Davao City Series: Tumbling Inside a Giant Ball at Davao Zorv Park

Crocodile Park is one of the popular tourist destinations in Davao City. However, we were a bit short on time and the place sounded similar to Zoobic Safari in Subic so we decided to just skip the zoo and head straight to two other attractions located in the Crocodile Park compound: Davao Zorv Park and Walk n' Water Ball Park.

Zorbing (also called sphereing, orbing or globe riding) involves being strapped inside a giant ball which is then rolled down a gentle slope.

Gold's Gym Waltermart North EDSA

To shed a few pounds, I thought of going to the gym. I was not looking for a long-term commitment to a gym though, so when Gold's Gym had a promo through Metrodeal, I thought, Perfect! Just what I was looking for.

Their trial membership included 10 visits, consumable within two months, and access to all their facilities and classes.

We chose their Waltermart North EDSA branch since that was the most convenient for us. On our first day, we were briefed by a personable young man named Orly Natividad. Before we began exercising, he asked us if he could discuss membership first. We got a bit worried that it would lead to us being pressured to become members. To prevent that, I took the initiative and told him "Okay, as long as you won't pressure us into signing up." He didn't. He just explained the different annual rates for their branch.

My Second Ensogo Refund Took Only Eight Days. Yes!

When I had a problem with my Mongkok voucher, Ensogo's refund took a mind-boggling 3-1/2 months, 6 email followups, and 4 or 5 posts on their Facebook page. So when Gandiva informed me that I had a problem with the voucher I bought from Ensogo, I thought ugh!

• Click here to read the background story for the refund and my review of Gandiva Archery Range.
• Click here to read my review of Gandiva Cafe's food.

I emailed Ensogo on March 19 to request for a refund and an explanation as to what happened. My email was civil but a bit stern. The voucher in question was worth P300 but since we did not have the option of backing out of paying the regular price (P600) at Gandiva, I thought it would be fair to at least try asking Ensogo to refund me the regular price. Honestly, I was expecting them to just refund me P300.

After two days, I got a reply from Ensogo, saying that they had documented my concern and would be addressing it with the merchant.

March 27 around 3pm, I had not received any more info so I emailed again, asking for an update. The following day, Ensogo replied that my refund request had been approved and that I would receive my credits within two days.

I did not think about it until the end of the month. When April started, I remembered about it and when I checked my Ensogo account, I got P600 credits!

I got no explanation on how our voucher got mistakenly marked as Used, oh well, but at least I quickly got a full refund.

This Meat Lover Loved the Vegetarian Pasta Dishes at Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range

Read here for Part 1: Shooting Arrows at Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range and the Problem with our Ensogo Voucher

We hadn't had lunch at it was already mid-afternoon - we were starving! Looking at the menu board at the counter, at first we were a bit agitated because we thought Gandiva Cafe only served beverages and light snacks. Thankfully they did have pasta dishes available that day and we were handed the complete menu. There was one "catch" though: they only served vegetarian dishes.

To me, a meat lover, that was scary. Even if they had veggie meat. I had tried dining at a vegetarian restaurant before and I didn't like it. The food tasted funny to me. But we were already there - seven floors up One Corporate Center - and we were famished, so we took their menu and decided on what to order.

Taste

Bf ordered Spicy-Nut Sundried Pasta and Cranberry Fizz while I ordered Creamy Ham and Mushroom Pasta and Mango Yoghurt.

Spicy-Nut Sundried Pasta (a hint of spicy and nutty flavors blend
plus the added sweet and tart sundried tomatoes)

Shooting Arrows at Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range and the Problem with our Ensogo Voucher

I bought two Gandiva vouchers through Ensogo. Unfortunately, we were late for our appointment. At first, the Gandiva personnel refused to accommodate us, saying that our appointment had become invalid since we were more than 15 minutes late. We were at fault, no argument about that, but we were still hoping that we would be accommodated since all the other voucher merchants had accommodated us even if we were late. I got a little annoyed when the Gandiva guy stated that the 15-minute limitation was printed on the voucher when it was not. Anyway, after a few minutes, he said that he would ask his boss. The voucher cost P300 each. Bf and I did not want to kiss our P600 goodbye so we crossed our fingers. When the Gandiva personnel returned, he said they would accommodate us. Whew! and Yipee!

Even though we were off in a not-too-smooth a start, that Gandiva guy assisted us well during our stay. He was the one who briefed us newbies on how to use the equipment and how things were done in the archery area.

First, he taught us how to attach the bracer (arm guard that protected the inside of the arm holding the bow from being hit by the bow string and that prevented clothes from catching the string) and finger tab (for the fingers of the other hand). He attached our paper targets on the boards and brought us our bows and metal arrows contained in quivers. Bf's quiver was a belt-type one while mine had a hook for attaching to a belt hoop. He then told us how to position ourselves and how to draw and fire an arrow.

bows

PB Dionisio Firing Range

Firing a real gun had been in my bucket list for several years, just sitting pretty there, not moving a notch. Looking for new things to do, bf and I decided to finally take it off the list. We made reservations in PB Dionisio, a shooting range and gun shop in Quezon City.

Upon arrival though, we found out that they closed early that day because it was their anniversary. The staff asked us to return the following day. We complained calmly (arguing heatedly with people who work in a gun shop is not a very smart thing to do, you know) and stated that we had an appointment. The party's schedule probably slipped off the mind of the girl who took our reservations through phone. Realizing the mistake, two of the staff offered to accommodate us newbies. They would just go to the party after our session. Bf and I rented a pistol and took turns loading and firing it into our respective target boards.

Upon entering the shooting range, I asked the staff if I could handle the recoil. Like me, you have probably also seen many movies wherein there's a girl (or a wimpy guy) who shoots a gun for the first time in her life and is thrown a few steps back or even falls flat on her butt. Well I didn't want my butt to say hello to the ground, so I had to ask. He reassured me that recoil wasn't like that. True enough, recoil was minimal. The tip of the gun just swung upwards a bit after every shot.