General Info

[RacShack]

This guy's videos of dancing are in BGC with upscale Filipina career girls. A far cry from the what the guys here are looking for.

As to seeing lots of foreigners walking around maskless in Makati, can you point us to those videos? I didn't see hardly any foreigners when I was there a few weeks ago, and if there are more now, they certainly aren't walking around Makati without masks. Compliance among Filipinos is practically 100% and you'll stick out like a sore thumb. Just asking for trouble.

While I wish you a merry vacation, with Burgos empty and EDSA closed, my guess is you'll decamp up to AC when reality sets in.

What's BGC? And are these upscale Filipina career girls for hire? Thanks any information on this subject will be great! The ones in video look really friendly!

[Dashing Don]

Have you watched this guys stuff? Makati looks pretty fun in the right places. I'll only be there 2 days before heading to AC but I'm sure I'll find some trouble.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc7RgBfcCuk

I've seen plenty of walk around videos and many many foreigners walk around maskless outdoors. I will be one of them. I'm guessing nobody will bother me but if they do I'll let you know.

This guy's videos of dancing are in BGC with upscale Filipina career girls. A far cry from the what the guys here are looking for.

As to seeing lots of foreigners walking around maskless in Makati, can you point us to those videos? I didn't see hardly any foreigners when I was there a few weeks ago, and if there are more now, they certainly aren't walking around Makati without masks. Compliance among Filipinos is practically 100% and you'll stick out like a sore thumb. Just asking for trouble.

While I wish you a merry vacation, with Burgos empty and EDSA closed, my guess is you'll decamp up to AC when reality sets in.

[Drbombay]

Well, I'm going to test the waters this week by heading to Manila for work and for fun! I've made some inroads from site called Alua. It's expensive on the Lurker side, but I've so far set up meetings with working ones that will come to terms and once we meet get their other contact info and I'm going to be done with the app (Alua) (at least I will be anyway).

Look for reports coming soon!

[FuriousGeorge]

Have you watched this guys stuff? Makati looks pretty fun in the right places. I'll only be there 2 days before heading to AC but I'm sure I'll find some trouble.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc7RgBfcCuk

I've seen plenty of walk around videos and many many foreigners walk around maskless outdoors. I will be one of them. I'm guessing nobody will bother me but if they do I'll let you know.

I've watched the walk around' videos of Makati on Youtube. Empty streets! Just like when I was there a few weeks ago. The towers on Ayala Ave are still empty.


This 'opening up' appears to be an illusion.

[Dg8787]

What exactly is "pinoy leadership"?

It is the best money can buy sir!

[Dashing Don]

I've read recently on Philippine Lifestyle News about airport authorities in Manila congratulating themselves about the uptick in arrivals: 96000 arrivals in a recent period but I believe this is misplaced. Most of the 96000 are probably returning Filipinos. A better indicator is Philippine Airlines schedule from JFK direct to Manila for the next month which I monitor. The schedule is a shadow of before with one or two flights weekly and some flights are not direct to Manila but actually go through Vancouver! First time I have ever seen that. The fares are sky high. Obviously the demand for daily flights is not there.

I've watched the walk around' videos of Makati on Youtube. Empty streets! Just like when I was there a few weeks ago. The towers on Ayala Ave are still empty.

IATF boss Jaime Morente says that even if the current Alert Level 1 is reduced to Alert Level 0, masks will be required while walking around outside. I for one am not spending thousands of dollars to fly to the Phils and have to mask up in 90 degree weather. Its completely dumb. I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels this way.

The Phils will never make the first move on covid. They'll wait until other countries relax guidelines and then the Phils will follow.

I've never been a fan of Angeles but its the only option right now. At least the bars are open. Normally my mo is to book into a nice hotel in Makati and work the sites. Its been great for a long time. Now however, without even leaving home, I can tell by the traffic on my profile that its way down from pre covid. The girls I do talk to are tapped out. Don't even have phones.

This 'opening up' appears to be an illusion.

[WestCoast1]

What exactly is "pinoy leadership"?

You have asked the $64,000 question.

[Mahaba]

What exactly is "pinoy leadership"?

For myself I don't care if they pay or don't. My US health insurance would pay later. I only need the document to enter the country. I really DO find it interesting that some insurance companies want to charge considerably extra to provide a printed Visa letter attesting to their policy. They aren't even printing the paper, they email it to you, so it costs them nothing. It suggests that the higher price they are charging for the Visa letter is the true policy; while charging much less for no Visa letter (actual proof) suggests that the lower priced policy is just a scam, as S says.

