Philippines Capital - Metro Manila

[ginapeterb]

Metro Manila.


Welcome to this topic which will seek to provide information about the Philippines Capital City, Manila, and Metro area, their will be information on transportation, shopping, etc, and hotels in the Makati Business District, Airports, both NAIA and Manila Domestic, Airlines and Ticket Offices.


Makati City - Metro Manila.


It may be paticularly useful to many of the Forum members to have some information on Makati, as it will undoubtedly be a place you will have some connection with if you are travelling to the Philippines, why do I say this ?

For one thing, Makati City is the Business District of Metro Manila, getting to know at least a basic understanding of the area will help you when you finally arrive in town, Makati is about 20 minutes to 30 minutes by taxi from NAIA which has been mentioned before in other areas of the Forum.

I have previously advised you not to take the Airport taxi services from both Manila Domdestic NAIA and also from NIAI International Terminals 1 and 2.

You will be put under pressure by furious arm waving to get into one of these taxi's again the minimum fare is 500 pesos, this is not acceptable, again, I stress, take the metered taxis, that are just outside the terminal, the guard will give you a slip of paper, in case you wish to complain about the driver of the taxi.

Once having got into the business district it will have some importance for you, for one thing the British Embassy is located on Ayala Avenue, which is a main route through Makati, also many of the 1st Class hotels are located in this area, and many of the 1st class restaraunts overlooking the area of Oakwood, famous for the Oakwood mutiny by officers and men of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) are based here.

Also, in Oakwood, Makati City, is the home of Glorietta's the Main shopping Mall in the area.

It is most likely that you will have at least 1 or 2 visits to Glorietta's so let me cover this amenity for you.

Glorietta Shopping Mall.

Glorietta Shopping Mall is a favourite of most Filipinos in the area, hundreds flock to it daily, and at weekends, perhaps even thousands.

Glorietta is split into 1 2 3 and 4, with various department stores such as Rustans and Landmark taking the main wings very similar to House of Frazer and Debenhams here in UK, the central area is normally the hive of verious shows, and at present the mall is host to German Month, various displays with regard to German organizations and commerce in the Philippines.

The Mall has 2 sets of Large Cinema screens, with 4 screens in each area, showing the latest movies, which is kind of fund when you brose the shops and then go and seea movie, costs are much lower than UK.

Seating at the movies is standard 50 pesos, and superior 60 pesos, hmmmmm I wish we could get it for that price, since we pay 10 times that here in UK, its quite a welcome feeling to see the Terminal for 60 pence.

Glorietta mainly caters for clothing retailers, but it seems to be a past time that attracts filipinos, there are excellent food establishments just about everyhwere in the mall, and for the food alone its a worthwhile day out, its very close to many of the 1st class hotels, including, Intercontinental, Shangri la, Peninsular, and the Madarin Oriental.

Close to Glorietta which connects on floor level 2 is the Landmark store, and a connecting bridge takes you to Shoe Mart for your late night grocery requirments, this is good if you are staying in the local hotels but dont want to use whats in the hotel mini bars, just pop down to Shoe Mart and their is a large supermarket for your drinks, snacks etc.

Transportation.

Transportation around Manila is really best done by metered Taxi, firstly parts of Manila are naturally not safe, being with a Filipina is helpful, for one thing its obvious she speaks fluent Filipino, Tagalog, Taglish, Cebuna, Bisaya, and otgher languages, but mainly because although most Filipinos speak english, they dont always choose to do so, and even if they do, its much easier for the lady to do the talking, remembering that you are a foreigner, its best to use the taxi's.

My adivce when travelling around Metro Manila, is to keep your door locked in the taxi, as when the taxi stops at junctions etc, you can be deluged by beggars, and you may run the risk of muggers climbing in the taxi, just be aware to keep the door locked until you get out.

