A Canadian's View of Davao...
It's Tuesday... The day I post on each of my WordPress sites... And I share them with you here... So, today I'm going to talk about something different.
As you know, I'm Canadian. But I've been living in the Philippines for over 3 years. The first month was spent on the city of Cebu. One month later and I'm in the ferry to Mindanao. I forget how long the ferry ride was but I believe we left Cebu around 6 am and arrived in Cagayan de Oro around 2 pm. It took about an hour to get off the ferry and hot the bus station for another 8 hours ride to Davao. Midnight. It was exciting... Lol!
So, from December 2014 and up to today, I've been living in the city of Davao. I've met a lot of people that I've shared coffee, tea, a beer, water... You name it! The people here are the friendliest I've met anywhere in my travels - and you know that a retired military person has had a lot of travels!
I read in the news today about how Davao was not suppose to be safe. Reading further I discovered the author of the news article used a report over one month in 2015 where Davao had the most murders and crime in the country. Interestingly I had read a news article around the same time in 2015. It stated that Davao had the most recorded by the police as the police on Davao were known to be honest and did not accept bribes to let suspects go, not did they participate in EJK... Extrajudicial Killings - the same thing that the federal opposition currently has been accusing the Philippine president about in the national war on drugs. And, yes, that president is President Duterte, the former mayor of Davao. Interesting side note that you can take how you want... How many larger cities can you walk the streets at 3 am and feel safe? I did this often in the downtown core and in the outer reaches of the city... There only problems I ever had was getting lost a couple times... And everybody I approached for assistance was more than helpful!
Now I'm living in a small town that is still part of the city of Davao. It's about an hour by public transportation to downtown Davao. And I love it here. To get around? Tricycles. Motorcycles with yellow sidecars that can carry 4 to 5 (and one more on the seat behind the driver) are the best way to get around town. I'll have to get a lunchtime picture of Agton St, the main downtown thoroughfare. All you see is yellow!
Shopping here is quite easy, too. We have GMall ( G for Gaisano), a block away is the Grand Mall (another Gaisano venture), Felcris Mall (not Gaisano... Hmm...), Grocerama for groceries on the downtown core, and several other smaller grocery stores. The public market is quite large as well and has the freshest fruit and vegetables. Meat prices are posted on a large board at the main entrance so nobody has to worry about shady vendors. I did meet one but she had her thumb on the empty scale... And asked for my phone number... I told her my Asawa (wife) was holding my phone and she blushed as she asked again... Sorry, but I'm a one-woman kind of guy...
As for crime here? Yes, it does happen. Wages are amazingly low (though this is changing thanks to the current federal government) and sometimes things happen so people can eat. I've personally experienced only one case of theft here. Someone stole my fiancee's sandals that were outside the door overnight. Yeah... I doubt it was a case for hunger... Lol!
The weather here in Davao is atrocious! It was so cold last night! 26° Celsius. The high for today was low too... Only 29°... For those of you wondering, that's 79 and 85° Fahrenheit... Tomorrow is back to normal at 31°/88°.
This is the end of our spring. March and the kids are out of school until June. The youngest of the seven children in my future wife's family is finishing high school now and university is in the cards for June.
Which school? Not sure. I think she should look into modeling. She's a natural. So are her cousins. The entire family could have a modeling empire. You see Filipinas constantly winning the international beauty contests. I can tell you that it's no accident... The women here are all so beautiful! And my fiancee more than any of them!
Ok, I could go on for hours about life here. I'll come back and tell you more another day. But this will give you an idea of my life here. And I didn't even mention my Little Angel baby girl..! Next time?
