The gimmick scene in Davao is as strange as the blog title may suggest. Today’s features are, the two places I have most waiter friends. You see, the trick to excellent service in bars is not reliant on tips alone, you should always walk the extra mile and befriend the waiters or owner. You can also try sleeping with the owner, but I personally dissuade that.

On these two places, they have pretty nice waiters, and the occasionally crappy service. As I said, in order to eliminate the fault, one needs to create a relationship with the bar. It is always helpful to schedule your drinking session as not to create a fight between the two sets of waiters. Eventually, you’ll get the rhythm of your drinking and will no longer demand more spending and drinking time on their bar.

Gay Bar

Rizal Promenade is more popularly known as the headquarters for the gay, half gay, and quarter before gay. It’s located in the center of the city, specifically Rizal Street. If you want to get laid, go to this place. Their bars are most conducive for permitted harassment. When one has a break up, and would like to fool around with someone else to throw wrath on the ex, this is where that one, goes to.

Typical Saturday here: You’ll see men lining on one side of the bar, waiting for those broken hearted women to get drunk. On the other side, you’ll see the gay part of the group at beeracay, waiting for some new guy to finally give in to his true self. At times, I often get confused and mistake one group from the other, but anyway, in Rizal, no one can really tell anymore. In fact, I once accidentally danced with a guy, who confessed to have been gay. The boyfriend, who was sitting at the bar, came up to me and said he didn’t mind looking at us. More confusion.

Funeral Homes

Now, it is believed that the upper class prefers to go to Prime Square rather than Rizal. This place is the founder of the brain freeze beer slushy. No, it’s not only ice cold, it’s a slushy people! But, never make the mistake of calling the place Prime Square. Davaoenos prefer to call it Torres. Reason plainly is that it is located in Torres street, right beside the funeral homes.

Note to other bars, if you intend to last for a long time in the Davao drinking scene, name your bar after the street. Drunkards find it easier to remember.

Typical Saturday: The feeling you get when you switch and old-fashioned radio to the next channel is exactly how you would feel in torres. Nostalgic from all the beer, bombarded with different kinds of music. Turn your head to a different angle, and you reach the next channel.

This is where the prominent fights happen, meaning, politicians’ children or the tycoons’ brats. Every once in a while, you’ll see the security guard chasing a mani (peanut) boy or girl. It is believed the Torres guard’s worst nightmare is being covered in peanuts, and having his wake at the funeral homes beside the bars.