I crossed the road and walked to the cafe where my lunch coupon was validThis is the main restaurant at Eden Nature ParkThey have buffet lunch too, but that costs extraThis is the cafe where I was going to get my ‘lunch’ as included in the ticketA glass of soft drink, a cupcake and a plate of spaghetti with meat sauce, and garlic bread
If you are wondering where the meat in the sauce is… yeah I wondered that too. I only got mushroom bits, and when I asked the server where the beef bits where, he looked at the plate and poured more of the same sauce.
So after a sloppy, lousy spaghetti meal, I began to explore the rest of the park.
I walked to the Family VillageMore of a mini-zoo really. This the Philippines Monkey.CockatooPeacocks
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” »
Every year, during the holy month of Ramadan, Mosque Road in Frazer Town converts into a major hub for food lovers. Several stalls are set up selling a variety of Iftar treats by the road side, and every year, the number of stalls just keep getting bigger and bigger.
Now, you don’t have to go to Frazer Town for Iftar treats as stalls are set up outside every major mosque in Bangalore during the holy month of Ramadan. But Mosque Road being what it is attracts are a larger number of people. I have been Mosque Road with friends in previous years, but this year I wanted to capture some photos for my blog.
After meeting up with a friend, we rode down to Frazer Town, parked my bike near Savoury Restaurant and walked up to Mosque Road.
Stalls were set up away from Mosque Road tooHeads up: a lot of meat in this blog postMutton kheema and stir fried egg next to itThis was an organization handing out free copies of the Quran (in English). I asked for a copy as I have always wanted to read for myself what was myth and what is actually quoted in the Holy Book.I moved to Mosque Road where sheek kebabs were being cooked over charcoal. Beef, chicken, and of course mutton were on offer.This stall was selling Brazilian beef. When I asked the guy why he wasn’t selling Indian beef, the owner just shrugged and said this “tastes better”. Oh well, I know why. None the less, I packed some.Beef and colourful chicken kebabs beside it. Really put off by the use of food colour in meat.Idiyappams and chicken kebabs?Beef sukka. Sampled some and it tasted okay.We then crossed over to the other side where much of the big stalls on Mosque Road wereThat’s mutton being cooked on a huge slab or stone over a charcoal fire 🙂 They call it pathar gosht (pathar = stone; gosht = mutton)There were many of these food tents set up beside Mosque RoadIt was crowded!Mutton haleem. Haleem, for the uninitiated, is a thick gravy like dish made using wheat, barley, lentils and meat (plus spices).I don’t think I could have even stood here and ate something. Too stuffy and way too many people passing through.Lots of sweets on offer!There wasn’t a whole lot of sea food available and given the ‘Bangalore premium’ for seafood, whatever that was on offer was kinda expensive.There were many more stalls alongside Mosque RoadWe went in here nextChicken samosas, chicken fry, chicken kebabs, chicken this, chicken that…More beef and mutton grilled on stonePacked up some firny (sweet)And picked up some chocolate cupcakesI had some pudding next, which was yum!Even though much of the activity was on the right side, I crossed the road to check out what was on offer on the other lane on Mosque RoadMuch of the same, albeit far less glamourous that’s allThere weren’t too many different varieties of food on offer this side
After packing up some more food, I left Mosque Road. It’s obvious the annual Ramadan treats have grown into a big business opportunity for vendors over these past few years. It wasn’t this crowded when I visited 2 years ago. People of all faiths turn up to try out the food. Of course there were a few ignorant people. One guy was silly enough to ask if pork was available! 😛
Also, the prices this year weren’t low by any street food means. A plate of pathar gosht was sold for Rs. 200, and the quantity was only good enough for just one person. A stick of just three chicken-cheese balls cost Rs. 50. Don’t even ask about the sea food prices.
Still, if you have an opportunity to check out the fare on Mosque Road, do so if you have never visited the stretch during Ramzan before. And do it before Eid. Happy feasting!
