Today I wondered what to check out first. I came to Davao with two main activity highlights: 1) Go sky cycling at Eden Nature Park, 2) Get a shot of Mount Apo. But despite residing at a dormitel situated on Mt. Apo street, the famed mountain — the largest in Philippines — was nowhere near me. Heck, Mount Apo, wasn’t even visible from Davao City! It seems Mount Apo is so huge that most people just go there as part of a multi-day trek.
I couldn’t do that since I only had two more days in Davao so I figured I’ll go check out Eden Nature Park. I followed the instructions on their website on how to get to Eden Nature Park and boarded a jeepney going to Toril (₱20). The landmark given to get down at was a Mercury Drug Store in Toril.
I sat up front beside the driverSaw where the SM Davao mall is located. We were driving down McArthur HighwayIt was a looooong ride to TorilNearly an hour later, I got down at a junction at Toril where you have a Chowking to your leftThis was taken while I was standing on the left side. Across the road is the Mercury Drug Store. From here there were many bike taxis offering to take you to Eden Nature ParkOn Eden Nature Park’s website, they mentioned bike taxis would charge ₱80 for the ride from the junction at Toril to the entrance of the park. But the bike taxis guys here were pushing for ₱200! I told them about ₱80 and they scoffed claiming that was more than a year ago. I bargained as much as I could but eventually settled for ₱150. I couldn’t delay myself anymore.It was a 20 minute bike ride up to the park’s entranceThe good roads for much of the journey gave way to a bad, pot-holed stretchBut the park was close now
It was along this road I saw signs pointing to Mount Apo. Excited about seeing Mt. Apo after my time at Eden Nature Park, I asked the bike taxi driver if he could take me to Mt. Apo National Park so that I could just take a photo of the mountain. But the driver told me it’s still many kilometres further from Eden Nature Park. Continue reading “Philippines: Sky Cycle at Eden Nature Park, Davao” »
Yesterday was an eventful day of sightseeing. I began early morning swimming with Oslob’s famed whale sharks and later enjoyed the beauty of Tumalog Falls. I was tired by the time I got back to Cebu from Oslob yesterday, so when I woke up in the morning, I decided to take it easy today.
I had breakfast from the hostel’s roof top ‘cafe’The hills weren’t too far away from here
I worked for much of the day (ironic, considering it was May Day), only stepping out at 2pm to go to Ayala Center.
A very nice mall not too far from the hostel. (Had to take two short jeepney rides to get here)I sat down at Persian Palate and had a spinach felalfel sandwich, a chicken shawarma rice meal and coconut water. Bill came to ₱242.
Since it was May Day, many shops were closed and the streets were far from buzzing.
The next day (May 2), I stepped out to do some shopping. I took a jeepney and went all the way down to the end of Osmeña Blvd. No fancy malls out here. Just a lot of street markets, shops and some much older shopping centres and department stores. I stepped into one and ended up buying some sandals for really cheap.
Much of down town Cebu looks like thisSaw a bit of ‘anti-America’… for a change
I then took a jeepney to SM City, where I decided to have lunch.
I had an bacon-wrapped hot dog from Monster Franks. And yes, that’s all the onion rings you get (plus a drink) for ₱130
After some window shopping and purchasing some souvenirs, I headed back to the hostel.
For dinner I ate at a small Italian eatery near Tr3ats Guesthouse. That’s fettucine pasta with meat sauce (₱140). This would be my final dinner in Cebu.
Date: May 3rd, 2014
I took a taxi to the airport as today I was leaving Cebu for Davao.
