Davao 2016

We celebrated our 8th Anniversary in Davao! So happy that I got to travel again with him for the 3rd time this year. ♥ Again, the main reason for our travels is for the food. My cousin’s family kept on mentioning that Davao has the best seafood. Is it really? Image heavy post ahead!

2016 05 philippine eagle

Read More

2016 05 airport

Breakfast at NAIA 3. I think this is a new food court. Glad that they’re improving the facilities bit by bit.

2016 05 davao airport

2016 05 hukad

Lunch at Hukad, SM Lanang. Love the pendant light! I think its inspired from Puso rice?

2016 05 hukad scallop

Guess how much this is? Baked scallops for 150php!

2016 05 hukad dessert

The waiter suggested this dessert to us. Delicious!

That night, we decided to eat at my cousin’s family’s highly recommended place: Ahfat. After googling its location, we discovered that Ahfat 1, 2 and 3 are located at the same complex HAHAHA. We ate at Ahfat 2. Here are some of the stuff that we ordered:

2016 05 ahfat hotpot

Seafood hotpot for 250php! SO CHEAP. Filled with sea cucumber and various seafood. ♥

2016 05 ahfat dragon roll

Inggo ordered this Bacon roll out of curiosity. Surprisingly good!

2016 05 ahfat lobster

Slipper lobster!

We attempted to visit the Aldevinco Pasalubong Center after. Sadly, it closes at 8pm. But we discovered that there’s a night market nearby. The Roxas Night Market is just a few blocks away from the pasalubong center. There are ukay ukay, bags, and food stalls. Got to try genuine gelato for only 35php for 2 scoops! I didn’t get a clear picture but it was so good!

2016 05 roxas market buchi

Freshly cooked buchi for 3pcs / 30php! They had choco, ube, and monggo filling. We both loved this ♥.

2016 05 roxas market drink

Buko and Avocado shake priced at 50php.

2016 05 danny ice cream

We went to the night market twice. This is the famed Mang Danny’s durian ice cream. 6 scoops for 30php I think? We braved the long line for this.

A discovery like this is what makes wandering so much fun. Traveling without any expectations is better than being disappointed. I’m glad that it’s the same for him. ♥ We went back to the hotel after that to rest. What they say about the taxi drivers are also true. They’re all honest and actually grateful when you let them keep the change. Kudos also to the help desk of Red Planet for answering my questions in their app.

For our second day, we went up to the mountains to visit Malagos Garden Resort and the Philippine Eagle Center. With the help of google and the Red Planet staff, we opted to commute rather than ride the taxi. Saved us a lot of money!

2016 05 malagos koi cafe

Lunch at Malagos Garden Resort. They were renovating so we got 50% off their entrance fee. Lucky!

2016 05 malagos tuna sashimi

Tuna sashimi for 150php.

2016 05 malagos hot chocolate

Why did we go here? I heard that this place won awards internationally for their chocolate. This one is their hot chocolate. A bit bitter, and fruity.

2016 05 malagos stable

We found this funny.

2016 05 malagos birds 2

There’s a bird sanctuary inside the resort. You could feed the love birds! ♥

2016 05 malagos birds 1

2016 05 malagos birds 3

I find birds funny looking. Look at the lower right bird! Parang ready mang-aaway HAHAHA.

We then went to Philippine Eagle Center after. It’s located inside the Davao City Water District. Entrance fee for the Water District is 5php, while for the PEC is 150php. Worth it since you’re contributing to the conservation of our national bird.

2016 05 philippine eagle

2016 05 pec owl

2016 05 pec eagle

2016 05 pec eagle 2

2016 05 pec

After PEC, we took a habal habal back to Calinan and rode a van that will take us back to Davao City. We decided to try out the Crab Buffet somewhere in Roxas street.

2016 05 crab buffet

Before.

2016 05 crab buffet aftermath

After.

2016 05 blugre

Blugre coffee the next day. They’re famous for their durian coffee.

2016 05 malagos chocolate

What I bought for myself from the Malagos farm. Chocolate tablea for hot chocolate cravings!

Airline – My aunt taught me that its cheaper to buy airline tickets months before your flight. If there’s a seat sale, grab it since its a good deal already. So for the tickets, we got it for 50% off during a seat sale of one of the airlines here in the Philippines.

Hotel – As for the hotel, well, we booked one a month before our trip HAHA. There are a lot of choices of hotels in Davao with a reasonable price. We chose Red Planet as our hotel. Good price, comfortable room with the basics (bed, hot/cold shower, AC). We found the app pretty useful too.

How to commute to Malagos Garden Resort & Philippine Eagle Center:

  1. Take a cab/jeep to Bangkerohan. (Taxi can take you straight to Malagos, need to negotiate though).
  2. Ride a van to Calinan for 40php. (Travel time around 30-45mins)
  3. Take a tricycle to Malagos for 10php / Habal habal for 20php.

Looking forward to our next adventure! ♥

 

Monologue (Dec-April)

For the past few weeks, I’ve been bringing around my Monologue soft sketch almost everywhere so I could sketch or paint whenever I have free time. Well, it worked, HAHA. Although my backpack is a bit heavier now since I also bring my Prang set, I don’t mind since I can paint anytime and anywhere. ♥ So here are my artworks from December 2015 to April 2016.

2016 05 Monologue p1

Left: obviously tried typography and failing AHAHA / Right: First artwork. I love the bloom effects.

Read More

2016 05 Monologue p2

Left: Living room interior sketch without using a ruler HUHU / Right: So colorful. *u*

2016 05 Monologue p3

I did this during our stay at Dive & Trek, Batangas. ♥

2016 05 Monologue p4

I didn’t like the artwork that I did on this page. So I covered it with some loose Canson paper artworks and washi tape.Still in the water / lily / girl phase.

2016 05 Monologue p5

Left: First try with my Craft doodle waterbrush ♥ / Right: First time to try out the Craft doodle waterbrush care of Jean.

2016 05 Monologue p6

Left: I still don’t know what to do with her / Right: Referenced from a photo. Used my Reeves watercolor pan set.

2016 05 Monologue p7

Referenced from photo. Used Prang on this one.

Overall, I’m quite satisfied with the Monologue notebook. I actually like the bloom effect on some artworks. The paper buckles with wet on wet technique, but since this is just for practice, I don’t mind that much. The A5 one is the right size for me. One complaint though is that the price of this brand now is ridiculous due to the increasing demand here in the Philippines. I bought mine for around 330php last November 2015. When I checked last month the price was at 470php. The bigger size (A4? I think) I got for 300php years ago, now it’s 700+php. Sigh!

Do you know any online sellers for this? I’d love to hoard this notebook, but with reasonable price.