General Info

[MrHappyKat]

You may find it better to only book a few nights on arrival. Then you can extend or move depending on how you find it. Its very easy to over plan a PI holiday and then find yourself locked into places or times that you may wish to change should you (dis) like a place. Enjoy. G.

Soapy, sorry about the quote spam. Thanks for the tip.

Gofer. Thanks for the hotel advice as well. After decades of business travel, I've learned to try to NEVER go on the road without a confirmed hotel for every travel day. So booking a few days then extending or moving is against my nature. I'll have to push back my habits for this and to take your advice.

New question, please: I was reading a long string about money exchange on the AC board and it got me wondering when I should pay by card vs cash. Paying by card reduces the need to bring and exchange cash, and with a Travel Visa card from my primary bank I can avoid or reduce FX fees for most card transactions. I have enough cash to pay off the card bills the next month, so not worried about loading up interest charges. So here's what I'm thinking:

1. Cash for all mongering activities. Barfines, bar bills, ST / LT fees and tips, etc.

2. Cards for all non-mongering activities at "legit" merchants like hotel, restaurants, retail stores, etc. IF they accept cards and IF they have a legit credit card terminal (I used to be in that business so I can spot card scammers. Mostly).

3. Cash for street vendors, 7-11-ish stores, taxis / Grab.

Does this make sense, or should I just go with cash for all except perhaps hotels? By the way, I'm single, retired and no kids, so I'm not worried about PI transactions on my statements.

Thanks again.

[Soapy Smith]

I'll probably post an update as I get closer to my dates. And I'll post in the Travel Announcements Board in case anyone here wants to join me for suitable adult beverage.

HK, here's a tip for using the reply with quote function. Usually, you don't need to leave all of the previous post intact. You can easily delete part of an earlier post. When you click on reply with quote you will see brackets at the beginning and end of the post. The first set of brackets usually says "Quote," then the poster's name, and a post number. Make sure you leave the brackets and all their contents. At the end of the copied post is another set of brackets and the word "Quote. " Make sure you leave these brackets and contents as well. Aside from retaining the brackets, you can delete as much or as little of the wording in the post as you want. Notice that in this reply I retained only your last line. Others will appreciate having you shorten your replies by deleting unneeded words.

[Goferring]

Looks like I will need to do more scutt work to research hotels in each city for price / guest policy / location / and quality before I drop any reservations. And I'll have at least one back up hotel in each area just in case.

If your health issues are limiting your mobility, remember that there are hotels literally on Walking Street, P Burgos etc.

Reviews are great but remember that the whole Covid situation has changed everything. Being closed for several years has forced many previously good hotels to close completely, drastically reduce maintenance spend, or send qualified staff home.

You may find it better to only book a few nights on arrival. Then you can extend or move depending on how you find it. Its very easy to over plan a PI holiday and then find yourself locked into places or times that you may wish to change should you (dis) like a place. Enjoy. G.

[MrHappyKat]

Planning my 1st trip:

First, huge thanks to all who post here. I've been lurking for some time as I contemplate my next extended trip (past trips to Argentina, Chile, and Dominican Republic) and wait out the worst of the pandemic headwinds. The collective wisdom and occasional humor have been amazing. I think I am about as prepared as I can be, until I get boots on the ground, of course, for an excellent time.

I'd appreciate some feedback on my preliminary plans. I'm looking to optimize for ST barfine sessions, then perhaps FL sessions, and since I have bad knees, minimal walking time to / from bars. I have decent budget available and I want to limit my 1st trip to the Manila and AC areas. Here's my current plan:

Flights: I will be flying business class because I can afford it. Non-stop from LAX to MNL. Prefer to arrive late afternoon to early evening.

COVID Stuff: Fully vaccinated and double boosted. It looks like I'll need the following to fly: One health card, recent PRC (or antigen?) test results, global entry card (already have TSA-Pre), travel medical insurance ($35 K or higher), and identify where I can get new tests in MNL before I fly home. Not sure if I also need "E-health Declaration" and "Case Investigation" - can anyone confirm?

