in a perfect world

When my cousins were very young, we sat together on a flight to Hong Kong. The weather was pretty bad and there was a lot of turbulence. We couldn't land and the passengers were getting airsick and projectile vomiting all over the place. Plus there were babies screaming for no apparent reason, and even the adults were throwing tantrums.

After that flight, I told my aunt to keep my cousins away from me until they turned 18 years old.

From my favorite "news" source, Yahoo! News:

Click to enlarge.

This next bit, about child-free zones in airplanes? Heaven!

 Click to enlarge.

how to ship a tree

We visited the SM Agri Fair three times when we were in Davao City. Each time, we saw something that we wanted to take home with us, but we didn't know how.

The healthiest, fattest bamboo we'd ever seen.

A yellow bell with a double layer of petals.

Four colors of flowers-- all in one bougainvillea plant.

I'm a sucker for lilies.

The vendors kept assuring us that they were used to packing up plants for transport-- even to Japan, they said. The problem was that from Davao, we had to fly to Iloilo, and then drive at least five hours to Caticlan to catch the boat. We were even thinking of staying a couple of nights somewhere before heading back home, so we worried that the plants (actually, some of them were technically trees already) might not make it.

And that's why we have to go back to Davao.

suddenly, we were fishing

On the last day of the Kadayawan festivities, we were invited by a friend of a friend to go fishing. As in, with fishing poles and bait and stuff like that. We drove to the Banana Resort in Tagum, about an hour's drive from Davao City. It was unexpectedly very pleasant. Thanks, Easy Rider.

The noise and bustle of the city faded away. It was so-ooo quiet. We were the only ones there. Banana Resort has the most interesting architecture I'd seen in Davao so far.

Even the restrooms are nice. There' still a lot of undeveloped area. I look forward to seeing what the owners do with their resort.

 
It was cloudy that day-- not too hot, with a slight breeze. Each hut has a little ledge for the anglers, although I suppose you could also cast your line from the bridge. To use the facilities, you pay PHP500 per person, fully consumable-- the fish you catch is weighed and charged by the kilogram. You can also order food and drinks.

Our little group caught quite a lot of fish. I found it all very interesting, but I couldn't bring myself to try fishing. I eat fish. I just don't like seeing how the fish are caught and killed. (The resort staff would unhook the bangus and bash it on the head repeatedly until it gives up the ghost-- Ew!) I prefer to see my food dead already.

I don't know if it's because I'm a SCUBA diver. When I dive and observe marine life in its natural environment, I feel that the fish are aware of my presence in a zen-ish inter-species kind of way. Sometimes they even look me in the eye. Anthropomorphism? Maybe.

But I would still eat them.

the river wild

Three months before our trip to Davao for the Kadayawan Festival, I started my research. Let me tell you, there's not a lot of "user" information on what to do and where to go in Davao City. There are some well-designed websites about Davao, but the content is too basic and not very helpful. The travel forums are virtually empty. It feels a bit like the locals don't want to toot their horns. Why the secrecy? 

Anyway, I found out that there's whitewater rafting in Davao, so I got in touch with Atoy of Davao Wildwater Adventure. They needed a group of five to go, but at that time, no-one had signed up yet. Early in August, I emailed Atoy again and we confirmed our booking for 20 August 2010.

We showed up at the Crocodile Park at 7AM as instructed. We had to wait TWO HOURS for anything to happen. I don't know who or what we were waiting for. That's my only gripe. Not a morning person, you know.

That's our group right in front during the briefing. Giving them our utmost attention.

Our river guides. They look so professional, right?

From the Crocodile Park, it took an hour to get to the "put-in", the portion of the Davao River where the trip officially begins. There, we were taught how to don the helmet and vest, how to paddle and what to do when you fall out of the raft.

I think there were about 50 of us. The more, the merrier.

Our guide Lloyd demonstrated how to pull someone back into the raft.

The plan was to paddle a 13-kilometer stretch of the Davao River. It wasn't adrenaline-pumping rapids all the way. There were many places where the water was calm and we could enjoy the scenery.

The Davao River is extremely clean and the banks are green, green, green.

The guides call this the Vanishing Falls because it disappears when there's not enough rainfall. We were very lucky to see it.

Check out the imposing rock face. Imagine how many millennia it took for the river to carve through that rock. 

At first, it was kind of scary (especially after watching the briefing video where the boats kept tipping over), but after a while, we started looking forward to hitting the rapids.

Although two of us fell into the river, our raft never capsized, unlike the one behind us.

Looks like fun, actually.

There were a bunch of kayaks following us. I realised that they were actually our photographers.

Where can I buy an inflatable kayak like this? So cool.

Apparently, even professional guides fall in.

After approximately four hours on the river, we were tired but happy, and ready to call it a day.

High five! We made it! Thanks, Lloyd, for taking care of us.

We paid Davao Wildwater Adventure PHP2,000 (US$48) each. That included rental of the equipment, services of a river guide, a packed lunch and some drinks, transport to and from the river, a souvenir T-shirt, and best of all-- pictures and videos. They knew exactly where to position themselves to get the best shots. You don't have to bring your own camera.

An unforgettable experience. Definitely a must-do in Davao City.

Note: All photos courtesy of Davao Wildwater Adventure. Thanks for everything, Atoy, Lloyd and all the guys.

flora of kadayawan

Since it was the Kadayawan Festival, we didn't have to go to the orchid farms. They came to us. For the month of August, there was a flower and plant exhibit at the parking lot of SM City Davao. Horticultural heaven!


My favorite? This lovely white rosal. No perfume in the world can compare to its scent.


There was a bonsai competition, too.

Plants, we'll be back.