My original plan is to have a city tour on our first day since our arrival is at 9AM and the check-in time on our hotel is 2PM but some misfortunate things happened. First, our flight got delayed so we arrived in Davao at 10AM already. We're hungry so I decided to have our Brunch at Lyndon's World's Worst Ribs. It's the first restaurant I wanted to try since their ribs is really popular on the internet. We hired a cab to take us there but the driver said he doesn't know where it's at so we just asked to be dropped off at SM Lanang Premiere. Cab fare cost P120 form the airport. I googled the exact place of the restaurant but I can't find it online so we just asked some locales outside where it's at. After 5 minutes of walking, there are still no signs of Lyndon's. We stopped by a nearby bank and asked one of the guards if he heard of the place, and luckily, he did and he told us to just go straight. And finally, after 15 minutes of walking under the heat of the sun, we were able to reach the location of the restaurant.
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| View of Lyndon if you're coming from SM |
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| Their menu |
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| Lyndon's Delivery Number |
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| Lyndon's Awful Chicken at P85 |
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| Lyndon's Worst Ribs 450g at P200 |
There are only a few customers when we arrived. I ordered the ribs and chicken, and though the ribs may seem small in the picture above, it's enough for all four of us. The ribs and chicken are good. The ribs are tender but nothing extraordinary about the taste. I also noticed that the food was not freshly prepared.
After our early lunch, we went to the pasalubong stalls just right beside Lyndon's to buy some Durian candies.
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| Durian candies here cost P25 per pack |
It rained while we're buying our pasalubong so we cancelled our city tour and just go to our hotel in Samal. We're supposed to ride a jeep to Sasa Wharf but the Sasa jeeps are full so we just hired a cab and paid P150 from Lanang to the wharf. At the wharf, we paid P10 per head to ride the barge. The trip from Sasa Wharf to Babak Wharf only lasted 10 minutes. Then at Babak Wharf, we already saw the entrance of Camp Holiday.
At the hotel, we just checked-in, rested for a few minutes then we went to the beach. At that time, the water was too shallow for swimming so we just enjoyed the infinity pool. And the beach wasn't nice but I was expecting that already since the hotel was just beside the wharf.
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| Camp Holiday's beach front during low tide |
On the second day of our stay in Samal, we went to Paradise Island. I was thinking of having a day tour in Pearl Farm but one of my office mates said there's nothing special about the place except the exclusive beach. Apart from that, Paradise Island is the Number 1 Resort in Samal based on TripAdvisor and I read a lot of nice reviews about the place so we decided to just go there instead.
We went to the Habal-habal terminal just right outside Camp Holiday and asked the driver to take us to Paradise Island. Kuya Roger charged us P50/motor for one way. I tried to haggle but he said the P10 fare is only applicable to nearby resorts like Sunset Beach. So we didn't had any choice but to pay him that amount. He gave us his number so that he can pick us up and take us back to our hotel once we're done with our day tour.
At Paradise Island, we paid P200/head for a Day Tour that has a P50-consumable for food and water activities. We enjoyed the place so much since there are a lot of things to do. It's really recommended for families with small children. They have a mini zoo, playground, billiards, large chess board, spa, water sports rental, and a restaurant that serves great food.
By 3PM we headed back to Camp Holiday and I had an allergy attack. Fortunately, there's a drugstore on the island. We went back to the Habal-habal terminal and this time, we're charged P60 going to and from Mercury Drug. And so, my day ended early because of my medicine.
On our last day in Camp Holiday, there are a few guests that arrived early but the hotel is still not crowded and again we're the only ones using the infinity pool. Sadly, we had to check-out early since we still need buy more pasalubongs in Aldevinco.
We checked-out at 10AM, paid the barge fare again, and hired a cab to take us to Aldevinco. I asked the barker outside Sasa Wharf if there's a jeep going directly to Aldevinco but he just answered me in Bisaya, which I can't understand so, we're forced to hire a cab again. We had a quick tour of the city since Aldevinco is so far from the wharf. We passed by SM Lanang, then Abreeza, then Victory Mall, then Seda, and Marco Polo. Before the cab driver dropped us off, he told us that we can ride a jeep with "Panacan-Ilustre" signage to get to the airport. By the way, the fare from Sasa Wharf to Aldevinco was P170.
By 11:30AM, we're done buying pasalubongs so we checked out some nearby buffet restaurants but they're beyond my budget. Chippen's is at P300 while Zab's at P349. Yes, they sounded cheap because in Manila, buffets are usually at P500 but we're in Davao and it's known for cheap buffet restaurants. So, my husband suggested that we'll just check-in at the airport early then we can eat after. So we rode a jeep going to the airport, but it's not Panacan. It had the "Landmark" signage. Anyway, it will pass by the airport too. So we paid P15 each for the ride from Aldevinco to the airport.
On our way to the airport, we happen to pass by Elyong's. It has a big sign that says P99 Carinderia Buffet so I quickly asked the driver to stop then we had our lunch there. After eating, we rode another jeep to the airport. This time, it had the "Panacan-Ilustre" signage. We paid P8 each. After 5 minutes, we're already at the airport.
Our flight was delayed again this time for 45 minutes but that's okay because we get to stay a few more minutes longer. Everyone was tired from our trip but we enjoyed every minute of it. Next time, we might try to stay in Paradise Island and visit Kaputian Beach.
So that's the summary of our 3-day stay in Davao. I wish I could go back there soon. :)
