The art of bonding...

Last weekend my daughter and I had a nice bonding moment together and this time, we decided to have an overnight stay at the un-convention center called Ponce Suites, rather than go out of town. Why did we choose to spend a night at this hotel?..well, for one, the place is known for being a gallery hotel since it is owned by the family of a renowned artist here in Davao named Kublai Millan, the man behind most number of sculptures you can see in different parts of the city especially those found at the Peoples Park and we just wanted to simply experience it. Another thing is that, I know it will be so exhilarating for my daughter being a budding artist herself and I wanted her to be exposed to different form of arts so as to inspire and hone her artistic talent as well. Anyway, the moment you see this hotel, you could not ignore the gigantic Philippine Eagle sculptures at the entrance which makes one wonder what else can you discover in its premises.

Inside the the hotel however, not a single corner was spared, even the ceiling looks like an art gallery. Rows and columns of art works were displayed along the hallway. I asked for a room that had a wi-fi connection and we were being ushered into the the third floor. The stairs leading to our room is like a work of art too. I learned that the hotel had 30 rooms, a newly opened Kublai cafe and bar located at the second floor and also a roof deck.

Our room was just fine and spacious with a big matrimonial bed and basic amenities such as cable tv, hot and cold shower but their wi-fi connection was so weak that I was not able to use it. Air con works well and the price is very reasonable too. But what counts most is the experience and bonding that I have with my daughter. We just enjoyed the moment telling ghosts stories, jokes, eating, playing games on my computer or just watching tv.

The following day, we woke a little late than usual then we went straight to the cafe for breakfast. I just had a cup of coffee while my daughter opted to eat some rice and viand. Their cafe had a very cozy ambiance, there were also books and magazines when a visitor wants to read and just stay there for awhile.

After eating, we went to the roof deck and have some picture taking. We were really amazed, it is indeed a gallery hotel. From photography, pen, mosaics, watercolor, collages, abstract and even stone art, all in one place. Definitely a nice bonding moment to reminisce for a lifetime.

Korean foodtrip

From Drop Box

I am a huge fan of spicy dishes and Korean cuisine is definitely a big yes for me. Recently, when my cousin and I had our usual moms day out sessions ( just to break the monotony of being a stay at home mom ), we decided to try Somang Kimchi Restaurant located along JP Laurel Ave., Davao City. It was our first time to dine at this restaurant and we were kind of curious and at the same time excited about it. It was past 11 am when we entered the place and not much diners were there, maybe just about 3 tables occupied. We find the place rather comfy though their air conditioners are not so cool enough for us. A lady then gave us the menu and we decided to order Ra Myun, a spicy Korean noodles with slices of rice cakes, eggs and veggies. We also ordered the Kimbap which is the Korean version of maki sushi.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Just before our main order arrived, their waitress first served us 5 different kinds of banchan ( appetizers ) which consists of kimchi, stir fried veggies, tofu, marinated sprouts and battered sweet potato served in little portions.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Their Ra Myun was really hot and spicy but not fiery enough to burn the palate. We also liked the noodles, it's firm and flavorful. The price is just right too, considering the many side dishes that they served. We just paid Php360 for all the food we consumed and whats more, they also served watermelon slices for dessert. All in all we did got value for our money and we went out the restaurant with our tummies and faces smiling :).

From Drop Box

My favorite native delicacies..only from Mers

From Drop Box

Sweets and delicacies have long been part of Filipino tradition. Whenever there are celebrations, native delicacies are always part of a sumptuous feast. But if you are craving for some, there's one restaurant named Mers, located along Digos high way, could be the place to go. From their best seller which is bibingka, they also offered different varieties of treats like pastillas, salvaro, coconut balls, kalamay, maja blanca, ube, suman, moron, coconut cookies and a lot lot more. Their prices are also very reasonable. Also, aside from those delicacies, one of my favorite is their puto with dinuguan. If you happen to taste their dinuguan, maybe you would likely come back for more. I guess this is also one of the reason why people kept coming back to this restaurant. Even my daughter which is a picky eater happen to like it. So if you are looking for nice food trip..try Mers ( maybe about 30 minutes from Davao City ). Not only you can enjoy the yummy taste of their famous dinuguan and puto, but you can also bring home some native delicacies and share it to your loveones.

