Cult Songs

Some songs make such a distinctive sound that you instinctively know what the song is.  You either love them or hate them.  Here's my collection, in no particular order:

   1)     Long Haired Lover from the Liverpool    -     Jimmy Osmond
   2)     Zodiacs     -     Roberta Kelly
   3)     When Will I See You Again     -     Three Degrees
   4)     Everlasting Thrill     -     South Side Movement
   5)     Love To Love You Baby     -     Donna Summer
   6)     Love Won't Let Me Wait     -     Major Harris
   7)     House of the Rising Sun     -     The Animals
   8)     Show Me the Way     -     Peter Frampton
   9)     Knock Three Times     -     Tony Orlando & Dawn
 10)     It's Not Unusual     -     Tom Jones
 11)     Delilah     -     Englebert Humperdinck
 12)     Skyline Pigeon     -     Elton John
 13)     Da Doo Run Run     -     Shaun Cassidy
 14)     Kung Fu Fighting     -     Carl Douglas
 15)     King Kong     -     Jimmy Castor Bunch
 16)     Stay Just a Little Bit Longer     -     Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs
 17)     Disco Duck     -     Rick Dees & the Cast of Idiots
 18)     El Bimbo     -     Bimbo Jet
 19)     Theme from Shaft     -     Isaac Hayes
 20)     Play the Funky Music     -     Wild Cherry
 21)     I'm All Shook Up     -     Elvis Presley
 22)     That's the Way (I Like It)     -     KC & the Sunshine Band
 23)     Alone Again, Naturally     -     Gilbert O' Sullivan
 24)     Trying To Get the Feeling Again     -     Barry Manilow
 25)     King & Queen of Hearts     -     David Pomeranz

To me, these songs evoke many different reactions.

Some, like King Kong, Kung Fu Fighting and Disco Duck make me dance like a clown, while others like Everlasting Thrill and That's the Way (I Like It) bring me back to the days when I tried to act cool and macho (well, sort of)...  Some songs like Delilah and Knock Three Times are Karaoke mainstays--you instantly close your eyes and imagine that you were belting out the song to an auditorium full of screaming fans... unbelievable imagination, really... hahaha...

Some songs get lyrics changed--we used "amoy suka" singing the Elvis Presley piece, which just the whole meaning of the song.  Some songs are the butt of jokes--we used to believe that Trying To Get the Feeling Again was the perfect jingle for Viagra!  The sexually charged Love Won't Let Me Wait and Love to Love You Baby come across like a match made in heaven, and these songs make me emit a sly wicked grin whenever I hear the first few notes... hmmm....

Stay Just a Little Bit Longer makes me tap my feet and El Bimbo makes me stand up to put the (imaginary) hands of my dance partner over and around my head...  King and Queen of Hearts make me wish I were dancing and looking into the eyes of my high school puppy love...

When Will I See You Again and Skyline Pigeon put me in a reflective mood.  While the songs play, my mind freezes up and pauses--sort of like a mental check on the questions of life.

What songs do you passionately love?  Or simply hate?

Paradis

While browsing at the watches at Timeworx in the Il Terrazzo Mall along Tomas Morato in Quezon City, I came across this stall Paradis, which makes unique flavors of gelato.  They had one of a kind flavors like Pumpkin and Malunggay, which I tried but didn't fancy.  I settled for Red Beets and Orange, coupled with Wasabi ice cream!  The contrast made for an interesting combination.  The red beets gave the orange flavor a slightly different twist, and this served as the sweet base to the dessert.  Since the wasabi had the spice that goes through your nose, that served as the zing!  Outside Japanese restaurants, this is the only ice cream place that I have seen serving Wasabi ice cream.  I understand from the staff that they do not use artificial coloring, and that the gelato is made in small batches at their factory to keep the freshness of the produce.  A bit on the high-end side of pricing though, 2 scoops comes to P190.  Still, it's an interesting experience.

Davao Insular Hotel

The Insular Hotel was opened by the Ayala Group in the late sixties as the top-notch hotel in Davao City.  The Intercontinental Group provided management for a good 20 years, and in the late eighties, the Century chain took over.  After a year of labor problems, the hotel was sold to the Waterfront Group which operates the hotel at the moment.  With only 160 rooms spread over 8 hectares of land, the hotel has a resort-like feel to it.  The only drawback, however, is that being close to the Sasa wharf (2 kilometers away), the beach is not available for swimming.

Vicky's family has spent many memorable times at the hotel, celebrating birthdays and other affairs.  Until the Marco Polo Davao was built, the Insular was probably the most sought-after reception location for weddings and other parties.  The pool area is located at the center of the hotel complex (4 buildings that form a U around the pool) and is an ideal place to lounge around on lazy Sundays.

I transferred hotel from Pinnacle to the Insular as I had scheduled a meeting on Monday morning.  The rest of my friends left Sunday afternoon, so I was able to have some rest and relaxation that night.  The pizza I had for dinner at Pizzaiolo restaurant was crispy and well flavored, and the staff were very hospitable.  Room nights go for around P3,500 on the average; the rooms are spacious but admittedly, showing signs of age.

Dencia's

Our Sunday was a lazy day, we decided to drop by the malls (Gaisano, SM and Abreeza) just to have a look-see.  By 12:30 pm, we were already tired and because we had a little difficulty looking for Dencia's Restaurant (we must have missed a turn somewhere), we arrived with hungry tummies.  Since the restaurant is known for their lugaw (rice porridge), we ordered the more popular ones--goto (tripe) and arroz caldo (chicken).  I was concentrating so much on the eating that I totally forgot to take pictures!  We also had some noodles, tokwa't baboy (tofu and pork in soy sauce & vinegar) and fresh lumpia (vegetable roll).

