In December 2017, my wife, our son and I travelled to the Philippines to spend Christmas with a friend who had recently built a new house in Panabo, near Davao. It was our first visit to Panabo, and we planned to spend the Christmas and New Year period there, with a short beach holiday on Samal Island in between.
Looking back, what I remember most isn’t any particular attraction. It’s how laid-back life felt in Panabo. We could spend an entire day at our friend’s house doing practically nothing, and that was perfectly fine.
Getting there, however, was anything but relaxing.
A Christmas Eve to Remember
For some reason, I had booked our flights to Davao separately. We were flying from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, then taking another flight from Kuala Lumpur to Davao on Christmas Eve.
It probably seemed like a reasonable arrangement when I booked the tickets. What I hadn’t properly considered was that, because they were separate bookings, we would have to collect our checked luggage in Kuala Lumpur and go through the entire check-in process again.
We had just an hour and a half between the scheduled arrival of our first flight and the departure of the second.
Travelling with a young child and luggage was already tiring enough. When we arrived at Kuala Lumpur and saw the enormous queue for check-in, I began to think we weren’t going to make it.
At one point, I was almost ready to give up. Between managing the luggage, looking after our little boy and trying to get through the airport, it felt impossible.
My wife, however, wasn’t giving up so easily.
Thanks to her determination, we somehow made our way through the crowd, apologising to people as we went. By the time we reached the gate, I believe boarding had already started.
We made the flight, but I still remember it as one of the most exhausting travel days of my life.
Christmas at Our Friend’s New House
After arriving in Davao, we made our way to Panabo, where our friend was waiting to welcome us into his new home.
Christmas was a lively affair. He had invited plenty of friends and people from the local community, and a whole pig was being roasted over coals for the celebration.
It was a lovely way to spend Christmas, surrounded by people coming together to celebrate.
But what stayed with me most about Panabo was what happened when we weren’t celebrating or going anywhere.
Life seemed to move at a different pace.
We spent days at our friend’s house without much of a plan. There was no pressure to visit attractions, no itinerary to follow and no particular need to keep ourselves occupied. Sometimes we simply spent the whole day at home.
It was a welcome change from the usual routine, and perhaps exactly what we needed after that journey through Kuala Lumpur.
Three Days on Samal Island
During our stay, we decided to spend three days and two nights at Paradise Island Park and Beach Resort on Samal Island.
Our friend drove us to the island, taking his car aboard the ferry for the crossing. He dropped us off at the resort and returned to collect us after our stay.
It was just the three of us—my wife, our son and me.
We didn’t do much exploring. Most of our time was spent relaxing by the beach, enjoying the sea and spending time with our little boy. We also ate plenty of seafood.
One thing I distinctly remember was seeing uniformed security personnel carrying guns at different resorts. It was the first time I had encountered something like that while on a beach holiday, and the sight stayed with me.
Apart from that unfamiliar experience, our stay was simple and unhurried. We weren’t trying to see everything Samal Island had to offer. We were happy just being there.
A Day in Davao
We also spent a day in Davao during the trip.
I don’t remember much about the places we visited, but two things have stayed with me. The first was how clean the city appeared to be. The second was an enormous shopping mall we visited, possibly while looking for furniture or something for our friend’s new house.
We also had a meal at a restaurant called Arsenio’s during our visit.
These aren’t particularly remarkable sightseeing memories, but they’re the little things that come back to me when I think about the trip.
Travelling Home a Little Wiser
By the time our holiday was coming to an end, I had absolutely no desire to repeat the luggage experience we’d had on the way to Davao.
So we came up with a different arrangement.
Our friend would be visiting Singapore later, and I asked him to bring our luggage back with him. That meant we could make the return journey with hand luggage only.
After what we’d been through at Kuala Lumpur airport, travelling light felt like a very sensible decision.
We returned to Singapore around the beginning of January 2018, bringing our Christmas and New Year getaway to an end.
When I think about Panabo now, I remember the Christmas gathering, the roasting pig, our quiet days at our friend’s house and the time spent with our son on the beach at Samal Island.
It wasn’t a holiday filled with sightseeing or activities.
And perhaps that’s why I remember it so fondly. We travelled all that way, rushed through an airport thinking we would miss our flight, and eventually arrived somewhere where we could spend an entire day doing almost nothing.
Sometimes that’s a holiday in itself.