General Info

[Red Kilt]

RK? Flagfall? Please amend and update this as you see fit. Thank you Mr. West Coast.

I guess WC was asking me for an update Mr Pomp.

Sorry to say that you are incorrect.

The flagfall for Manila meter taxis is 40 php.

It was 30 php for a very short time only.

http://www.manilatimes.net/ltfrb-app...e-hike/354504/

[Member #4566]

Wasn't the flagfall changed back a few months ago? RK?

RK? Flagfall? Please amend and update this as you see fit. Thank you Mr. West Coast.

[WestCoast1]

Regarding taxis. I tend to pay the metered fare up to the nearest p10. For example, if the fair is p66, I give the driver p100 bill and ask for 30 in return, leaving him 70 total. That might seem a small tip, however they don't expect tips. Proof? If the fare is 66 and I tell him I only have 60, he will take it and not bat an eye. Reason: the flag-fall was changed by law in all of phils 2 years ago, from 40 to 30. Yet the meters in the taxis were never adjusted. When you step into the cab, the meter sets to 40. If the driver takes you exactly 5 meters and drops you off, you will hand him p40 (the metered amount, which hasn't had a chance to change yet), when in fact you owe him p30. He won't mention your change. He's getting an extra p10 for every fare (a 'tip' from every customer), and most folk don't know that.

Wasn't the flagfall changed back a few months ago? RK?

[Mr Enternational]

If these prices seem too low, or the tip seems too low, ask yourself this question: Why do they keep coming back? Why has none ever complained about the price? Why do they leave messages for me online looking forward to my next visit?

That was my same answer when people would say well they expect you to give them money, they are just too shy to ask. If they haven't overcome their shyness in all these years that they keep coming back, then they need their head examined.

A lot of restaurants that you go to will already have the service charge on the bills so there is no need to add to that.

[Member #4566]

About a year ago I asked one of our esteemed and most prolific ISG contributors for his advice on tipping. He sent me a PM on the matter and I am republishing here. I don't believe that it contains any privileged or confidential information that cannot be shared with our general audience. I pray that this ISG member is not offended but rather feels praised. It is a great piece of analysis and writing and I completely agree with the views he has expressed. In fact it probably should be placed in the Reports of Distinction. So here it is . . . .

"I have been traveling phils for well over a decade, and locals tend not too tip. Its a western culture thing, a holdover to the days when service personell (taxi drivers, waitresses, bellhops, etc) didn't get paid any hourly wage (or alternately very little, which still exists in about half a dozen US states, where the minimum wage for waiting tables is $2-3/ hour while for all other jobs its $7-10/ hour).

Tipping is required in a small handful of places in phils. For example, the Burgos / EDSA gogo bars require both an up-front barfine paid directly to the bar (she will get half of that on her payday) before departing with the girl, and also you negotiate a tip direcly with the girl (typically 1000-3000) to be given in the morning (she will not leave the bar until she has negotiated her morning tip and departure time).

Outside of those places, tipping is neither required nor expected. I can spend a month in phils, moving from Manila to AC to Cebu to Butuan, and never tip once (assuming that I don't barfine in Burgos / EDSA). Nobody will bat an eye or think bad of me. My normal tip for AC or Cebu gogo bar girls, freelance girls, regular girls, province girls, etcetera is p50 (jeep / tryke money). That also includes restaurants, taxi / tryke drivers, the guy who carries my luggage up the stairs at a cheap hotel with no elevator, and anyone else.

Many of us, due to our upbringing (sometimes myself also) cannot stop the urge to tip. We watched our parents do it, and we have been doing it for decades. However I'm appalled by the amounts mentioned both on this board, and in talking to gents in phils at places like Kokomo's in AC. Sometimes they tip even more than the barfine. "She did great with me last night so I sent her off with an extra 2000 this morning". Really. How much was the barfine? "1800". Really! They give odd reasons for the 'need' for tips also: "If you don't tip her, the next time you walk into her bar she will turn her nose up at you. I want her to go with me again if she was good in the sack". News flash fella: She will go with you again just to be able to get another barfine; no tip is required. Proof: I rarely tip more than p50, yet the girls keep returning (not only bargirls, but regular girls -- and I tend to give them about half what other gents pay).