You can of course take a jeepney, but why should you when taxi's are plentiful and cheap, however there are instances when taxi drivers may refuse to take you to a certain location, if you want help in obtaining a taxi, I have one peice of advice for you, go to the Intercontinental hotel across from Glorietta 4, and ask the guards there to get you a taxi, slip them a tip, i.e. 20-30 pesos, and they will actually go out on the road, and get one for you, this method is much more effective than you actually trying it yourself.

If you are nervous and its your first time in town, then try this because it works quite well, and you can ask the guard to get the taxi driver to use the meter, metered taxis are next to nothing, the minimum starting charge for a flag down is 25 pesos, any more than that, and its a rip off, dont allow it.

Their is also Air Conditioned coaches which operate out of Metro Manila, these can take you to various outlying areas of Manila and surrounding areas of Cavite and other destinations, my advice is simple, in no circumstance should you consider using any other method of transport unless you are with a Filipina, who is your companion and looking after you.

These Air Conditioned Coaches are excellent and have on board video/T.V. stations, they are chaep in fact compared to UK Bus services they are so cheap you might think they have got it wrong.

The Central Bus terminal in Manila is in Lawton, from there you can take buses to other areas of Manila, however my advice is this, dont try and catch a bus from around Manila, you stand out like a sore thumb, unless you are close to a security guard or other official with a gun, at least you have some measure of protection.

My favorite subject - Restrooms in City.

Forget it, there are none...and if there were, you should even comtemplate using them.

If you are caught with Gloria's revenge out in the open, my advice has always been simple, carry your own tissue around, if you dont have any, go to the 2nd floor in Glorietta 1 adjacent to the Travel bag shop, their is a good executive facility costing 10 pesos, pay it, it will be worth your while, the restrooms there have a personal toilet attendant who checks the loo out for you first, cleans it if necessary, and their is an abundant supply of itssue, also you are treated to body loition and nice smelly hand cleaner on your exit, also the hand dryers work, dont laugh, in many other places, there isnt any tissue and no hand dryers, the restrooms in other areas of Glorietta are not as nice, their is no toilet tissue and it costs 4 pesos to extract it from the vending machine, chances are you wont have 4 pesos, or 4p , something that small on you, use the one I have suggested, I have checked it out, recently and its ok.

[ginapeterb]

Areas to Go in Metro Manila


My advice is simple, don't travel to other areas of Metro Manila, such as Angeles City, Quezon City, Manila Bay, without I stress, a Filipina companion with you, for one thing, not even Filipina's feel safe in some areas, although they might be Filipino, it doesn't mean they are not going to be mugged or deluged by beggars.

Stay in the Business district of Makati City, its ok to wander away from the main 1st class hotels down Ayala Avenue, for a walk if you wish, these area's are safe, and their are tons of security guards around entrances, to hotels, car parks, shopping area's and public buildings etc, if you do need to go anywhere in the business district, take a flag down taxi - minimum fare is 25 pesos, these taxi's are the only way to get safely around, let your Filipina companion talk to the driver about safety etc, she will generally get out of him where it is safe and where it is not safe, remembering that most security guards in the Philippines have firearms, they don't have them for show, they are needed due to the high crime rates in the Philippines.

Foreign Currency Exchange and the Use of Traveller's Cheques in the Philippines - Metro Manila

This FAQ often comes up time and time again regarding the use of traveller's cheques.

In truth my advice is this, they are totally and utterly worthless in the Philippines, that is not to say that they don't have value, of course they do, but changing lots of them can be extremely problematic.

The amount of times I have met up with British Guys in Heathrow outbound for Manila with travellers cheques is gettng more and more frequent.

The problem in Metro Manila is that the only place where travellers cheques can be exchanged for Hard currency is at the American Express travellers office, this is about 15 minutes by taxi from Oakwood, again whilst writing I cant remember the address, but HSBC bank is close to Oakwood about 5 minutes walk, they normally have the address for you, having said that, exchanging travellers cheques for currency is limited to 50 US Dollars in most banks, this can be frustrating if you have say 1000 Dollars to exchange.

