Exploring, eating and understanding

Exploring the city centre

After a great night’s sleep, I woke around 0700.  Not bad for a 3h time difference compared to Maldives.  I was slow to get going though.

I had breakfast of an oat porridge and a coffee, bought from the shop nearby.  Just add boiling water.

Leaving the hotel around 0915, I thought I’d orientate around the neighbourhood and the city centre.  Walking to the modern (meaning non-historic) Cathedral and City Hall area, I spotted a number of eating places.  Things were looking on the up compared to last night.

I had noticed near my hotel that some small shops are grilled-up with a hole through which customers pay and receive the products. In the city centre, some shops have a security guard and a baggage-storage kiosk. There were also military-type people in uniforms carrying rifles.

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Two Museums

There wasn’t much around the area to see, so I tried to get a taxi to Museo Dabawenyo.  Either due to a language barrier or lack of local information on the part of the driver, it was a taxi fail.  I had to get out and try a second taxi.

The museum was free and so was the guide from local universities.  She gave me a good explanation of the various tribes.  I understood that there are six Islamised tribes and five non-Islamised.

There was a solid log drum which strangely sounded hollow! Apart from that there weren’t many items on display.  It was only a small single-storey display area.

The staff at the museum were quite proud of former President Duterte being a son of Davao. They’re also proud of the daughter being the current Vice President and one of his sons being the Mayor of Davao. People here are perhaps parochial and overlook the nepotism.

I continued to the Davao Museum of History and Ethnography by taxi.  This was quite a long ride to an area called the Waterfront.  However, no water was visible as the road was set back from the coast and there was private land in between.

As the driver didn’t know the museum, I got dropped off at McDonald’s where I broke a large note with a small purchase.  It’s my usual travel trick with McDonald’s and 7-Eleven being my usual victim.

Walking to the museum, I realised it was located within a private gated estate.  No wonder the driver didn’t know about it.

Again, this was a small museum with one floor dedicated to the ethnic tribes of the Davao area.  The number and name of the ethnic groups differed from that at the first museum though.  There were mannequin displays of Islamised and non-Islamised costumes with their musical instruments.

I learnt that Davao’s commercial and political scene in the 1930s were dominated by Japanese migrants!  I guess it’s like the Chinese in commerce in many parts of South East Asia.

The other floor was an art gallery and I had very little interest in that.  I left just before the museum’s lunch break and found a taxi to Chinatown.

I found both museums interesting as I can see the parallel with the cultures of Borneo where I come from.  For others, perhaps it’s not so meaningful but there’s probably not too much to do in Davao otherwise.

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Philippine’s somewhat-forgotten background

It’s not well-known that the Philippine’s had a Hindu and Islamic background like that of Indonesia and Malaysia.  While Hinduism is largely now history, Islam still dominates in parts of Mindanao.

All three countries have had Sanskrit and Arabic influences in their language and traditional writing systems.

The western part of Mindanao shares common issues with parts of southern Thailand.  Both are considered an extreme risk by western governments and are exclusion zones for travel insurance.

It’s been about 10 years since the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) made peace with the government, dropping its independence claim for an autonomous region.

My Mindanao experience this trip excludes the western part due to time constraints.

Chinatown area

You’d expect to grab a meal in any Chinatown, right?  Walking around, I couldn’t see any restaurants.  There were shops selling goods of all varieties with stalls on the front.

Many were staffed by Muslim women with headscarves.  I had already been told this morning that they are good business people. Actually, I felt like I was in Indonesia rather than the Philippines. I also encountered a tricycle driver playing Dangdut (Indonesian music genre) with Indonesian lyrics. However, he didn’t understand any Indonesian or the lyrics.

With no food available, I walked across the road to the Tribal Village within Magsaysay Park.  Typical homes from the various tribes had been built here.  As with Borneo, the Islamised people, especially the Maranau, have more permanent-looking architecture.

Davao is the durian capital of the Philippines and with the fruit in season, I simply had to try one out.  The Magsaysay Fruit Stands is the best place for me to make a purchase. There were lots of durian and pomelo (but no mangoes, a fruit that I love). It wasn’t possible to buy a half and I can’t bring it into the hotel.

So, the vendor chose me a small fruit, boxed it for me and I took it back to the hotel to share with the staff at the security desk.  It was a very sweet and creamy durian.  Parts of it were like a cream, slipping away from the seed as I held it in my fingers to eat.  It had a hint of bitterness which I don’t mind.

I ended up having five pieces, which is kinda the max I’d ever do.  It’s a very rich fruit and one can feel rather bloated after.

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Evening wander

Back in my room around 1330, I rested in the afternoon and attended to admin on the computer.

I felt that my neck and shoulder were rather tight and went out in the evening to Roxas Night Market for a massage.  It was PHP100 for 25 mins.  I had to take my shirt off and lean against the back of a plastic seat while the strong man worked on my back, neck and shoulders.

While he wasn’t the best, it did the job adequately.  He knew that I had some issues in my right shoulder with impingement.

I finished the day with a walk to find the bus to Calinan and grabbed a Filipino fast-food dinner in the area. It’s a chain called Mang Inasal that specialises in grilled chicken and other meats. I ordered a thigh which ended up quite small and had to supplement it with a generous breast. I should have gone for the breast straight away but was afraid it would be dry and tough. Fortunately, it wasn’t too much food for me having both.