Lodging: I'm thinking of staying 7-ish days in Makati, then 7-8 days in AC, then coming back to the Manila area for the rest of my stay. I'm budgeting about $50-$80 per night for hotel, and looking for girl-friendly and generally more upscale (or at least not shit-hole) locations near the local bars to minimize walking distances as much as practical.

Transport between cities: I'm looking at taking a bus for $5-$10 between Manila and AC. But I can pay more for a taxi if it's a more direct / safer / shorter trip.

Transportation in-city. As mentioned, I have bad knees and as a bigger guy, I'm not sure I'll fit in the trikes. So Grab seems like the way to go for short trips, maybe 4-8 per day depending on daily activities.

Daily routine: I'm getting older, so I'll probably only do a barfine or FL every other day, then recovering and maybe doing touristy crap (cover story) on the off days. Or if I meet a girl I really like, I can extend our session to the next day for additional funds.

Question on barfines in Manila vs AC: From what I have seen in past posts, a barfine in Manila or Makati gets the girl out of the bar, and then she expects an additional amount generally equal to the barfine for a complete experience. While a barfine in AC is "all-inclusive" with the expectation of a small tip (php 250-500) before she leaves. Is this correct? I've seen references to barfines in both areas between php 3 k and 4 k, with FL rates between php 2 K and 4 K. Should I plan on / budget for these rates by time I get there in July?

Packing: I'm an experienced traveler including travel in "poor" countries. But the tip about buying a pacsafe bag is a great idea. Thank you! I want to pack a 6-8 day supply of clothes, and use the hotel or local laundry service as needed. Shorts, light jeans, t-shits and polos, and a swim suit seems appropriate. Plus a baseball hat and sunscreen if I'll be outdoors for a while. Wil I need to bring my Verizon hotspot? Or is that just a waste of space / weight in my luggage?

Medical: I take daily meds, and will bring an ample supply, of course. If I lose my meds, do I need a prescription to refill them at a local pharmacy? And will a US-based prescription be accepted? Next, I am considering starting a PrEP regimen and will be asking my doctor about it. Should I be insisting on only drinking bottled water?

Sorry for the word-wall. I tend to over plan so I avoid surprises.

Anyone see any red flags or landmines in my plan?

Thanks for any and all feedback.

Thanks to AsianPursuits, Soapy Smith, and MontanaMonger for your replies! Great feedback.

I will get a GSM phone and pacsafe this week. Looks like I will need to do more scutt work to research hotels in each city for price / guest policy / location / and quality before I drop any reservations. And I'll have at least one back up hotel in each area just in case. I have also been reviewing several YouTube vlogs about the scene. I agree with some of the feedback here that some of the vloggers are creepy, and that's saying something within a monger blog! But they do give me a decent idea of look and feel of the streets and street traffic. The PAL flight I'm looking at leaves LAX at 11 pm and lands in MNL around 9 pm. So I don't think I'll need to wait in the lobby for hours to check-in. When I flew to Buenos Aires a few years ago, landing at 7:00 am, I solved this by buying a extra day at the hotel for the day before I landed and telling the front desk I was going to do REALLY late check in. It was worth the extra spend.

I'll probably post an update as I get closer to my dates. And I'll post in the Travel Announcements Board in case anyone here wants to join me for suitable adult beverage.

[Goferring]

Any ideas on getting from Manila to Subic, prefer car. I'm sure travel postings on Angeles but haven't seen anything since travel has resumed. One gentlemen awhile back said moving around required some problems, checkpoints etc, hope this is now not the case. Price range if anyone knows.

Thanks.

Not sure if you are aware but you drive straight past AC to get to Subic so the car options are exactly the same. From simplest / most expensive:

Hotel pick up - 5 k.

Airport taxi. Varies.

Private hire - 3 k.

If you really must, there were also a couple of seaplane and helicopter options. Not sure if they are still running though.

[Mr Enternational]

Only fools hide their money and valuables in the room safe, as we don't know how else has the master key.

You do not need a master key for a hotel safe. A fist or a magnet will do in most cases. I bought a Pac Safe years ago and have probably used it 2 or 3 times. I am not as paranoid as most people. Hotel safe is fine for my extra credit cards and passport. It seems that I do not carry as much cash as most when I travel. Instead I prefer to use my credit card and only pay cash by way of an ATM when I am paying a chick or buying something off the street.

