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Friday, August 31, 2012

Kalinawan Resort in Samal Island

Rock Climbing at Kalinawan Resort in Samal

Kalinawan Resort is a widely popular haven for lovers of extreme outdoor sports adventure. Its 80-foot high and 100-foot wide natural limestone rock wall cliff formation perched by the sea is enough to lure any rock climbing enthusiast, beginners or professionals alike, to brave the challenge of strength, endurance and physical stamina that surely await them. It is situated on the east side of the beautiful island of Samal, opposite Maco and Pantucan in Compostella Valley, and Banaybanay and Lupon in Davao Oriental overlooking Mount Diwalwal just across the Gulf of Davao. Kalinawan was named for its crystal clear, and calm waters in the area.

The Resort provides full-packed adventure activities from ziplining, to rappelling, and trekking, as well as mountain biking and 4x4 off-road pursuits. And because of the rich marine life and live corals in the gulf area, Kalinawan is home to one of the best diving and snorkeling spots around Samal Island. Its calm waters makes it ideal for kayaking as well.

This two-hectare resort was beautifully designed to blend with the rough and uneven contours of the land to keep the place as natural as possible.

How to get to Kalinawan Resort

There are several ways to get to Kalinawan Resort which is located in Barangay Aundanao in the  Island Garden City of Samal, Davao del Norte:

1. Round-trip transfer service with the resort from the Davao International Airport all the way to Kalinawan;

2. A boat transfer may also be arranged with the resort which will take the guests for a 2-hour boat ride from the Sta. Ana Port in Davao City;

3. Via the Davao-Samal Ferry Boat service from the Sasa Wharf in Davao City to Babak for an 11 kilometer drive to Penaplata and another 11 kilometer drive to Aundanao;

4. Mountain bike through the entire 22-kilometers of winding road from Babak to Kalinawan;

5. Via the Island City Express bus at Sta. Ana Wharf near Magsaysay Park in Davao City to the Central Warehouse Club in Babak where several Habal-Habal await guests to take to Kalinawan. 

For more information, please contact

Barangay Aundanao
Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS), Davao del Norte
Tels +6382 298 5298 |+6382 286 2844
Mobile 091 770 07325
Website kalinawan.com 
Please visit their Facebook Page
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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Davao Famous Restaurant

Davao Famous Restaurant

This is the Davao Famous Restaurant along Ramon Magsaysay Avenue (formerly Uyanguren Street) in Chinatown, Davao City where my family and I were regular patrons when we used to live in Davao City. It is one of my two favorite restaurants in the area; the other one is the Davao Shanghai Restaurant. Here, countless weekend lunches were spent with my family and we would always dine in the restaurant whenever we find ourselves in Davao. 

The restaurant serves authentic Chinese cuisines at very reasonable prices. Their own recipe of buttered chicken is the BEST! and their crispy pata served with Chopsuey and Chinese fried rice are a blast! The staff are very solicitous and attentive to their customers. Unknown to many, this is where Tony Tan Caktiong of Jollibee started out.
Davao Famous Restaurant is located at 401 Ramon Magsaysay Avenue, Davao City and can be reached at Telephone Numbers +6382 227 1972 and +6382 227 2633.
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Ker Mansion

Ker Mansion

This was the old mansion of Robert Ker that used to stand elegantly on the highest elevated ground near the corner of J. P. Laurel Avenue and Buhangin Road in Bajada, Davao City. It was a renowned landmark because of its historical value and significance in the early years of the city when Davao became the center of abaca production in the Philippines in the 1920s largely due to Ker.

Robert Ker was a businessman from Scotland who came to Davao in the 1800s and established his abaca plantation and trading business called Ker and Company. He purchased a piece of land and built the white European-style mansion which became his residence and base of operation for many years. The land was verdant with old acacia trees and the mansion was perched on the highest vantage point of the property giving him a 360-degree view of his vast abaca plantation in the area. Ker leased the neighboring lands and further expanded his plantation, while farmers in the community started to grow abaca for him.

However, Ker ceased his abaca operations in 1961 but continued his distribution business and the Mansion was then used as residence of his company's branch manager in Davao up to the time it was sold to Camella in March 2009.

The mansion was also used by the Japanese Imperial forces as headquarters during World War II.