Mixed emotions

I just turned 38 yesterday..Yay!.. I am 38 with an exclamation point!..and to be brutally honest..that fact still did not sink in..I do not know if I am just in a denial stage because of the saying that says its all downhill for a woman after reaching the age 40..Awwwww..does that means it is also all downhill for me after two years?..Ugh! A friend of mine even jokingly suggested I should invest in a good skateboard for a smooth ride going downhill :).Oh well, I would rather choose to go downhill than going six feet below the ground anyway..But of course, aging is inevitable.. no matter who we are and what we do..there is no other way..we really grow old eventually. Well looking back..I do have few regrets, triumphs, tears, fun..its actually a smorgasbord of emotions anyway. I remember when I was young, where I used to read all about fairy tales book my mom gave me, my perception about life is so different. I used to dream of my prince charming sweeping off my feet, offering me the sun and the moon and we would live happily ever after..Gosh, I did not know I needed to have a reality check during those times where I viewed life with rose tinted glasses. It was too late to realize that prince charmings can really turn into deep ugly frogs. I did not know that in reality, there are piles of clothes and plates to wash, bills and tuition fees to pay and that my so called prince charming can easily replace me with a new princess in just a snap. Duh!..if only I was wiser then :)..With age really comes wisdom too..So I guess I do not need to be afraid of aging. I have learned a lot so far. I have also learned to accept the fact that I am perfectly imperfect. There are regrets yeah, but at the end of the day, I am really thankful for all the blessings God gave me. Having a very supportive family, close friends that are always ready to give a lending hand when I needed them, 2 kids that loves me a lot to the point of spoiling me with their hugs and kisses as well as unabashed "i love you mama"..Yes, mixed emotions are part of our existence and its part of us whether we are young or old..but the most important thing is living what our real purpose in life is.. "Carpe diem"..gather rosebuds while ye may..because we never know what lies ahead. :)

Freak accident, flash flood and faith

Davao city experienced not one but two 'major major' tragedies yesterday, the 28th day of June. First was the freak accident that happened along Mc Arthur high way, Matina, wherein 4 kinds of vehicle rammed with each other resulting to 3 casualties and multiple injuries. It happened at around 3 in the afternoon. I was at my cousin's place at that time when my uncle told us that there was an accident along Mc Arthur high way. When I learned about it, the first thing that comes to my mind was my daughter. It's already time to go home from school and they usually pass along Mc Arthur high way. I tried sending her a text message but I remembered she did not bring her cellphone that day in school. I was so worried that I immediately went home to check and was so relieved when I saw her playing with her cousins. Later as I watched TV from the local news, I learned that a dump truck carrying 50 sacks of cement was the culprit behind the accident. The brakes of the truck failed so it rammed 3 other vehicles including a bus, a public utility vehicle and a taxi. The impact was so strong that it literally crushed the two smaller vehicles. Two persons died instantly and later on the driver of the PUJ also died early this morning. May their souls rest in peace.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Another terrible news that happened yesterday was the flash flood. The sad part was that the people were caught unaware. It happened too fast that it took more than 20 lives and more were still missing. It was around 10 pm last night when rain began to pour heavily. I am still awake at that time, because I am chatting with my sister now based in USA. There was thunder and lightnings and I told her I had to cut short our chatting session because I have to unplug some electrical connections. Little did I know that some neighboring villages were already submerge in water. Residential places turned instantly like a river. It damages lots of lives and properties in just a short span of time. I did not know about the incident until morning when I was awaken by my friend's text message asking me if I am alright. I replied yes and asked her why she was asking me that. So she told me about the flood and it is only then that I learned the truth. I think this was the worst flood that happened to our city. Cars were swept away, appliances, personal belongings..etc. I can still vividly recall the super typhoon Ondoy last September of 2009 where I did experienced personally, because I am in Manila at that time staying with my brother's house in Pasig City. I have to flee towards a cousin's place in Batangas City and I was left with no choice but to wade through neck deep murky flood waters of Pasig just to get away from the flood. It was the worst experience so far for me. Seeing cars piled on top of another along the streets, it was indeed a horrible sight. Moreover, while we were trying to get to the bus terminal, we could not find any place to eat and we also had a hard time finding a restroom. Now, I could not believed it did happened to Davao too. Luckily, the place that I resided was not much affected by the flood but I really pity those families that lost not only properties but loveones as well. It was just a good thing that the city government of Davao was so prompt in helping the victims, especially the city mayor. Although there had been a lot of issues regarding the drainage system of the city and most people believed that it was the major reason why the said flash flood happened without a warning. Anyway as a dabawenyo, I think this is not the right time to point fingers especially in these trying times. It did happened to other places too, and I guess it is about time that all people, be it from Davao or not will indeed do something to preserve our environment or our mother earth to be exact. What goes around comes around, so if we do not help in our own little way, it is most likely that floods and other calamities are expected to come in the near future.

On the lighter side however, inspite of what happened, dabawenyos still stayed optimistic. Perhaps it is because of the people's faith in the Lord. In fact today is the feast of St. Peter and people trooped towards San Pedro Church to join the celebration. This is one of the oldest church and landmark situated mainly at the heart of the city. The flood did not prevent the people from attending mass and the church was still overflowing. Surely there are still a lot of things to be thankful for. So after the mass this morning ( my daughter and I attended the 11am mass ), free lunch were distributed, though you just have to endure the long lines of people just to get it. Nonetheless, I hope we will all join together to pray for all the victims as well as their families.