My advice regarding money exchange is simply this, take all your holiday spending money in UK Sterling, try and buy a modest amount, say £100.00 at the UK Airport of departure, and then keep the rest and exchange it at Shoemart near Glorietta, the reason for this is simpple, because of the lack of forgeries in UK Sterling currency, it is easily accepted and exchanged at Shoemart, also the rate is good, nearly 100 pesos to the pound, giving you a very good exchange rate, in the UK its worse at around 96 to 97, thos extra 3 or 4 pesos make a lot of difference if you are exchanging a large amount of sterling.

[ginapeterb]

Places to Visit in Metro Manila

If sightseeing is your pleasure, then Metro Manila, is not the place to be, Manila itself is really a rather huge collection of connurbations, or if you want to be localized to this, massess upon massess of Barangays, these connurbations or purpose built towns are the most basic unit of local government in the Philippines.

Every Philippine town and City is composed of multitudes of Barangays, these are small housing communities of residential area's, most of them now have running water and electricity, but still some do not, Manila is effectively, the same as any other Capital City in a Third World country, the majority of the Barangay's live in a form of Thid World Poverty, it is only in the Central Business District of Makati where you will find public buildings and instiitutions associated with the Philippine government Multi national companies, and Foreign Embassies, etc.

Metro Manila is not in my view the place to go sight seeing, unless of course you would like to go and see the Smokey Mountain project.

Manila has one of the lagrest Garbage dumps in the world, this was made because for want of little or no environmental waste policies held by successive governments during the Marcos era and other governments post marcos era, the largest Garbage dump in the world, the length of several football fields, actually smokes, and the methane available will probably run several city buses.

I think you have the picture, Apart from the few monuments to the struggle to gain Philippine indepenance their is little to see in the Metro Manila area, except street after street of small businesses, and convience stores, Dunking Donuts, Pizza Huts, shopping malls, etc.

If sightseeing is your pleasure, it is time to make a sharp exit from Metro Manila and take a trip down to the other Islands such as Mindanao, Cebu, Visayas, and other Islans, too numerous to mention here.

[ginapeterb]

Travel from Metro Manila to other Parts of the Philippines.


A Frequently asked question is: Where do I go to travel from Manila to other areas of the Philippines ??


Air Trransportation.


Ninoy Acquino International Airport is the Hub for all International Air Carriers flying to Manila, The Airport is located around 20-30 minutes by metered taxi from Oakwood Makati City.

The Airport services all international carriers, the main ones that will interest members are:

Singapore Airlines
Cathay Pacific Airways
British Airways
Quantas Airways
Emirates Airways
Gulf Airways
Quatar Airways
Kuwait Air
KLM
Air France
Thai Airways


All of these airlines fly scheduled services to NAIA.

Arrival procedure.

British Nationals who enter the Republic of the Philippines are granted a 21 day automatic entry visa, the immigration formality is via a landing card, which asks for passport information, tourist information and general details.

On arrival, there is generally a SARS Check, although of late it seems to have been discontinued.

Thre is also a footbath which you are expected to cross at the time of wirting concerned with the outbreak of Bird flu in other South East Asian countries.

Once having completed immigration formalities, and had your passport stamped with a 21 day visa, you can proceed through to the Baggage collection.

Baggage collection in the Philippines at NAIA is not too bad, although the baggage carousel is ageing and this shows, in the state of your beautiful new suitcase which you just bought at House of Frazer, it is generally banged about a little to say the least, however you will have to stand perhaps for around 30 minutes collecting your baggage unless of course you just happen to be one of the lucky ones and your bag is first up the chute.

Once having collected your baggage, you can proceed through customs, this is a formality and is most probably to hand in your customs form and have it ticked and you then pass through to the outer arrea of the arrivals concourse (if you could call it that !)

Your journey is not over yet, Philippine security is over zealous when it comes to baggage collection, you will not be allowed to walk out of the terminal without first having your bags checked by a guard, you will need your ticket ready as your bag is then checked against your bar code, on the peice of baggage, this is to prevent you from taking someone elses baggage out of the airport, a favourite passtime of filipinos in the past.

