Going to the Philippines.

[Nemo888]

The advice here was awesome. Making my stay in Manila much more fun.  Hobbit House was very nice. Best time I've had in Manila so far.  I had no idea how annoying having 5 women walking up to you asking, "Where you from Sir," could become. Beggars were annoying. Had no defence against malnourished kids and toothless old ladies. Getting drunk and feeding some beggars at the 7-11 is fun.  Couple of very well fed kids with dirt smeared on them tried to pickpocket me, but when I got a bit aggressive a very well dressed man whistled them back.

The place is very scammy. I learned this trying to buy a cellphone. Electronics also cost 20% to 40% more here. WTF? The camera I like is 279$ at Best Buy, 400$ here and in the HK airport. Wholesale is 229$ in HK.

There seems to be this huge wage dead zone between from what I would call 30k per year and 85k per year. The well off here make me look poor and the poor have nothing and no opportunity. There is no middle class.

I like the weather and the water is fine(for me). Finally got rid of that horrible antibiotic resistant sinus infection. I think the local bugs and pollution killed it off on the first day. The others I'm travelling with are a bit sick though.

Thanks again.

 

[Nemo888]

I'm being treated like a pinyata full of money. The scamming is unbearable. Reputable hotels have numerous price lists at the counter. Racism sucks. The corruption is cooked right through and spoils the incredibly beautiful scenery. IMO I strongly dislke this countries culture and lack of honour.

 

[blacktriangle]

The more I see and learn about the rest of the world, the more I want to stay here

Stay safe!

 

[Nemo888]

Manila was beyond horrible,...

But now that I am far away in the provinces I love it. The reefs and volcanoes are striking. There are uncountable edible plants everywhere. Familes are huge, strong and loving. Generally the people are great out here. The lifestyle is healthy and enjoyable. The weather is divine. I'll come here again, but I hope never again to Manila.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

 

[q_1966]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Pretty much sums it up lol, when I was in Manilla I met a man who worked on a cruise ship, for many years he travelled the world, his advice was to always get outside the big city, it might be a little boring at first but you might end up with crazy stories to tell in the end.

 

[Bearpaw]

About deworming pills,....

It is probably a good idea to buy 3 deworming pills per person when you leave.

Take the first on the plane or when you first get back.

Take the second about a month or so later.

Take the third about 3 months after the second pill.

There are some very nasty bugs that you can contract even though you drink bottled water,....  These bugs can to terrible things to your urinary tract and your liver.

Another caution is to be carefull that the meat you consume does not taste right.
Sometimes the chickens, pigs,... are drinking filthy water so you can get a soapy taste to the meat!
Never eat any undercooked meat there----that and the water is why you need the deworming pills!
Incidentally the best tasting chicken in the world is in the philippines---good chicken there is a lot tastier than Canadian force-fed chicken.
For seafood, be a wary about clams, oysters, shrimp---be sure is it well-cooked.

Be careful of swimming in any standing fresh water(lakes) as this is the prime
breeding ground for the parasites.  Salt water is generally OK if you are not too close to a village,...The sewage systems tend to be "au naturelle".

As Nemo888 has observed, Manila is a place to avoid.  Cebu is much nicer and cleaner but the poverty extremes are even more noticable there.

When travelling by ferry (many are WWII LST conversions!) be careful!  Do not get on any ferry that looks overloaded---always be close to an exit if possible.  Avoid travel if rough water/typhoons about.

My wife is currently visiting relatives in the Philippines.  She laughed when I tried to
give her a bit of advice about credit/bank cards,....  Now she has found that only one of her cards actually works there and I am having to keep refilling her credit card!

You should probably find the closest LBC office in Canada and give its address to your family here in case you have money trouble there.  LBC is like a Western Union but without the excessive "service" charges---Filipinos in Canada use LBC(and others) to send money to their families there.  The Philippines is NOT a nice place to run short of money!

Much of this advice will also hold for other countries with obvious modifications...
Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Viet Nam, Laos, Malaysia.

Another interesting place to visit---about 70Km south of Manila is Villa Escudero---this is a plantation that has restaurants, museum, WW2 equipment, Filipino dance shows,.... have attached a photo or two.

Bearpaw

 

[Nemo888]

My tummy finally met it's match. The best shrimps I've ever had,... They were not deveined. Immodium to the rescue.

