Stupid Shit in the Philippines

[PhilJoy]

Hi G,

I have to agree, I've always got out of there fast.

That is, after walking a mile to immigration.

The PAL planes from Brisbane Australia always seem to 'park' at the ass end of the airport and you get off the plane and onto a shuttle bus to the terminal.

Then it's a long walk to immigration.

However, once they've checked and stamped the passport, you grab your baggage and there's never been a customs wait to speak of.

Next thing you know, you're out being swamped by taxi touts.

One tip for others. If you've got a long wait for a flight out of there and want a beer or a smoke, go down to the departure level and buy beers from the small stores down there and just go out in the carpark around 'the tree'..

Sorry, I meant the arrivals level downstairs. There's a ramp that will get you down there to the small stores selling beer and the 'tree' is out the back in the carpark. Been offered a BJ there but it's not too discreet as most of the locals wait in their cars for arriving flights.

Phil.

[PhilJoy]

I had my best experience ever at T1 from exiting the plane on an international flight to seated in a taxi was approx 10 minutes with pick up my of baggage from the carousel.

Hi G,

I have to agree, I've always got out of there fast.

That is, after walking a mile to immigration.

The PAL planes from Brisbane Australia always seem to 'park' at the ass end of the airport and you get off the plane and onto a shuttle bus to the terminal.

Then it's a long walk to immigration.

However, once they've checked and stamped the passport, you grab your baggage and there's never been a customs wait to speak of.

Next thing you know, you're out being swamped by taxi touts.

One tip for others. If you've got a long wait for a flight out of there and want a beer or a smoke, go down to the departure level and buy beers from the small stores down there and just go out in the carpark around 'the tree'.

Also great for long flight delays rather than sitting inside the terminal departure lounge with hundreds of pissed off people.

Phil.

[Goferring]

No, don't spread that news and spoil our playground! We don't want it to be infested with drink only cherry girls and punters happy to pay 100 USD to chat with illiterate village girls. I haven't done the 3 fer but have done the 2 fer for 500 K and it was sweet. Even with a very generous 200 K each tip that had them fulfill all my requirements, it was about 3 K Peso. Maybe next time I will try the 3 fer just to say I did it.

Valid point. I should have pointed out that Jollie Bellie's and destitute single mom's are soo much better looking than Jakarta girls. It's damn near impossible to find an attractive, fuckable girl there. 😜.

200 k tip?? Each?? You do know that the girls' commission on a fully prices session is only 70 k. No need to worry about the Koreans when you are in town. 🤑 Be the solution not the problem. LOL.

Enjoy. G.

P.S. Before anyone gets their knickers in a twist, note the name of this forum and my smiley faces. 👍.

[Expat American]

Just a little shit stirring on my part.

A cost comparison for the Cheap Charlie's like myself.

Looks like 5 k gets you singing karaoke in AC while a knock house in Jakarta, previously known for two-fer deals, has now introduced three-fer offers. 730 k IDR is about 2500 PHP. That's for THREE 19 YEAR OLDS.



Enjoy. G.

No, don't spread that news and spoil our playground! We don't want it to be infested with drink only cherry girls and punters happy to pay 100 USD to chat with illiterate village girls. I haven't done the 3 fer but have done the 2 fer for 500 K and it was sweet. Even with a very generous 200 K each tip that had them fulfill all my requirements, it was about 3 K Peso. Maybe next time I will try the 3 fer just to say I did it.

[AussieGaigin]

I can recall a similar situation back in the dark ages before internet, VPNs, etc. Bookings had to be made through an agency / office.

I wanted to buy a ticket for a girlfriend to fly Japan-Australia-Japan for a holiday, but I was told I could not book for a flight not originating in Australia at the (lower) Japanese fare rate. I've forgotten the reasoning, but seems the same applies today.

[GDreams]

Not sure if correct thread, if not allowed: Admins delete and / or reply with pic of glass bowl with 3 bags worth of M&Ms with all the brown pieces removed, but here goes:

I have paid PM, Wonder if any board members with PM can help me or already know answer: flying a civilian holiday trip from Houston USA to Middle East, but am exploring possibly extending my holiday and swapping return flight with an trip-within-trip to MNL.

All of this hinges on a sweet price Google is finding: May several dates, Google finds a one way MNL-IAH via United for reasonable $550-560. I am directed to United's PH portal. When I iron everything and click PURCHASE, it redirects me to an error on the United US portal and says Whoops the price is actually going to be $1050 not 550, hopes and dreams RUINED.

Am hoping to coordinate with someone to browse United's website from a PH IP address to dummy up same itinerary and figure out if discrepancy is my IP address location in North America or if I need to be a Pinoy citizen / passport for that price to be honored. If its IP address then hunt for buddy with VPN powers, if its a citizenship / passport issue then hopes and dreams still ruined but at least we know why.

Contact a philippine travel agent to make the booking for you.

