Strolling Around Night Café at Cagayan de Oro City

It was a Friday night, and I just woke up from an exhausting day. Earlier in the morning, me and my partner in my final project two semesters ago (1st sem, 2008-2009) just passed our final output to our instructor. It was a product of a couple of months with sleepless nights trying to make our computer program to work. And it was hell. I have to ceaselessly read a whole book for two weeks straight trying to learn a computer language that I have encountered for the first time. It was like torture; considering we were given a time period enough only for us students to learn the advance topics in database that we were covering in class during that time; that is in my opinion of course (my apologies to readers not in the computer science field). Anyway, as I said before, I woke up that Friday night exhausted from all the things I’ve been through during that semester. I got up, took a drink from the fridge, and felt like I wanted to treat myself out. I wasn’t thinking of anything fancy; I just thought of giving myself a break from all the stresses I’ve been having for the past few months without spending a lot of money. I looked at the calendar, which was hanged just behind the fridge and remembered, hey, it’s a Friday night. How about strolling around Night Café?

Friday and Saturday nights have never been as alive as before. People of different ages and different walks of life have been flocking the streets of Divisoria ever since the streets were opened for the weekend Night Cafés. Various stalls are put up by local entrepreneurs. These stalls sell products ranging from food, to bags, to shoes, shirts, accessories, and a lot more. And they sell it a very affordable price—a hundred Pesos can buy you two decent short pants (by the time I’m writing this, the exchange rate from Philippine Pesos to U.S. Dollars is Php48.149 = $1.000). Here you’ll find everything under the sun, well in our case, moon. At one end, you’ll find a variety of food from a number of diners. Their menu varies from stall to stall. One stall offers assorted barbeques, while another serve exquisite dishes such as calamari, smoked bangus, kinilaw, and a lot more. It’s a food haven out there at night, not to mention the open air city ambiance that the place gives. And if you’re not in to open air but are looking for some place air-conditioned, then there are always the all time favorite fast-food franchises around the area. Also, if you’re in for some booze, they always have that around the area. Check the nearest stall to see if they offer some.

Activities at the Night Café are not only limited to food, accessories, and the likes. There are also a lot of happenings aside from those. One I failed to mention was the nightly live band happening at the city Kiosk. While people, families, and other groups have their appetizing dinners, they are also serenaded by the city’s local bands. And if you’re lucky, you might end up jamming with the country’s top bands such as Bamboo, and the likes.

So if you’re somewhere around the city for a couple of days, make sure you reach at least a Friday or start your week here on a Saturday.

Here are two more photos taken during the Night Cafes:

This photo is in courtesy of jarqz at langyaw.com.
This is a typical scene at the Night Cafe. People and booze get along quite well. In addition to that, one doesn't have to worry too much on security—police and other security personnel are deployed everywhere, scattered around the area. Although you still do have to be careful like we're always expected to. So as a tip: have all the fun that you can have, but be cautious as always. Below are stalls of diners. Families, groups of friends, or collegues usually dine here enjoying the atmosphere, and most especially the reasonable prices.

This photo is in courtesy of jarqz at flickr.com.