Getting around in Manila

[Slippery]

And another 3, 000 to get home! Bwahahahahaha

[Hutsori]

Was chatting with a young lady today who wanted to come visit me. She asked that I cover her taxi fare from Alabang to Makati."You know how much that will be?", I asked."Not sure, about 3000 pesos. I need to borrow the money from my friend to come see you." Yowza! A bold one here.

I use worldtaximeter dot com to estimate the cost, http://www.worldtaximeter.com/manila. I quick check showed an estimated fare of p237.

"Baby, I'm sorry, but the taxi should be about p300, not ten times more."

How accurate are the estimated fares? Not bad.

An example, from my condo near Makati Med to Remedios St in Malate I often pay p100; this trip happens after 10pm. The site's estimated fare: p110.

The estimated fare of p60 from my condo to Greenbelt 1 is pretty accurate.

One wrinkle about the site. The home page does not have Manila listed in the drop down menu of cities. Scroll down the page and on the left side you'll see Supported Cities > More. You'll see a link to Manila. Cebu is also available.

I don't think the site includes tolls, so keep that in mind.

[Wicked Roger]

Slippery suggests 530. Keep that number in mind. You don't want to pay much more than that. An yes, airport exchange rates aren't that good, but if it's evening, do you really need to save the one or two dollars?

T1 to Burgos is 440 pesos in a white fixed fee cab. That was last week and have never changed in years as far asI can remember but I am getting old.

To the Dusit etc (ie Greenbelt) from T1 it tends to be slightly less.

Metered cab from Burgos to T1 is less than 200 pesos on a good day as long as it is not Friday night, no rain and no accidents en route.

If you take Skyway (20 pesos extra for those who can afford) it is worth it most times.

No issues ever with dodgy taxi drivers at T1 always in Manila bit easy to overcome and no hassles. Taxis all over the world can be difficult, try the Arab world and you will think those in Manila are saints LOL.

[X Man]

It really pains the "antagonist", but I have to agree. If you are new or tired, just get it over with. THere are few positive airport experiences, so get the hell out of there as quickly as possible. Slippery suggests 530. Keep that number in mind. You don't want to pay much more than that. An yes, airport exchange rates aren't that good, but if it's evening, do you really need to save the one or two dollars?

The taxi driver will ask you if it is your first time. They might offer you all kind of attractions. What is a man to do? If you are new, and you aren't a good liar, just say NEWBIE, but I will meet my friend at xxx location tonight. Thanks anyway, but give me your phone number for tomorrow.

Back to the airport: I've done all sorts of crazy stuff. A couple of times I walked out to the street and caught a cab. Until once we got pulled over by police. I felt sorry for the driver so paid enough to cover his "fine".

In my much younger days, I was traveling light so walked all the way from the airport to Ermita. LOL, anyone else do that?

The best transportation of all was when a Filipina on the airplane said that her driver could take me to any hotel that I wanted to go to. Nice lady.

Gman, welcome and greetings. Some may disagree with what I do as the price is about double than ordinary but convenience and safety are my primary concerns. Upon exiting Terminal 1, cross the street, angle 20 degrees to the left and you'll see a line of white taxis. There's a desk there and you tell them where you want to go. They have set prices. They give you a couple of pieces of paper and direct you to the first available taxi. There's no waiting and the total time spent from the walk outside to getting into a cab is about two minutes at the most. There's always an available taxi. You pay the driver when you get to where you're going.

Like I said, price is double what a yellow taxi would be but upon arrival at the gates of hell (Terminal 1) , I just want to sh*t and git and get to my place safely, quickly and with the least amount of hassle. Like I said, others would disagree with this due to the price. From the airport to my place in Malate, price is about 530. After 28 hours of travel door to door, for me its well worth the price.

[Kadol]

Gentlemen. Apologize in advance for being such a newbie on such a basic question. But after traveling through Manila between on my annual visits (2009-2012) , I have yet to crack the code on getting past the cabbies that want to charge 3,000php and up to get my ass from the airport to a simple point within a one mile radius. This trip, despite the awful traffic should only be around 200-300 pesos by standard fare cab (if they use the meter) , but unless I wait for a bus that never arrives, this seems to be the only way out of the craziness that is terminal 1 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. My advance apologies again.

Terminal 3 to Ermita was, on the meter 156 peso, June 16th.

Ermita tot terminal 1 was, on the meter 172 peso, June 26th.

But I admit that I gave a "good" tip.

