Angeles City

You guys are hilarious. Well, some of you are. One guy continues whining.

[QUOTE=MrEnternational;1836857]I like to pass the driver a 1000 piso bill.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Hutsori;1836727]As the barriers to entry, such as training and skills, are practically non-existent for a prostitute it really isn't a profession. More a job, I think. SNIP [/QUOTE]Thanks. Completely missed that angle. I was not thinking of it in terms of professionalism at all. Was thinking of it more from the viewpoint of the ladies (and certain gents). Ladies in LA Cafe, Atlantis, and High Heels understand they are puta (pro's, full-timers, call it what you want). They even on occasion talk about providing sex acts as their job. "Of course I sex you no condom. Its my job" (exact quote in Body Shop). "You don't f*ck my ass. Or you give 1000 more for that" (another exact quote recently in a Burgos bar). There is no confusing these women as sex providers for money.

[QUOTE=Hutsori;1836727]A better, more accurate expression for semi-pro is part-timer, a girl who does this from time to time. Perhaps semi-pro is intended to be a euphemism, but part-timer isn't too harsh or blunt an expression in and of itself. [/QUOTE]Part-timer might be a more accurate description than semi-pro. These girls may (or may not) think of themselves as prostitutes (whether they are or they are not is another matter).

In my mind, there is a clear distinction between these two types of women. A rose is a rose. For the full-timers mentioned from the quotes above, you wouldn't hesitate (the first time you met her) to say something like: Can you swallow for an extra 500? OTOH, imagine a DIA girl you meet for the first time in CDO. She might have been fully willing to sleep with you the first time you met her, and hoping you would put 1000 pesos in her purse in the morning. However once those words about swallowing for 500 leave your mouth, you've got 2 seconds to get your face out of the way of her swinging hand. She doesn't consider herself puta, even though you are the third foreigner she's slept with (for money) in the last year. Of course, by definition, she's a prostitute. But she might not see it that way (and BTW, some gents don't see it that way either).

[QUOTE=MrEnternational;1836857]I like to pass the driver a 1000 piso bill.[/QUOTE]You might have to wait a week for the change. Not that someone would pocket your money on the way to the driver. If I remembered right the driver pays 400 pesos a day for jeepney rental plus fuel cost and possibly some kind of payment to the stations. He is lucky if he gets 4 round trips a day with 14 passengers out of the chute each time. Not a whole lot of pesos there.

I am kind of surprised you would be carrying a 1 k note! Jk.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1836641]Apropos of the "trike" discussion............[/QUOTE]The problem with trike drivers in Angeles is that there are too many of them. Although they get more per ride than anywhere else in the PI, they are not as busy. This probably causes them to be cutthroat. If you visit the hinterlands, trike drivers are different. A ride in Dumaguete is about 20 pesos. The issue with the AC trike drivers is not the extra pesos that they are shaking you down for but rather the unrelenting nickle and dimeing and where are you going to draw the line. Sometimes I feel like the people in the PI want me to unload my money as quickly as possible upon arrival and don't come back until I have some more. But as for me, I ride the Jeep whenever possible just to avoid the aggravation with the trike drivers. Sometimes I take a jeep even with a girl that I am taking back to my hotel. If the trike driver changes the terms after the ride is over, I just give him what was first agreed on and walk away. Finally, you have to have some sympathy and understanding for these guys; what a way to earn a living. Many sleep in their trikes rain or shine. Not much future or upward mobility in that job.

[QUOTE=XMan;1836923]Orchid Inn - before and after.[/QUOTE]I quite liked the earlier "tree through the roof" version, but I guess that's progress.

[QUOTE=RedKilt;1837011]I quite liked the earlier "tree through the roof" version, but I guess that's progress.[/QUOTE]Actually, even the "tree through the roof version" shows a type of Philippine "progress. " Throughout Metro Manila and other quickly urbanizing settings you see where they have paved a sidewalk or courtyard right up to the trunk of some tree that had the misfortune to have grown there. Then, since no water can get through to the tree's roots, the tree dies a slow death, one major branch at a time. Then they cut off the major branches a little above where they branch off from the main trunk. When the tree falls or can be pushed over easily, progress is complete. This appears to be the approach that was taken with this unfortunate tree.

[QUOTE=MrEnternational;1836857]I like to pass the driver a 1000 piso bill.[/QUOTE]And then you get 992 one-peso-coins as change? LOL.

[QUOTE=Pompetus;1836968] The issue with the AC trike drivers is not the extra pesos that they are shaking you down for but rather the unrelenting nickle and dimeing and where are you going to draw the line. [/QUOTE]Not just the trike drivers who try to nickel and dime you, but just about everyone you deal with in the Phils. And that includes the government.

[QUOTE]Sometimes I feel like the people in the PI want me to unload my money as quickly as possible upon arrival and don't come back until I have some more. [/QUOTE]That about sums it up! But I still love it here. After all: "It's More Fun In The Philippines"!

[QUOTE=Mogwai;1837089]And then you get 992 one-peso-coins as change? LOL.[/QUOTE]Well a few things to note and lets see if anyone agrees.

I have never been squeezed by a Jeep driver, the price is fixed. AC and bumfuck Visayas or Mindanao its sort of a national law.