[Transporter]

Not sure if correct thread, if not allowed: Admins delete and / or reply with pic of glass bowl with 3 bags worth of M&Ms with all the brown pieces removed, but here goes: Am hoping to coordinate with someone to browse United's website from a PH IP address to dummy up same itinerary and figure out if discrepancy is my IP address location in North America or if I need to be a Pinoy citizen / passport for that price to be honored. If its IP address then hunt for buddy with VPN powers, if its a citizenship / passport issue then hopes and dreams still ruined but at least we know why.

Not an expert here but I think it may be where you purchase from. I always get out of the country first, then purchase separate round trip tickets from a location outside the US. If not a simple VPN should be able to test your theory.

[CenTexCrash]

Not sure if correct thread, if not allowed: Admins delete and / or reply with pic of glass bowl with 3 bags worth of M&Ms with all the brown pieces removed, but here goes:

I have paid PM, Wonder if any board members with PM can help me or already know answer: flying a civilian holiday trip from Houston USA to Middle East, but am exploring possibly extending my holiday and swapping return flight with an trip-within-trip to MNL.

All of this hinges on a sweet price Google is finding: May several dates, Google finds a one way MNL-IAH via United for reasonable $550-560. I am directed to United's PH portal. When I iron everything and click PURCHASE, it redirects me to an error on the United US portal and says Whoops the price is actually going to be $1050 not 550, hopes and dreams RUINED.

Am hoping to coordinate with someone to browse United's website from a PH IP address to dummy up same itinerary and figure out if discrepancy is my IP address location in North America or if I need to be a Pinoy citizen / passport for that price to be honored. If its IP address then hunt for buddy with VPN powers, if its a citizenship / passport issue then hopes and dreams still ruined but at least we know why.

[Goferring]

Just a little shit stirring on my part.

A cost comparison for the Cheap Charlie's like myself.

Looks like 5 k gets you singing karaoke in AC while a knock house in Jakarta, previously known for two-fer deals, has now introduced three-fer offers. 730 k IDR is about 2500 PHP. That's for THREE 19 YEAR OLDS.

..So after I took her to Skyfall and made eye contact with a super hot blonde on stage wearing glasses, my girl tells me she's a cherry girl. What? I resolved to salvage the night by singing karaoke with her, which I do enjoy doing with a beautiful girl on my arm. At the end of the night she would not even come back with me...

She showed me on a piece of cardboard what the prices were; 1-375 K, 2-500 AND 3- 730 K...

Enjoy. G.

[GDreams]

NAIA Terminal 1 is STILL the most unorganized shady unpractical terminal in the world.

You need to clear security 3 times where they don't really check you these used to be places where they planted bullets on you. Now they still check your bag at every single check point. No dildos no razors or toothbrushes nothing electric and if its gift wrapped might as well just offload your luggage at that point. Need to take medication past the 3rd check point well you are out of luck. They don't allow you to take even life saving medication with zero exceptions so severely disabled people need to hobble out of the security line to a water station that is literally 2 steps outside the security check point where this person is than once again subjected to EXTREEM scrutiny over and fucking over again. They are not really keeping any one safe they are just inconveniencing everyone. I have never been denied water in any airport other than NAIA term 1 nor have I been been told I cannot check in electronic devices that do not have a battery in them. It is a disgrace imo. The other terminals have some of this nonsense built in but nothing to this extent.

I had my best experience ever at T1 from exiting the plane on an international flight to seated in a taxi was approx 10 minutes with pick up my of baggage from the carousel.

[Dg8787]

I left NAIA Terminal 1 last month. When I came to Philippines, I brought the same backpack I use going to work, and I didn't notice I had left a walkie talkie inside. I had no problems flying, even with that inside, until I went to leave the Philippines (and I had flown several times while in Philippines from Terminal 3 on Cebu Pacific). There last security checkpoint, they pulled my bag for inspection and pulled it out. They said I had to remove the battery (which I had no idea how to do). For 20 minutes three different agents tried to remove the battery from it. Then they put it back inside my backpack, battery still attached because no one could figure out how to remove it, and told me not to use it on the plane or in the airport and sent me in my way. I was a little bit dumbfounded by that!

Hijackers use walkie talkies on the plane. By instructing you not to use it on the plane clearly avoided a hijacking.

[Aml3740]

NAIA Terminal 1 is STILL the most unorganized shady unpractical terminal in the world.

You need to clear security 3 times where they don't really check you these used to be places where they planted bullets on you. Now they still check your bag at every single check point. No dildos no razors or toothbrushes nothing electric and if its gift wrapped might as well just offload your luggage at that point. Need to take medication past the 3rd check point well you are out of luck. They don't allow you to take even life saving medication with zero exceptions so severely disabled people need to hobble out of the security line to a water station that is literally 2 steps outside the security check point where this person is than once again subjected to EXTREEM scrutiny over and fucking over again. They are not really keeping any one safe they are just inconveniencing everyone. I have never been denied water in any airport other than NAIA term 1 nor have I been been told I cannot check in electronic devices that do not have a battery in them. It is a disgrace imo. The other terminals have some of this nonsense built in but nothing to this extent.