The advice has been great Bearpaw. Phoned my banks before we left and all the cards work so far. Since no one swims here(WTF?) the snorkelling is pretty good. Most reefs are dead or dying. Took awhile to find some unspoiled ones.  The coast seems safer than the interior. Just regular crime and drunken shenanigans. Took a tour in the Governors bullet proof SUV. Then I got some twinges I definitely do not feel in an old jeepney or fishing boat. Only time I really did not feel safe. That is the day I got the food that made me so sick.

The politics are strange here to say the least. The rebels are not Muslim. They are a largely secular force where I am. Called the NPA(New People's Army) they just celebrated their 43rd anniversary. Tags are all around the city. They actually protect the local water supply from contamination and the regular army lets them. The corruption makes things so complicated. Since most development here follows the "Angola Model" the NPA now demands 3% of infrastructure money for the locals. Bribes to publicly elected officials can be as high as 50% of total infrastructure building budgets. It would take pages to explain the convoluted strangeness of the politics of money here. Rich people in Manila find opportunities to get richer and locals get thrown off their land and into destitution.

Suffice it to say that a country can have all the institutions and laws of a functioning democracy, but if rich people completely control the levers of power for their own exclusive benefit the country is a disaster. I read somewhere that with the education and resources available the Ph could be #12 in the G20. They will never reach that because merit is not rewarded. It's all about connections and money. I hope we can learn from this. 

Thanks again for the useful advice. Do you have any advice for a bad tummy? Thinking about dumping an antibiotic cocktail on the little bastards.

 

[Bearpaw]

Hope you are enjoying the country-side.

Your shrimp were probably undercooked a bit----that is why they taste so good.  Then only shrimp I ever ate there were in a seafood stew which was very well cooked so I had no problems.

The dead reefs are a result of dynamite fishing----there is quite a bit of effort now to stop the practice but there is a huge backlog of damage reefs.

The NPA are mainly like local militias----they are usually protecting the local people from the Army/corrupt police.  They are almost everywhere in the Philippines.

At one resort that I visited in 2005, the owner employs about 50 local people to staff his resort.  He also built a small infirmary and did a few other development projects for the local village.  When a corrupted NPA chief tried to shake him down, the local villages simply told the NPA to get lost or they would be hunted down like animals. Problems are over.

From what I have been told, it is rare that the NPA would interfere with people who are actually helping the local people though.

As you have seen, corruption is endemic.  If you really think about the problem a bit you will realize how hard it is going to be to cure----everyone police, military, judges, bureacrats and most polititians are corrupt----there is no reliable base a GOOD polititian could use to reform things.

The Philippines is a real powder-keg----it will not explode for another few years but I predict that when it happens you will see one of the most bloody revolutions in history.  If much of the corrupt upper layer disappears, then true reform might be possible.

Only after living there a while do you really get a bit of feeling for the pent up anger that is in most of the people.  The anger is generally not at foreigners who are visiting or living there and helping out a bit----the anger is at themselves and the corrupt bureacracy.  There are all manner of well-trained people there(engineers, teachers,.....) who are doing menial jobs(tricycle driving, field work, labouring,....).

Your comments about institutions and the appearance of democracy are on target.
Both Canada and the US are on the downhill slide as real informed democratic involvement by the populations here is rapidly declining.  The corruption here is becoming more open in recent years---I have really noticed the increasing fixation on money here in the year I have been back.  Had a doctor here try to hit me for some grease to get better treatment!

The only thing I could add for a bad stomach there is to try drinking a bit of tonic water(without the gin!)----it can help reduce any cramps you are having.

Bearpaw

 

[Nemo888]

Cipro works great. Cleared it right up.

 

[Nemo888]

Turned out is was amoebas. A few of us picked it up in some jungle hotsprings near a volcano. One friend starting getting headaches behind the eyes, sweating like in a sauna with the AC on, puking, muscle cramps that were hot to the touch, etc. Got a positive antibody test for malaria, but confirmation2was negative and they are all right now.

I think I've found the secret of fun here. Most bars here are boring and a bit sad. No one seems to joke or laugh. Trying too hard to look hard or rich to have fun it seems.

All the fun places had something in common. Whether it is the dwarf bar in Manila, or the negrito(aboriginal Filipinos from before waves of Malay invasions) and tranny filled shanty bars I've found.  Outsiders, the regular people here are a real drag when it comes to a fun night out on the town. I suppose a white guy is an outsider here too.