am not alone so I need to consider my travel buddies too.
We immediately lined up to book our tour. The tour came with a lunch, you just need to pick if you wanted it buffet style or plated meal. The cost for tour with buffet was P550 while P220 for the plated meal. More than half of difference which we thought was too much so we picked the plated lunch.
The half day tour started at 1:30. We came before 12 PM so we ate first and had a little time to look around.
Cafe Vista was where we went next after paying for the tour to eat our plated meal. When we got it, we almost laugh. The meal came with a small amount of spaghetti and a sandwich. Looks more like a snack than a lunch meal. So we promised ourselves we will eat more when we get back to the City. Haha. Good thing they have a nice ambiance. I love the simple wooden style of the restaurant. And big screened windows which help the air to pass through and through. Fresh and cold as it was raining that day.
The Registration Area
This was the view from the registration area. Took a photo before we rode to our shuttle.
T H E T O U R
The tour came with groups. A shuttle can accommodate around a dozen of person. The tour was one at a time, means only one shuttle will move and will be followed after every 10 minutes to avoid crowding the spot. Though a lot of times, two shuttles always share one place because of time extension of the 1st group. Picture taking really took a longer time than the usual. :D
1ST | THE FLOWER GARDEN
There are more flowers around but didn't got a lot of photos. Two shuttles had met in this area so some of the big and pretty flowers were crowded.
2ND | THE RAINBOW PASS AND AMPHITHEATER
The rainbow pass and amphitheater are in the same spot and just beside the Flower Garden. So it was like hitting 3 birds in one stone. :) Behind the rainbow pass is an overlooking view of the City. That is why most of the events happened here.
3RD | LOLA'S GARDEN
Lola's Garden is one of my favorites in the tour. A long stretch of vegetable plants and flowers can be seen in the place with the overlooking Davao Gulf. Truly relaxing.
I also love this bamboo area which was the first thing you will see once you stop in the area.
4TH | TINUBDAN
Tinubdan is a village that will show you a glimpse of how the indigenous people of Mindanao lived. Their culture, way of living, community, beliefs and traditions.
Imitating the kids. :)
5TH | BIRDWALK
6TH | BUTTERFLY GARDEN
These are real butterflies.
Feeding on papaya fruit. And it was quite smelly.
From the birds and butterfly farm, we just walked going back to the main area of Eden Park. Turned out it was just behind it. Since we still have time to relax before leaving, we took advantage of the wide green grass.
Davao City had become too urbanize. Though it means progress, there are so many negative implications on that like traffic, noise and rate of living. So if you want to have a peaceful stay at Davao or an hours of nature trip, Eden Park is definitely a must visit. If we just have a longer time in the City, I would have choose to stay there.
I must say that I see Davao in two different perspective. While we were in the City, we became too independent in taxi while in tour. So we unexpectedly spent too much for our transportation allowance. It was because the tourist spots are a little far from the Center. The distances between each spots are also quite far and so taxi are the most convenient way of transportation. I think we spent P500 in one way ride to Eden Park.
There are nothing to see in the Center. It means that there are no longer preserved nature scenery around it. Way too polluted for the animals. But the best way in staying at Davao City was the feeling of security. That if we walk at night on the street, we can still return to our hotel unharmed. Davaoeños are also friendly based on our short visit and few people we have encountered Maybe on my next visit, I can know more about the City and maybe until then, I will look at Davao City and Samal Island with equal love. For now, I will be more biased and prefer Samal more.
x o x o
Faith
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