ahh... I'm now finally kicking in various activities that bring me here to Davao. Tomorrow I'll go sea kayaking and Sunday I'll be diving. Monday night a group of us might go to a beach to spend the night. It's warm enough here that we probably won't even bring tents, just hammocks or even just beach towels.

Last night went to a new place, Jack's Ridge, and ate catfish and gambas in an open air restaurant high on a hill overlooking Davao's city lights. Then took a stroll down to check out the bar and the coffee house up there. They have rooms available for 500-600 pesos (about 10-12 dollars) a night. I might just have to take one for a night so I can wake up to greet the dawn from a hilltop while sipping a cappucino. (yes, espresso has arrived in Davao).

In one aspect, Davao is far more civilized than San Francisco. There's an abundance of 24 hour places here. After Jack's Ridge, a group of friends and I went out to a beach club where we walked the sand, drank, and sang karaoke until it was unreasonably late. As you all know, I am continuously frustrated by SF's early shutdown so late night walks on active streets here make me really happy. Granted, a few too many of these places feature really scary karaoke (some just a machine and TV in a shack on the sidewalk with mic cord stretched across the sidewalk to reach the drunk guy sitting on small plastic stool who's imagining he's Neil Diamond), but there's also 24 hour barbecue and beach resorts, along with a wide choice of indoor restaurants. No diner-only 24-hour choices here!

I've also given in to Asian culture and now have a cell phone here so my friend can text me and we can meet up. You know I wasn't doing well without my own phone... now I just have to learn a large array of abbreviations so I can be really cool and not reveal my total text-virgin state.

Off to have merienda with my lola (i.e. midafternoon snack with my grandmother). More later when I'm more tan!