I must admit, it really is an effort to step out of one's comfort zone. So from the city touring and mall strolling, Mr. DQ and I met with our local friend and 2 more others from Manila after picking up Innova service unit from Avis. Thank goodness that the caretaker went out of his working hours to assist us as early as 7 in the morning. Yes, we rented the car for about Php 4k per day with Php 1.6K downpayment that will be returned upon return of the service unit. The car included insurance and diesel gas. The mileage was only a little over 4 km; lucky us, we are the one who about to wear it out haha.
This was the last day of Laguindingan airport's operation, we fetched our friends from Manila to get their things since they signed up for white water rafting in 1st Rafting Adventure. Hey look, PAGASA headquarters (Philippine Athmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services and Administration) was just across the airport. Our friends hanged out for a while since one of them works as a meteorologist. Together with our local friend, I didn't only feel homey in CDO, I also felt that the good weather was on our side.
I know, I know. Rafting was not my sort of thing... yet. Mr. DQ and I opted to go joy riding and see local sites such as the Gaston Park and Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral, Gaisano Mall, Nazarene Parish Church, other local government structures. Just like in any other local churches in the country, lost souls are found in the area asking for alms. Some may get assertive by your tugging your shirt and tap your arms, please avoid giving alms because it is against the law and it has been advised by the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) to refrain from doing so.
We found it interesting that CDO has its own version of Divisoria and Recto like in Manila. At the back of my mind, it's a bit comforting to say: "Oh, it's just like in Manila", only the place looks different and it tickles your curiosity to go and see beyond. Apparently, "Divisoria" means "divider" in English and the divider was built as an urban divider or a firebreak. Not sure why Recto is still connected to Divisoria at this part of the country though. Nonetheless, we saved Plaza Divisoria tour for later's night market experience.
When we met up with our friends, traces of adrenalin rush were still evident from their sun-kissed faces. According to our friends, the division of rafting were classified as beginner, advanced, expert, and so on. For beginners, the rate is Php 700. They signed up for advanced stage for Php 1k each person, which includes the service ride to the area and safety wear. It was the first time for our local friend to go rafting, and same for the meteorologist. From their experience, the advanced stage is mellow enough for healthy newbies and the guide was very experienced. I will definitely try this when I come back to CDO.
We set course to Bukidnon to visit Del Monte Plantation in Camp Phillips and its well-known clubhouse- The Bungalow, and Dahilayan Adventure Park. Though slightly hungry, we settled for the meaty tuna sandwiches that our local friend prepared earlier since we are headed for The Bungalow's famous steak. It's a 2-hour drive that includes going up the mountain roads. The service unit's air-conditioning was working fine, but we chose to roll down the windows to take in some fresh air. As soon as we saw the giant pineapple, we entered Camp Phillips and saw these cute and neat housings within the area. The air indeed smelled of pine and pineapple. Our local friend says that the housings were for the employees and that the place is guarded by military to ward off leftist from the mountains, but it is open for civilian's and locals.
Just infront of the pineapple plantation, the Bungalow clubhouse was literally a wooden bungalow surrounded by nature. As dreamy as the willowy tree, the large circular driveway leads to the entrance. It felt like I was about to visit my local friend's granny for some good ol' home cooked meal. I'll write a separate review for the details; my personal favorite was the stewed beef for it's gooey sauce and melt in your mouth meat pieces. Although they were ironically out of pineapple juice, I enjoyed the mango version and it reminded me of my grandma's old wooden house back in Manila.
The air grew cooler as we went onwards to Dahilayan Adventure Park, some parts were already off road but it didn't matter - the grandeur of the fields was mejestic. As a local resident, my reaction was: "Seriously, no one thought of shooting a cowboy film here?" My handy dandy headband turned out to be useful to keep out my hair from constantly slapping into my face. Thank God for a slightly gloomy weather, no rain.
The weather in Dahilayan was comparable to Tagaytay. No entrance fee to enter the park. There is, however, a range of prices for the corresponding thrill ride. Dahilayan offers shuttle ride service from Divisoria Plaze for Php 350.00 per head on saturdays. Our friends went for the Drop zone. The caretakers strapped them up and lifted them to as high as 120 feet for an impending free fall. If any comfort, the man-made pond will catch the impact of your fall, in case of emergency. According to them, the stress and thrill was rooted to the cord pulling that will lead to the drop of thrill seekers. Spoiler alert: The hilarious thing was that the cord initially appeared to not work due to repetitive pulling, keep calm and pull again. The rates were Php 500.00 for single and Php 750.00 for a pair. When I finally decided to try ziplining for P500.00 single ride to Asia's longest zipline of 840 m, it was past 5pm and the park was finishing up with the customers, who signed up before 5pm. I noticed a peculiar trick that they used for big-boned people - plastic fins for windbreak. See other packages here.
While on our way home, we lost our way among the off road paths. Luckily, we asked a local "ate" ( assuming the wisdom of a maiden, not necessarily older sister) and headed back to CDO town proper. The mountains and unending fields looked like a cropped out picture from The Legends of the Fall movie. I have no pictures to justify this, you must see for yourself. After a quick fix up from the Metro Hotel, we visited Divisoria night market near Xavier University-Ateneo De Cagayan. Beggars were pretty assertive as we ate our way along stalls of chicken proven - a stick consisting of 4 pcs fried chicken intestine. It was sinfully good, especially when dipped in sweet and sweet and spicy sauces. Besides the frying woks, rice wrapped in banana leaf was also sold and eaten along with the chicken proven for a complete street meal fix. Filipino local street foods like fishball, squidball, kwek kwek, and balot were also available.
In the plaza, we were greeted by the "manangs" from lines of food stalls that were full of Filipino and local CDO food like varieties of pansit, adobo, "kinilaw" raw meat in vinegar. People ate on temporarily allocated plastic tables and monoblocks right on the street. Be careful of your belongings, it's night time and some may be tempted. Our food tripping led us to a 5 min. motorella ride to Inilog Grill, it's amazing that we fit in for a group that consisted of a 6'2", and 3 over 5'5" people. Our 2 lady friends settled for the right and left wing seat of the driver. 
The grill have non-smoking area and live band. If you don't mind eating in the dark with black lights on, this is the spot to chill with your friends. They had NBA replay on one side, the other one has the local drama series on. We were still hungry and feasted on pork sisig, calamares, lechon kawali, kalderetang kambing (goat), rice per head and 2 buckets of mixed varieties of SanMig lights. In addition to the fun vibe of the place, quirky reminders were found at the last page of their menu. Though I wasn't able to try ziplining and rafting, I was able to experience CDO on a relaxed tone; we were able to do as we please on our own phasing.
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