Trees in Davao City

This weekend I drove to Davao City, 197.3 km from Koronadal, according to Google Maps. I felt like it was time. I had accumulated enough driving experience to undertake what seemed to me a daunting project. In my younger years, when South Cotabato was part of Region 11 (then called the Southern Mindanao Region), I would often head to Davao City for regional contests. Those trips were torture, even with Bonamine. I did not help that the Yellow Buses we took smelled of stale air fresheners. The roads right after Malungon and before Sulop were always under construction. 

It came as a relief when South Cotabato eventually became part of Region 12, and Koronadal City had been made the regional center. I had missed Davao in a way. My aunt and cousin had lived there for many years before they relocated to Polomolok for convenience; my aunt now has severe dementia and needs round-the-clock care. Some friends live and work there. 

I could have taken the faster route—the Davao to Cotabato Road, which could have shortened the distance by around 50 km—but that was unfamiliar to me. I wanted to see if, many years later, I had overcome the trauma of travel-induced nausea by taking the bus route that passed through General Santos City, then Digos City, before Davao City. I also had to see a patient in General Santos. (And here's me talking about work-life balance!)

The trip was wonderful. I found the city charming. Manong and Nanay were with me. We played good music—a mix of opera, which keeps me awake, and some acoustics, Broadway and worship songs. The city has not escaped the fate of large Philippine cities—traffic congestion—but other than that, the people were kind, the taxi drivers were exceptionally honest, and the food was tasty. And there were trees. I stayed in a hotel along Quimpo Boulevard. Near my hotel were cafés and restaurants. And trees. I think trees are lovely.