I left NAIA Terminal 1 last month. When I came to Philippines, I brought the same backpack I use going to work, and I didn't notice I had left a walkie talkie inside. I had no problems flying, even with that inside, until I went to leave the Philippines (and I had flown several times while in Philippines from Terminal 3 on Cebu Pacific). There last security checkpoint, they pulled my bag for inspection and pulled it out. They said I had to remove the battery (which I had no idea how to do). For 20 minutes three different agents tried to remove the battery from it. Then they put it back inside my backpack, battery still attached because no one could figure out how to remove it, and told me not to use it on the plane or in the airport and sent me in my way. I was a little bit dumbfounded by that!

[Newton York]

Holy cow man, is the average income in the Philippines that low? Watch this and at around 1:30 the software engineer guy, a freaking software engineer says his salary at a mind blowing low of 1300 bucks, says it's higher than the national average.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLXTV7CdMBk

That's why I keep saying. And I've been saying it in the Thailand thread for days now, why are there not more of us taking advantage of this incredible discrepancy? With what we make, where we are, how we're treated like kings when we're in South East Asia. We should show up more often in Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, etc. Sounds like paradise to me. The average Paul Blart schlub from middle American can live like a king in Manila. I know I'm doing it fellas. I'm just in the process of saving up some cash, and if I don't die from a heart attack soon, I'll be able to get my old man ass over to Thailand, or Cambodia or right here. Granted the cost of living there is low, so people don't make much anyway, but my point is taking our money and bringing it there. That's the whole point. That's my reason for living now. I wake up everyday for that purpose. So I can die in Thailand. Hopefully while I'm fucking a babe. Best way to go. Nicolas Cage, Leaving Las Vegas style. Life is nothing but misery, unless you're fucking a babe.

[WestCoast1]

I'm really tired of dealing with the disfunction here.

Hahaha which one? Here is one.

In your neighborhood, trash pickup service is Wednesdays. The truck usually rolls in around 6 am-8 am. You put your trash outside in trash cans Tuesday evening, and bring in the empty cans on Wednesday morning. On a certain Tuesday morning (a day early), you hear the trash truck driving by early. You look out the window and see the truck going past your house at 5:50 am. Hmmm. Later in the morning you see your neighbor outside watering his plants. You inquire as to the trash early pickup. Seems it was a surprise to him and everyone else. Nobody put their thrash out. Everyone puts their trash out that Tuesday evening, hoping the truck comes thru on Wednesday morning. But it doesn't; no truck comes by. Was Wednesday a holiday? "No". You leave the trash cans outside and wait for a Thursday pickup, but it doesn't come.

You bike over to the Brgy hall and inquire. "We don't know sir. You call the city hall". You bike over to the city hall (its on your way to an upscale coffee shop you like -- because the place is littered with PYT's) and inquire. "They what"? They came a day early, on Tuesday. "Really". Really. Why? "We don't know sir". They also didn't come today, Thursday. Why not? "Ah. Um. We don't know". I see. Will it come next week on Wednesday? "We are not sure of that sir". Is there a holiday or city celebration or function next week? "No sir". Is there anything you *are* sure of? "Yes we are having an office party tomorrow afternoon. You can come here".

What do I do with this week's trash? "It will go next week sir". I mean, I have 2 trash cans, and they are already full from the past week's trash. Where do I put the additional trash from the upcoming week? "I don't know sir". Can you ask them to hit our neighborhood tomorrow to make up for the miss this week? Deadpan response: "They didn't miss this week sir. They came on Tuesday". Hahaha Grrrrrrrrr!

You bike of to the coffee shop and contemplate: I never considered the possibility, until I moved to Phils, that there would be a get-your-poon / keep-your-trash tradeoff.

[Goferring]

I'm right there with you. The drivers in Brgy Poblacion (Burgos and surrounding area) and Bel-Air did the same thing during covid. Normal prices doubled overnight. I figured it was a planned thing due to inflation, or such. No driver would offer any kind of price reduction. They hang around together, always, at malls and tryke terminals. If you ask the first driver in line if he will accept p80 instead of p100, he will say no. Approach the second, third, or fourth and they will all say no. They act as a gang and surround you while you are trying to get a price reduction (as an intimidation factor both for you, and any errant driver who might want to break with the brotherhood and lower the price). There is even the old outdated fare matrix on a placard in every tryke. I approached the Brgy hall to complain (the Brgy sets all Tryke, motorella, local moto-taxi, and pedicab rates). "No sir. We let them charge what they want now. Its up to them". Talk about a complete abdication of responsibility. Its no different in Angeles.

That's the world over now. It's not hard to understand why there was a hole in the market that was easily filled by the ride share apps.