Fine Dining at Apo View’s Entrée Restaurant

Yesterday, after attending the Kadayawan press conference I had the opportunity to dine at Apo View Hotel’s Entrée Restaurant, one of Davao’s finest buffet restaurants.

The buffet restaurant offers delectable courses – from appetizers to desserts.

Sneek-Peak of Kadayawan Festival

In 2007, the Apo View Hotel celebrated Kadayawan Festival in line with its 60^th anniversary of being one of the country’s premier hotel and the second oldest hotel in the whole Philippines. This year, Apo View Hotel gives you more color to the most-awaited festival as it showcases different tribes and the diverse culture of the island of Mindanao.

The amazing fire dance!

The Kadayawan Fiesta at the Apo View becomes a significant event that Apo View Hotel and its valued guests look forward every year.

Learning Hiligaynon the Hard Way

I started learning basic Hiligaynon last year. Some of my classmates come from Sultan Kudarat, Marbel and General Santos. These provinces are known to be the second home of the Ilonggos. During the late 50s, Mindanao was tagged as the Land of Promise – new home, lots of job opportunities and most of all, a new hope. Migrants coming from Luzon and Visayas have settled in key cities of Mindanao. The Ilonggos have settled in the South Cotabato area.

The Philippines is an archipelagic country. Its culture is so diverse that it had at least 120-175 spoken languages in the country. The top three spoken languages are:
Filipino, Visayan and Hiligaynon.

The Hiligaynon language has this peculiar intonation which pushed me to learn this language. But during the learning process, I had a funny experience about it.

Cheap Accommodations in Davao City

Kadayawan Festival, the King of the Festivals is just around the corner. Flights to Davao are all fully booked as tourists start to flock Davao City. Looking for a comfortable yet affordable stay in the city can be a great challenge for budget travelers.

If you’re looking for a comfortable and at the same time affordable stay in Davao, then you have come to the right place.

Touchdown Davao: A Comprehensive Review of Davao International Airport

Francisco Bangoy International Airport (Filipino: Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Francisco Bangoy, Cebuano: Tugpahanang Pangkalibutanon sa Francisco Bangoy), also called Davao International Airport (IATA: DVO, ICAO: RPMD) is the primary gateway of Mindanao serving Davao City, the largest city of the Philippines in terms of land area.

(Top picture: Façade of Davao International Airport, photo by yours truly. Bottom left: The infamous Durian monument sits in front of the terminal building created by a Davaoeño artist, Kublai Milan. Photo by George Parillo via Flickr. Bottom Right: The right wing of the terminal building, photo by lightning099 via Flickr.)

I have been to this airport since 1992 and over the years I have witnessed its developments. It had undergone major upgrades from its terminal and cargo buildings to its navigational systems to meet international standards. It had also battled some serious issues about its expansion, survived a bomb explosion that claimed at least 30 innocent lives, and even experienced a few notable air disasters.

But despite these issues, I can truly say that the airport’s image has not been compromised since the start of its operation.

It was my first time, and it didn’t feel good.

I was only seventeen when I had my first experience.

To be honest I did not know what to do or to expect on this particular circumstance. I was excited yet nervous at the same time. If something goes terribly wrong, I might be dead. Dead as a dodo. All I was asking was a great and wonderful experience. No more, no less. And if all else fails, I would gladly accept and face the consequences no matter what.

Armed with only a little knowledge about our destination, a few hundred pesos and a backpack filled with unnecessary stuff, I braved the wilderness and learned a LOT of things aside from collecting data from the transect-quadrat we have made.

The Island That Vanishes + Batman’s Secret Lair

Question: How many islands does the Philippines have?

I am pretty sure everyone of you here still remembers Charlene Gonzales’ infamous answer to that query. She may not win the 1994 Miss Universe crown but she left a good impression to the audience. Such a witty and beautiful woman.

Our basic knowledge in geography tells us that there are 7,107 islands in the Philippines. But, there’s this one particular island that literally disappears during high tide, making our archipelagic country deficient of one island for at least 12 hours a day.

Yes, this island really vanishes when the tide is high. I have seen it vanished not just once, not twice, not even thrice but many times already.

The name alone arouses curiosity to travelers who seek adventure.

The Giant Hershey’s Kisses of Davao Oriental

Until now, I still have this weird habit of imagining funny things like Teletubbies grooving to hiphop music, Jose Rizal doing the tango, or the former President Marcos declaring the Martial Law in Beki language (LOL almost everyone would have a hard time understanding him). But, in our trip to Davao Oriental last January 2009, I never expected to see an island shaped like Hershey’s Kisses. Yes, it looked like the infamous chocolate that everyone loves. No, it didn’t taste sweet but, taking a dip on this island was a great experience.

I never thought of seeing this kind of land formation in our country. It was truly a one-of-a-kind place to visit.