The Ker Mansion at the corner of J. P. Laurel Avenue and Buhangin Road in Bajada

Today, while this old British Colonial-inspired structure is still there, much of it had been renovated and converted into a clubhouse now named Wakefield Manor when Camella Communities, a local developer in Davao, bought the 2.8 hectare property and converted the land into a pine estate condominium community called Camella Northpoint.


Wakefield Manor Clubhouse of Camella Northpoint

View from the Mansion

While Robert Ker was a Scot by birth, he is fondly remembered by Davaoeños, most especially the descendants of his many loyal employees who told stories of him bestowing his land to their families. This bond was strengthened by the citation given by the National Historical Commission to Ker and Company as one of the top 10 oldest companies in the Philippines. 

Both Ker and his once old mansion remain an indelible part of Davao’s rich history: Ker, as one of its foreign inhabitants who became purveyors of commercial development; and the Mansion which, for  several decades, was an imposing sight that once stood magnificently in all its former grandeur - a silent witness to Davao’s transformation, from its humble plantation years to the bustling metropolis that it is now fast becoming. 
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The View




This beautiful place is called "The View" magnificently perched on a high elevation in Barangay Magtuod in Ma-a, Davao City, overlooking the metropolis and the Gulf of Davao. It is a widely popular venue for weddings and receptions, and other social functions and business events. 
To get there, take the road that goes up to Monteritz Subdivision from the intersection of Ma-a Road and Buhangin Diversion Road. It is located somewhere after the Manila Memorial Park but before, almost close to the Magtuod Elementary School.

Images courtesy of Kiwi Bulaclac of Potograpiya Dabaw and dinabaw of SSC-Davao
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Camella Northpoint

Camella Northpoint

Camella Northpoint is a 2.8-hectare condominium property development consisting of British Colonial-themed mid-rise buildings: Manchester (Building One - 5 storey) with 120 units; Birmingham (Building Two - 5 storey) with 149 units; Nottingham (Building Three - 10 storey, first 10-level vertical condominium in Davao) with 300 units; Liverpool (Building IV), situated on an elevated land at the junction of J. P. Laurel Avenue and Buhangin Road in Bajada, Davao City. Its prime location makes it easily accessible to shopping centers, malls, supermarkets, retail shops, dining and entertainment areas, international airport, seaport, and other commercial establishments.

Residents enjoy a refreshing sight of an oasis-like environment, green surroundings and scent of Caribbean pine trees in a landscape of lush foliage, well manicured garden, natural streams, and pocket gardens, within the heart of bustling urban north of Davao. This posh and exclusive property is Davao's first ever pine estate development.

Over 2 million pesos worth of all-weather variety of Caribbean pine trees were imported from New Zealand and transplanted all over the sprawling property which further greened its already verdant and natural surroundings, giving Northpoint a cool and refreshing ambiance with the pleasant scent of real pine.

Camella Northpoint signage at the main entrance

Camella Northpoint sits at the corner of JP Laurel Avenue and Buhangin Road
near the Buhangin-Lanang Flyover

Camella Northpoint Entrance

View of the Entrance inside Camella Northpoint

Nothpoint's building architecture utilizes innovations that  are beneficial to health and nature with minimal impact on the environment. Its eco-design allows natural air flow to circulate freely around the building, its corridors, common areas, indoor gardens, hallways and the residential units, giving residents a healthier living within the comforts of their condo homes. The buildings are fitted with skylights that allows natural sunlight to illuminate the hallways, indoor garden, and the landscaped atrium in each floor, thereby significantly reducing the use of artificial light, and giving residents much savings from power consumption. The atrium have plants, water feature, mood lighting, and pathways that add to the overall refreshing feel in the building. Northpoint's design gives its residents more privacy, convenience, and freedom of movement. Its single-loaded corridors prevent claustrophobic sensation of "doors opening to doors" that is common when walking along a corridor with doors at both sides facing each other. The buildings are equipped with 24/7 security with state-of-the-art security CCTV system and each unit is Wi-Fi and cable ready.

Camella Northpoint first building called Manchester

Camella Northpoint

Camella Northpoint Condominium

Corridor

Condo units come in 21 square meters studio type, 42 square meters with two bedrooms, 51 square meters with three bedrooms (A), and 63 square meters also with three bedrooms (B), all of which feature a dining area, living area, kitchen, toilet and bath, linen closet, and a balcony.