That's an opinion (and I don't disagree). However living there for several years (and during most all the current pandemic), I don't see pinoy leadership thinking that way. They give little thought about foreigners. And they are fairly superstitious, meaning logic flies out the window.

Exactly! Try to think like my menstruating ex-wife. Or from one of my fav movie lines:

"I think of a man and I take away reason and accountability". -- Jack Nicholson; As Good as It Gets.

[WestCoast1]

This is the exact reason I cancelled my reservation and all bookings. I contacted many insurance companies like you. Some maybe hole in the wall company but they all want money.

For myself I don't care if they pay or don't. My US health insurance would pay later. I only need the document to enter the country. I really DO find it interesting that some insurance companies want to charge considerably extra to provide a printed Visa letter attesting to their policy. They aren't even printing the paper, they email it to you, so it costs them nothing. It suggests that the higher price they are charging for the Visa letter is the true policy; while charging much less for no Visa letter (actual proof) suggests that the lower priced policy is just a scam, as S says.

All the rest of the restrictions should go away so that we can learn to live with covid.

That's an opinion (and I don't disagree). However living there for several years (and during most all the current pandemic), I don't see pinoy leadership thinking that way. They give little thought about foreigners. And they are fairly superstitious, meaning logic flies out the window.

they are not thinking right.

Exactly! Try to think like my menstruating ex-wife. Or from one of my fav movie lines:

"I think of a man and I take away reason and accountability". -- Jack Nicholson; As Good as It Gets.

[Axel Heyst]

This is the exact reason I cancelled my reservation and all bookings. I contacted many insurance companies like you. Some maybe hole in the wall company but they all want money. As for claims I doubt they will pay. For the purpose of visiting they maybe okay. I doubt very much Philippine government is on the hook foe hospital bills. Maybe just for Philippine citizens but for foreigners the hospital will certainly not release you till they get paid whether you are alive or not. I believe it has happened. Even for Philippine locals it has happened if I can believe them.

Fortunately now many of the countries have started lifting restrictions and hopefully Philippines and Thailand will start soon. If they think opening partially for tourism will succeed they are not thinking right. Only desperate ones come but to get back to the time before all tourists are looking for complete freedom for entering and to travel to any places in the country. Vaccine certification maybe the norm for foreseeable future and also app to be filled to enter. All the rest of the restrictions should go away so that we can learn to live with covid.

I agree with you totally. The quarantines and tests upon arrival have kept me away since this pandemic broke. Luckily I am only 8.5 hours by air from Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. I travelled there 2 x in 2021 and going on my 3rd trip in 4 weeks. No quarantine, no in country testing, plenty of super friendly girls.

The only fly in the ointment as far as the PI and Thailand lifting their entry restrictions forthwith is the current Omicron outbreak in China and Hong Kong. It is very serious. The question is will the PI and LOS lift their entry restrictions on vaxed farangs and other foreigners from low Covid countries while they keep tight entry restrictions on Chinese citizens or will they keep all the current restrictions in place until Omicron in China dissipates whenever that is.

Covid: the gift that keeps on giving.

[Sammon]

This is the exact reason I cancelled my reservation and all bookings. I contacted many insurance companies like you. Some maybe hole in the wall company but they all want money. As for claims I doubt they will pay. For the purpose of visiting they maybe okay. I doubt very much Philippine government is on the hook foe hospital bills. Maybe just for Philippine citizens but for foreigners the hospital will certainly not release you till they get paid whether you are alive or not. I believe it has happened. Even for Philippine locals it has happened if I can believe them.

Fortunately now many of the countries have started lifting restrictions and hopefully Philippines and Thailand will start soon. If they think opening partially for tourism will succeed they are not thinking right. Only desperate ones come but to get back to the time before all tourists are looking for complete freedom for entering and to travel to any places in the country. Vaccine certification maybe the norm for foreseeable future and also app to be filled to enter. All the rest of the restrictions should go away so that we can learn to live with covid.

[WestCoast1]

Ahh, I agree that reading and understanding the real coverage is always painful!

But the general principle is that, these insurances for overseas travels, they pay for medicals treatments and hospitalization expense in advance, but you accept to refund them for the part which will be taken in charge by your national medical policy, and they will cover the expenses not covered by your local policy.

Anyway, if the goal was to get a paper as a proof of coverage to pass the controls at the border, as said by Pute Nut, these insurances linked to your credit card are enough if they can print a paper confirming their coverage including also Covid.