From Drop Box

Weekend fun at Passig Agro Eco Park

Yesterday we had an opportunity to visit the Passig Agro Eco Park located at Barangay Bato, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. It is primarily a government owned project by the provincial government of Davao del Sur. The project is still on going but we did appreciate the place already. It was like a man made island where they put some extra large rubber tires as its foundation. And since it was an island, there is no electricity available except for those solar panels that they installed for lighting up the lights at night. Grilling and cooking food is strictly prohibited because of those solar panels which restricts naked flames nearby. If planning to go to the island, you must bring enough food and drinks because there is no store nor restaurant for now. It is really a surprise for us that there are a lot of nice places to visit which is just so near Davao City. We reached Barangay Bato in less than an hour from Davao, and from the entrance along the high way we just looked for a nice parking space and took a 5 minute walk towards the port leading to the island. They also constructed a wooden bridge for their visitors comfort and the view of the mangroves which they really preserved is really awesome.

Upon reaching the port, there were little boats waiting to bring visitors towards the island. They usually charge 10 pesos per person which will take about 5 minutes more or less to get there. Since it was just 7am, the view was so breathtaking and I cannot help but do a random clicking with my digital camera. It was indeed nature at its finest. My friends and I really enjoyed the trip.

The island was just small but it is really rich in biodiversity. If only I have an underwater camera, I could have took a lot of good underwater pictures. Large starfishes are simply everywhere and my daughter even tried to grabbed one just to know what it feels like. We also saw a sea snake and some jelly fishes swimming freely. It was also cool to see different forms of fishes which I just usually see inside the aquarium. They also planted some dwarf coconuts in the island for that really tropical ambiance. Anyway here are some of the pictures that I took there. Hope you will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed taking these photos.

A glimpse of Davao City

Today is the feast of St. John the baptist and we had an unexpected visitor at home. My first cousin from my father's side came in to visit us because she had been in Davao attending a seminar in line with her job. She just took the chance to meet her relatives here since she haven't seen us for more than a decade already. My cousin was so surprised how things had changed a lot. In fact she got lost upon going to our house. When we finally meet each other again, we were so excited updating with each others lives that she decided to stay for another night so we could also tour her around the city before going back to her hometown. So the day was basically intended for a quick city tour with my sister and I acted as her guide. Here are the places we visited earlier with the pictures that I took myself..

We went to a durian candy factory outlet called Durian World located at Mc Arthur high way, Matina. Durian fruit is abundant in our city, that is why Durian candies and delicacies are also a popular pasalubong or treats for family and friends. My cousin was so happy because she bought her durian goodies at a much cheaper price compared to buying it from the mall.

Next we brought her to the Shrine of Infant Jesus of Prague located at Shrine Hills Matina. This shrine is known to be miraculous. I can really attest to that since most of my prayer request were granted by making a prayer of petition here. We also decided to attend the afternoon mass and was really inspired by the priest's homily. The place is really solemn so there is no distractions at all and you could really feel the presence of God during the mass.

Our next stop was at Jack's Ridge located also in Shrine Hills. It is just a walking distance from the Shrine of Infant Jesus of Prague. The view was so breathtaking from the top and you could really appreciate the beauty of the city. The place is a also a known tourist spot, with nice restaurants, swimming pool, piano bar, coffee shop, function halls and a souvenir shop, surely, it is one place in Davao that is worth visiting.

My cousin wanted to buy some souvenirs so we brought her to Aldevinco Shopping Center located at CM Recto Ave..also one of the places which is popular to tourists and local visitors alike. Here you can find items which are really affordable and can even haggle with the price. Lots of money changers outlets too, for a fast and hassle free currency conversion.

After shopping for souvenir items, we decided to take our dinner at Mang Inasal. I like their chicken barbeque and dipping sauce, the taste is just right. This restaurant has also a nice homey ambiance. Just the right place when you want extra loads of rice because of their unlimited rice promo. :P

After dinner we did have a grand time at the Ayala Abreeza mall. It is the biggest mall in Davao at present, which opened just last month. We did a little shopping too. I really like this mall because it is very spacious and you can find shops which is fairly new to the people of Davao.

After spending more than an hour of roaming around Abreeza, we were so tired that we wanna revive our energy by trying out starbucks coffee this time. So yummy that we still does not want to go home and instead decided to go to People's Park as our last destination for the day.

So that's the end of our quick tour and we went home almost past midnight already..and mind you, I still manage to write this blog..even if I am sleepy now..So see you next post everyone..Hope you enjoyed my recent post..Thanks for reading :)

xoxo