Once having got pass the baggage security check, you will be outside of the terminal building.

You will at this point be:

1) Nackered
2) Hot
3) Dis-orientated
4) Intimidated


Firstly, don't allow yourself to be overly intimidated by:

1) Shouting taxi touts !!
2) Package tour operators
3) Filipinos in general.

If you are meeting a Filipina, fine, you dont need to stop and wait, you must look across the road, about 15 yards in front of you, you will note a tunnel entrance, this is hard to spot at first when you come out, however it is located slightly to your right across the road, this tunnel entrance is your key to meeting up with your filipina lady freind.

If you cant make it to the tunnel, you will never see her again hahahahahahaha

She will be waiting down the tunnel across the road from the end of the tunnel, you will be somewhere in Makati heading for a hotel, minus your filipina lady in tow.

Once having located the tunnel entrance, walk down camly with your baggage in tow, when you get to the bottom, you will either go left or right, depending on the letter of your surnamhe, i.e. 1st letter, so if your name is Carstairs hehehe, you will go to the left, (sounds like secret agent Carstairs, you know "Our man in Manila" hehehe,) ok you go to the left and take a steady stroll down to the bottom, you can find the letter on the pavement that is close to your own and stand there and just simply wait, this waiting period is a little Intimidating at first, as you are not quite sure about the following : and certain thoughts go through your head, here are a few of them !!!


1) Is she here ??
2) What if she isnt ??
3) What the f...do I do now ??
4) What if she doenst like me ?
5) What if she doesnt look like she did in the Photos ??
6) Its so f... hot in this place.
7) I feel like my head is in an oven.
8) I am so tired
9) I need a shower or a nice bath.
10)I want to go home hahahaha


And of course numerous other things, like how much longer is it to be before she comes and gets me.

The 1st time one arrives in Manila it can be indimidating, for some more than for others, those of you who are used to travelling to far off places, may not be as intimidated as those of you who perhaps this is your first time long haul.

The one thing to remember here, is that foreigners, especially tall, big blonde ones, do stand out very easily to Filipinos, so whilst you may think you dont stand out that much, and are just another tourist arriving, you will be suprised to find how quickly you have been spotted.

Hopefully, and most surely, your Filipina companion will come across to meet you, once having identified you, trust me, she will have identified you pretty quickly, as she might have been wiating for over an hour for you to come through, and also their is a television screen in the relatives/freinds meeting place so, she will have been aware that your flight has landed and you are in the arrivals lounge.

My suggestion at this point is let her arrange a taxi for you, so that you can take the pressure off, well there you are, off you go, go and enuoy the fruits of love hahahahahahahaahah

[ginapeterb]

So you want to know how to get around to other areas of the Philippines, I suppose I had to cover the international arrival again for those of you, who are new to the Philippines, but at some stage you will want to make a trip to other islands, it is most likely that your companion is not from Manila, she might have had to travel from other islands, she may wish to take you there, so she will be proficient in getting home, thats for sure, but if you want to get around the Philippines, the only way to do it quickly is by air.

This leads you on to the Manila Domestic flight terminal which is close to NAIA about 5 minutes by taxi, you can actually walk it, but its not worth doing that, especially in the heat, much better to take a taxi.

Philippine Airlines the National Flag carrier hs its own updated and comfortable terminal, my suggestion is, that if you dont mind paying Philippine Airlines prices, use this oen, its much cleaner, and hey suprise suprise there is toilet tissue paper in the gents toilets.

The other Domestic terminal is for the other airlines, such as Asian Spirit, Cebu Pacific, Corporate Air, and Air Philippines.

The older Manila Domestic Terminal is mainly used by Cebu Pacific and to a lesser extent Asian Spirit.

