Philippine Cuisine

Jimm's (15) - MacArthur Highway

disco, band, show;  opens at 21:30

Disco Vegas (23) - General Malvar St

disco, band;

Mikado Disco (25) - Apo View Hotel

Camus St; live band; expensive

JR Super Club (31) - San Pedro St

disco, band, show; 

Hang Out (33) - San Pedro St; disco; 

Don King (34) - Pelayo St; disco, band, show; 

Bronco (53) - Rizal St; disco, band; 

Square Circle (85) - Cabaguio Ave

disco, band, show; 

Garmon Theater (11) - Illustre St

Golden Cinema (12) - San Pedro St

Crest Cinema (32) - San Pedro St

Queens Cinema (38) - Bonifacio St

Lawaan Cinema (48) - Recto Ave

Eagle Cinema (50) - Recto Ave

Ideal Cinema (50) - Recto Ave

La Suerte Galera (15) - MacArthur Highway

cock fight arena

Aquino Coliseum Galera (84) - Cabaguio Ave

cock fight arena

Davao Casino Filipino (78) - Laurel St

St Peter's Cathedral (70) - San Pedro St cor. Recto Ave

Taoist Temple (83) - Cabaguio St

Magsaysay Park (103) - beside wharf

Shrine of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague

Bankerohan Market (1) - Quirino Ave near Davao River; public market

Madrazzo Fruit Market (6) - Bangoy St

assorted fruits, relatively expensive

Agdao Market (89) - Lapu-Lapu St; public market

Zelcris - department stores

(11) - Illustre St; (92) - Magsaysay Ave

Gaisano - department stores

(20) - Illustre St; (65) - Bonifacio St

Advinco Shopping Center (40) - Recto Ave

Regina Commercial Complex (68) - Recto Ave

Datu Complex (63) - Bangoy St

department store and supermarket

NCCC (95) - Magsaysay Ave

department store and supermarket

National Bookstore (59) - City Hall Drive

Alemars Bookstore (39) - Recto Ave

Kodak - 1-hour developing service

(60) - San Pedro St; (92) - Magsaysay Ave

Sakura (62) - San Pedro St

1-hour developing service

Agfa (95) - Magsaysay Ave

1-hour developing service

Nieva's Shellcraft (80) - Lanang

relatively expensive souvenirs

Dabaw Etnika (80) - Lanang; handicrafts and souvenirs

Precy's Creation (86) - Laurel Ave

handicrafts and souvenirs

Princess Ceramics (87) - Laurel Ave

Handicraft Stores (96) - Gempesaw St; rattan products and handicrafts in some 15 stores

Post Office (2) - Quirino St corner Pichon St

PLDT (9) - Recto Ave corner Magsaysay Ave

Mon-Fri 8:00-17:00, Sat 8:00-12:00

Philcom (38) - Bonifacio St; 8:00-17:00

RCPI (69) - Recto Ave

Apo Golf Club (15) - Toril

Davao City Golf Club (15) - Matina

Golf & Country Club (80) - Lanang

Davao City Tennis Club (57) - Pichon St

Capitol Tennis Club (72) - Bolton St

Peninsula Intercontinent. Tennis Courts (80) - Lanang

Dover Lanes (19) - Illustre corner

General Malvar St; bowling lanes

Minigolf Course (80)

Ministry of Health (90)

Bureau of Quarantine, Magsaysay Ave

Davao Doctors' Hospital (4) - Quirino Ave

Davao Medical Center (79) - Laurel Ave

Mercury Drug - 24 hours

(54) - San Pedro St; (66) - Recto Ave

Rose Pharmacy (18) - San Pedro St; 8:00-21:00

Farmacia Sta Ana (62) - San Pedro St, 8:00-20:00

Department of Tourism (25) - Apo View Hotel

Camus St; Tel 748-61, 751-34; Mon-Sat 9:00-17:00

Philippine National Bank (71) - Recto Ave

City Hall (61) - Pichon St

Police Station (72) - Pichon St

Immigration Office (99) - 2nd fl Antwel Building

Jeepneys are the dominant means of transport within the city proper. Taxis (PU cabs) have no meters and fares have to be negotiated. A common fare is P 5 for the first 3 kilometers.

PAL Office (68)

Regina Commercial Complex, Recto Ave

Airport - Lanang, 12km (7.5mi) from the city proper; budget traveler can take a jeepney with signboard 'Panabo', get off after the Peninsula Intercontinental Inn, and walk the remaining 600m; taxi fare to the center is P 25-40.