[Member #4794]

Lodging: I'm thinking of staying 7-ish days in Makati, then 7-8 days in AC, then coming back to the Manila area for the rest of my stay. I'm budgeting about $50-$80 per night for hotel, and looking for girl-friendly and generally more upscale (or at least not shit-hole) locations near the local bars to minimize walking distances as much as practical.

If this is your first trip and during covid I would not goto makati first, hop into a taxi and head for AC first and make your way to manila later on AC is like training wheels for all of the Philippines. Food, women and everything else a monger needs is in AC.

Once you get your bearings you may consider a move to makati. But given that manila traffic is back and it is not nearly as fun as it was pre pandemic. AC is a better location to start with imo for the uninitiated.

[Member #4794]

Only fools hide their money and valuables in the room safe, as we don't know how else has the master key.

A pac safe is also not needed. I pack everything into refrigerator zip bags and hide it in the room, every room has some good places for hiding. Nobody will find it (unlike the pac safe, who will be found immediately).

I also hided things like that during Africa Trips and never had any problems.

Pac safe is needed and the type of crime that is stoped by the in room safe and the pac safe is not a robbery. Its not a fools errand to hide things in the room safe yes the hotel has a key and you could conceivably have a master key for the safe. The in the Philippine and else where youll run into rooms without safes especially in the province. If you can find a metal pole to attach the pac safe to stop what you would call "crimes of opportunity". People who wouldn't ordinarily steal when presented with a moral dilemma often times give into to temptation so offering yourself a measure of security does not protect against a robbery. Hidding your crap in ziplock bags will also not protect you from a robbery. If for whatever reason a philipina happenstances on a ziplock bag full of money you can be sure that is gone where as if she sees a locked up pac safe she is not going to try and break into it in plain sight. The purpose of such security devices is not to 100% protect the items from the would be criminal its about the time it will take to get to the valuables and having said valuable in plain sight also helps deter such crimes of opportunity. Hiding the money out of sight may very well do the opposite. If you are hiding stuff from the hotel staff and are that paranoid there is no hope for you. It is infact good practice when you bring back a bar fine to lock up your phone wallet and everything else you can't keep an eye on naked and place it in a pacsafe or in the room safe. Hiding bags all over the room like a hoe easter hunt is not the answer to basic monger safety.

If you see a hoe near the hotel safe area . move the hoe & if your hoe is carrying bolt cutters with her might want to reconsider.

[Locamotive]

Any ideas on getting from Manila to Subic, prefer car. I'm sure travel postings on Angeles but haven't seen anything since travel has resumed. One gentlemen awhile back said moving around required some problems, checkpoints etc, hope this is now not the case. Price range if anyone knows.

Thanks.

[Soapy Smith]

Planning my 1st trip:

Thanks for any and all feedback.

AP has given a lot of good advice. I will add a few things. Take your American prescriptions. I suspect most pharmacies will recognize them. On the other hand, I have often walked into pharmacies in Manila with a handwritten note containing the name of a medication, specifics about dosage, and noted "generic" and gotten antibiotics, Viagra, and others filled without a doctor's prescription. I recommend The Generics Pharmacy. Do a google search from home and you'll find them all over Manila and other Philippine cities. Best prices, few questions, fewer Filipinos looking over your shoulder. Philippine drug prices are much lower than in the states.

I'm not familiar with Verizon hotspot, but cell providers in the Philippines use GSM carriers. Verizon uses CDMA, a different type of carrier. AP says buy a cheap sim at the airport. Good advice, except that the local sims will not fit in a Verizon CDMA phone. In the states, T-Mobile, AT&T and a few others are GSM carriers. You may want to shop on Amazon for an inexpensive ($60 +/-) unlocked GSM phone. An unlocked phone lets you install your own sim that you purchase at NAIA airport. The two biggest providers, Smart and Globe, have booths near the money exchangers after you pass through immigration and customs. They will install the sim in your phone and sell you 300 ($6 US) or 500 pesos ($10 US) of load. 300 is enough to start with; you can buy additional load on the street when you need it. GSM phones can be used in many other countries, so the phone is not a throw-away.