The restaurant has been in Davao since the 1960s, and has been known to have a good combination of Chinese-Filipino dishes.  We were quite happy with our light meal--average spend was only P250 per head.

Ah Fat

It was good that the Pinnacle had a Jacuzzi-type swirl pool at the 5th floor, and we were able to relax for a little while before dinner time.  The water jets were invigorating, and we felt really ready to take on dinner!  We had enough time to proceed to Ah Fat Chinese restaurant, which was at the back of Victoria Plaza, one of the older malls in Davao City.  Ah Fat is probably the most successful Chinese restaurant, such that they have 3 venues right next to each other--you have to specify Ah Fat 1, 2 or 3 to your guests lest they get confused!

The food in Ah Fat is Cantonese style seafood.  I think they prepare very good meals, even better than some of the famous Manila Chinese restaurants.  The steamed shrimps were very fresh, and the shells would fall off as you peeled it (live shrimps harvested at the right time of the molting cycle).  The crabs were fat and had plenty of meat.  The highlight of the meal though was the steamed fish called Pigik, which, according to my friend, is usually found in the Cotabato area.  It was yummy, like Lapu-Lapu in taste, but a little bit tougher, and leaner.  For the dessert, we had another Davao favorite--Marang!  This fruit is a cousin to the Durian, but doesn't smell as much.  We spent something like P750 per head, and while it was our most expensive meal in Davao, we left the restaurant with a dawdle--quite difficult to walk straight with bulging tummies!

Davao Whitewater Rafting

The highlight of the Davao trip was our Saturday escapade along the Davao River--talk about middle-aged men trying to live the most out of life!  Thirteen kilometers of whitewater rafting that was an absolute thrill for the six of us who dared to take the adventure.  We started off with a briefing at the Crocodile Park at around 8:30 am, and we took a 45 minute ride to the jump-off point.  These guys from the Davao Wildwater Adventure Rafting Company were very strict with safety protocols--we were instructed on how to don the life vests and the helmet, and we even had a 30 minute training session on how to paddle, on the proper positions for river floating, and how to get on the inflated raft.  I had to calm myself and put my fears aside as I stepped into the inflated raft...

Unfortunately I wasn't able to bring the camera--it would have been completely useless since we were soaked to the skin.  We had a packed lunch at a deserted stretch of sand one-third of the way in, and we stopped by Vanishing Falls for some 15 minutes (the water was super cold, but the feeling was super fun!).  By the time we got to the extraction point at 3:30 pm, we were very tired.  Our clothes were brown from the river water, and our bodies were painful from hitting the rocks, but the feeling of getting tossed around in the whirls and swirls was genuinely exhilarating!  The Davao River is rated a difficulty of 3 out of 5 (there are places considered to be 3.5), but I believe the trip is safe, even for children 8 and above.  The package costs P2,000 per head, and that includes a T-shirt (shown above) and a free ride on the zip-line near the Crocodile Park.  For the daring ones out there, this is wonderful experience, and having the responsibility to help each other brings about special bonds amongst friends and family.

Karl's Koffee Korner

We had dinner around 8pm at Karl's Koffee Korner, which was located very near a flyover. As I got in, I was curious as the place was a coffee shop, and my friends had told me that the place served Filipino grill dishes.

Apparently, I missed the side entrance to the patio, where the grill dishes were being served.  As we got in, a guitarist was playing and apparently, the place was like a resto-bar.  We were welcomed by the proprietor, Albert Naidas, who immediately made us feel very welcome.

I could smell the aroma of delicious food!  When the lechon belly was served, absolute mayhem--it was gone in 60 seconds!  The skin was crunchy, and the meat was flavored just right with a variety of herbs and spices.  Very tender and juicy!

The grilled tuna and the adobo pork ribs were nicely done but what was new to me was the grilled bangus--this was stuffed with onions, tomatoes and salted duck eggs!  It was the first time I had tried the combination, and it was well worth the experience.

Our bill came to something like P650 per head, and that already included drinks (beer & other alcoholic drinks were flowing around left to right, all over the place).  We felt an intensity 4.5 earthquake around 10pm (epicenter in Samar was hit at an intensity of 7.9 on the Richter scale), and because of the drinks, we couldn't discern if it was really an earthquake or just a figment of our imagination.  By the time we finished, we were absolutely too lazy to move!

Jack's Ridge

It was a busy day for us, as our next stop was up the hillside to visit Jack's Ridge.  This sprawling complex has a magnificent view of Davao City, and as we stood admiring the view, we could feel the wind blowing fresh into our faces.

You can see the waters of Davao Gulf, and the neighboring Garden Island of Samal from the view deck.  The Filipino grill restaurant serves beer and converts to a bar after 10pm.

The complex also has some family facilities; the pool is open to the public.  On the upper left side of the photo below, you can see the reconstructed Japanese Zero that slammed into the mountain during the war.  Davao had a large number of overseas Japanese field workers in the 1930s, and some of them turned out to be spies and advance troops for the Philippine invasion.

You can see the small cave hideout at the bottom of the picture, as the story goes, this cave was reportedly used by the Japanese troops to hide precious cargo!

After our brief tour, we spent some time to chit-chat at Karlo's Coffee House, where some of us tried the Durian-flavored coffee (a little bit above P100 a cup).  To those uninitiated, Davao is home to the Durian, which is a fruit that smells like hell but tastes like heaven!