The amazing trip to Davao, Philippines with Cebu Pacific Air (Part 2)

Hello guys, I’m back to share with you the 2^nd part of my adventure in Davao, Philippines.

So after a good night’s rest at the very comfortable Park Inn at Radisson Hotel, we checked out and started our 2^nd day of adventure.

Our 1^st stop was to the beautiful Samal Island for the “Taklobo” Giant Clams Tour, which was about an hour boat ride from Davao. And since we had time to spare, why not snap some photos of our #ootd? =)

Outfit sponsored by Billabong

I’ve yet to visit Maldives but the boat ride to Samal Island already blew me away with the amazing view.

We arrived at our snorkelling site and started gearing up. All of us couldn’t wait to get into the water!!

Some of the beautiful photos captured by our official photographers, Christian and BJ, from Cebu Pacific Air.

The Giant Clam Sanctuary on Samal Island is an ongoing conservation project of the Davao del Norte State College (DNSC) Marine Reserve Park and Multipurpose Hatchery.

Can you count the number of giant clamshells? There are approximately 3,700 giant clamshells spanning across the 14-hectare sea.

We then snorkeled to shallow waters and were greeted by a ton of starfishes!!!

It was the first time holding on to living starfishes and it was really fun. We realised that there were a large amount of tentacles and could get pretty strong! =)

After snorkelling, we took a short boat ride to Maxima Aquafun. When hearing the name, I was reminded of our very own Fantasy Island in Sentosa back in the days. If you guys do not know what I’m talking about, you are probably 10 years younger than I am. Haha.. And boy was I right. They have this giant slide that throws you right into the sea!

So after taking the endless stairs up to the very top of the giant slide, which is constructed next to a cliff, I was ready to take my plunge!

I was holding on to a GoPro throughout the ride and I honestly can’t wait to see the priceless expression I had when going down to slide…haha…

After the whole day of activities under the sun, it was time to head back to wash up for a sumptuous dinner at the Waterfront Insular Hotel.

Before dinner was served, we were treated to a cultural performance by the Kalumon Performing Group. The performance showcased pieces rooted in the culture indigenous to the Filipinos. The performers performed with so much passion and enthusiasm, which stirred up many emotions within me, even though I couldn’t understand the language.

Dinner was served after a heartwarming speech by the Regional Director of the Philippines Department of Tourism.

A group shot to end Day 2!

Head over to Limaran’s blog, limaranagustina.blogspot.com, to find out what we did on Day 3.

On our final day in Davao, we decided to head out to buy some souvenirs for you guys!! We were all given a budget to pick up anything we want at a popular shopping spot, the Aldevinco Shopping Center.

Aldevinco is an 8,370 sq meter commercial complex that is filled with arts and crafts, showcasing the culture and heritage of the Mindanaoan.

With a limited budget and only an hour to browse through all the small shops, I tried my very best to pick up something the best represents this beautiful city!

Here are the 2 items we picked out from the thousands and thousands of souvenirs. I know you can’t really see what I bought, so don’t forget to head over to @nuffnangsg’s Dayre page to see what we all picked for you guys =)

This pretty much sums up my amazing journey in Davao City. With a city that is so safe and filled with good food and eco adventure, this is definitely a new playground for Singaporeans. I will like to thank Cebu Pacific Air and Philippine Department of Tourism – Region 11 (Davao) for reaching out to us Singaporeans, sharing this new treasure spot with us. As we made our way back to our lovely country, we were served by yet another
awesome team of heart warming flight crew from Cebu Pacific Air. Really love the newuniform on them. =)

Cebu Pacific Air flies to Davao City thrice weekly from Singapore at the very affordable rate and fares start as low as SGD182.

Click here to find out more or call +65-315-80808 for bookings and promos!

The amazing trip to Davao, Philippines with Cebu Pacific Air (Part 1)

Limaran and I have heard a lot about the Philippines and have always wanted to visit. And in April 2016, we finally made it there, all thanks to Cebu Pacific Air & Philippine Department of Tourism (Region11 Davao) !! I will be sharing with you my 4D4N stay into 2 blog posts so here goes!!! Woohoo..