Living and Dining Areas

Bedroom

Bedroom

Atrium

Atrium

Atrium

Northpoint homeowners are treated with all the modern conveniences and first-class facilities and amenities such as: a Clubhouse complete with the Function Room, Recreation Hall, Fitness Gym and a Veranda overlooking the swimming pool; Entrance Gate with proximity card access; Pocket Parks and Playgrounds; Cabanas with Grill Pits; Overhead Water Tank and Cistern; Garbage Collection Facilities; Sewer Treatment Plant; Back Up Generator for Amenities; WiFi Access; Water Station; Convenience Store; and a Laundry Pick-Up Station.


Wakefield Manor

Camella Northpoint's clubhouse is called Wakefield Manor. It used to be the residence of Robert Ker from Scotland, who came to Davao and estalished his abaca business in the 1900s. Ker had been in the abaca trading since the 1800s, called Ker and Company which was cited as one of the top 10 oldest companies in the Philippines  by the National Historical Commission.

The old European-inspired house is perched on the highest vantage point of his property from where Ker had a 360-degree view of his abaca plantation. It became his home and base of operations.

Ker leased the neighboring lands to expand his abaca plantation, and farmers in the community started to grow abaca to sell the produce to him. By the 1920s, Davao had become the center of abaca production in the Philippines, a large part of it owed to Ker. In 1961, Ker ceased his abaca operations but continued its distribution business, leaving the plantation house to become the residence of the Davao branch manager of Ker and Company up to the time it was sold to Camella in 2009.

Wakefield Manor Clubhouse

As viewed from Camella Northpoint Wakefield Manor Clubhouse

Back of the Clubhouse

Manor Clubhouse, with its British-colonial architectural design, has a wellness swimming pool that uses salinated water, which requires less chlorine and is healthier to swim than pools that make use of heavily chlorinated water - the first of its kind in Davao City. 

Camella Northpoint is a project of Camella Communities - a subsidiary of Vista Land and Lifescapes, the largest home builder in the Philippines.

How to get to Camella Northpoint

Camella Northpoint is conveniently located at the corner of J. P. Laurel Avenue and Buhangin Road, just 10 minutes to the Davao International Airport, and some 5 minutes from Downtown. Its prime location is within easy access to any kind of transportation to all points of destination in the Davao City.

For more information, please contact

Camella Communities Davao
2F Delgar Building, J. P. Laurel Avenue, Davao City 
Tels 222 0963 | 222 5221 | 222 5223
Mobile 0917 857 6572

Images are courtesy of SSC-Davao

Camella Northpoint

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Monday, August 27, 2012

Magallanes Residences


Magallanes Residences is a 10,743 square-meter Spanish-inspired multi-storey midrise residential condominium located along Bolton Extension Street, Davao City (former site of Durian Park), consisting of three seven-storey buildings: Valencia (Building 1) has 108 residential units and seven commercial units; while Barcelona (Building 2) and Toledo (Building 3) have 112 residential units each, with a combination of two bedroom and studio units. Average floor area of the units ranges from 28 square meters to 68 square meters with prices ranging from P 1,550,000  to P 3,330,300.

The condominium was built in 2000 by DMC Urban Property Developers, Inc. - the first company which introduced the concept of condominium living in Davao City with its very successful Ecoland 4000 Residences. Magallanes Residences is the second project of DMC in Davao City.

Magallanes Residences Valencia Building 1

Entrance to Magallanes Residences

Magallanes Residences Guardhouse

Gate to Magallanes Residences

Driveway inside Magallanes Residences

Features and Amenities 

• Single Loaded Corridors for Maximum privacy 
• 2 Passenger Elevators per Building 
• Individual Units for Laundry and Drying Areas at the Roof Deck (For two bedroom units only) 
• Guarded Entrance, Perimeter Fence and 24-hours Security 
• Underground Electrical Facilities 
• Underground Drainage Facilities 
• Water Distribution System 
• Parking Areas (Optional) 
• Multi-Purpose Clubhouse 
• Infinity Type Swimming Pool 
• Basketball Court 
• Parks and Playground 
• Landscaped Areas

Magallanes Residences Clubhouse Swimming Pool

Swimming Pool

Landscaped Areas

Outside Parking

Magallanes Residences is conveniently located at the central business district of Davao City, close to major government offices and commercial establishments, all within walking distance from the property.


For more information, please contact

Bolton Extension Street, Poblacion, Davao City


2nd Floor. Jones Building, Quimpo Boulevard, Ecoland, Davao City
Tels +6382 297 6669 | +6382 297 0447
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