Back at the Marco Polo hotel, Julpha met Rhoda and me at the lobby. She gave us the amount we would pay once the boxes of pomelos we ordered arrive. There was an issue when Rhoda found out that Dennis ordered PHP2,000 worth of pomelos. Rhoda had agreed to advance payment for Dennis' order thinking she would only pay PHP1,000. Through text, I told Dennis/Rey that Rhoda would not shoulder the additional PHP1,000. The three of us then got into a taxi and headed to Victoria Plaza. I tagged along because I had nothing else better to do.
Rhoda had planned on shopping for pearls which a friend in the US requested her to buy and bring with her when she goes to that country later this month. Although Aldevinco Shopping Center is near Marco Polo Hotel (you only cross a street to get there), we went to Victoria Plaza in Bajada because Julpha said the pearls are much cheaper there compared to the "tourist prices" in Aldevinco.
The two-level Victoria Plaza was built in the 1990s and was the first mall in Davao City. Like Harrison Plaza in Manila and Metropolis in Alabang, the place has a lot of booths, most of them selling jewelry, usually cultured pearls - namely freshwater pearls, south sea pearls, and mikimoto pearls. As I said, prices for the pearls here are much lower than in Aldevinco, and you can also barter for an even lower price. In some stalls, you can ask them to customize jewelry for you by picking the pearl/s then the style of earring/necklace/bracelet. They do this while you wait.
The plaza has seen better days and the newer malls look better. However, the compound itself has some good restaurants. This is where Cynthia's Lechon House and Restaurant, as well as Ahfat Seafood Restaurant could be found. It is said that Ahfat is one of Lucio Tan's favorite restaurants.
For the computer geek, Basti's Brew is a WiFi hotspot. After a few stalls of pearl shopping, I got thirsty and Julpha told me there are coffee shops outside. I didn't go very far because Basti's is housed within the plaza with an entrance from both inside and outside the building. I ordered a coffee shake to go, but I would have lingered on to surf the net from my phone if I had not promised to rejoin Julpha and Rhoda as soon as possible.
If you want Durian coffee, you have to go to Blu Gre Cafe though, which is in Landco building, situated across from the Plaza.
Around this time, Dennis is looking for Julpha, Rhoda and even me just to settle the pomelo issue. He first suggested that Rhoda borrow the extra PHP1,000 from me which I refused to agree to, so Dennis found another way to pay for the fruits, but he couldn't get hold of Julpha or Rhoda - simply because they ignored his phone calls as they were busy looking at pearls. Actually, they conveniently left out the part that we left the hotel. Rey texted me to ask where I was, and I admitted the three of us were in Victoria Plaza. He he he.
Julpha and Rhoda have gone through the pearl shops on the ground floor when I rejoined them, so we went to the upper level. There were fewer shops selling pearls there but we found one that had the lowest prices. Rhoda even bought a necklace/bracelet set for herself.
When we left the shop, our next stop was Matina where we bought Durian candies.
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