Our trip started on 17 April and I haven’t seen Limaran for 4 days because of a Nike NTC Tour in Jakarta. I went to the airport earlier to pick her up from the airport and we spent some nice alone time before meeting the rest. =)

We met the rest of the gang at around 7.30pm before heading to the departure hall. 

We were all boarding Philippines’ largest airline, Cebu Pacific Air and it was the first time for most of us. It was also everyone’s first time the Davao City. =)

As I’m someone who’s always hungry.. having food onboard is really important for me! Haha..

I ordered the Thai Chicken with Mango Rice for supper and it was really tasty.

4.5hours later, we touched down at Davao city! Yay! And we had to take a photo with the super friendly crew who happened to be in their brand new uniform. The 2 captains who flew us safely to Davao City were in the photo too =)

We checked in at Park Inn at Radisson Hotel really late and headed to sleep immediately due to the long day ahead.

DAY 1

We had a nice and pack schedule for our first day at Davao City.

Our first stop was at Eden’s Nature Park. With more than 80 hectares of land and 3,000 feet above sea level, it was a place that we definitely can’t find in sunny Singapore. 

We spent some time at the butterfly enclosure and it was a really awesome feeling to have all kinds of butterflies flying so freely around us.

We then had lunch at Eden’s restaurant and the food served was amazingly fresh! 2 thumbs up =)

After lunch, we went on a short buggy tour and found a really cool place for some photo taking =)

We then visited one of the preserved Tree Houses that the indigenous people of Davao built. It's surprisingly cooling inside even though the weather was scorching. Amazing technology

We did some really exciting activities like Sky cycling and Sky swing! Photos can be found at Limaran’s blog!

Just when we thought that our day couldn’t get any more cooler, we had this rare opportunity to visit the Public Safety and Security Command Centre (PSSCC). The Philippine Department of Tourism (PDOT) knows that Singaporeans view safety as one of the top criteria when choosing a holiday destination and there’s no better place to bring us. Over at PSSCC, we saw the capabilities of the CCTV cameras placed around the city. The mayor of Davao City, Rodrigo Duterte, has transformed this city into the 4^th safest city in the world. People in Davao City nicknamed him the LKY of Davao City, running the city with strict rules but still getting the respect of the residents.

Davao City also offers FOC emergency response through 911. We just had to strike a pose with the state of the art 911 emergency response vehicle. =)

Many may debate if Davao City is truly the 4^th safety city in the world, especially after this photo started circulating in the social media space. But as a fellow Singaporean, who is from the 2^nd safest city in the world, I know how a safe city feels like and Davao City, is really a very safe city.

We were then brought on a short tour to explore the various vehicles and equipment used to keep Davao City safe. A photo with the dedicated team of emergency response crew was an honour for all of us!

Dinner time! Eating was always on my mind throughout the whole trip and shoutout to the team at PDOT for always having water and snacks in the mini bus to keep our metabolism rate constantly high! Haha

We were invited to a 10way tuna feast at Marina Tuna. Been somewhat a fan of tuna, well actually only tuna sashimi and canned tuna, but was really excited to see what they could do with the tuna.

Here are some photos of the Tuna dishes...

Tuna Salad (Pilipino style) & Tuna Sashimi

Tuna tail

Tuna Belly

Tuna Eye Soup

Tuna Tendon

There were 2 really special dishes that I didn’t capture, Tuna Bihod and Tuna Bagaybay. They are actually reproductive parts of the tuna.

Tuna Bihod: Fish Eggs

Tuna Bagaybay: Sperm Sacs

Tried both and they tasted quite funky but it was worth trying!

The first day of our Davo trip was a really eventful one and it was time to rest after a long day.

Want to find out what we will be doing for the next 3 days? Remember to stay tuned…..

Flying to Davao is made easy with Cebu Pacific Air!! Fares start as low as SGD182. Click here to find out more!!  

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