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Davao
With a population of 1.4
million, Davao city is the third
largest City in the Philippines
and is the largest city on the
island of Mindanao. It is
considered to be the “melting
pot” of the Philippines as many
people throughout the nation
move to Davao due to its
favorable climate. The most
prominent languages spoken in
Davao are Tagalog, Visayan and
English. Davao is the second
largest city in the world in
land area and it is claimed to
have the second cleanest tap
water in the world.
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Currency
The currency within the
Philippines is the peso. One
U.S. dollar is equivalent to
about 52 pesos. There was once a
time about 60 years ago that when one peso
was equivalent to one US dollar.
However due to economic difficulties
throughout the last century, the
peso had decreased in value. A quick
conversion method that I use is
to consider one peso equal to
two cents. So if I were to purchase
something that costs 70 pesos,
that is 140 cents or $1.40.
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Traffic
Traffic in the
Philippines can be
described as organized
chaos. Here in Davao,
there are only a few traffic
lights, and rarely are
there any lines on the
streets dividing the
lanes. Honking while
driving is a courtesy in
order to keep people
from colliding with you.
Traffic jams, being
cut-off or squeezed out
of a lane are every day
occurrences causing some
people just to drive
down the center of the
road. As a result many
vehicles have damage to
them and insurance,
though it exists, does
not really work. As a
result, driving here in
the Philippines can be a
cutthroat endeavor
requiring much patience.
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Transportation
It is uncommon for the average
Filipino to own their own
vehicle. Instead jeepneys are by
far the most utilized form of
public transportation. Costing
only 7 pesos to
ride, a jeepney is an oddly
designed truck with a long
covered bed in the back that can
fit 10-20 people in it. There is no air-condition or
glassed in windows, instead
there is a tarp that is draped
over the windows when it rains. |
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Another form of public
transportation is the trike.
There are two types of trikes,
those powered by a dirt bike
attached to it and those powered
by a bicycle attached. On
average it costs 10 pesos to
ride a motorized trike and 3
pesos for the pedal trike
depending on the distance one is
traveling.
A more appealing option of
transportation than those
mentioned above is the taxi.
There are many taxis in the
Philippines, nearly all of which
look like they have been on
their last leg for 10 years.
Taxis in the Philippines are
much cheaper than those in the
States, and are classified as
aircon and non-aircon. A 7 km
trip in a non-aircon cab costs
about 70 pesos and about 100
Pesos in
an aircon cab. |
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A very popular and affordable
private transportation here in
the Philippines is the
motorbike. Of course it is not
the type of motorbikes that we
may be familiar with in the
States; it is a sporty
looking scooter that appears to
be a cross between a
Moped and a dirt bike. In some towns
the motorbike is used as a form
of public transportation,
sometimes squeezing as many as 9
people on a single bike.
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