[Slippery]

Gman, welcome and greetings. Some may disagree with what I do as the price is about double than ordinary but convenience and safety are my primary concerns. Upon exiting Terminal 1, cross the street, angle 20 degrees to the left and you'll see a line of white taxis. There's a desk there and you tell them where you want to go. They have set prices. They give you a couple of pieces of paper and direct you to the first available taxi. There's no waiting and the total time spent from the walk outside to getting into a cab is about two minutes at the most. There's always an available taxi. You pay the driver when you get to where you're going.

Like I said, price is double what a yellow taxi would be but upon arrival at the gates of hell (Terminal 1) , I just want to sh*t and git and get to my place safely, quickly and with the least amount of hassle. Like I said, others would disagree with this due to the price. From the airport to my place in Malate, price is about 530. After 28 hours of travel door to door, for me its well worth the price.

[Wicked Roger]

Gentlemen. Apologize in advance for being such a newbie on such a basic question. But after traveling through Manila between on my annual visits (2009-2012) , I have yet to crack the code on getting past the cabbies that want to charge 3,000php and up to get my ass from the airport to a simple point within a one mile radius. This trip, despite the awful traffic should only be around 200-300 pesos by standard fare cab (if they use the meter) , but unless I wait for a bus that never arrives, this seems to be the only way out of the craziness that is terminal 1 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. My advance apologies again.

This has been covered a lot before = see 2 of the links below that were found on this and the second page so a RTFF first helps before asking.

How you can be ripped off is beyond me as the taxis are either metered or fixed (yellow / white) so take your choice and go to Makati, never an issue.

http://www.internationalsexguide.inf...=1#post1393136

http://www.internationalsexguide.inf...=1#post1393085

[Gman13]

Gentlemen,

I apologize in advance for being such a newbie on such a basic question. But after traveling through Manila between on my annual visits (2009-2012) , I have yet to crack the code on getting past the cabbies that want to charge 3,000php and up to get my ass from the airport to a simple point within a one mile radius. This trip, despite the awful traffic should only be around 200-300 pesos by standard fare cab (if they use the meter) , but unless I wait for a bus that never arrives, this seems to be the only way out of the craziness that is terminal 1 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

My advance apologies again.

[Dante2]

I know right! Asking questions on a forum. Guys like him are the worst!

[FreebieFan]

You good gents are giving Dante quite a lesson. One which he hasn't earned. He's been a member for 3 months, has 77 posts, mostly asks questions, hasn't been to Manila, has never posted a FR for Phils, and hasn't paid up for a membership, and refuses to do so. Can't think of a single good reason to help him.

Been watching this discussion a la Dante for a while, and I'm very proud of myself for not having expressed an opinion about the fellow. YET.

Hes a real piece of work, but as we all know, this board attracts all and sundry. He, definately being in the latter category.

Maybe you were all a little hasty in failing to provide him with numbers.

After all, we all have numbers of the " ones to avoid at all the costs" the "stinky pussies we swore never to see again" the ones whose gender and big feet made us cancel the Sogo run, the ones who assault us with "hw are you " 100 times a day and "have you had breakfst yet". Not forgeting the " please sir, could you help, my caribou has died and needs a burial could you lend me P 100, 000, 000 " There are many numbers we could and should have given the fellow. LOL.

[Dante2]

Of course I only ask questions, do you want me to be like pinkpearl and make answers up? Its impossible for a noob to a place to do anything other then ask questions, the places I go I share my experiences, as far as paying I just gave an answer in the other thread and we don't need that argument going in 2 places.

Hutsori again thanks. I don't expect to pull any stunners while in manila because I'm not going to be paying any more than 2k for a night max, and will be hoping for even less then that, but I still am curious to see how it plays out, you never know you might happen to ask the right girl at the right time.

I like your idea of having my number on a piece of paper and I definitelyplan on doing that (done it before actually) most likely the girl just tosses it right after I walk away, but again who knows.

Fwiw I'm not on vacation and won't be in desperation mode (ok not ending up in desperation mode is easier said then done, but I've been in asia for awhile now its not like I just flew over from the us and am so horny I have to get laid every night or its a failure) so I can be patient, pick and choose my spots, I'm more than willing to go out for a few hours to try and make something happen I have far more free time then money and if I only get laid one or two nights in manila thats fine because angeles is waiting

My time in manila is more of a fact finding mission to see what its like and if I can make it work on what I can afford, and if its worth doing so, its not about having the best time I can have (though obv I wouldn't mind having some fun while I'm at it)

[WestCoast1]

If I want to pm someone or look at pictures ill pay, I don't. So I won't.

