Day 1 Trip to Davao (4/4/2008)

We booked our flight to Davao via PAL (Philippine Airlines, 4:30 am flight). The roundtrip fare was approximately P5k each (economy).

1. PAL vs Cebu Pacific
- At the time that I was canvassing for airfares, PAL was the cheapest. Although they are comparable (differ only by a few hundred pesos). We chose PAL since Rene and I are Mabuhay miles members so we will earn mileage for this trip. Plus, we also know PAL is exclusively serviced at the NAIA2 centennial airport.

2. Flight time slots
- Airfares vary depending on the schedule of flight you get. For departure from Manila, the cheapest is the 1st flight out. (Pros: cheapest fare, no traffic; Cons: not much sleep, if you have no car might be difficult to get a taxi to go to the airport, hotel might not be able to check you in yet). For our trip back it's the last trip that is the cheapest.

3. Checking in
- Since PAL has yet to have online checkin, seating is being assigned at the airport upon checkin. My observation is, it is assigned last in first out. So if you are 1st in line, you'll most probably get a seat at the rear end of the plane, unless you specify your preference. Our preference is usually either by the aisle or window. And it would also be nice to get one near an emergency exit, as it has bigger leg room than other seats. Of course this entails additional responsibility of reviewing the emergency procedures to be able to assist during an actual emergency. The advantage also of checking in late, is when you have checked baggage. As this will come out 1st at the claiming area.

Btw in case you were wondering, the terminal fee for domestic flights is P200 per person. I think this is the same in any domestic airport since that is the amount we paid both in NAIA2 and Davao airports.

Davao City downtown tour

We were supposed to checkin early and get some sleep before heading for a city tour. However since our room was not available yet, we opted to leave our bags at the reception and headed downtown for breakfast.

I had an itinerary and food trip selection for the entire trip so that we could try the well-known restos/buffet places in Davao. We planned to try Probinsya near Victoria Plaza Mall since i learned it has buffet breakfast for P99. Unfortunately we were told it was closed and it was already 8am. I wonder if it is still operational as the web reference i saw was i think posted in 2006. Since we were already hungry we just ate at the nearby Chowking.

Since it was still early we decided to do the city tour and took a taxi to the city hall/plaza. I had a map printed from the internet so it was easy walking around the area. Tabi-tabi lang yung Davao city hall, Quezon park, Rizal park, Osmena park, City Council, Centennial monument and San Pedro Cathedral.


The city hall as shown above is just behind the Osmena park, which has a fountain w/ a durian and orchid design in the center. Below are some other landmarks which i don't recall. The one in the middle reminds me of a monument in Washington, DC.

I thought there was a place called Durian park (i also got it from the internet) but when we asked around, the locals don't even know or haven't heard about it. Instead they referred us to the People's park. It looked like a playground from the outside. And since we were already tired and sleepy we did not go in anymore and just took pics at the entrance.

Going around Davao city initially was expensive as we always took a taxi. There's a choice of aircon and non-aircon though. For A/C it's the same in Manila, with a flagdown rate of P30 and P2.50 increments. The non-a/c is P25 and P1 increments. Afterwards we tried taking the jeeps with different routes (cost P7 to 8 each). It was quite easy to get around afterwards especially with a map. And the routes are written at the sides of the jeep. You can always ask for directions though.

We called back Viajeros Economy Inn if we can already checkin. It was already 10:30 am and we really wanted to sleep already. Fortunately our room was already available.

Viajeros Economy Inn

For a double room with a/c, cable tv, telephone, and hot/cold shower at P850 a night, the accommodation was reasonable. The place was neat and clean although a bit small. Towels and soap are provided. The place is quite new which explains why taxi drivers are not very familiar with it yet. It's a good thing i got a map online and other info about this inn from this website:
http://www.davaotraveler.com/blog/2007/10/24/feature-viajeros-economy-inn/

The receptionists are very accommodating. The cafe staff though sometimes are not very attentive to customers. We ate our breakfast for the rest of the trip at the cafe which were ok except for the chicken tocino which tasted bland to me. Meals range from P80-95 complete with garlic rice, ulam, fried egg, coffee/tea. Menu is shown here.

The inn is accessible by commute since it is walking distance from the main road which is Quimpo Blvd. Just walk from the corner of Park Square Inn then going towards the tennis court, the inn is just right across the tennis court. To get there from downtown, one can take the jeep going to SM City.

Picobello Ristorante Italiano

We woke up around 2pm, and decided to take a late lunch/merienda. It is the perfect time to eat at Picobello in Gaisano South Mall. It is known for the buy1 take1 pizza which is available daily 2-5pm. It was recommended by Rene's sister Eden as well as some online blogs. It is quite a maze getting there though, we had to ask around where it is. It's in the 5th flr and the way is somewhat like an alley in the corner. Just ask the vendors around and they'll point you to the right direction.

I can't recall the exact name of our orders but it was seafood and veggie. Both are good. Each pizza is crunchy thin around 10" in diameter. We practically ate a whole pizza each. After eating we went to SM City since my cousin will pick us up after work to take us around.

Blugre Cafe

I was surprised to see a Blugre Cafe inside SM city. I had read about its famous Durian coffee/frappe. I had initially planned on going to its branch in Matina Town Square and try it out. Since it's already there we bought one which costs P135 for a regular size. I liked it. They have a small couch and made ourselves comfy while passing the time.

Karlyn's steakhouse

For dinner, my cousin Eric took us to Karlyn's steakhouse. It is known for its P99 sizzling steak. Although Rene and I were still a bit full from our heavy merienda, we still had enough room for a steak. :D What I noticed though is that their steaks are not served equally. What i mean is that the one they served Rene and Eric were meaty while mine did not have much meat (medyo mabuto at malitid). To think na hindi naman ako gutom at malakas kumain pero parang bitin pa din. Am guessing maybe they size up their customers and serve them according to what they can consume. Since steaks are fixed at P99. This is just a personal opinion though. I didn't complain kc enough na sa kin na matikman and busog naman ako. In fairness, it tastes good. I guess if you're really hungry and notice that the part is not meaty, pareplace mo na agad before touching it. If you're from Karlyn's or have eaten there, feel free to leave a comment if you agree/disagree.

Baywalk

After dinner Eric took us to what they call the Baywalk. There is a pond with baby sharks and at its far end is a large replica of the statue of David (picture at the right). Walking further by the breakwater we also saw a replica of The Little Mermaid. Unfortunately our pics are not too clear as it was already dark.



Related entries:

Day 1 Trip to Davao (4/4/2008)
Day 2 Pearl Farm Day Tour (4/5/2008)
Day 3 Philippine Eagle Center (4/6/2008, part 1 of 3)
Day 3 Malagos Garden Resort (4/6/2008, part 2 of 3)
Day 3 Crocodile Park Davao and more (4/6/2008, part 3 of 3)
Day 4 Eden Nature Park (4/7/2008)