Forgot to mention that a week before this trip to Davao,we heard in the news about a bomb explosion in a public place that killed several people and these incidents happens from time to time since the last time i visited the city many years ago.
Davao City is in Mindanao region and is the region in Philippines that is composed of all the philippines predominantly Muslims provinces and city.
In the philippine history,the region and most of Mindanao has always been in a seperate territory which enabled it to develop its own culture and identity, therefore it has been a homeland of muslim filipinos even before the spanish colonized most of philippines in the beginning of 1565.The arab missionaries came before the spaniards and converted the natives into Islam.
I was concerned for hubbys safety and i began having 2nd thoughts wether i should take him in that region or not so i told him my preocupation,he told me we should proceed with our plans and not to worry.
After passing all thru a thorough body search,shoes( yes,we have to remove our shoes for x ray check) and baggage inspection,finally we are on board and relaxed during an hour and a half flight.
Another surprise upon arrival at davao airport was the armed military presence inside and outside the building.We were brought to our hotel by a driver who thought we were part of a group he was waiting for but as he realized we were going to the same hotel, no problem he said " I will take you first and come back later for the group"
We stayed in Davao Insular Hotel categorized as 4 star hotel,pleasant sourrounding,beach front but not suitable for swimming,hospitable staff but unfortunately rooms are not well maintained we have to request to change room because of the toilet and the air conditioning that does not function.
On our first day,there was a christian gathering coming from all over the world and they were also belited in the same hotel for a week period.So it was quite a pleasant surprise for us.As we went out to view the hotel sourroundings, we saw people of different nationalities in their own costumes, probobly the presentation and program of the day as a stage was also erected where we saw local tribes in their costumes performing their dance as shown on photos below:
Myself with the pretty and friendly local girls
Holiday Part 2 in Cebu City
Anyway,after a long busy and pleasant week in Davao, we took our next flight to Cebu City dubbed as the Queen City of the south.The mactan-Cebu Int´l Airport is just 20 minutes drive to the city.
Again,even before it was colonized ny the spaniards,Cebu was already a prosperous settlement with trade relations to China and other countries of southeast asia.
The citys is an important cultural center in philippines,the most famous landmark is the Magellan Cross which is housed in a chapel,was supposedly planted by Ferdinand magellan when he arrived in the Phil. islands in 1521.The original cross was encased in a hollow wood to prevent devotees to take it home chip bt chip.it is the symbol of the beginning of Christianity in Philippines.
Photos below:
Magellan Cross and Kiosk in the early 1900´s
A few walk from the cross is the Basilica Minore del Sto.Niño,an augustinian chruch which was elevated to the rank of minor basilica in 1965 during the 400th year aniversary of christianity in philippines.
The Taoist Temple but mostly known as chinese temple,located in Beverly Hills subdivision.Built by cebu´s substantial chinese community with an elevation of 300 meters above sea level and open to public worshipers or non worshippers alike.
A ritual among devotees is where one prays to the gods to grant ones wish.The ritual as weve seen includes washing of hands,going to the chapel barefooted and dropping two blocks of wood.If the blocks of wood are both face up then one could make a wish.If not,the devotee must come back another day for that wish.(We are not allowed to take photos inside)
Cebu photos were all taken with in the city,we did´nt go outside the city where all the beautiful beach resorts of cebu are located.Hubby was no longer in good disposition at the time. We only passed our time mostly going around Ayala Center and also enjoy the good food in one restaurant which i forgot the name.For this reason we have to cut short our intended stay in cebu.
Next post will be about another beautiful place called Bohol.
No comments:
Post a Comment