It was bright and sunny today, so I hoped the flight would leave on time
After checking in, we got word that the flight was slightly delayed. *Shocker* -_-
In the departures lounge, the famed Zubuchon had an outletZubichon got really famous after Antony Bourdain called their lechon “the best he’s ever eaten”. So I too packed a lechon and rice meal (₱190) to have on the plane as my in-flight meal.Goodbye Cebu!The lechon was really well done and the meat was obviously good quality pork. I guess Zubuchon really is worth trying when in Cebu.The flight from Cebu to Davao takes just over an hourLanded in Davao — for the first timeI hired a taxi to take me to the hostel I was going to be staying at for the next few daysThis building with green tinted windows is the FTC Tower. It houses Green Windows Dormitel on the 4th, 5th and 6th floors (Oh, the taxi fare came to ₱166)I chose Green Windows Dormitel because they have dorm beds for ₱188 all inclusive, and the rooms looked very nice and clean in the photosGreen Windows Dormitel has everything from dorm rooms to full service suitesThis was the ₱188 dorm room, and I chose bed E, by the window. I was quite impressed! Wooden floors, functioning air conditioner, and comfy beds. The wi-fi was spotty inside the room, but whenever it worked, it was good.I would sometimes have to sit out on the couch to get a better connectionThis is the TV room, attached to the cafeteriaThe cafeteria has a (pay) buffet serving breakfast, lunch and dinner (mostly Filipino cuisine) and the prices for coffee/tea and other items seem fairly reasonableThere’s even a store selling more groceries in the reception areaThe street Green Windows Dormitel is situated at is called Mt. Apo street. With a name like that, you would assume Mt. Apo is close by. Nope, Mt. Apo is no where near it!Green Windows Dormitel wasn’t too far away from the main city center
I walked about to scan the area and was happy to find enough eateries (KFC, McDonalds, Jollibee, etc.), pizzerias and bakeries galore all within walking distance from the dormitel.
To the left is Daylight Inn, a place I was initially going to stay at because it was the only listing available for Davao City on Hostels.comTimes Square Mall to the left and more shopping centers all aroundI just roamed around town to see what else Davao City had to offerCity Hall of DavaoDurian is abundant in Davao and there they honour the fruitA statue honouring Philippine hero Jose Rizal
Davao is home to the country’s national bird — the Philippines Eagle. I would be visiting the Philippines Eagle Center the day after.I walked towards the San Pedro Cathedral, a Davao landmarkThis statue is the Commemorative Monument of Peace and UnitySan Pedro Cathedral is one of the oldest churches in Davao and renowned for its odd boat-like designI checked out the interiorsTook a panoramaAnd then I leftNear by was Osmena ParkAnd inside were scores of masseurs offering foot and shoulder massages 🙂I walked around a bit more before heading backBilliards seemed to be a popular pass timeA lot of nice bakeries in Davao City, and it was cheap!
I’ll be honest. When I read Davao City was the biggest city in the world (in terms of area), I still assumed Davao City would have its areas of world-class skylines. Far from it. It feels more like a very big town. It’s big in size, sure, but far from fancy. I saw so many pawn shops — a sign that the populace are looking to sell their wares (hopefully not stolen) in exchange for cash. Electronics stores hardly stocked the latest models and even the malls lacked any of the usual fancy brands. Definitely far more low key compared to Manila and Cebu.
Anyway, I wasn’t in Davao to hang out at malls. Tomorrow I would visit Eden Nature Park and attempt to visit Mt. Apo (which I realized only after landing here that the mountain is no where near the city)
FTC Tower, at night
(All the above photos were taken using my phone camera, Sony Xperia Z1)
After spending the early morning swimming with whale sharks, I then decided to visit Tumalog Falls, Oslob’s other big attraction.
