Archive for the 'About Davao' Category

“Is it Dabaw or Davao?”

I was asked that question by a site visitor a couple of months ago. He said he was born in the Philippines, but is now based in the US of A for about 20 years already. Wheeewh! Funny how easily a native Filipino can forget that there are two ways of spelling that word.

Ahh… I remember Andrew Jackson, he said: “It’s a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word.”

To the Davao Travelers: Dabaw is to Filipino (the language) as Davao is to English.

Got it? You should.

The month of March is when the whole of Davao will celebrate the Araw Ng Dabaw or Davao Day if you may. It’s actually just a single day event. To be exact, that’s on the 16th March. The entire schedule of events is available online. For everyone who will be there to celebrate the Araw Ng Davao, the city government has prepared some merry making events to spice up the day.

And since we are a nation crazy for boxing, all eyes will definitely be glued on the screen sets for the morning (Philippine Time) boxing match of the greatest Filipino boxer — sort of a living legend.

“Is it Pakyaw or Pacquiao?”

I bet, Andrew Jackson will have an easy way out. It’s just “Pacman”, st_p_d.

When people talk about Davao, they usually mean the Davao City. But did you know that there are three more Davao provinces? Yes, they are the Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental. Add the province of the Compostela Valley and you get a larger land mass known as the Davao Region. Just how large really? Well, I can’t remember exactly but the short video shown below provides the answer plus a couple of other information that you might be interested with, such as the following:

• Gross Regional Domestic Product
• The Davao Region Economy
• Population And Growth Rate
• Literacy Level

Watch this video about the Davao Region:

And the million-dollar questions is: Do you think it would eventually become the Philippines’ most livable region?

Are you a true-blooded Dabawenyo? How familiar are you with the places around Davao? Can you guide a total tourist when he asks you for a direction of a specific street?

Well, test yourself by answering some of the questions below.

1. The following are District names in Davao, except ______.

2. Bago Gallera belongs to ______ District in Davao City.

3. Which school (main campus) in Davao city is not located in the downtown area?

If your answer to questions 1, 2 and 3 are b, c, and b, respectively, pat yourself at the back for you had just a perfect score! You have a good grasp of Davao’s geography. Well, as far as those three questions can tell.

For the rest of you who scored poorly on the quiz, you don’t have to despair. Here is another map on Davao City that can serve as your cheat sheet to some of the places you only hear about or some you may not even be aware of. Click on the image shown to get a better view of the map.

And sshhhh… if you know someone who hails from Davao, it’s your turn to test him or her. Try these:

1. Which place is nearer the city proper: Tibungco or Panacan?

2. Where is Mental located? North? South? (Oops, take note of the spelling. That’s Mental not Mintal. Confusing, huh?)

Davao City gets over-crowded with visitors on three important occasions:

1. Christmas Seasons – when everyone wants to know how everyone’s doing in Davao.
2. Araw Ng Dabaw – the founding anniversary of Davao City
3. Kadayawan Festival – A Thanks Giving turned into a Festival.

Madayaw! It’s a simple word signifying warm greetings from Davao. Madayaw! is to Davao as Mabuhay! is to the Philippines or Alloha! is to Hawaii. You will come across that word especially when you are here in Davao during the month of August when the city celebrates the Kadayawan Festival. It’s written all over the place: posters, billboard ads, and if you are quick, you can spot it reflected in everyone’s face.

Kadayawan Festival is a celebration of a bountiful harvest and a tribute to Davao’s rich cultural heritage. That’s to oversimplify the description of the festival.

Visit Davao on August and see what it really means to celebrate the Kadayawan. And if you do, go back to this blog and post your comment to share your experiences.

In the meantime here are some nice shots of the previous Kadayawan Festivals grabbed from Flickr.

Read the complete article »

How much do you know about Davao? What is your primary source of information about this big city in the southern Mindanao — the second largest group of islands in the Philippines? Would you like to hear the stories of people who have actually been to Davao and witnessed the daily lives of its people, visited nice places, sung the videoke, dined the best foods, and danced with the local folks?

Get the chance to read real stories of real people who have actually set foot in Davao City or it’s neighboring places. We have interviewed people — foreigners and Filipinos alike — who love to share their personal experiences while travelling here in Davao. Over the next couple of days, we will be posting their stories.

Read their stories and see if you feel the same way about Davao. This could be the best place for you to start learning more about Davao City before you decide to actually visit the place.