Eye in the Sky

Faces of Davao 07 - Marco Polo Davao Hotel

2012-01-25T16:25:00.000+08:00

How is a room at the 14th floor of Marco Polo? Considering you had to shell out more than 10x the price of staying at a less hospitable place like Roadway Inn, the difference is staggering. In fact, you notice every exponential increase in the quality of service, amenities and atmosphere. Marco Polo Davao is centrally located. It is also the city's tallest building. Just across it is Aldevinco

Faces of Davao 06 - Mindanao Taoist Temple

2012-01-24T12:12:00.002+08:00

A hidden and partially ignored temple in Davao City is tucked in a residential commune of RG Village in Agdao - Mindanao Taoist Temple. This taoist temple sits on a quiet neighborhood that looks abandoned, with gates shut most times. It has a central octagonal building with an altar facing the entrance. Its more distinctive characteristic is not only its thematic octagonal shape, but the windows

Faces of Davao 05 - Around Shaolin Temple (Long Hua Temple) in Davao

2012-01-22T09:56:00.000+08:00

This is the second part on our post about Davao City's Long Hua Temple aka Chinese Temple. One thing particularly distinctive about this temple is the absence of too much lurid colors characteristic of temples in the region. Buddhas here are colored white and the lion statues by the stairs are in concrete gray. There is a lotus pond fronting the main temple. There's also a sparsely decorated

Faces of Davao 04 - Shaolin Kung Fu Temple (Long Hua Temple)

2012-01-19T14:27:00.002+08:00

There's an authentic shaolin temple in Davao City; one that teaches kung fu. The official name is Long Hua (Long Wa) Temple, but locals simply call it Chinese Temple. Located along JP Cabaguio Avenue, this mostly spare temple is a friendly environment for any visitor. You're greeted by a security guard who subs as a "tourist guide" or a bald woman in authentic shaolin attire - or at least like

Faces of Davao 03 - Here, There and Cheap Hospitality

2012-01-17T14:14:00.003+08:00

Davao City doesn't have eye popping sites, although the beaches of Samal Island are picturesque. But Samal Island isn't part of the city, but of the province of Davao del Norte. But what it lacks in spectacle is compensated by character, less expensive cost of living and the warmth of the people.CHEAP PLACE, CHEAP HOSPITALITYIn terms of accommodations, it has plenty to offer. If you check out

Faces of Davao 02 - Osmena Park

2012-01-15T15:39:00.001+08:00

Osmena Park stands beside Davao City's Hall of Justice, near the City Hall. Tourists - both foreign and local - mostly ignore this neglected parcel of land. I don't recall ever visiting this before. But it's an interesting place where a cheap massage could be had under tree canopies. There's a monument at the center of the park, with some canons surrounding it. Nearby is a children's playground

Faces of Davao 01 - Abreeza Ayala Mall

2012-01-13T01:11:00.001+08:00

I've written several posts about Davao City here which should reflect our fondness of this immense southern Philippine city. Davao City is vast, and it has everything: it's a tasteful admixture of riches. It has malls for the cosmopolitan soul; it has beaches and islands, it has hills and mountains, it has cheap food and the seafood variety is to die for. It is teeming with the most exotic fruits

Christmas in Bangkok, Manila & Chiang Saen 2011 - No Escaping Christmas

2011-12-25T03:50:00.002+08:00

A few weeks ago, there was an article in Yahoo! Travel entitled "8 Places to Escape Christmas" written by Miriam Weiner (December 7, 2011). This list-making included the following exotic places: Marrakech, Morocco; St. Petersburg, Russia; Istanbul, Turkey; The Bahamas; Kyoto, Japan; The Maldives; Agra, India; and of course, Bangkok, Thailand. The common denominator here would be, that most of

Fort San Pedro - Cebu City

2011-12-23T14:15:00.015+08:00

Fort San Pedro is a defensive military structure built a few days after the arrival of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the Spanish conquistador, who in 1565 built the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines - 44 years after Ferdinand Magellan's "discovery" of the Philippines.An official report in 1739 described it as triangular in shape and made of mortar and stone. Its three bastions (defensive

Plaza Independencia, Cebu City

2011-12-22T13:13:00.001+08:00

It's the unofficial lawn of Fort San Pedro, and one of the most picture-perfect places to visit in Cebu - Plaza Independencia.It pays homage to Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the Spaniard touted to be the founder of Cebu City. He is also the first governor general of the Philippines under the Spanish rule. His all-white memorial edifice (see photo above) rises right across a pavilion. It also has a

Roaming Cebu - A Capitol, A Parish and Carbon Market

2011-12-21T18:39:00.001+08:00

One of the joys of visiting Cebu is its relatively laidback demeanor. It doesn't have the frenetic pace of Manila, and the people take their time to smile. At one point, when I felt I needed someone to point me to the right direction, three different persons who overheard my query came over for help. One of them even crossed the street with me and hailed the correct number of the jeepney I was to

More Images from Yap-San Diego Ancestral House

2011-12-20T21:31:00.001+08:00

Quite a sizable collection of antiquities are on display at the Yap-San Diego Ancestral House, located in the Parian District of Cebu, along Mabini Street at the northern end of Colon.This collection clues us in on the lifestyle of the people from a distant past, this particular one was where a barangay captain lived with his wife and their children. On site are religious statues, a good number

Yap-San Diego Ancestral House in Parian, Cebu City

2011-12-18T21:31:00.002+08:00

Parian was a bustling barangay (county) in the 1600's. The main thoroughfare had two-storey homes. The area was divided into three sections: the Chinese merchants, the colonial Hispanics, and the Filipinos. Though there were political wranglings much like any specific time in history, people lived harmoniously. There was a well placed organized system of government that folks respected. And the

Heritage of Cebu Monument at the Parian Park Cebu

2011-12-17T14:21:00.012+08:00