Throwback Thursday: Why DFAT was so Memorable

Back in 2008 the Davao bloggers organized the "Davao Food Appreciation Tour". We were so excited since it was the first of its kind. For a few days we hopped from one resto to another to feature their food in our blogs. It was dizzying since we would cover five to six places a day. The best thing about DFAT though is we gained a lot of new friends.  

DFAT 2008, Marco Polo Hotel

Because we had so much fun during DFAT 1, we signed up for DFAT 2 the next year. The organizers mixed in some activities in the itinerary. One activity they offered was ziplining at Outland Adventure. I immediately signed up for it since I enjoy ziplining. Sweetie wasn't keen, but he went along. What I didn't know was he conspired with our blogger friends to surprise me. 

Headed to Pepper & Peppers after the adventure.

When we arrived at the resort I was told to leave my smart phone in the car. It was for safety they said. I complied without a second thought. Apparently, they didn't want me to have access to the internet in case someone spilled the secret (someone announced the engagement before it happened haha). While waiting for my turn to go on the zipline, I wondered why Sweetie and I were split up. I even wondered more when I was put last on the line. 

The answer was waiting at the other end of the zipline. I was winded when I hit the stopper because my camera hit my chest. Then I saw the huge signage that said, "Sweetie, will you marry me?" Then I was surprised to see Sweetie on the platform with a ring. We shared the beautiful moment with so many of our friends from all over the country. 

DFAT is a happy memory from 2008 and 2009. We got busy with work and life after that and we were not able to join the tour anymore. Many things have happened also since then, but I'm happy I'm still able to keep tabs with what's happening with the friends we gained from that tour. They'll probably laugh at our old photos once they see it again. We were all so balingkinitan back then! Haha. 

Here are my DFAT photos:

2008 DFAT Day 1

2008 DFAT Day 2

2008 DFAT Day 3

2009 DFAT

#BeKind #StaySafe

The Davao F.A.T. Journal

I have finally completed my Davao FAT blog posts and here's the complete story:

Day 1

Early morning visit to Samal Island

Lunch at Tadakuma

Skipped the museum visit to go to Lachi's

Dinner at Lachi's

Coffee at Kangaroo

Day 2

the exhilirating Xcelerator experience (and the proposal)

Lunch at Pepper & Peppers

Went to Lachi's (again)

Crocodile Park and the Butterfly Sanctuary (post coming up this week)

Merienda at Bryan's Bar & Grill

Dinner at Mamu's

Day 3

Lunch at Cafe Andessa

went to see David (ahh I've yet to blog about that)

Time Warp

I had to go to the building where I used to work today. It's been more than a year I think since I dropped by (last time I think was when I picked up my best friend). It's been actually two years since I finally bid goodbye to the place. It was my second home for almost 5 years. When I stepped in the building I felt like I went back in time.

Everything was the same.

The manong guards who greeted me at the doorway were the same. The janitors and helpers I bumped into were the same people who took care of me (and warned me about staying late in the office because of ghosts). The elevator had the same lighting and the recording ("opening doors") was the same. Good thing though I was set to visit a floor I did not work in.

It felt umm weird.

I have so much memories of that place. Both good and bad. Good because I have made a lot of friends there (and a best friend to boot!) and a good part of my work education I got in that building. Bad, there are sad and traumatic moments too. Deadma lang hehehe. It just felt strange coz I felt I was in a place that I belong, but do not fit anymore. Estranghero na ako.

I have not timed-in a bundy clock for two years already and I cannot imagine myself doing so again. I did miss having officemates initially when I decided to leave the corporate world, my nearest "seatmate" would probably be a thousand miles away. Nosebleed pa ako kaka-ingles. But I have learned much more since my office is not bounded by 4 walls, much less borders.

Ahhh, nostalgia... I'm happy I am where I am now.

And here's my vlog on the last stop of the Davao F.A.T. - Bryan's Grill & Cafe, Davao.

Davao F.A.T. Day 3: Eden Nature Park

It was my second time to visit Eden Nature Park and I was quite surprised that it only took about an hour to get there from Davao City. The first time I went a couple of years ago the road up the mountain was so bad it took us two hours to get to the park. We were all in high spirits on the way up to the mountain, trading SMS' with the bloggers in the other car (they were taunting us for being a bit slow, but we were just 5 minutes behind), checking out the scenery and . We were so excited we would've probably jumped up and down like kids when we arrived if there weren't any other park visitors. LOL.

Highlights of the trip include a tour of the park which included a preview of the "Tana Tanaman" (land garden). The garden is dedicated to showcase the diversity of cultures in the Mindanao region and is expected to be open to the public by Easter. What made all of us perspire and ravenous though was the Indiana Jones. After lunch we couldn't wait to get on the Sky Rider. The flights of stairs we had to go up on though was quite tough. Check out my vlog to find out what Indiana Jones and Sky Rider is all about (watch till the end for outtakes).

Davao F.A.T. Day 2: Homestyle to Sowsi Gastronomic Delights

We feasted on a wide variety of things on the second day. We started off at Taps in Torres Street and they had every silog* imaginable in their menu. We were all still quite full from dinner, but gamely tried out the different meals they offered.

Since we had a bit of time before the scheduled sampling at the trade fair in Rizal Park we headed to the salon and had a foot spa (that's where I edited the Day 1 video). After the spa session we checked out the trade fair at Rizal Park and had some Allegro ice cream and since it was so warm and sunny we decided to hang-out at Kasagingan earlier than the scheduled time. The consisted of different banana based dishes. I got the banana fantastic and caramel chocolate cake (I don't think it had any bananas in it though).

I was about ready to call it a day after hearing mass at the Assumption Church (walking distance from Kasagingan), but we had a dinner scheduled at the Polo Bistro of the Marco Polo Hotel. After freshening up for the sowsi experience we were about to have, Andrew, Ria and Gwing picked us up.

Polo Bistro set-up a long table for the bloggers and I would surmise that it made everyone feel like a V.I.P. It was a feast to remember since the sous chef, Mr. Alex Domanlag, would introduce each and every dish that was served. I absolutely loved the appetizer (seared tuna with cucumber and crabstick relish), the soup (french onion soup with 3 cheeses: mozzarella, parmesan and ementhal) and the main course (prawn thermidore). Too bad I could only taste just a bit of the dessert, my tonsils have failed me again (pffffttt!).

After dinner, we all proceeded to Blogie's grandmother's place for a bonding session and to taste the dessert sent by Sugar Munch. We were all quite full so we ended up just lining up the cakes and sansrival and just had a forkful of each while watching Grease (John Travolta was reed thin back then!).

Present throughout the day were: me, Jay, Ria, Andrew, Blogie, Migs, Winston, Dom, Gwing, Kim, Angel, Tiara, Mikko and Andie.

*silog - singangag at itlog

Davao F.A.T. Day 1: Heavenly Food at Lachi's

I'm here in Davao for the weekend for the Davao Food Appreciation Tour (nicknamed Davao FAT) organized by the DavaoFoodTrip.org. The food tour was hatched during the Mindanao Bloggers Summit (which I sadly missed) last October by The Usual Suspects.

Our first stop was at Lachi's Sansrival Atbp. I was so pleased with the food I thought of making a video blog -



Present were: Winston, Tiara, Mikko, Blogie, Ria, Gwing, Migs, Andrew, Sweetie, Angel and Dom (will complete their URLs later... about to run to the next stop!).

More food posts to come!