Manila

**Mr Enternational** · 09-26-19 15:53

Originally Posted by Abhi9 [View Original Post]

1. A good dive centre that offers a certification. Ideally not too expensive. I sent an email to the centre that Mr E had shared but there was no response from their end. I don't mind staying at the same place if their accommodation is girl friendly.

That is typical for dive shops, resorts, and hotels in the Philippines. You may have to call them. I booked a shop in Bohol some years ago. When I got there they did not have my reservation. I showed them a copy of all the emails back and forth of me telling them what kind of room I wanted and what dives I wanted to do. They sent me back the price and I said okay. The fucking ladyboy said I did not RECONFIRM. I asked what kind of bullshit is that? How many times do we have to go back and forth about me wanting a room and to dive with your shop? Too many times it is just pure incompetence in that country.

Originally Posted by Abhi9 [View Original Post]

2. A good spa: Would love to go for a good massage and sauna after diving through the day.

3. Local commute: What is the best mode to commute locally without spending a lot. I read about bike rentals. Can someone point me towards a good operator.

5. What is the possibility of getting a decent looking freelancer below 30 yrs of age and making her stay with me for 3-4 days at a lesser price.

What you are not realizing is that Sabang is a really small place. No idea how many massage places are there because I did not use any. But if I had to guess, then I would say 2. Not really anyone to point you to to rent a bike. You just walk down the street and see who has them for rent. The only reason we rented one was to drive to see the waterfall. After that, we drove over to White Beach to see it and eat, then came back and turned it in. Any other place that you may go in the town will only be a short walk.

If you are looking for FL then I suggest you bring one with you from Manila. I am not sure if such a thing exists in Sabang. Before I went, I met a nonpro on DateInAsia that made the trip with me.

To give you a better idea of the place, imagine a seashore, part of it having a beach. Right behind that shore are hills and mountains. There is a small road carved into those mountains that contain grocery store, a couple of restaurants, a couple of bars, i.e. things that make a town run. That is pretty much Sabang. Even the dive resort that I stayed in is right on the shore, but to get to your room you have to walk up a bunch of steps because the mountain comes right up from the seashore. Farther down the shore is a beach with white sand hence the name White Beach. There were a couple of bars and restaurants and hotels on the White Beach side as well. I don't think you can walk there down the shore. You have to go around and through the mountains to get on that side.

**Abhi9** · 09-26-19 14:55

Couple of months ago I was wondering which destination to travel to in SEA. Aim was to get my Open Water Padi Certification and obviously, some beautiful Filipinos to goof around with.

I reached out to Mr E, Goferring, Transporter and a few other folks asking for advice and most of them responded immediately. Surprisingly, all 3 of them gave me the same suggestion I. E. Sabang. Initially I was a little sceptical due to the high priced flights during my travel dates and decided not to go further with it. But I read through some of the posts on Sabang and realized that I should rather change my travel dates or increase my budget a little to ensure that I visit Sabang, since it is definitely one of the best place to learn diving. I am visiting in the 1st week of January and needed help on some of the below queries. Some may argue that I am reaching out too early but I really want to make all reservations and plan my itinerary at least 2 months in advance.

1. A good dive centre that offers a certification. Ideally not too expensive. I sent an email to the centre that Mr E had shared but there was no response from their end. I don't mind staying at the same place if their accommodation is girl friendly.

2. A good spa: Would love to go for a good massage and sauna after diving through the day. Some authentic spas that offers variety of treatments, scrubs, etc. Won't mind an upscale one also. Extras would be a delight but certainly not expected from such a setup.

3. Local commute: What is the best mode to commute locally without spending a lot. I read about bike rentals. Can someone point me towards a good operator.

4. I read a few reports stating that there are multiple Gogo's in Sabang where the ongoing BF rates are around 4 k. Is this just the bar fine or is it inclusive of ST / LT? I won't ask which bar which girl since most of the information is already shared and I know people hate spoon feeding.

5. What is the possibility of getting a decent looking freelancer below 30 yrs of age and making her stay with me for 3-4 days at a lesser price. I am not a variety seeking person. If a decent looking hygienic girl can give me a good GFE, I won't mind repeating her for a few days. I am stressing on this because I am currently inexperienced in picking girls through GOGO's. I am quite presentable and certainly not a cheap charlie but no past GOGO experience that's all.

