Smile Magazine Feature - Shoestring Diaries Davao City by Jojie Alcantara

7/31/2019 Smile Magazine Feature - Shoestring Diaries Davao City by Jojie Alcantara

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San Pedr Caedral.Bm: Dwnwn Dava ffers

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Davaos best deals

t h E S h o E S t R I N G D I A R I E S

Discover all that Davao has to offer without breaking the bank. Jojie Alcantara

gives us a guide to time-crunching and penny-pinching in the southern city.


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The ShoestringTraveler:Jojie Alcantaraher m Its great to have a plan

of action, but make room for morepossibilities. he best memories often

come from the unexpected.

her missin o explore Davao Citys

wide-ranging and varied attractions in

72 hours with less than H3,000.

Day 1Be a culture vultureFirst rule of touring Davao: keep your

itinerary exible, and be prepared for a

change of plans at any time. But when

the day is bright and the weather is mild,

grab the chance to walk the city and see

what it has to offer.

I recommend getting a better

understanding of the people and the

local heritage for a start. Davao is an

interesting melting pot of indigenous

cultures (it has 11 recognized colorful

tribes), so Museo Dabawenyo, which

showcases the citys history and artistic

life, is top on my list (open 1pm6pmdaily except Mondays and special

holidays; admission is free).

Just a short walking distance away

is smea ark, where people hang

around to play chess, discuss religion,

and have an al fresco back massage

(H75). A two-minute walk further is

the imposing an edro Cathedral. Built

in 1847 by the panish conquistador

Don Jose yanguren, who later became

the rst governor of Davao region, it is

the oldest church in the city.

tp: Lcal guideJjie Alcanara.Bm: tribu KMindanawn inCrcdile Park.

ACCoRDING tostatistics, Davao City

at 2,443km or 36,916 hectares

is the largest city in the country and the

rest of the world in terms of land area.

o how do you cover such a large

sprawl with limited time and without

empyting your pockets? agged by

local tourism authorities as the Island

to Highland Destination, Davao has a

variety of things to offer and

the best way to get the

most for less is to spend

the day as I did: with a

plan, and a mind open

to welcome detours.


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Across the cathedral is the

angguniang anglungsod Building

with the Monument of eace and Unity

right between them. I passed by the

City Hall building on my way to Jaltan

estaurant for a lovely meal of dinuguan

with puto, sapin-sapinand fresh lumpia

(H150).

A jeepney ride (H8) took me to

eoples ark, which features a mini-

forest, an interactive fountain, waterfalls

and ponds, a childrens fantasy park, a

sunken garden, and large sculptures of

local kids as well as the hilippine eagle.A prominent attraction is the durian-

shaped dome where people love to hang

out until the evening.

A short distance from the park is the

ampaguita ourist Inn, where I booked

a two-night stay (H600). Dinner

was also just a walking distance away

at Dimsum Diner along Ilustre treet

(toppings, siomaiand tea, H150).

Shoestring budget forDay 1: PHP983

No trip to Crocodile Park is complete withouta snapshot of Pangil, the country

s largest

croc in captivity before Lolong came along

Clckwise frm p lef : Davaspride, e Pilippine eagle;Peples Park funain; ur guidepsing beside a sculpure fa wman wi a face a wasmdeled afer Jjies.

Day 2Art and animalsI took a late breakfast at the hotel, then

a taxi (H55) to once uites allery

Hotel to check out the works of Davaospride, artist Kublai Milan, a prolic

sculptor, painter and photographer (and

my rst mentor!). he hotel displays

a number of Milans early and recent

paintings on every wall of every oor, as

well as art installations of found objects.

After the hotel tour, I grabbed a

strawberry shake (H90) at Kublais

Caf, and rushed off for a quick photo op

with a sculpture for which I had modeled

for a while back a woman entwined

in the arms of a naked tree man with

branches as arms and kids hanging

all over.

A tricycle (H5) took me to nearby

Victoria laza where I ordered myfavorite grilled pork chop with rice

(H200) at Bastis Brew, another

homegrown coffee bar with free Wi-Fi.