The barfine and payment to the girl sounds right for the Padre Burgos area in Makati, but I don't believe paying the girl an extra amount equivalent to the barfine is correct for AC. Check out the AC thread for recent discussion about tips.

I think you'll find limited flight options nonstop LAX to NAIA, maybe only Philippine Airlines (PAL). I have flown with them twice SF to NAIA, and they arrived about 5 am. Service and food were decent. Previously PAL flew into Terminal Two, whereas most other international carriers go into Terminal 3. If you buy a PAL ticket, ascertain which terminal you arrive in; taxi and other directions may be different. On the bright side, not much traffic on Manila streets at 5 am, but you may have to wait in the hotel lobby to get checked in. Or stretch your legs on the local streets and inhale all the local odors and noises of Manila. LOL!

One last thought. If you plan seven days in Manila, you might want to purchase a Manila CitiAtlas from Amazon. A little paperback that covers all the streets in the metro area in great detail. In the past it was about $7. Now a new one is $48, and a used copy is $31. Talk about inflation! Or, you can explore via google maps and Google Earth from your computer.

[AsianPursuits]

COVID Stuff: Not sure if I also need "E-health Declaration" and "Case Investigation" - can anyone confirm?

Don't spend any time on this until 2 weeks before your trip. The situation changes each week and the only situation you have to deal with is what is current in July.

Lodging: I'm thinking of staying 7-ish days in Makati, then 7-8 days in AC,

Pensinsular has good deals. 7-8 days in AC sounds too long unless you have other activity there.

Daily routine: I'm getting older, so I'll probably only do a barfine or FL every other day, then recovering and maybe doing touristy crap (cover story) on the off days. Or if I meet a girl I really like, I can extend our session to the next day for additional funds.

What's your interest in so many different girls? How about just playing for a few days then find one good freelancer that will spend a few days with you. It's just a different part of your experience rather than always hunting. You will need a break.

Wil I need to bring my Verizon hotspot?

Buy a local SIM at NAIA when you arrive.

Should I be insisting on only drinking bottled water?

Absolutely.

Anyone see any red flags or landmines in my plan?

Be prepared but not too restrictive in your plans. It's PH, it will go a stray. Keep your prepayments and pre-bookings to a minimum. Sure, lock in your LAX-MNL flights but keep your hotel and dates open. Maybe 2-3 days each in AC & MNL first then deicide of you will extend in either place.

[Soapy Smith]

A pac safe is also not needed. I pack everything into refrigerator zip bags and hide it in the room, every room has some good places for hiding. Nobody will find it (unlike the pac safe, who will be found immediately).

I also hided things like that during Africa Trips and never had any problems.

Or you might have been lucky. First time I took a p4p from LA Cafe about 15 years ago she told me I should be careful with my money. "Some of the girls will steal from you when you go in the CR. " She advised me to hide the money between the mattress and box springs. Great idea, but if she has thought of this hiding place, others have too. My guess is that every hiding place you can find in a hotel room, others can find it with not much effort. BTW, pacsafe is not a "who," it's a thing.

I don't care whether they find my pacsafe. I draw the aviation cable up tight enough so there's no place to get a bolt cutter on it, and I use a padlock designed so there's no way to get a bolt cutter on the shackle. In the states a lock like that costs about $12 at Walmart.

Plastic freezer bags are a novel idea. As to never having had any problems in Africa and elsewhere, you might want to look up the term "superstitious reinforcement." But plastic bags are clearly a cheap solution. You could save nearly $40 from the cost of my pacsafe.

[MrHappyKat]

Planning my 1st trip:

First, huge thanks to all who post here. I've been lurking for some time as I contemplate my next extended trip (past trips to Argentina, Chile, and Dominican Republic) and wait out the worst of the pandemic headwinds. The collective wisdom and occasional humor have been amazing. I think I am about as prepared as I can be, until I get boots on the ground, of course, for an excellent time.

I'd appreciate some feedback on my preliminary plans. I'm looking to optimize for ST barfine sessions, then perhaps FL sessions, and since I have bad knees, minimal walking time to / from bars. I have decent budget available and I want to limit my 1st trip to the Manila and AC areas. Here's my current plan:

Flights: I will be flying business class because I can afford it. Non-stop from LAX to MNL. Prefer to arrive late afternoon to early evening.

