Since everyone's posting about Davao City in honor of the Kadayawan Festival, I thought i'd join the bandwagon and list down things I love about Davao too!
The thing is, most people outside Mindanao have really weird ideas about this city, if their opinions are to be believed, lahat yata ng taga rito eh NPA slash Terrorist. How ridiculous! Sa laki ba naman ng city namin, mag e-NPA pa kami?! As for the whole terrorist thing, please daw beh, di nga kami maka sigarilyo sa kung saan or allowed magpaputok tuwing new year... Umasa pa kayong nagbabarilan kami dito?
So regarding misconceptions, yes, we have more than basic facilities. Yes, we have fast food places. Yes, we even have (gasp!) coffeeshops here! We don't have J.Co donuts but you all know how the song goes- I Will Survive. As long as I know how to love, I know i'll stay alive.
Things that are (mostly) uniquely Davao:
* Mt. Apo- Technically not really in Davao City but whatevs, you can see it from here anyway! If you want the full experience, you can even climb it for a very cheap price. (Mostly for the tour guide)
* Humberto's Chocolate Cake - Sinful.
* Tiny Kitchen Carrot Cake
* Casa Leticia's Durian Pie
* The Punisher
* Picobello Pizza
* Dairy Best! - Admit it, you love these:
* Karlyn's steak ala pobre
* Lyndon's worst ribs
* Backyard Burgers
* Merco's every occassion buy1take1 ice cream concoctions
* Lola Abon's
* Lachi's cakes and pastries and pulled pork and .... well, the Sans Rival. (Though i'm probably the only one who eats Sans Rival at Lachi's)
* Mandarin Fried Rice! - Uuuurgh. Soy Chicken!
* Cecil's palabok
* Aling Foping's Halo Halo and Chili con Carne
* TAPS
* City Mayor
* Belito's Vineyard Paella Negra
* Bistro Rosario/Sarung Banggi steaks
* Yellowfin Chicken
* Luz Kinilaw
* PENONGS - I love Penongs! Affordable na, may lasa pa!
* MTS - Which I think is an awesome "inuman" place because kung lasing ka na, either inom ka lang ng kape sa Blugre or mag-emo sa Jollibee/McDo. Plus, madami pang taxi! Don't you hate it when nakainom ka and maghahanap ka pa ng taxi sa daan makauwi lang?
* Crocodile Park - Hihimatayin ka sa init pero worth it to see Crocodiles! Especially pag feeding time! They also have butterfly sanctuary and other random assortment of animals.
* Davao Wild Water adventure - In case trip mo mag water rafting?
* Wind and Wave Island Hopping - I don't know a lot of tourist who went Island Hopping so I urge people to try it because it's really FUN.
* Pearl Farm Beach Resort
* Paradise - In case kulang ang budget mo, then Paradise is the best place to go because kumpleto ang amenities for such a low entrance fee.
* Malagos Garden Resort
* Mayor Rodrigo Duterte - What? I love him. Slight.
* Eden Nature Park
* Philippine Eagle - Awesome place to go to during weekends, honestly. And sometimes, volunteers get to travel around Mindanao (Mati-Bukidnon-Surigao) with the PEF crew. Besides, why would you turn down the chance to see Eagles who can eat you alive? Live a little.
* People's Park - Pwede ka maki exercise with everybody else sa morning! (Though useless lang kung kakain ka rin sa mga fast food places na nakakalat sa paligid ng park. Haha. But for pakitang-tao purposes, why not?)
* Cinematheque - It's FREE.
* NCCC Cinema - I may be biased but why would I go to other cinema places when I get free bowling, free milk tea, free glamour shots, etc. (depending on whatever promo they have going on) for the price of P150?
* Davao Museum
* San Pedro Cathedral
* City Hall
* Sanggunian - Use their library! Pasok ka lang! Meron pa silang children's corner where you can leave your kids while you do whatever Sanggunian related thing you do.
* Roh-deh
* PASALUBONG CENTER - Seriously, so many Davao made things there!
* Clean Jeepneys - Na parang 8 pesos ang fare kahit gaano na kalayo.
* Honest Taxi Drivers - "Okay lang kulang ko sinko nong?" "Okay lang."
* Tricycle Drivers - Kahit kulang kulang bayad mo or kung walang sukli bawasan nalang nila ang fare, okay lang talaga. (Ex: Instead of 6 pesos 5 pesos nalang pag wala silang panukli sa 10 or kulang ka ng piso)
* Tawad galore - Everywhere. Market (don't do it, they need to earn a living) Aldevinco (By all means) Department Stores during sales (Yes, allowed! Especially pag clearance sale and ayaw na talaga nila makita ang product. Mostly sapatos or accessories)
* Bisaya Language - Sobrang Masarap pakinggan sa tenga.
* Flowers everywhere! Especially during KADAYAWAN!
* 911
* TMC
* Working Streetlights and Traffic lights - Don't dismiss this so easily, there are cities outside Davao that have dead streetlights and non-existent traffic lights.
* CCTV's. - Bwiset ha, nambibiktima.
* Duterte
* Proper Pedestrian Crossing
* Street Sweepers who do their jobs.- I hate people who throw their garbage anywhere, just because there are people who are paid to clean up the streets doesn't mean you are given the right to litter or loiter.
* Lack of Traffic - Walang traffic dito, spoiled lang talaga ang mga tao and konting "traffic" lang, angal agad.
* Government Assistance - They do give monetary assistance kahit sino ka man. As long as may proof ka as to why and where you need it.
* Services - If you check the Davao City Government page, they often post things like free vaccine, free tuli, free STD check up, free medical services and etc.
* Official Website - Honestly, they post job openings, job fairs, how to apply for things. If you plan on doing anything that involves government things, check the website for instructions on applications.
* Solicitations - LOL, naikot ko na yata ang buong Sanggunian to solicit various things. And yes, most of the time they give/offer.
The things I listed isn't even half of what makes Davao truly unique, so if you have anything to add --> comment!
We're so spoiled here in Davao, don't you think?
Happy Kadayawan! <3
Note: All pictures are taken from google and links back to the original uploader.
