Davao International Airport

It was my first time in Davao last Saturday. I went there with Nina, Melo, Eric, Gail and Marc. Eric arrived there first though since he took a different flight from us .

Durian sculpture by Kublai

Here’s a sculpture of the Durian fruit by Kublai. We saw this sculpture near the taxi queue. I’m impressed with Kublai’s artworks (mostly sculptures and mixed media) aside from the Durian sculpture found in the airport. After taking some photos, we headed to Ponce Suites.

Ponce Suites Exterior

Ponce Suites Interior

Upon arrival at Ponce Suites, I was awed by the sculptures surrounding the exteriors of the building. When I got inside, I was more impressed. Indeed, the perfect description of Ponce Suites is Art Gallery slash Hotel/Inn. [ More photos of Ponce Suites ]

We actually didn’t stay at Ponce Suites but at Ponce Apartments instead since it’s a lot cheaper there. It costed us at around 300 pesos per night per head. Just like the Ponce Suites, Ponce Apartments have a sculpture outside. And like the Ponce Suites, it has artworks inside.

Luz Kinilaw

After bringing our things to the apartment, we went out for lunch at Luz Kinilaw and we were able to experience authentic Davao cuisine. Eric was not able to join us though.

Kadayawan 2008

Kadayawan 2008

Kadayawan 2008

Then, we went to Rizal to be able to take some photos of Kadayawan 2008 participants. I was not that happy with my Kadayawan photos. One thing I learned about taking photos of restricted events like this is that a telephoto lens would be nice to have since from what I’ve observed, photographers weren’t allowed to go so near during performance. In fact, there’s a media or press area. Also, it’s better to arrive early where the participants would dance so that at least you could get to see their performance even you cannot take the photos so you could at least observe most especially if you’re a first timer there.

Sans Rival at Lachi’s

At around 430pm, we went back to the apartment to freshen up before meeting some Davao bloggers at Lachi’s. Anyway, Lachi’s Sans Rival atbp. is a must-try restaurant in Davao City. We had dinner there and met with Andrew, Ria, and Winston. After having some chitchats, we went to Hilltop, which is Davao’s version of Antipolo. Dencio’s is the only establishment at Hilltop and no one was in the mood for drinking alcohol so Eric had calamansi juice, Nina had hot tea, Gail, Melo and me had instant coffee. Afterwards, we headed back to the apartment.