Bus Terminals

Ma-a Terminal (14) - jeepneys from Bankerohan Market, signboard 'Ma-a'; this terminal will soon be closed since almost all buses now use the new Ecoland Bus Terminal

Ecoland Terminal (77) - Tel 64-093, 62-260

Minibus Terminal (88) - Cabaguio Ave

buses to Moncayo, Compostela, New Bataan, Panabo, Masara, Tagum

Jeepney Terminals

Bankerohan Market (1) - Quirino St

to Matina, Toril, Panabo, Tagum

Pichon St (13) - to Digos, Kidapawan

(for Mt Apo tours)

Shipping

Office hours from 8:00-17:00 daily

William Lines (94) - Sta Ana St, Tel 734-14, 726-79

Sulpicio Lines (100) - Leon Garcia St, Tel 729-74

Sweet Lines (101) - Leon Garcia St, Tel 789-23

Sta Ana Wharf (102) - end of Monteverde St

boats to Samal Island, Talikod Island, and the west coast of Davao Oriental province

The island is accessible by boats either from Sta Ana Wharf (P 20, daily ferry boats in the morning and after lunch) or from the Peninsula Intercontinental Inn (speed boat).

Beach Resorts

This highest mountain of the archipelago (2,954m, 9,692ft), on the boundary of Davao del Sur and North Cotabato provinces, is a classical destination for mountaineers in the Philippines. However, since the beginning of the 1980's the NPA regards it as their territory. In the first years after they gained control of the area the NPA didn't care much about the mountaineers. On April 5, 1989, however, the NPA intercepted a 300-climbers expedition, sent back almost all of the mountaineers and detained 8 of the participants, among them 3 foreigners, for up to eight days. The events were summarized by Jimmy K. Laking in the Philippine Daily Inquirer of April 15, 1989:

"Sanchez was part of a 300-strong mountain-climbing expedition that tried but failed on April 5 to reach the top of Mt Apo when a group of NPA rebels under one Benzar Saraba prevented it from proceeding farther. Eight of the hikers were asked to stay behind for an 'interview' with the NPA's. Three of the eight were foreign nationals who were singled out by the rebels on suspicion of spying for the government."

The Lumad Mindanaw is a federation of 85 indigenous minority groups representing two million non-Muslim tribesmen. They complain, not only of the power project which they compare to drilling a hole in the floor of a cathedral, but also that the creation of national parks deprives them of access to their ancestral domain.

In June 1990, according to a news article, those tribes affected by the geothermal unit have threatened to take up arms to defend their rights as a people. It raises the interesting speculation that the government may be labeling such groups as NPA to avoid facing the social problem their project has created or perhaps that the NPA is supporting the rights of the minority peoples of Mt Apo in their quest for ancestral lands and religious freedom.

The climb party was composed of Smith, Harry M. Ickis, Maurice Goodman (mining engineers) from the Division of Mines of the Bureau of Science in Manila as well as two persons from Davao interested in planting and trading, McCall and Carrigan.

New Years day started with the problem of making coffee from some collected rain water. The natives spent several hours starting a fire from wet wood. They were very tired and hungry. McCall had a high Malarial fever. About 10:00 some of the advance party returned, met them on the trail and helped them to a camp known as Mearn's Rest House - named for Major Mearn, a US military physician, who had made it his base of operations while collecting flora and fauna specimens. The elevation of the spot on a small shoulder in a timber growth by which a creek of cold water ran, was 6,081 ft (determined by boiling point). From the vantage the peak of the mountain could be seen as well as sulfur fumes rising from a big crevasse on the eastern side. Although the building was in poor condition it was possible to keep the rain out by using tent material.

The final effort to reach the top began the next day at 8:00 as the group made its way through the thick timber, dropped into a creek bed and clambered over potholes and slippery moss. At 7,500 ft the timber line was reached and the group passed through stunted shrubs and bushes. Above this point the ground became rough with huge boulders making progress difficult.

The trail passed along the south side of a crevasse (perhaps 75 ft deep and 1,000 ft wide in places), then after ¼ mile it crossed to the north side and continued to the end where the ascent was then along a sharp-edged ridge to the several peaks making the mountain top. Various records were found in bottles and brass tubes along these peaks of earlier climbs (of Schadenburg and Kock in l882 and of Copeland in October 1904) at a height determined to be 9,698 ft which the party reached at 12:30.

At the time the group climbed Mt Apo, these "strange savage people" were the Bogobos, Manobos, Bilans and Tagekolas. The Bogobos and Manobos were described as tattooed, wearing clothing with decorative beads. Because the rode horses that were adorned with little bells, they were also known as the "Horse Indians" of Mindanao.

Tagum is the capital of Davao province. It is a noisy town due to heavy tricycle traffic. It has no attractions by itself but is famous for the gold digging at nearby Mt Diwata (also called Mt Diwalwal). Mt Diwata is a gold digging site with a real Klondike atmosphere. A visit cannot be recommended for the average tourist or traveler. Many times in the past few years, parts of the tunnel system of the gold diggers collapsed and buried alive a number of men.

Accommodation

March 1-16 - Araw ng Dabaw in Davao

Davao - Butuan (10 hours); hourly buses during the day

Davao - Cotabato (6 hours); many buses daily

Davao - Digos - General Santos City (3.5 hours)

frequent buses during the day

General Santos - Koronadal - Cotabato (1.5 hours)

frequent buses during the day

Flights

Furthermore, there are connections between Davao andZamboanga (3 times a week), Davao and Cagayan de Oro (4 times a week), Cotabato and Zamboanga as well as Cotabato and Iligan (both daily).

Sea Transportation