Cebu Pacific is ok, and I have travelled with them on numerous flights, to be honest, their isnt much difference between Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific, in truth, you get on a bus, fly for 1 hour and then get off, the marked difference is the terminals and arrival terminal at each location, Philippine Airlines tends to have a better check in and arrival facility, there are one or two locations where you will stand in amazement when you arrive when you see your bags being thrown literally onto a bench and then you are expected to grab them in the rmad rush.

These things are common place in the Philippines, where their has been lack of investment in adequate terminal facilities, and to be honest is soon forgotten once you have collected your bags.

[ginapeterb]

The Red Light districts of Manila.

Just to make you aware of what is in Manila, you have seen some of the good, now for some of the bad,

A Poignant story.....


As in any South EastAsian country, the prospect of the old profession in the world always seems to crop up, but thanknfully those of us, who are members of this forum can detach ourselves from it, but Manila is no different from many other South East Asian cities, here is one story, once having read it, let us all be thankful, those of us, who are married or engaged to a Philippines lady, take comfort that we endeavour as always to look after our girls, and that they didnt have to go down Eva's route.

Here is the story...

Manila is a complex concrete jungle, a pulsating, stimulating, and intriguing beast of a city. Everywhere you go you're surrounded by masses of humanity, testimony to the reality that this is the great dumping ground of the hinterland, the Emerald City at the end of the yellow brick road, the be-all and end-all for the thousands of poor country folk who arrive here each and every day in search of a better life.

Most of them don't find it.

The faces on the city streets tell many tales -- tales of abject poverty and desperate hunger, tales of loneliness and loss, tales of bitter disappointment and lost hope. But they also tell tales of grit and determination and faith in God. The well-known Filipino cultural value of bahala na (basically "the will of God," in practical terms "what will be will be") has often been blamed for complacency, lack of discipline, and escapism. However, it can also help people persevere in the face of the most horrendous hardships and life ordeals.

Consider, for example, a young lady who introduces herself to her customers as "Eva -- Eva, from Cebu," always in a seductive, suggestive voice. Eva, age 22 years, is one of the thousands of mostly uneducated girls from the provinces who ply the world's oldest profession in end-of-the-millennium Manila. She works as a GRO (the euphemistic "Guest Relations Officer") in a karaoke joint in Makati.

Like most bar girls, Eva will welcome you with a warm smile and lascivious hug. For an absurdly small bar fine, she'll go back to your room with you and provide sexual services more or less to your specifications, at least if you rinse off in the shower first. She carries a package of rubbers in her purse and may ask you to use one, but if you balk at the idea she'll quickly shrug her shoulders and get down to business. She tries to act enthusiastic and smile at her customers no matter what, but always hops out of bed immediately after the act to wash up in the comfort room. After hygiene is attended to, she closes her eyes for a moment, prays her rosary, and cries for a few minutes before steeling herself to return to your presence.

What Eva doesn't tell you -- and can't tell you unless you speak Tagalog or Cebuano -- is that she is lonely, alienated, miserable, tired, and sometimes near-suicidal. It's not easy for a shy peasant girl, deeply religious in her Catholic faith, to work as a prostitute in the big city. Like most working girls in Manila, she is from the bundoks; although she bills herself as "Eva from Cebu," she never even visited Cebu City before coming to Manila. She's from Tabogon, a small town about 60 kilometers north of the provincial capital.

Eva has a 4-year old daughter back home, living with her parents, a tremendous source of pain for her. Her husband abandoned her when the child was six months old, and shortly thereafter Eva took the Negros Navigation ferry from Cebu to Manila. Other girls from her home town had already paved the way, and it was easy enough to get a job. Early on, each and every trick was an excruciating and terrifying experience; after a few months, however, she became totally numb emotionally and learned to daydream about a better life while her johns pounded away at her.

