Angeles City

Lost track of time here and was on the 28th day of the visa free 30 days. I needed to get the visa extension but the BI offices looked like they are in Clark. I went to Amega Travel Services located in Tune Hotel lobby. Amega has other locations in different hotels. They had it the next day for me. Total cost P3830 including visa. Pretty hassle free and no waiting in lines. Just bring two 2 x2 photos. I got my photos at the photo shop a few doors from Western Union office on Fields by McDonalds. They do 4 instant photos minimum P150. Amega will keep the other 2 photos on file for any future extensions.

I would have never known about the big hassle at the airport upon departure without the visa extension without reading about it here. Thank you members for the info.

just got back from a 3 week trip to a c. had a great time, can't wait to go back! wanted to share a bit of travel advise from manila airport for 1st times. i read a report on this forum that from the airport you can pay 20 p for a shuttle bus to pasay terminal and then 150 p for bus to dau and then 100 p for trike to your hotel in angeles city. all this is true but be aware of these issues if you're a newbie.

#1- the shuttle bus from the airport was very crowded and made several stops along the way. none of those stops are announced. so if you don't know which stop is pasay, you're in trouble. also if you're carrying two suitcases and a backpack it's really difficult to move on a crowded bus!

#2- i arrived at the pasay terminal at 1:00 am in the morning. there were lots of buses but you are in a dark crowded alley and to be honest it didn't feel very safe being a white guy with suitcases roaming around trying to find a decent bus to a. see. signs are poor and you are a target. turns out i needed to get the silver line which is across the street from where the shuttle drops you off which requires you to lug all your stuff up and over this seedy looking bridge to the other side.

#3 so i finally got on the bus with all my crap. i'm exhausted and have to [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134][CodeWord134][/url]. it's a 2.5 hour trip with no bathroom break and many seedy looking people sitting around you. i was actually afraid to fall asleep.

#4 finally get to dau pay 5 p to take a massive [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134][CodeWord134][/url] and then squeeze myself into a really small trike with all my shit to go to my hotel.

my advise. my hotel offered a car service to manila for 2800 p. nice van, picked me up at the hotel and took my right to the terminal i needed. even stopped for a bathroom break 1/2 way. if money is an issue go for the bus but for me the hotel van is the way to go. if you are arriving during the day and know your way around to the silver line i'm sure the bus is fine but just be careful at night and if you'd lugging around suitcases.

[QUOTE=Bareback49;1616682]Just got back from a 3 week trip to A C. Had a great time, can't wait to go back! Wanted to share a bit of travel advise from Manila Airport for 1st Times. I read a report on this forum that from the airport you can pay 20 p for a shuttle bus to Pasay Terminal and then 150 P for bus to Dau and then 100 p for Trike to your hotel in Angeles City. All this is true but be aware of these issues if you're a newbie...[/QUOTE]Excellent report! That's what I call a useful report.

Thanks!

Great 2nd report BB49. A mental note of this should be made by all first timers. I know the lay of the land here better than some others, and that's one way I'd never travel. I've driven by the Pasay terminal many times and to me, its a scary place. A three connection trip to save $7. 00 just isn't worth the hassle or personal security risk to me. I was critical of the Swagman bus in the recent past because they threw us on a van rather than a bus, but last trip was easy peasy since there were only 3 passengers. I still can't justify 2,500 from MNL to AC but I travel up there fairly frequently from MNL. For the guy on vacation, 2,500 is probably a good and safe alternative.

[quote=bareback49;1616682]just got back from a 3 week trip to a c. had a great time, can't wait to go back! wanted to share a bit of travel advise from manila airport for 1st times. i read a report on this forum that from the airport you can pay 20 p for a shuttle bus to pasay terminal and then 150 p for bus to dau and then 100 p for trike to your hotel in angeles city. all this is true but be aware of these issues if you're a newbie.

#1- the shuttle bus from the airport was very crowded and made several stops along the way. none of those stops are announced. so if you don't know which stop is pasay, you're in trouble. also if you're carrying two suitcases and a backpack it's really difficult to move on a crowded bus!

#2- i arrived at the pasay terminal at 1:00 am in the morning. there were lots of buses but you are in a dark crowded alley and to be honest it didn't feel very safe being a white guy with suitcases roaming around trying to find a decent bus to a. see. signs are poor and you are a target. turns out i needed to get the silver line which is across the street from where the shuttle drops you off which requires you to lug all your stuff up and over this seedy looking bridge to the other side.

#3 so i finally got on the bus with all my crap. i'm exhausted and have to [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134][CodeWord134][/url]. it's a 2.5 hour trip with no bathroom break and many seedy looking people sitting around you. i was actually afraid to fall asleep.

#4 finally get to dau pay 5 p to take a massive [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134][CodeWord134][/url] and then squeeze myself into a really small trike with all my shit to go to my hotel.

my advise. my hotel offered a car service to manila for 2800 p. nice van, picked me up at the hotel and took my right to the terminal i needed. even stopped for a bathroom break 1/2 way. if money is an issue go for the bus but for me the hotel van is the way to go. if you are arriving during the day and know your way around to the silver line i'm sure the bus is fine but just be careful at night and if you'd lugging around suitcases.[/quote]to bb49.

i don't understand why you go through all this next time just take the taxi at the airport to swagman hotel at emrita and take the van direct to wild orchid for 600 p,if you can afford 4000 p a night at wild orchid why lug your luggage around like this live and learn.

fast eddie 48.

Thanks BB for posting. Too often we get newcomers who ask all sorts of inane questions and then never file a report.

