DVO 1: Davao Malahini

Davao City's luscious greens welcomed us upon arrival, and to my sensitive nose, I inhaled the freshest air ever. My trip was baptized by my digicam's fall into the at Sampaguita Hotel and a glimpse of greyscale panorama of a Banilad+Colon city atmosphere read to me a quiet, laidback stay in such province.

Me, Eden and friend, Jessie before going up to our hotel floor at Bagobo House Hotel at Duterte St.

Let's go eat straight shall we?



Under the surrealist low skyline, I felt I was being puppetted in Monopoly. The crisscross of streets, square diameters and boxes of structures was madeleine of the famous board game. I particularly hail this street for its walking-distance means! From the hotel, there was Shakey's in front, a whole block of chicken & grill to the far right and most especially DUNKIN' DONUTS just beside to the right. Though it wasn't a local specialty, I would still literally had my midnight snacks of Choco Butternut nad Strawberry-Filled for the enitre stay.

Eden was the first wearer of my taupe DVO robe, which you will see more on the upcoming posts.


wearing:

Yves Identify. Flesh short-sleeved shirt / Lawman grey dress shorts / Black belt from Metro Ayala Dept. Store /




Ahh! My sudden DVO food craving: Sinigang na Hipon or Pasayan! It felt good eating seafood for the main meal.



I knew from my mini-DVO research that the mass-known landmark is the People's Park, but I didn't know it housed extraordinary cement sculptures depicting local industry and livelihood. We just dropped by to see how it was like.

PEOPLE’S PARK

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Escaping the early evening rain along Apo View Hotel.

In DVO, one has to PARTY EARLY - as in 7pm early. Liquor ban is verboten and by the local partygoers' rulebook, you have to drown in alcohol before midnight! Since the cut-off of liquor orders HAS to stop at 2am, the downtown streets looked as quiet as how 5 or 6am would look like here in CBU. In fairness, cute faces are spotted early too and some were in "effortless" party numbers. Fashionably, there were just off-the-radar outfits of satin and tafetta prom dresses - in bubble hem, poodle skirt and ribbons, no less! Musically, there were music from nowhere and no era! (what techno mix was that??!) And oh, bumping on other people might just be a casual thing to do? But this was just the low-key side of DVO partying.

Mamah Jossa and Eden, each in my gold peapod necklaces

Vietnam or Thailand has its "tuktuk", I called Davao City's cute road invention, Tiktok! It's a
quadrocycle without the "divider" and little "walling" designed with a huge square evergreen+grey umbrella.

*photo by: John Concepcion / **photo by: Eden