I took another cab ride (H120),

this time to Crocodile ark (www.

psdgroupph.com), to snap photos of

exotic animals, two full-grown tigers,

and a chimpanzee. o trip to the park

is complete without a snapshot of the

18ft angil, the countrys largest croc

in captivity before Lolong, the 21-footer

from Agusan, came along.


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After taking more photos of the

parks Buttery anctuary, I headed

back downtown in a cab for dinner at

Majids Kebab, owned by my good

friend Majid. Majid is Iranian but has

lived in Davao for several years now,

right after his Hollywood ghting stint

with Chuck orris, and after a spell

acting as the bad guy opposite FJ in

hilippine movies. Eating a full dinner

of beef kebab and chicken biryani(H113) made me feel sleepy

and content. After taking a

peek at romenade, the

party place right across

Majids, I took a short walk

back to the inn for an early

trip to dreamland.

Shoestring budgetfor day2: PHP583

Day 3Shop non-stop!As it was the last day of my budget

tour, I took the jeep (H8) to

Aldevinco, the rst shopping center in

Davao (inaugurated in 1965). Located

along C.M. ecto treet, it is right in

front of Marco olo Hotel downtown.

Aldevinco is more popularly known

as a rich one-stop shop of Mindanaoan

heritage and cultural diversity.

ourists are regularly brought to thistreasure trove where pasalubongs

abound, from native products,

ethnic woven batiks, tinalak, bags,

malongs, elegant antiques, brassware,

household dcor, jewelry and outh

ea pearls of different colors. All this

on top of imported textiles from Asia.

Moneychangers are everywhere too.

(My go-to place is called Al hizamin

tore.) At Aldevinco, there are over 100

shops to choose from and to happily

haggle (tawad) with.

Sink your teethinto meatykebabs at

Majids

Spping spree inAldevinc.


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TA TH HAP?

ToTAlSHoeSTringBUDgeT:

PHP2,241


Youll be glad to know that

1. n a lazy day, you can lounge at

Davaos Wi-Fi-ready coffee shops such

as Bos Coffee, Bastis Brew, Coffee

Dream, Blure Caf, Fagioli, Firenzo,

outhBrew Express, Kangaroo Coffee,

Yellow Haus and many more.

2. You can try durian in ice cream, cake

or coffee form in various restaurants

and coffee shops. r have the fruit

itself in one of the stalls on Magsaysay

oad. You cant take it into the hotelor on the plane, unless its in a tightly

sealed box.

3. Davao City is typhoon-free. But it does

rain cats and dogs during wet season,

so bring the necessary gear.

4. Frozen tuna is available to take back

home to family and friends. et frozen

seafood delicacies from Marina una,

arangani Bay rime Bangus, and

alaisdaan at Iba a.

Here I indulged in a trinket (H30),

a souvenir Davao shirt (H120), an

ethnic colored veil (H75), and a silky

blouse made in akistan (H230).

Across nearby Marco olo Hotel, I

ducked into the spacious City riangle

with its large selection of food outlets for

a quick meal. he food mall is lled withstudents from nearby Ateneo de Davao

enjoying the cheap eats from various

stalls. Mine totaled H60.

For dessert, I strolled over to

Madrazo Fruit tand, where I bought

durian in season (H60) and durian

candy bars (H45). ther fruits

on display were the sweet pomelo,

marang, green and yellow mango,

and the elusive mangosteen. uitably

satised, I went back to my home in

Matina (H55), and continued living

the good and cheap life in Davao. ome

people like to call it one of the most

livable cities in the country, and it only

takes three days to know why.

Shoestring budget forday 3: PHP675

Cebu Pacic ies Dava frm

Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de or and

Zambanga. www.cebupacifcair.com

Clckwise frm p: te ciyview frm e Marc Plhel; unapanga; durian.

Smile Magazine Feature - Shoestring Diaries Davao City by Jojie Alcantara

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