Backyard Burgers in Davao City

This is Backyard Burgers, a local burger joint in Davao City (different from the Backyard Burgers in Sgt Esguerra Street near ABSCBN). My friend learned through the internet that it's quite famous so we went to their branch near SM Davao to try it.

The place is reminiscent of Maginhawa Street's homegrown restaurants. It's simple and very cozy yet has character.

I ordered a Calamansinade (PhP30) and a Chikiting Trio (PhP170), which is basically a plate of three sliders of your choice (you get to choose from their best-sellers).

For my sliders, I went for Garshroom Bacon Burger (bottom), Japanese Oishii Burger (right, with the nori strips) and Cheesy Bacon Burger (left). It was a good choice because I was able to sample three of their burgers. Although honestly, I cannot decide which is my favorite... because they're all good!

And the best thing? It's not very expensive! Well, at least compared to other burger joints in Manila, Backyard Burgers is cheap for its quality and very big serving size.

I heard they have a branch in Cebu so I really hope they'll expand to Manila as well!

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Waterfalls and Bats in Samal Island

After island-hopping the previous day, we spent our second full day in Samal Island exploring the island itself. My friend and I took a motorcyle or habal-habal outside the wharf and for PhP180 each which took us to the famous Monfort Bat Cave and Hagimit Falls.

As of September 2014, there's a PhP100 fee to enter the Monfort Bat Cave complex. 

I'm not exactly a fan of bats but I figured we didn't have much to do anyway and what a shame not to see the world's largest colony of fruit bats when it's already so close by.

Indeed there were so many of them! The bats were quite noisy too and the caves had a distinct smell (bat poo, perhaps?) but it wasn't so bad because the place wasn't dominated by the smell. (Tip: bring mosquito repellent! I acquired a number of mosquito bites from there.)

After seeing the bats, we went to Hagimit Falls. (As of September 2014, there is a PhP40 fee to enter Hagimit Falls.) The place was really big and it's very beautiful. It's really fun to explore and take photos. Lucky us, there were very few people when we went so we were able to take many photos.

There are huts in Hagimit Falls that people can rent to have a picnic or even stay overnight! There are also a lot of pools to swim in. Too bad we didn't bring our swimsuits but then even if I did bring mine, I doubt I can brave the very cold water. I simply enjoyed wading my feet and walking across the shallow pools.

It almost looks like it came straight from a fairy tale, don't you agree?

Hopping Around Samal Island

From Mati City, we took the bus back to Davao City and then went to Samal Island. We stayed at Camp Holiday Beach Resort, a nice resort located just beside the wharf. It's not exactly a budget-type accommodation but they had a 50% discount when we visited (since it was low season) so hurray!

The next morning, with the help of the resort's concierge, we hired an outrigger boat to take us island hopping.

We went to Talicud Island and its Coral Garden. It's a nice spot for snorkeling and the waters are very clear. However, there were trash around the coral gardens which according to the bangkeros were brought by floods from the cities upstream so it wasn't a good time for snorkeling.

The corals, photographed from the boat. See, the water is very clean.

The other islands, we only got to see from the boat. However, this island called Wishing Island, we were actually able to set foot on.

Look, it's Patrick Star! It's my first time to see this seastar species.

A wide tidal flat around Wishing Island

Finally, we went back to the resort at noon, wondering why Samal Island is not a very famous vacation spot when it's so beautiful!

I spotted this vinta on the way back. I remember reading about 'vintas' in my grade school textbooks.