Like many, if not most girls in the sex industry in the Philippines, Eva is the sole source of economic support for her family. As a hard working GRO, she can earn up to 15,000 pesos a month (about US $400), twice what Manila office girls make, and a small fortune for someone from her poverty-stricken rural origins. She goes home only twice a year, and faithfully remits 80% of her earnings to her parents. She has to live as a "bedspacer" in a dangerous slum to send that much, but she knows that her family eats much better than they used to and that they're almost finished building a new nipa hut. They were so poor before she left home that their hut didn't even have walls to protect them from the elements during the rainy season. When Eva prays each night, she thanks God for her many blessings.

Eva lives with a great deal of fear and anxiety. She dreads being arrested and knows girls who have been entrapped by undercover policemen who have sex with them in the back room. The arresting officers always time the bust so that the undercover cop achieves his release just before they do their gangbusters routine. She's scared to death that she'll get herpes or AIDS, and knows that her unsafe sex practices entail a certain risk of the ultimate penalty. She also knows that some of the girls she works with are as young as 14 years old and has a nagging fear that her own daughter will end up the same way. She is absolutely determined to somehow give her child a better life, no matter what it takes. Eva's younger sister, now 17, has repeatedly offered to come to Manila to take her place, but Eva insists on sticking it out and paying tuition for her three younger siblings, all of whom are in boarding school.

Eva is now in a self-perpetuating loop, a trap from which there is no easy escape. After almost four years in the sex business, she sees no way out. She is pretty sure that her family will slide back into the direst poverty as soon as she quits selling her body. Her fondest dream is to find an American husband who will sweep her out of her dreary world and take her to the promised land on a big, shiny Freedom Bird, but she knows that the odds are hugely against that ever happening. She just prays that she can eventually save enough money to go back to school and return to the province and her family.

Like hookers around the world, Eva detests most of her clients, although she appreciates the occasional polite or thoughtful fellow. She understands at a subliminal level that she is making her living in a meat market, and that her body is the commodity for sale. The existential reality is that tawdry glitter, cheap perfume, and heavy make-up do nothing to alleviate her intense human pain, feelings of degradation, and alienation from her own soul. Nevertheless, in the best Philippine tradition, she soldiers on and does her best to be positive in the face of a most horrible reality.

The story I have just shown you is typical of the reality of Metro Manila, the reason I posted this story is to show you, what lurks around every corner, for those of you who makethat all important trip to the Philippines, you are going to see the most unbelievable poverty, and at the same time, you with your western wallet can in fact detach yourself quite easily, whilst relaxing in one of the many lavish 1st class hotels in the Makati business district, no realizing of course that only a couple of miles away, people like Eva (probably a false name) strive to make something out of this life.

The Philippines mecca of Manila is truly right in the middle of the third world, a country steeped in economic collapse, a country with a mounting budget defificit, in reality a bankrupt country which continues to write a blank cheque, a country where 10 per cent of its national population work overseas and spend long periods of separation away from relatives, a country which lives off foreign exchange receipts from its overseas contract workers.

This is the reality of this country you will visit, just be aware of this and you will do fine in Manila, the emerald city at the end of the Rainbow.


I hope you enjoyed this story.

[gm47]

Hi Pete, hope you enjoyed your trip. Â*After reading about security guards, muggers, Â*being searched just entering a store etc etc. Â*Is it really worth the visit, whenever I manage to visit the Philippines it will be on my own as I have always been an independent traveler, I won't have a lady waiting for me or to show me around so would you advise me not to bother as there seems a lot of pitfalls. Â*I just want to be a safe tourist, I've traveled a lot and am pretty streetwise ( I grew up in Glasgow's northside ) but after reading these posts I'm not so sure now about visiting the Philippines, do you think it's a bad idea for a single male traveler to go there.

Regarding the story about Eva, I've saw that too in Thailand and elsewhere, it's very sad but individually there's not too much help that we can give other than not to be one of the exploiters.

I think I read in another post that you can hire locals to be your guide.

What advise could you give me ?

By the way I live in London now so am used to being careful in certain situations.

