Choco Banana Dreams

I might have mentioned that I went on a 4-day roadtrip last December. I've put off writing about it because I needed time to think about what I would write so that it wouldn't sound so much like a documentary. Then, I decided to just upload the music we played during the roadtrip and make it a ROCKumentary.

I'm kidding.

Always wanted to say ROCKUMENTARY. And SMACKDOWN. And BATTLE AURA. Doesn't bode well for 2009.

Aaaanyway, I'll try not to sound like Discovery Travel and Living. But I will have to use adjectives, proper nouns and pronouns. Some superlatives here and there.

It was supposed to be a 5-day roadtrip but it got delayed by a day because Earle (owner of wheeled conveyance) had to work. We were in the outskirts of Davao City by nine in the evening so we had to eat at a roadside eatery. They were about to close and had nothing else to offer us except fried catfish. A lot of fried catfish.

(Clearly, there was more than enough catfish to go around.)

Then an hour of hotel hopping and finally, we checked in at MY HOTEL. Yeah, not very imaginative.

So, 1 day spent on the road, eating a gazillion catfish and sleeping in an unimaginative hotel.

Ooooh, forgot to put down the roadtrippers.

(Earle with the head on the table, Paulo standing, Marisse the girl,
Ramon the vile friend. LOL! I'm behind the camera.)

Earle: The Driver
Unfortunately for him, nobody else knew how to drive so...

Paulo: A Man of Few Words
But he's starting to open up. He answers to direct questions. Formulates sentences...

Marisse: The Churchgoer
Seriously, even while on a roadtrip, she got up at 3AM to attend the dawn mass.

Ramon: The Adorably Vile Friend
No roadtrip is complete without criticizing other people. Whether they be pedestrians, people we actually know, or the person sitting beside you in the pickup truck. And Ramon is the king of bashing.

And then there's ME. Roadtrip DJ. Hey, they might not have liked every song but I'm sure it was a multilingual cultural musical experience.

Okay, so Day 2. We were in search of the legendary white beaches of Glan. First time I've heard of it. Sounds like something from Lord of The Rings. "Arwen Evenstar met Aragorn in secret at the legendary white beaches of Glan."

(It was raining a bit and since it was nearly nightfall, we left after an hour.)

Well, this beach was not found in maps of Middle Earth. It was apparently somewhere in Sarangani, past seven mosques. Pretty much like Boracay. Minus the people, restaurants, hotels and gift shops. And boats, sandcastles, beach flags, photographers, tattoo parlors, ice cream stands... Okay, so maybe it's just the white sand. But it's actually finer than the sand in Boracay. Earle, Marisse and Ramon were exfoliating with it.

I'm getting distracted. Watching The Nanny reruns on Hallmark.

We spent the night at Sydney Hotel in General Santos City. We also went to Fagioli where I found my Choco Banana Dreams. Not much of a coffee person but I tend to frequent coffee shops for their non-caffeinated drinks. And the Choco Banana Fagiofrappe at Fagioli was awesoooooome. Which is why I had to have another one the very next day. Which led to Ramon's taunting that if we didn't go to Fagioli, Earle would be crushing my Choco Banana Dreams. *snerk* It was kinda funny. There were other coffee shops in Davao City (Firenzo, Blugre) but nothing came close to my Choco Banana Dreams. *drool*



Swerving back to topic. Did I mention Ramon's been vomiting throughout the entire roadtrip? *evil laugh*

During our last night in Davao City, we had dinner at Yahong while Marisse went to some sorority party. The girl managed to bring a dress and a pair of heels in her backpack while I had nothing but slippers in my big ass SUITCASE. Only proves that just because you're friends, it doesn't mean you have the same priorities in life.

Anyway, after dinner, we all met up at Firenzo (coffee shop) then went to Rizal Promenade, this place with bars and a live band. Also where I encountered the pitcher of mai tai. (See previous slightly drunken post).

Jeez, it's the 6th The Nanny episode in a row. There's a marathon?!

I'm not sure if this is exclusive to Filipinos but here, when people get drunk, they go somewhere to get soup. Go figure. So we did get soup at this place called Bulcachong. Catchy.

Then we went back to MY HOTEL and my slightly under the influence self read aloud my letter to Ramon in high school. Always nice to see evidence of my craziness during my tender high school years...
After a 6-hour trip the next morning, we were back in Cagayan de Oro. With no Choco Banana Dreams.