For the record, the Swagman bus (or van) goes three times a day and the Southern cross Hotel does it once a day (3:30). Both are located in the same area near the Malate church. In AC they'll pick you up at your hotel. And in many cases you can make your payment at the reception of your hotel.

On my last trip to AC we used the van as there were only five or six guys. One guy asks to go to the Swagman hotel in AC. As most of you know this is not on the main strip and traffic can be bad on MacCarther if you are getting into AC around 6 pm. We get to Swagman and this loser changes his mind and wants to go to Central Park Htl. I estimated that he wasted about 30 minutes of everyone's time. Very frustrating. More bus info at the URLs below. X.

[URL]http://www.swaggy.com/fly-the-bus/[/URL]

[URL]http://www.thesoutherncrosshotelmanila.com[/URL]

[QUOTE=FastEddie48;1616817]To BB49.

I don't understand why you go through all this next time just take the taxi at the airport to Swagman hotel at Emrita and take the van direct to Wild Orchid for 600 p,if you can afford 4000 p a night at Wild Orchid why lug your luggage around like this live and learn.

Fast eddie 48.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=XMan;1616840]Both are located in the same area near the Malate church.
[/QUOTE]Actually they're very near the Ermita church. The Malate church is at the corner of Remedios and Del Pilar, about a 10-minute walk away. Robinson's is approximately midway the two.

[QUOTE=Hutsori;1616894]Actually they're very near the Ermita church. [/QUOTE]

Del Pilar Street and its important Ermita surroundings. The connection to Angeles is admittedly a little tangential.

In suggesting Swaggy's, I was remiss in not mentioning Southern Cross Hotel that also has a bus / van traveling daily to AC. SC is just around the corner from Swaggy's. Walk out of Swagman's turn left, go to the corner and turn left again and you'll see SC about 40 yards down on your left. Price is about the same. They pick up and drop off directly at the front door of Wild Orchid. Price is about the same as Swagman's but I don't think they run as many busses daily. I only took the SC bus one time from AC to Manila and had no issues with it.

[QUOTE=SkipKost;1617018]The connection to Angeles is admittedly a little tangential.[/QUOTE]True. I just didn't want someone to read X's comment and later tell a taxi driver to take him to "Malate church" expecting to find the Swagman and Southern Cross hotels and their buses to Angeles.

Thank you. Ermita church. Sure hope no one used my bad info.

The reason I mentioned the church is that taxi drivers sometimes don't know, or pretend not to know where the Swagman Hotel is. If you say Ermita Church, you'll get pretty close.

[QUOTE=Hutsori;1616894]Actually they're very near the Ermita church. The Malate church is at the corner of Remedios and Del Pilar, about a 10-minute walk away. Robinson's is approximately midway the two.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=XMan;1617294]Thank you. Ermita church. Sure hope no one used my bad info.

The reason I mentioned the church is that taxi drivers sometimes don't know, or pretend not to know where the Swagman Hotel is. If you say Ermita Church, you'll get pretty close.[/QUOTE]To be fair even locals get Ermita / Malate mixed up. Some hotels give address's which jumble the two.

AV.

the bar girl that was beaten by the monger hell bent on riding her bareback does not need useless litigators. what she needs is a good pimp with a couple henchmen on call for those sorts of situations. a seasoned pimp would have contacts with the local police, trike drivers, goons, and hotel staff. if the bar girl had a good pimp the trick who stomped her down would already have been taught a lesson for damaging the merchandise.

her current pimp / bar is as useless as teats on a boar hog. she was as much a victim of bad management as of the beating that sasquatch gave her. her pimp / bar should have taken care of her hospital bills and the violent trick. it is sad that she had to call another monger for assistance when her pimp / bar is eating off the tricks she turns but leaving her to take all the risks. she needs to change management immediately. hopefully, she was able to claw the monger's ball sack and face with her nails and he did not escape completely unrep001hed. experienced girls know to text the monger's hotel and room number back to their pimp as well as make periodic reports on their status just in case the trick turns out to be an animal. a red flag should go up when a trick insists on locking up a girl's cell phone in his safe or separating her from it in any other way.

[QUOTE=XMan;1617294]Thank you. Ermita church. Sure hope no one used my bad info.

The reason I mentioned the church is that taxi drivers sometimes don't know, or pretend not to know where the Swagman Hotel is. If you say Ermita Church, you'll get pretty close.[/QUOTE]No problem, and it's unlikely anyone used it as it was there for a very short while. You're exactly right about taxi drivers often not knowing the Swagman or Southern Cross (SC); hell, I've even had a few drivers not know where major Manila streets are. I'm at the SC from time to time and I always tell the driver to take me to Ermita church because it is a very well-known landmark. (As is Malate church a good landmark for Cowboy Grill, Exclusiv, Zzyzx, etc. in the Remedios Circle area.).

[QUOTE=XMan;1617294]If you say Ermita Church, you'll get pretty close.[/QUOTE]Plus I love the idea of telling the driver that you're going to church!

For the record I just took the Swagman bus, first time in years. I was a little cautious as I'd heard about broken aircon and other problems, but it was fine. Just a standard ten-passenger van. Good fast driver, and he cut north right across the city so we didn't have to do that usual awful big loop around on EDSA. Got to AC in about 90 minutes, as fast as a cab. Not quite as nice as the Southern Cross bus, but the 11:30 am service is a lot better for me than 3:30 pm.

Note that they seem to leave as soon as they fill up, so get there half an hour or so before departure time.