Thursday, March 22, 2012

DAVAO




Davao City is the country's largest city in terms of land area. It is the regional center of the Davao region and the beating heart of Mindanao. It also the home of famous durian fruit, majestic mount Apo and the endemic Philippine eagle.



  • Museo Dabawenyo displays photographic exhibitions documenting both the Japanese and American occupations in the city. The galleries also features  patchwork of indigenous tribal groups, religions and ethnicities of Mindanao. Located at A. Pichon corner C.M. Recto St. opens from 9am-12nn  & 1-6pm Monday-Saturday. Admission is free.
  • People's Park is a family friendly green space features a life size sculptures of native people of Mindanao designed by a dabawenyo prolific artist Kubai Millan.
  • Davao Crocodile Park is a combination of conservation center and a zoo.Located at the Riverfront Corporate City Diversion Road Brgy. Ma-a. Admission is P 300.00 .
  • Dabaw Museum has a good collection of tribal wearings and artifacts of most tribes from Mindanao. the museum is located besides Waterfront Insular Hotel. Admission is P20.00 and opens from 9am-5pm Monday to Saturday .







Budget airlines have direct flights to/from Davao to Manila, Clark , Cebu , Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Puerto Prinsesa and Zamboanga.

Philtranco also travels to/from Manila to Davao for 48 hours.

BOHOL | CHOCOLATE HILLS AND MORE!

BLOOD COMPACT SHRINE
after spending a night at sugbutel in cebu city we took the early morning trip of oceanjet bound for tagbilaran, the gateway to bohol island. i always look forward to go back to that wonderful island! it's a stunning visayan jewel. kuya sherwin +639106123168 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            +639106123168      end_of_the_skype_highlighting +639267103220 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            +639267103220      end_of_the_skype_highlighting is waiting for us at the seaport. he is the one i contacted to be our driver/guide. he charges us lesser than those other contacts i asked.
TARSIER
kuya is so nice. he keeps on sharing with us the history of their island. our fist stop is the historical blood compact site.  we got so excited to see a tarsier. this endangered species can be found mainly in the town of corella. it’s a wonderful experience passing through the highway of manmade forest. this long stretch of highway is planted by hundreds of thousands of mahogany trees. they compare this to one of the scene in the movie twilight.
MAN-MADE FOREST

BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION CENTER
it took an hour and we finally reached the world’s famous chocolate hills located in the town of carmen. there are 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers. all are covered with grass that turns brown during summer. jimmelyn and jenel were so excited to take the stairs going on top of the hill’s viewing area. the foreigners were also amazed. after that we have an extreme adventure at loboc adventure park. it’s my first time to try the zip line ride. i feel like a superman flying from one mountain to the other side. truly an adrenaline rush experience.
LOBOC ADVENTURE PARK

CHOCOLATE HILLS


HANGING BRIDGE
we pass by the hanging bridge. there we bought some peanut kisses and other pasalubong stuff. it’s time for lunch. the perfect time and place to have it is by loboc river cruise. as we are having our buffet lunch the cruise started. the river was so breathtaking. there are cultural presentations at the riverbanks.


LOBOC RIVER
our tour ended at the baclayon church, the oldest coral stone church in the region. the place is open for tourist. there is also a museum.



BACLAYON CHURCH
we spend the rest of the day at dumaluan beach resort in panglao Island. i love this island, the white sand, delicious fresh sea foods and the friendly boholanos. one thing that weren’t able to experience is island hoping, dolphin watching and snorkeling because we woke up late! we just enjoy the day beside the shore watching some foreign nationals enjoying beach volleyball.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

YMCA HOSTEL

photo credit :  http://cdoguide.com/hotels/budget/ymca.html

Julio Pacana Street, Cagayan de Oro City
 (88) 856-9624

All rooms are fully air conditioned. Rates ranges from P300-P450.