[ginapeterb]

ok freind, you dont give your name, so hope this form of answering your query helps,

you said

" Do you think its bad for a single male traveller to go to Metro Manila"

The answer to that is no I dont, certainly if you want to visit the Philippines for tourism, you need to enter via one of two ports, that is Manila, or Cebu, if you are going to the other Islands,then Cebu might be the easier port of entry.

You can take a Cathay Pacific flight from London Heathrow Terminal 3 via Hong Kong and then take a connecting flight to Cebu.

from Cebu, you can take an Asian Spirit, small Dash 7 50 seater to Caticlan, and this leads you to Boracay, one of the better tourist destinations geared up for Western Travellers.

Having said that, if you are wanting to tour the Philippines as a single male traveller, I would suggest it is not much fun, for one thing, ok, most people speak English, but as far as Manila is concerned, it is safe in the central business district areas, even if you tried not to be a tourist, you still stick out like a sore thumb.

Thats unavoidable, Oakwood is safe, but you are not going to have much fun, stuck in Oakwood for the whole time in the Philippines, as it is shopping malls, and restaraunts.

Security guards are there really for your protection, sadly, I would not recommend you travel to Manila and go to the outlying districts, unless you are looking to visit the millions of go go bars, or you want to spend some time with a GRO (Guest relations officer), a convenient name for a Prosti, filipino for prostitute.

Manila is like any other capital city in a third world country, you have to take precautions, and understand, that you cannot go around swinging your digital camera, and showing off your wallet, if you do that, and just be street aware, you will be fine, although if its tourism you want, dont bother going to Manila.

Much better to go south via Cebu, and go to Boracay, you can read my reports on this resort.

Best of luck

[gm47]

pete,Thanks for your reply.

Having said that, if you are wanting to tour the Philippines as a single male traveler, I would suggest it is not much fun, for one thing, OK, most people speak English, but as far as Manila is concerned, it is safe in the central business district areas, even if you tried not to be a tourist, you still stick out like a sore thumb.
Security guards are there really for your protection, sadly, I would not recommend you travel to Manila and go to the outlying districts, unless you are looking to visit the millions of go go bars, or you want to spend some time with a GRO (Guest relations officer), a convenient name for a Prosti, filipino for prostitute.


That's a shame because I do like to tour around countries on my own, I don't really want to go to a luxury resort, I like to get around and meet people in all sort of places and I'm not looking for go go bars or prostis.

Are you saying that it's better to tour the Philippines with a Filipina rather than alone ? If so I'm not really sure how that would help. How have you managed on your travels there ?

BTW I've been emailing 2 filipinas for a couple of months now unfortunetly on the 3rd email one of them has asked me for money so now I write to only one.

Anyway thanks for your reply and I still enjoy your reports.

Cheers
Gerry

[ginapeterb]

Hello Gerry,

Thanks for putting a name in the forum, its much eeasier to help you.

I can see you are concerned about this, you don't neccessarily have to be with a female companion in the Philippines of course you do not.

Its just that most of us who go are romantically involved with a local indegenous female, that is fact of life.

But many Westerners go to the Philippines, alot travel to Manila on business, some do travel alone, but even the contacts I have in the Philippines will tell you, even they are the subject of crime, unscrupulous taxi drivers, its just being strong enough in mind to deal with them.

I am not trying to put you off going, please make the trip if you feel you would like to go, you may not see any of the things I have raised, but to be honest, many filipiinos (Nationality) will tell you , that when you are spotted at NAIA you are looked at as a money bags Joe !, just be aware of this, and follow my advices on the forum about taxi's and other things.

Im sure you will have a great time, the Philippines in truth, is the most hospitable country I have ever been to, and the Philippine people are so nice, and of course, its true to say, the ladies are absolutely the best women in the world, but then i would say that wouldnt I ?

As far as your correspondences with Filipina's is concerned, you have already have experienced one of the things I talk about, so its good that you took the action you did, well done Gerry.