COVID Stuff: Fully vaccinated and double boosted. It looks like I'll need the following to fly: One health card, recent PRC (or antigen?) test results, global entry card (already have TSA-Pre), travel medical insurance ($35 K or higher), and identify where I can get new tests in MNL before I fly home. Not sure if I also need "E-health Declaration" and "Case Investigation" - can anyone confirm?

Lodging: I'm thinking of staying 7-ish days in Makati, then 7-8 days in AC, then coming back to the Manila area for the rest of my stay. I'm budgeting about $50-$80 per night for hotel, and looking for girl-friendly and generally more upscale (or at least not shit-hole) locations near the local bars to minimize walking distances as much as practical.

Transport between cities: I'm looking at taking a bus for $5-$10 between Manila and AC. But I can pay more for a taxi if it's a more direct / safer / shorter trip.

Transportation in-city. As mentioned, I have bad knees and as a bigger guy, I'm not sure I'll fit in the trikes. So Grab seems like the way to go for short trips, maybe 4-8 per day depending on daily activities.

Daily routine: I'm getting older, so I'll probably only do a barfine or FL every other day, then recovering and maybe doing touristy crap (cover story) on the off days. Or if I meet a girl I really like, I can extend our session to the next day for additional funds.

Question on barfines in Manila vs AC: From what I have seen in past posts, a barfine in Manila or Makati gets the girl out of the bar, and then she expects an additional amount generally equal to the barfine for a complete experience. While a barfine in AC is "all-inclusive" with the expectation of a small tip (php 250-500) before she leaves. Is this correct? I've seen references to barfines in both areas between php 3 k and 4 k, with FL rates between php 2 K and 4 K. Should I plan on / budget for these rates by time I get there in July?

Packing: I'm an experienced traveler including travel in "poor" countries. But the tip about buying a pacsafe bag is a great idea. Thank you! I want to pack a 6-8 day supply of clothes, and use the hotel or local laundry service as needed. Shorts, light jeans, t-shits and polos, and a swim suit seems appropriate. Plus a baseball hat and sunscreen if I'll be outdoors for a while. Wil I need to bring my Verizon hotspot? Or is that just a waste of space / weight in my luggage?

Medical: I take daily meds, and will bring an ample supply, of course. If I lose my meds, do I need a prescription to refill them at a local pharmacy? And will a US-based prescription be accepted? Next, I am considering starting a PrEP regimen and will be asking my doctor about it. Should I be insisting on only drinking bottled water?

Sorry for the word-wall. I tend to over plan so I avoid surprises.

Anyone see any red flags or landmines in my plan?

Thanks for any and all feedback.

[RandMcNasty]

If you do this, be sure you have front, back, side cameras on the car. Saved a friend of mine from a car accident where the locals quickly pinned him as a foreigner to be at fault. However, he remained calm and when the police arrived along with his cell recording all the convo, replayed the events of accident and the people were quick to change their tune from burning him on the cross to displaying "empathy and compassion. " he also had a bat in the car in case things got out of hand.

As I suspected, the general consensus is that renting a car is a bad idea.

As inconvenient as it will be, I think on my next trip I will just try to use the buses to get around. Since I don't plan on making mongering the only thing I do, and I'd like to do some legit tourism and exploring, it would be nice to have the freedom of my own vehicle but the last thing I would want to deal with is getting involved in a scam where I could potentially have the police against me.

[DzikaBomba]

Agreed, and the same holds for large sums of Philippine pesos. Hotel employees may well know how to defeat the hotel's own room safe.

I always carry a product called pac-safe. It's like a canvas ditty bag, about 10 inches by six inches, and the canvas is reinforced with a wire mesh in between two layers of canvas.

Only fools hide their money and valuables in the room safe, as we don't know how else has the master key.

A pac safe is also not needed. I pack everything into refrigerator zip bags and hide it in the room, every room has some good places for hiding. Nobody will find it (unlike the pac safe, who will be found immediately).

I also hided things like that during Africa Trips and never had any problems.