6. Lastly, I am thinking to spend a day or 2 in Manilla as well. Thinking to avoid AC as I don't want to waste time traveling. Really want to meet a stunner for long time who can ensure a great GFE. I am willing to spend up to 8-10 k PHP for such an experience. Again a ton of information available on the Manilla thread, just need time to process all that. But any existing free lancer contact would be an added bonus. Otherwise I will RTFF and try my luck in Burgos st.

Hoping to get some valuable pointers and sorry for such a long query. But I don't shy away from accepting the fact that I am a noob when it comes to Philippines and want to be fully prepared to ensure I have more hits than misses. Overall trip budget is around 65-70 k php for 6 days excluding flights.

Special thanks to EngineDriver, Natty, Mr E, Transporter, Goferring, Soapy and definitely New Image (If you hadn't posted so many queries on Sabang, this thread wouldn't be having enough information for noobs like me). You guys have literally shared an ocean of information which is very different from Indian threads where information is shared within closed circles as Law Enforcement is strict and new mongers are quite irresponsible. I would love to help you all unconditionally if you ever plan to travel to New Delhi or Bangalore.

**QuackUp** · 09-24-19 04:20

The premium bus that picked us up actually had a designated stop one island before the t to t stop but at least now, people know about it. I stayed in Cairns and one all day tour was with sea-star. This was a good company but the food kind of sucked. They provide all the gear. I only snorkel but you can also dive with them, but cost more. I also took a half day tour but I can't remember the name of the company. This tour was just okay, but I didn't want to be out all day that day.

**BusyDiver** · 09-24-19 02:58

Staying one night here in Eastwood area any suggestions for local place near or best place.

In the mall for pickups? Thank you.

**Mr Enternational** · 09-23-19 17:55

Originally Posted by QuackUp [View Original Post]

Anyways, I'm sure this guys isn't supposed to pickup people at the t to t stop, but for someone new, it might be worth the risk to go to the premium bus stop to see if he'll take you to the terminal you want.

I always take that bus. It comes at the same stop as the other bus. I think the difference is maybe that the premium has AC. What city did you go to for the Great Barrier Reef and what company did you use? Was it worth it? I hear it is not like it used to be.

**QuackUp** · 09-23-19 07:56

I thought there was a section for Pasay but I guess not, so I'll write it here. Last two nights in the Phillipines. Around 19:00 the rain is coming down lightly so decided to walk to edsa entertainment center. Everything was good until I was a block away. All of a sudden a massive downpour. What made it worst, strong winds. I had my umbrella but with the winds I got soaked. My shoes were wet, my t-shirt looked like someone threw a bucket of water on me. Anyways, as soon as I walk in the main door a guys tries to get me into one of the bars. I told him not yet. I want to walk around a bit to try and dry off (didn't happen). It was early so Samba's wasn't open yet so after a while I walked into one of the bars that was open. I was the only one in there. By the time I left I went into 3 bars but can't remember the names of the bars I went into. For my taste, overall talent was very good. To be fair, in Makati, I went early for the h / h and I know most of the prine stuff comes in at night. Finally at one of the bars I see a cute girl, not as cute as Leia at Bottoms but she would do. Buy her a drink and ask the usual about cost of barfines and girl. Her name is Coleen and it was at one of the bars on the right hand side. Sorry I know that doesn't help. The barfine which she told me was standard at all the bars here was $2500 p. With short time for the girl at $3000 p and long time at $5000. I told her I only want short time so bar fined her and had a great time. Walking out of the center one of the taxi guys ask if we wanted a ride. I asked him how much? He said $300 p which I knew was a rippoff. But it was raining hard, I was soaked and some of the taxi's I saw on the streets in traffic had passengers in it. So told him yes. The session was great, passionate kissing, BBBJ DATY and different positions. After the deed and shower, I asked her if she wanted to get some pizza since there was a pizza place downstairs. She said yes and had a great time talking. She asked when I would be back. I told her probably not until next year. I asked her if she wanted to see me again and she said yes. I then asked her if she wanted to vacation with me next time, maybe go to somewhere with a nice beach. She was very excited and wanted to give me her phone number. I left my phone in the room since this place was downstairs. She ask the server for a pen and wrote her number down. I folded it and put it in my back pocket. Got her a taxi and again, a nice sloppy kiss to say goodnight. Next day, I unfold the paper to find out the last two numbers got smudge. Just my luck. Last day. My plan was to visit flt 168 and later go back to the edsa center if not tired. Get to flt168 around 15:00. At this hour the price for business class or whatever they call it, it's on the ground floor, is $2000 p for the room and $2000 p for the girl. I told the guy I wanted to see the girls upstairs also. No problem, took the escalators up and on this floor it was only $900 for the room, didn't get the price for the girls here. Didn't really see anything I liked on both floors but since I was here decided to bite the bullet and see what happens. Took number 111 who looked decent but nothing else. Get to the room and in a few minutes she arrives. She said we have an hour and 15 minutes. She would start with a massage, sexy massage, then the main event. We shower together and then the massage starts. Nothing great, nothing bad. Then she said she would start the sexy massage. I thought she would be kissing me all over but that wasn't the case. It was pretty lame. For the main event, no kissing no DATY. She did do BBBJ which was okay. At this time I just wanted to finish and get out. Needless to say, this wasn't how I wanted my last shag to go but sometimes it happens. After the session I went to Solaire hotel and casino to play a little. They had craps there and even though I lost about $80.00 usd I played for about 2 hours which was fun. Then I ate at one of the resturants there, I think it was called Lucky something. Has the Pork Belly rice special and was really good. I believe it was $420 p for the meal. I was thinking about going back to edsa to forget about the time at flt 168 but two things changed my mind. I was going to shower at my hotel before going but it took a while to get there with all of the traffic. Second the rain and wind was bad. Will have to wait until next year if I come back.