As an example, several of the recent Photogallery girls are from Mindanao (all 22 and under). They are (and have been for years) very happy with p500 overnight, + p14 tip for tryke fare (p7 each way to / from the hotel). Two of the PG regulars of mine are Cebu girls. They know of each other's existence. One comes to me Monday / Wednesday / Friday nights, the other Tues / Thurs / Saturday. Each goes home in the morning with p1000 + p50 for to / from jeep fare. Going on 5 and 7 years with them, mid-20's girls with flat tummies and great asses. Two more in the PG are Manila regulars, going on 4 years with one (age 25 or 26 now) and 12 years with another (age 32). Another pair of lovely figures. They also rotate nights. Morning departure is p1500 + p100 for to / from jeep fare.

If these prices seem too low, or the tip seems too low, ask yourself this question: Why do they keep coming back? Why has none ever complained about the price? Why do they leave messages for me online looking forward to my next visit?

Regarding taxis. I tend to pay the metered fare up to the nearest p10. For example, if the fair is p66, I give the driver p100 bill and ask for 30 in return, leaving him 70 total. That might seem a small tip, however they don't expect tips. Proof? If the fare is 66 and I tell him I only have 60, he will take it and not bat an eye. Reason: the flag-fall was changed by law in all of phils 2 years ago, from 40 to 30. Yet the meters in the taxis were never adjusted. When you step into the cab, the meter sets to 40. If the driver takes you exactly 5 meters and drops you off, you will hand him p40 (the metered amount, which hasn't had a chance to change yet), when in fact you owe him p30. He won't mention your change. He's getting an extra p10 for every fare (a 'tip' from every customer), and most folk don't know that.

Hope this helps. "

[AussieGaigin]

Yep, I had the same problem. Just go to nypost.com and type the article title into the search field: "man-gets-life-for-buying-filipino-children-to-use-for-sex-and-porn".

Or put that title into Google and it comes up in a number of newspapers.

[Soapy Smith]

I think the problem is the period at the end of Revere's url. I cut and pasted the address into another browser, deleted the period, and it worked fine.

[Bushes]

This type of stuff has been reported in several news outlets and in some documentaries. Pretty sad but they are trying to stop it. As for the URL, you might need to add "https: in front, though maybe not necessary and remove the blank spaces in front of "man" and after "porn".

Afraid I couldn't follow the link. An error message pops up: Page not found.

[BaddHabbit]

Afraid I couldn't follow the link. An error message pops up: Page not found.

Yep, I had the same problem. Just go to nypost.com and type the article title into the search field: "man-gets-life-for-buying-filipino-children-to-use-for-sex-and-porn".

[WestCoast1]

Good riddance. Shithead deserves a hell of a lot more than just life in jail.

Afraid I couldn't follow the link. An error message pops up: Page not found.

[BaddHabbit]

nypost.com/2018/01/23/ man-gets-life-for-buying-filipino-children-to-use-for-sex-and-porn /.

Should get it!!

Good riddance. Shithead deserves a hell of a lot more than just life in jail.

[BrainDrain]

Hi guys,

Please respond only and PM me please if you have traveled these routes recently and know about the smaller regional airlines. I am looking for Philippines Airasia (subsidiary of Airasia formerly Zest) or any value-priced REGIONAL airline (not PAL) for DIRECT (non-stop) flights to / from these locations. I know that Cebupacificair has direct flight Manila to Bali but the times suck. Experienced replies appreciated.

