PhilFAQS

I finally got off my butt and did some internal traveling that wasn’t just a visit to a relative’s home …hey, what can I say, I’m a boring person.  My friend Vince was visiting from the US and we took a three-day trip down to Davao City.  One of the major reasons I picked Davao was to meet a long-time online friend Bob Martin, who has been here in the Philippines full time for more than 8 years now and who knows a lot about the ins and outs of living in the Philippines.  (thanks, Bob, for all your hospitality).

The first thing many Americans will be perhaps surprised to learn is that Davao is way down south, in the heart of the island of Mindanao where many people recommend foreigners not travel.  (this recommendation includes a lot of my Filipino friends who consider Mindanao as somehow dangerous or ’strange’ and not a place a foreigner will get along well.

Having made the trip I can state I’m happy, in a way, for all these warnings, because I consider Davao, in particular, to be a real jewel of the Philippines and I’m just as happy if foreigners in general don’t go there … makes it ever so much nicer for me. (I know the department of tourism won’t like that statement much, but they haven’t put me under contract (yet) so … too bad ).

Seriously, Davao is a lovely place to visit and I would rate the ‘dangers" to foreigners equal or even less than any place I have yet visited.  One reason for this is that Davao is perhaps the most organized and disciplined city I’ve yet seen.  It’s run by a mayor who takes his responsibilities very seriously and local laws are enforced … something that’s sadly lacking in a lot of places I have visited so far.

Getting There:  Davao is an easy less than two hour flight from anywhere else in the Philippines.  Round trip fares from say manila will often be under $100 US … a bargain compared with flying around the US.  The airport terminal is brand new and well organized, you won’t loose time in aimless lines.

Local Transport: Cabs are plentiful and cheap.  Since there is very little congestion you won’t spend most of your cab money sitting in traffic as the meter ticks, a frequent problem in larger cities.  I always recommend strangers find a cab driver they feel they can communicate with and consider hiring the guy by the day or half-day … it usually works out cheaper in the long run.  We had a cab for close to 5 hours for 700 pesos total and the driver was safe, courteous and spoke good English.  If you aren’t confident enough to try something like this on your own, a hotel can usually suggest someone reasonable.  remember, if you hire someone for a day or more you really should be responsible for his meals and/or lodging (if going out of town) over and above the daily fee … but don’t make him accompany you to restaurants, etc., he likely won’t be comfortable.  Hotels typically have "driver rooms" or can recommend cheap ‘diver lodgings" locally, just ask.

Hotels: Davao is not Paris, and it’s not even manila (thank goodness).  We stayed at a very economical hotel called We ‘R Inn in the downtown area.  Refr4esngly clean, excellent breakfast, friendly staff and well worth its P1000 per night rate.  This motel would rank down in the ‘less luxurious than Motel 6 rank’ for most fellow Americans, so depending on your desires you might want a more upscale choice.  Here’s some that are well recommended, although I haven’t stayed there personally.

Food: A, now this is one of the things I really feel is a huge strength for Davao.  It’s not always easy to find food to foreigner tastes when traveling in the Philippines … especially if you are turned off by the ubiquitous US franchises 9with US prices) which pollute the country.  Davao has some excellent choices and compared with the metro Manila area, food is cheap.  I particularly enjoyed Al’s Diner and Picobello Ristorante Italiano.  Not at all what I expected from a small, "shopping center" type restaurant.  Bob has a great list here, I want to try them all.

There’s a lot more to say about Davao City, but this post is already long enough.  If you get the idea that I thoroughly enjoyed my trip then I’ve done my writing job well.  Is Davao now on my list for permanent places to live in the Philippines?  You better believe it!

Related posts:

1. Davao City Microtel Inn & Suites
2. Davao Doings
3. Wish Every City Had a Site Like This
4. Let’s Go Davao
5. A Good Deal in Davao

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