TRAVEL TO MAGNIFICENT DAVAO CITY MINDANAO - 1ST AND 2ND BUSINESS TRIP

September 1-2, 2016
MABUHAY!

This is a photo and video journal of my first-time business travel to Davao City featuring my ocular inspection of our construction project and roaming around the city.

My itinerary travel route map

FIRST VISIT
ARRIVAL AT DAVAO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Davao City is a bustling metropolis in the heart of Mindanao group of islands in the southern part of the Philippines. I was tasked to visit and resolve a reported quality issue of our project under construction in this city.

CHECK-IN AT PARIS HOTEL
At the lobby of Park Avenue Residence Inn & Suites- PARIS hotel for short, where I checked in, hangs the picture of the 16th president of the Philippines, President RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE, a proud son of Davao City. He was also the Mayor of Davao City since 1986, one of the local executives to run a city office for a very long time- for 20 years if I'm not mistaken.
Checked in cost is Php 900 per night or US$ 18 with no breakfast.

This is the coffee shop near Paris hotel made famous due to the portrait image of President Duterte imprinted on the coffee. 

BREAKFAST AT LOLA DORAY KITCHEN
This is my favorite CARENDERIA - a local food stall serving Filipino dishes adjacent to our hotel.

My breakfast of white rice, Ampalya (Bitter gourd), sunny side up egg and fried meatball with matching soy sauce, Kalamansi (local lemon) juice, and red chili.

DAVAO FINANCE CENTER
I visited the construction of DAVAO FINANCE CENTER, an 18-story office-commercial building to check on the reported quality issue.

This shopping mall is a very famous landmark adjacent to our construction project.

OCULAR INSPECTION AT THE JOB SITE

Honeycombs- deformities in concrete that are hollow spaces and cavities left in concrete mass on a surface or inside the concrete mass where concrete could not reach. These look like honey bee nests. The main root causes are: improper vibration during concrete pouring, less cover to reinforcement bars, and use of very stiff concrete

Exposed reinforcing bar due to honeycomb. This will eventually lead to corrosion and deterioration of the structure.

This area is ready for concrete pouring

Construction Quality Control inspectors Engr. Nicole, the author, and Engr Jacky

DINNER AT TUNA EXPRESS
TUNA EXPRESS is a famous diner along the stretch of Roxas St. It serves one of the famous local products of Davao which is seafood starring of course - grilled TUNA.

Dinner with Jacky, Edmar, Sir Sidney & Nicole.

DAVAO CITY'S SPEED LIMIT

15-20 kph speed limit on the road in front of our project

30 kph Speed limit on the road within the city proper

60 kph Speed limit on Highway going to Davao International Airport

SELFIE AT DAVAO CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

I was in the airport or already on board the airplane this night of September 2, 2016 when a terrorist's bomb exploded on Roxas Street night market. I'm so thankful that my life was spared that night but saddened by the news that 15 innocent human beings were murdered.

SOUVENIRS & GIFTS TO BRING HOME

Candies and tarts made of Mangosteen, Durian and Purple Yam

Another famous local product of Davao City is the PUMMELO fruit

Imprinted on this shirt is the national bird of the Philippines- the critically endangered Philippine Eagle. The Philippine Eagle Center is located in Davao City 

The Kadayawan Festival is an annual festival in the city of Davao in the Philippines. Its name derives from the friendly greeting "Madayaw", from the Dabawenyo word "dayaw", meaning good, valuable, superior or beautiful. The festival is a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and the serenity of living. It is held every third week of August.

The malong is a traditional "tube skirt" made of handwoven or machine-made multi-colored cotton cloth, bearing a variety of geometric or okir designs. The malong is directly akin to the sarong worn by peoples in other parts of Maritime Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor and Indonesia), and is the etymological cognate of the Polynesian malo (loincloth). The malong is traditionally used as a garment by numerous tribes in the Southern Philippines and the Sulu Archipelago and was historically worn throughout the archipelago by lowland maritime groups.

September 29 - 30, 2016
SECOND VISIT
ARRIVAL AT DAVAO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

DAVAO FINANCE CENTER

Our construction project is already at the 2nd level during my 2nd visit.