Thanks goodenough and slippery

You good gents are giving Dante quite a lesson. One which he hasn't earned. He's been a member for 3 months, has 77 posts, mostly asks questions, hasn't been to Manila, has never posted a FR for Phils, and hasn't paid up for a membership, and refuses to do so. Can't think of a single good reason to help him.

[Hutsori]

Thanks for the great post hutsori.

Also how far / tough / unsafe of a walk would it be from that address I posted to where the bars and action on burgos is? One thing I really want to do is head to that area around 2-5am and see what prices you can get from the stunners on their way home, and I kinda like walking around at night, am I wrong in assuming that since its in makati it should be reasonably safe?

Heed Red Kilt's advice. Where you're staying is too far to walk to either MBC or Burgos or Havana, and walking to MBC would be your most dangerous walk. You're looking at a $2. 50 to $4 taxi fare. It's peanuts, really. I also think you'll find few, if any,"stunners" between 2 - 5 am. They were picked up much earlier. Of course there's always a chance.

For kicks and grins let's see how this op would be run. Your best hunting ground for "stunners" from 2am to 3:30am will be Burgos. Check each bar during their final hour, quickly see what's available, then stake out the place with the remaining "stunners". Once the bars close the girls pretty much skedaddle, so you'll need to strike quickly. Word has it that it's tough to pick up after-work girls in Burgos street itself because the street is pretty much under observation, and hooking up with a guy who doesn't pay a barfine is a big no no for the girl. There's a reason why there are few FLs wandering this street. If you grab a girl's interest you'll need to do so quickly and arrange to meet her outside the area, not at a local all-night place like the Filling Station because it's owned by a guy who owns several other bars in the street. Of course she'll need to know where the meeting place is, so it's best you've already planned that and have the complete address and your mobile number written on a piece of paper you can hand off to her surreptitiously. You won't want to take the same cab together, so with the note also give her 200p to pay her taxi fare. Then you hop into a following cab. The likelihood of everything coming together is quite low.

So you shoot blanks there. Keep your chin up, mate. On the weekends Havana closes at 4am I recall. So you dash over there to see if there are any "stunners'. The ladyboys zerg rush you, so you fight through them and you may find what you're looking for as the wait staff clear the tables. Again, the likelihood of success is quite low.

Don't despair. Fight through the ladyboys again, hop in a cab, and head off to MBC. The stunners and the above average have long gone. Those who had some cash in their purses for jeep and / or bus fare have also called it quits too. Who mostly remains is the desperate, which is a match made in heaven because with all the effort and no payoff you've experienced you may be feeling desperate too.

What thrills you I don't know. Seems to me you have a strong sense of adventure and you're tighter than a Scot robbed of his generosity, so perhaps the hunt for the elusive stunner on the cheap is what gets you hard. If so, have at it. But if your priority for your holiday is to pick up "stunners" then I think you may want to overhaul your strategy. Arrive early and be prepared to pay.

My intent is not to dissuade you, rather let you know the challenges you'll face; I genuinely hope you can pull off what you're planning. It will certainly make for an entertaining field report. Best of luck.

[Dante2]

Well sure anything can happen anywhere, but there is still a "how likely is it" that you can assess right? Would you walk that at 2 am?

The thought that I could get stabbed at any second kinda gives me a hard on.

[Red Kilt]

I would be very grateful if you could give me directions on how to walk to that area. If no one does ill try to google map it out myself but I have a feeling that might be kinda hard and I'd get lost, actually probably easiest to get a cab the first time and remember the way (unless the distance is much farther then I am thinking and its a 30+ minute walk)

You answered your own question by saying that you really need to sort it out for yourself.

I could tell you it is an easy walk and you could get mugged on the first night.

I could tell you never walk anywhere and others will say they walk all over town with no ill effects.

Just to show you how unpredictable it is:

I live in Ortigas which is upscale with nice clear walking areas and modern buildings. I have lived here for more than 15 years with absolutely no security problems EXCEPT one day in 2011 walking near SM Megamall within a crowd of people at 3 pm on the afternoon. I am tall and I walk purposefully and rapidly.

I had a gold wrist bracelet removed from my arm by 2 young guys, one armed with a small cutter. One distracted me while the other grabbed my arm, snipped it and they were gone in 3 seconds. They were opportunistic experts, as I rarely walk in that particular area. (Since then I no longer wear any "jewellery" except a simple watch).

My point is that if such a theft could happen at 3 pm in broad daylight then your chances of being hit increases with dark quiet streets and not being certain where you are. Doesn't matter if you are big and strong, it just means they will use a gun or a knife to make sure they don't get hurt. Much easier to get a taxi, and safer too.