In truth there are millions of Philippine ladies who are seeking to enter into a relationship with the "Right man" for them, they are just as intereested in meeting Mr Right, as you are in meeting Mrs Right, A Philippines lady is not going to enter into relationships as easy as women do here, although I would go so far as to say,there criteria for happiness is totally different, and I have put advices on the Forum about their general requirements.

The three ladies you are talking to, one of them asked for money, decent Philippine ladies will not do this, apart from the fact, that this would be a "Shame" for them, a decent lady will not be so forward as to do this,you will be suprised how proud filipinos are in general.

Those that do, really just dont care about appearances, if they ask for money, or they say "I hope you understand my position" or "The roof has fell off the house" or a similar request for financial help, there motives should be questioned, but if you do drop the contact straight away, this will probaly send them a message that its not appropriate to do that, and they might not do that again to someone else they are talking to.

Decent Philippine women, and by the way there are lots of them out there, understand that money does not grow on trees, trust me, they understand that better than we do !, and will not enter into a freindship, on the basis of taking you for money, when you meet a really nice one, and you decide you would like to help her with some money,thats fine, she will most apprericate that, its no different to if you met a local woman and helped her in the same way.

Best of luck Gerry hope you find someone nice, alot of us have, and we never regretted it, in truth, you might even find one that stops you from spending money...!!! they care about you so much and how hard you have to work, that they will be so protective of you, you wont beleive it...

Good luck in Manila....

[ginapeterb]

Some helpful travel advice just in from one of our Filipino readers regarding taxi drivers may prove useful to know.

The custom of "Batingting"

What is this ??

Our reader tells me, that some taxi drivers in Manila, have a special device fitted to the meter, that they can activate when you are not looking, this device causes the meter to flick around quicker, notching up the 2.5 pesos stages,quicker, than it would normally do so, if you are unlucky enough to have this happen, it maybe better to ask to go straight back to your destination, if it is the airport, and you are suspicious, our advice is go back to the airport and report it to the guard who gave you the slip of paper, this you should have got when you got in the taxi.

If its some where else, then go back to your destination and get another taxi, however in my experience, you are better off doing what I have said previously.

Go to your hotel in all circumstances, where you are staying, chat to the guard outside, here is a good little tip, slip him a few pesos, and get a rapport going with him, ask him when he is on duty,if he is there most days, ask him politely "Would he get taxis for you when you come out, tell him your concerns, about being ripped off"

Then slip him a little tip,and ask him to call all your taxi's, ask him to tell the driver to put on the meter, in my experience they will be unlikely to cheat you if the guard has anything to do with it, if you are in most hotels, and that is anywhere in the Philippines, and the hotel is on a major road, let the guards outside the hotel flag down your taxis, even after going to the Philiippines for most of this year, I am only just getting into the habit of flagging down myself, its much easier to get the guards to do it,then you can stay in the confines of the hotel area, until the taxi pulls up.

Then you can get in while the guard is there, and hopefully you wont have trouble.

Its not so much the danger, its the heat, I am talking about, so if you wait inside the hotel, its air conditioned, then when the taxi pulls up, you can jump straight in, if its too hot in the taxi, ask Manong to put on the air con for you, also, if the passenger front seat is too far back and makes you uncomfortable, ask Manong to move it forward, unfortunately, filipino taxis can be quite small compared to our taxi's in UK,they tend to be Toyota Carina's and are fairly small inside.


Useful I think !

Ok "Manong" you will hear used alot in Philippines as also you will hear "Manang" Manong is like a nice way to speak to a stranger who is male,but tends to be a respetful term, for an older man, as is Manang, but that is more, like a respectful term for a slightly older woman, than you are yourself, so if you hear about Manang Joy or Manang Clara, its actually someone they know, but its not a relative, if its just simply Manong or Manang, its like they are an everyday stranger, but its considered a respetful term,when you dont know that persons name.

Its the same as what we do over here in Uk, if we are in a gas station and we say, oh cheers love, to an older woman its more like that, although filipinos, wouldnt say, oh Maraming Salamat po mahal, hahaha I think they would get a funny stare, hahah got the picture.