The first time I've visited Tagum City was around 2005. We went to different banana plantations, the unfinished gargantuan Christ the King church, the mayor's office and other different places. Back then, the roads were chaotic and I didn't like it.
I went back there in 2006 to attend the Regional Press Conference in an elementary school located at Madaum. Nothing had changed.
Yesterday, I had the chance to go back there to attend my cousin's civil wedding and I was surprised... really surprised, well, in a good way.
Tagum City is approximately 50 km away from Davao City. As we made our way to the city, we were greeted by several Palm trees that were beautifully lined alongside the national highway. The streets were surprisingly clean too!To quote Wikipedia:
Tagum City is a First Class City of the 1st Congressional District of the Province of Davao del Norte, Philippines and serves as its provincial capital. Tagum City, from being a predominantly agricultural area, has become Mindanao's fastest-rising urban city due to its strategic location, being in the crossroads between the rural areas of Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley and the urban Metro Davao. Blessed with a developed infrastructure, the city manages to export goods like wood chips, veneer plywood, and wood lumber. Fresh bananas, however, remain as the chief export product.
After the wedding, we went to Miko's Brew at Apokon to eat lunch. The place was cozy and big and they serve yummy food food here! Their Lemon Chicken and Beef Mechado were my two favorite dishes.
Inside Miko's Brew |
Beef Mechado |
Lemon Chicken! |
And like other coffee shops, Miko's Brew offers free wi-fi connectivity. According to my reliable sources, their blueberry cheesecake is to die for. Too bad I didn't have the chance to taste some of their pastries. :(
Without a doubt, Tagum is the fastest growing city here in island of Mindanao, Philippines. Investments have poured within the city and I won't be surprised to see Tagum as one of the best cities not just in Mindanao but also in the whole Philippines!
A monorail or a mass railway transit that would link the two cities of Tagum and Davao is a nice idea. Oh well, a traveler can dream.
Here are some of the photos I took on our way back to Davao:
Hopefully I'll go back to Tagum this New Year's Eve and take some photos of the fireworks. :)
great to see new photos of Tagum City. glad to see a lot of road improvements. last time i was there was 1998 pa :-(
ReplyDeleteDelegate ka din pala ng press conference, did you compete in news writing or photo journalism?
ReplyDelete@lakwatsera de primera: sports writing in english! I almost made it to the nationals!!! sayang!
ReplyDeletehmmm.... that miko's place looks like a good place to blog and have coffee at the same time! =)
ReplyDeleteYeah! :D Mura rin coffee rito :D
ReplyDeleteTagum. i have relatives there. next year. babalik ako nang davao! :D
ReplyDeleteSo did you get the chance to take photos of Tagum's New Year's Eve fireworks?
ReplyDelete