I read the benefits and the disclaimer, and I contacted my CC bank. While overseas, they do not provide medical coverage in regards to hospitals (inpatient or out), doctors, providers, Rx, etc. However they DO provide for medical transportation (I find that odd). They will not provide documentation for visa purposes that says that they do provide medical coverage while overseas (as they don't provide those coverages, spelled out clearly in their disclaimer). You pay medical expenses yourself, get receipts, and get reimbursed later for part of our medical expenses (at the 'out-of-network' rate). That is not going to be good enough for any government (Phils is not the only government requiring it). Inbound governments such as Phils will want to see a policy that covers expenses paid directly to the provider (which, in effect for Covid, might be the Philippine government as they pay for a lot of the Covid care). They will be uninterested in my telling them that I can afford to pay for those expenses myself (in my case true) and get reimbursed later, as there is no way for them to confirm that upon my arrival. Imagine if I showed this info to Phils inbound Immigration, entered the country, got sick, and then could not afford to pay the hospital bill myself. My US health insurance policy would be no good to anyone at that point. The Phils government or hospital would be on the hook for the expense.

As my CC will not provide proof of medical coverage, I will have to purchase a separate policy. In researching, I find many policies available. But odd things happen. I contacted one of the companies and asked them to provide policy details and cost for medical coverage only. I gave them the particulars they asked for: My current location, my age, country I was visiting (Phils), dates I was visiting Phils (3 weeks), and so on. They sent back a policy for $50,000 USD medical coverage, costing $19, no deductible, good for 2 weeks. They directed me to their website to enter specifics and buy a policy. Once on their site and entered the same details, the policy ballooned to $258, no deductible, good for 1 month. The site has some check-boxes you can tick on / off. I noticed when I tick 'on' the box that says I NEED A VISA COVER LETTER WITH PLAN DETAILS, the price JUMPS.

Another website returned my email after I sent them the same particulars as they requested, with several policies that had annual-only premiums ($3500 is not unusual). I replied, reminding them that I needed 3 weeks of policy. "We stopped doing that sir". Insurance companies must be making out like bandits as international leisure travel is exploding and everyone traveling *must* have a policy.

[Pute Nut]

If that is the case, why don't you just fabricate one!

Nah, I wouldn't risk my disreputation for that.

[Albert9989]

Just checked mine. While it does offer a number of benefits, including travel benefits, it appears to cover many things except for direct medical expenses. It covers trip cancellation insurance, death benefit, lost luggage, referrals to hospitals and doctors (including finding a doctor willing to travel to your place), and emergency medical transportation (to $100,000). However in the disclaimer it clearly does not cover hospital or physician fees, Rx, dental, and so on. For fun I checked several other US bank's cards and they appear similar, no medical coverage.

My decent private health insurance is only valid inside my own country. They are willing to reimburse me after I pay for services overseas, at their out-of-network rate, when I turn in receipts (they are not willing to deal with foreign medical providers). Hence, while I have more than 20 x the $35 k USD in medical insurance protection, I can not show that outside the country. Great!

Ahh, I agree that reading and understanding the real coverage is always painful!

But the general principle is that, these insurances for overseas travels, they pay for medicals treatments and hospitalization expense in advance, but you accept to refund them for the part which will be taken in charge by your national medical policy, and they will cover the expenses not covered by your local policy.

Anyway, if the goal was to get a paper as a proof of coverage to pass the controls at the border, as said by Pute Nut, these insurances linked to your credit card are enough if they can print a paper confirming their coverage including also Covid.

[WestCoast1]

But is it only in Europe where we have travel insurance attached to our credit card?

I have checked mine (Mastercard, but Visa has the same) and it covers all medical expenses including covid during travels for 1 Million Euros and we can get a written confirmation before departure. And there are also other risks covered, lost luggage, travel delays, etc etc.

Just checked mine. While it does offer a number of benefits, including travel benefits, it appears to cover many things except for direct medical expenses. It covers trip cancellation insurance, death benefit, lost luggage, referrals to hospitals and doctors (including finding a doctor willing to travel to your place), and emergency medical transportation (to $100,000). However in the disclaimer it clearly does not cover hospital or physician fees, Rx, dental, and so on. For fun I checked several other US bank's cards and they appear similar, no medical coverage.

My decent private health insurance is only valid inside my own country. They are willing to reimburse me after I pay for services overseas, at their out-of-network rate, when I turn in receipts (they are not willing to deal with foreign medical providers). Hence, while I have more than 20 x the $35 k USD in medical insurance protection, I can not show that outside the country. Great!