gaisano mall

Power Mac Center Abreeza Mall Davao {19}

As everyone in the Davao region knows already the highly anticipated Abreeza Mall had a soft opening recently. Soft as in many of the stores are not yet ready for business, but a surprising number of companies were ready. Abreeza Mall is highly anticipated in part because of the large number of “new to Davao” shops that will be tenants there.

I’ve mentioned Starbucks before, and I understand that they are open for business, marking the the first location in Davao for this famous coffee retailer. Starbucks will have some competition from the locals and from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, another well known international company which also opens it’s first Davao store in the Abreeza Mall.
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Last modified: 14th October, 2013

By Category: Davao, Development, Technology Tags: , , , , , , , ,

My Love/Hate Affair With GMall Supermarket {17}

GMall Davao

There are a lot of choices for buying your food in Davao. The palengkes are great for fruit, vegetables, meats, fish, etc. There are bread/pastry shops on every corner, and often in between. Even the neighborhood sari-sari/kanderias have items that can get you by. But when it comes to regular groceries I most often go to the supermarket. For the most part the supermarkets are in the malls here. There are some stand alone (Savemore, for instance), but it is not the norm.

We are lucky to have a wide variety of supermarkets to choose from. Each seeming to have it’s own specialties and pricing schemes. Unfortunately you will need to visit the different malls to visit the different supermarkets. At times I do go to each one of them, but I’ve got one that is my favorite. It is also my least favorite.
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Last modified: 14th October, 2013

By Category: Davao, Food, Health Tags: , , , , , ,

Gaisano Mall Davao Supermarket {11}

Gaisano Mall Health

I’m sure that I’ve visited the Gaisano Mall or GMall before, though I do not remember doing so before my most recent trip. This is the larger Gaisano Mall in Bajada, not to be confused with Gaisano South City Mall on Ilustre Street. No, I’ve been mainly going to NCCC, SM Mall and of course the new Abreeza Mall. Seemed like everything you could want was available at those fine malls.

Was I ever mistaken.
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Last modified: 14th October, 2013

By Category: Cost of living, Davao, Food, Health Tags: , , , , ,

Checking Out GenSan {8}

GenSan Veranza

I got to take another short trip this month. This time I went to a city I’d passed through before but not had time to stop and visit. General Santos City, or GenSan as it is most commonly called, is in the Soccsksargen region of central Mindanao. It is the southernmost city in the Philippines, with a population of 538,086 according to 2010 census.

On my previous pass through, I had noticed that the streets were mostly occupied by tricycles and jeepneys, not so many taxis and cars. That appealed to me, as Davao is getting more congested by the week. I’m not sure what it’s going to be like in a few years, but I’ve gotten glimpses of what I suspect, and that doesn’t appeal to me. So I’m looking to see if there might be an option down the road that would be more appealing.
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Last modified: 14th October, 2013

By Category: Transportation, Travel Tags: , , , , , , ,

Taking the Bus From Davao to Cagayan de Oro {17}

Bus from Davao to CDO

One of the things I wanted to do when I retired and moved to the Philippines was to travel and visit more of the country. I had been to the Philippines many times before moving here, but my trips had been limited to just a few areas. I had seen the Manila area, Davao/Samal and a few small towns outside of those. My intention was to spend some of my free time exploring other parts of Mindanao, in particular, since that is where I live.

Since moving I have had the opportunity to go to Cebu on a few occasions. That was nice, in that Cebu is a very busy and modern city. There are plenty of foreigners there, in particular Koreans. As much as I enjoyed those visits, I still had the urge to explore more of the areas around me. I had targeted Cagayan de Oro (CDO) as likely first trip to make on my own, as there are nice buses headed that way on a regular basis going right through the heart of Bukidnon. That’s an area I have a lot of interest in.
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Last modified: 14th October, 2013

By Category: Davao, Mindanao, Tourist Attractions, Transportation Tags: , , , , , ,