**QuackUp** · 09-23-19 05:40

It's been a while since writing any reports. Mainly because I've been doing much of the same thing, Brazil and Colombia. I spent a week in Australia to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef, which was great and decided to hit the Philippines before coming home to L. A. I took Philippine airlines and it was actually cheaper doing a multi- city route than going directly to Australia. I did go business class and the service was great on all flights. Thanks to everyone who has contributed. I didn't feel the need to pm anyone because of all the information here. I have been to Angeles city once before but this trip I was going to stay in Makati and Pasay so it felt like I was going for the first time. The nervousness. LOL. From Brisbane I landed at Manila Terminal 2. Like all reports, this airport is whacked! Just getting from Terminal 2 to 3 sucked. Waited for the terminal to terminal bus. One came after about a 25 minute wait. The bus driver told me his bus was only going to terminal 1. After a while a premium bus (which was a newer and bigger bus than the terminal to terminal bus) stopped in front of us and asked if we want to take his bus but it would cost $150 p. Three of us said yes but when the third person tried to get on, she said she only had credit cards no cash. Bus driver said sorry but no. Anyways, I'm sure this guys isn't supposed to pickup people at the t to t stop, but for someone new, it might be worth the risk to go to the premium bus stop to see if he'll take you to the terminal you want. We get to T3 at about 17:00. As I approach gate 14 I see the Genesis bus and the guys is just about ready to close the luggage door. He see's me and asked if I was going to Sm Clark. I said yes, he took my suitcase and loaded it in the luggage compartment. The bus now cost $380 p. And since this was Thursday, I knew there would be traffic. It took 4 hours to get to Sm Clark. On the way back, which was on a Sunday, it took 2 hours total. I stayed 3 night in Angeles, 3 nights in Makati, and finished off with 2 nights in Pasay.

**Blanquiceleste** · 09-23-19 01:08

Originally Posted by MrEnternational [View Original Post]

Take a taxi to one of the other bus stations in Pasay that go to Dau. No need to go all the way back to the airport to take a bus that goes damn near the same place for almost 3 times as much money.

What happened to those mini buses from Swagman? Do they still operate?

**X Man** · 09-22-19 23:24

One option is Fly the Bus from Southern Cross Hotel. It's across the street from the Ermita Chapel.

1125 M. H. Del Pilar St.

Manila to Angeles.

11.30 am – 3. 30 pm – 8. 30 pm.

Originally Posted by NewImage [View Original Post]