There were plenty of bike taxis at the entrance of the Whale shark briefing center and this guy approached me asking me if I wanted to go to Tumalog Falls. He said it would cost ₱120 to take me there and back.Tumalog Falls isn’t too far away from the whale shark briefing centerBasically the road to Tumalog Falls is just off the main highway, heading back from the whale shark briefing centerThe driver dropped me off at a parking area at the top. From here, I had to climb down a steep slope.You can pay again to have a bike drop you at the waterfalls and back, but I just chose to walk not knowing how far it was (it wasn’t)Once at the bottom, the beauty begins right awayHow is the water so blue?!I really wasn’t expecting much from Tumalog Falls and planned to spend only a few minutes hereBut even from here I could sense the beauty. You have to climb from the left to get inside the falls areaTumalog Falls is really beautiful!It was so nice and cool to stand here… even though water droplets were hitting my lensThe water was so blue, but it was hard to get the entire falls top to bottom in one frameThere was so much mist in the air from the waterfalls!I pictured Tumalog Falls to be one big stream — it isn’tIf you wanted to set up a BBQ or picnic, you could do it here. But mind you, it’s very muddy.I decided to pack up my DSLR as I didn’t want it getting too wet. It was time for the GoPro to come out.I held the GoPro sideways to take this shotI took my shirt off and carefully stepped to the left of the waterfallsIt was slippery and the water felt cold, but I felt like taking a shower after a swim in the sea 😛The water sure was chilly — but it felt good!I tried to get closer to the falls from the left
I decided to go to the other sideI figured I would take some photos of the waterfalls from another angleSeemed to be less splashier on this sideYou could get a full shot from this side, with no tree obstructingFortunately the skies were clearing up too. I got in the water to try and see if I could stay under the water splashing down.IT. WAS. COLD! And heavy!Then for some reason, this woman asked for a photo with me. After that, her group asked me to take a photo of all of them.Finally I thought, why not, handed one of them to take a group shot on my GoPro camera. Clearly not the best camera for such situations. I didn’t know any of them but that’s how it works in the Philippines 🙂I took a parting shotIt was now time to leaveI enjoyed Tumalog falls more than I thought I would. It was really beautiful and you have to be here to experience its beauty! I ended up spending close to an hour instead of just a “few minutes”.I walked back to the top where my bike taxi guy was waiting.I took these photos using the GoProYou can get a nice view of the sea from up hereI asked the bike taxi driver how to get to a bus stop in town from where I can catch a ride back to Cebu. He dropped me here and told me I can take a jeepney going to the market area. (This photo and the next few are taken on my phone)I hopped on a jeepney and this was the last stop. This was the main market area.Since I was in town, I decided to check out some of the attractions near byThis is where the municipal offices and government offices wereThere were a few houses aroundPulis = PoliceA covered basketball courtChurch of the Immaculate Conception — Oslob’s oldest churchI couldn’t go in, the doors were closedI wasn’t sad or anything. I had seen enough churches in Philippines.Next to the church was Cuartel, an unfinished structure by the Spanish colonials that was meant for soldiersThe stones used came from the church when its floor had collapsed in 1899It is still well-maintainedI decided to shoot some photos using my 70-200mm lens
Behind Cuartel and facing the sea is a public parkThere used to be an old lighthouse hereI sat under the tree shade for a while as it was scorching hot
I just love how clear and blue the water appears hereOh so blueI decided to walk on the edge tooAhh, felt like swimming in these waters
I walked back and decided to leave Oslob
Once back at the main highway, I asked the townsfolk from where I could board a bus to Cebu and they said, “Right here”. I figured I would eat an early lunch (it was just past 11am) as by the time I would reach Cebu, it would be past 3pm.
I had (garlic) fried chicken and rice (₱60)Soon after lunch I boarded a bus going to CebuI passed by so many houses by the sea. Imagine waking up to such blue seas every morning.
I really enjoyed Oslob more than I thought I would. Definitely a place to visit and worth spending a day at! I’m glad I woke up early. A visit to Oslob is highly-recommended if you are in Cebu. I’m glad I didn’t do this trip via some travel agency. It can by done by yourself and for a lot less. As a foreigner, I spent around ₱1500 today (to & fro bus journeys + whale shark experience + bike taxi + Tumalog Falls + lunch), half of what was quoted to me by some of the travel agencies back in Cebu yesterday. I could make up for sleep on the bus journey back. I was going to take it easy tomorrow anyway.