Twice over the last year I have wanted to travel MNL. DPS - MNL. I looked at the direct carrier options which were only PAL & Cebu Pacific. The times all sucked. The options I have used have been.

Singapore Airlines MNL-SIN, overnight a airport hotel then SIN-DPS.

I also did a combination of SQ & Tiger to CRK.

Basically it's not happy connection as you may have already discovered.

BD.

[Soapy Smith]

I arrived last night from Angeles City for a 3-night stay in Makati. The drive from AC took almost 4 hours, most of it stuck in Manila traffic, for a 90 km ride. Mind boggling! My taxi driver seemed resigned to it, as it is his job. But I could not help but wonder if I can handle a job like that. You can label me spoiled but that's a brutal way to live one's life.

You would handle it. If you had grown up and lived your entire life in Manila, you wouldn't know anything different. In fact, Manilenos have built up many cultural and linguistic practices around these traffic delays. Meetings often start late--sometimes because of participants' late arrival due to traffic delays. The locals have learned to exploit the situation to justify arriving late. Even some expats and frequent foreign visitors join in this exploitation. I am one of them.

The conventional justification upon arriving late is, "the troppick was very heavy today. " Some shorten it to "it was very troppick today," or even "very troppick today"; the adjective "heavy" is not essential to convey the argument. A close reading would suggest that "today" is also part of the manipulation; since the traffic is slow and heavy almost every day, it should be possible to plan for delay and leave earlier for your destination. So the reference to "today" is sort of a lie that everybody buys into, and since not causing others to lose face is an important Filipino cultural practice, people are beholden not to challenge those who use the traffic excuse.

Another related linguistic convention is the question, "will the meeting push through"? Since, for any given meeting there are late arrivers--because of "troppick," those who host meetings are often pressed to determine whether to continue with the meeting, given the late start time. Hence the question, "should we push though with the meeting"? Perhaps Brits and Aussies have a different experience with this, but in the states I have never heard this combination "push through" used in this way. So, since Filipinos got their English primarily from Americans, it appears they invented this expression. Is this too a product of Manila's heavy traffic?

Meetings starting late and a set of linguistic and cultural practices built around traffic delays obviously are consistent with the much slower pace of activity referred to as "Filipino time." Here then is the upside to heavy traffic and late meetings: life runs more slowly and all the locals are content with it. I have learned to cherish this slower pace of life, and I experience a bit of remorse every time I leave it behind when I return to the states. How can this possibly be worse than the rat race that most of us accept in our Western lives? So, perhaps the frustration Lefeu describes about Manila traffic is as much a product of his own embeddedness in the Western rat race as it is a result of Manila traffic conditions. Next time Lefeu, just take a nap in the taxi; it'll get you recharged that much more quickly for the next round of horizontal recreation.

Within a few years the cross-city elevated skyway may become a reality, connecting the Northern Expressway in Balintawak with the Osmena Highway and EDSA in the south. This may cut down travel time between AC and Makati and get Manila a little closer to the Western rat race.

[D Cups]

Good to know. Thanks, G.

DCups. I've replied to your question in the Indonesia thread but in case others have he same enquiry, I'll repeat that the easiest way to get regional airline options is to check the departure airport's wikipaedia page and it will show all departing airlines and their destinations. An easy and quick way to find all options to fly from X to Z

[Goferring]

Hi guys,

Please respond only and PM me please if you have traveled these routes recently and know about the smaller regional airlines. I am looking for Philippines Airasia (subsidiarys of Airasia formerly Zest) or any value-priced REGIONAL airline (not PAL) for DIRECT (non-stop) flights to / from these locations. I know that Cebupacificair has direct flight Manila to Bali but the times suck. Experienced replies appreciated.

DCups. I've replied to your question in the Indonesia thread but in case others have he same enquiry, I'll repeat that the easiest way to get regional airline options is to check the departure airport's wikipaedia page and it will show all departing airlines and their destinations. An easy and quick way to find all options to fly from X to Z