I think the pick pocket thing is crazily overated when it comes to us foriegners unless you are very clumsy. Here is why. 99% of the jeeps I ever piled into I was by far the largest person in there. And I'm only 5'10" and 175 pounds 80 kilos right? I keep Nothing in my back pocket as I would guess most seasoned third world travelers observe as well. Once you are in that jeep often you are packed in like sardines. Nobody could squeeze anything out of your body without you noticing.

The only way you can get picked is getting in and out. The severe crouch of getting in and out leaves only your back pockets exposed.

Any world traveler who keep anything of value in his back pocket is crazy. Jeep street etc. I guess if your trousers are so tight that it would take a crow bar to pry your wallet out of your ass pocket then go for it. I'm too old to wear the ball crushing style.

If you are a much bigger than me guy and / or not younger or more agile I would avoid the jeep experience. Its a f-ing tight fit designed for a relatively small or young populace.

Once you get inside a jeep its the best of the Phils culture honestly. Everyone moves around to let everyone fit in. You just hand your money as long as your arm extends and the change comes back its never a haggle and the fellow passengers pass it on its natural all learn from birth is like breathing air. Just tell the driver where you want to go and he will tell you if he goes by there. The jeep is a unique Phils experience and so local that even in a place like AC its clean. You just bang on the ceiling wherever you want to get off or say hey boss right here and he hits the brakes. The pinoy jeep drivers are the hardest working most honest guys in the entire country especially in AC.

[QUOTE=Pantot;1837366]Well a few things to note and lets see if anyone agrees.

I have never been squeezed by a Jeep driver, the price is fixed. AC and bumfuck Visayas or Mindanao its sort of a national law.

I think the pick pocket thing is crazily overated when it comes to us foriegners unless you are very clumsy. Here is why. 99% of the jeeps I ever piled into I was by far the largest person in there. And I'm only 5'10" and 175 pounds 80 kilos right? I keep Nothing in my back pocket as I would guess most seasoned third world travelers observe as well. Once you are in that jeep often you are packed in like sardines. Nobody could squeeze anything out of your body without you noticing.

The only way you can get picked is getting in and out. The severe crouch of getting in and out leaves only your back pockets exposed.

Any world traveler who keep anything of value in his back pocket is crazy. Jeep street etc. I guess if your trousers are so tight that it would take a crow bar to pry your wallet out of your ass pocket then go for it. I'm too old to wear the ball crushing style.

If you are a much bigger than me guy and / or not younger or more agile I would avoid the jeep experience. Its a f-ing tight fit designed for a relatively small or young populace.

Once you get inside a jeep its the best of the Phils culture honestly. Everyone moves around to let everyone fit in. You just hand your money as long as your arm extends and the change comes back its never a haggle and the fellow passengers pass it on its natural all learn from birth is like breathing air. Just tell the driver where you want to go and he will tell you if he goes by there. The jeep is a unique Phils experience and so local that even in a place like AC its clean. You just bang on the ceiling wherever you want to get off or say hey boss right here and he hits the brakes. The pinoy jeep drivers are the hardest working most honest guys in the entire country especially in AC.[/QUOTE]This whole discussion is an eye opener for me, even after 11 years here, during which time I've never ridden on a public jeepney. It is however, an experience I would prefer to have vicariously. And I leave it to you younger, more agile and adventurous guys to keep writing about it. I'm a strong advocate of real mass transit, but unless and until this country actually has any, I will stick to Uber and other private cars.

GE.

[QUOTE=Pantot;1837366]I think the pick pocket thing is crazily overated when it comes to us foriegners unless you are very clumsy. Here is why. 99% of the jeeps I ever piled into I was by far the largest person in there. And I'm only 5'10" and 175 pounds 80 kilos right? I keep Nothing in my back pocket as I would guess most seasoned third world travelers observe as well. Once you are in that jeep often you are packed in like sardines. Nobody could squeeze anything out of your body without you noticing.[/QUOTE]I have used jeepneys on many occasions and neither I nor anyone I know well have been pick pocketed in a jeepney. The reason is simple. People who ride jeepneys are not high rollers. So a much more lucrative target is somebody who is exiting a Western Union or Moneygram facility. "Holdappers," as Filipinos call them, are more likely to work in pairs and figure out a way to trap and strongarm somebody who has just exited such a business, such as when they are walking toward a jeepney stop. There are of course purse snatchers, including those riding as passengers on loud under-powered motorcycles, and those who snatch jewelry and the like from unsuspecting passersby. But these are easier to accomplish in a mall or busy area where the getaway is easier than it is from a jeepney. I have been told about thieves who carry knifes and slit packs and purses in jeepneys to get at valuables. But unlike Pantot's description of the barriers to getting at a rear pocket, these things are more vulnerable because they are out in the open. But I have only heard of these events in second hand accounts.

[QUOTE=SoapySmith;1837380]I have used jeepneys on many occasions and neither I nor anyone I know well have been pick pocketed in a jeepney.[/QUOTE]Was picked once only, walking on Fields in AC, but an old lady. Have taken, and continue to take, all forms of transport. You know, in many provincial cities, there are simply no taxis. One spends a week in Surigao and you jeep / tryke several times a day. If you are worried about getting picked, make sure you divide your money and keep several sources on you (some in this pocket, some in that pocket, some in a sock). A mere p50 remaining on your body will get you to your hotel no matter what city you are in. Try cargo pants or those that have zippers on the pockets (very hard to open quietly on a vehicle that rocks to and fro).

OTOH there are guys in Manila / Cebu who will rob an entire jeep at knifepoint as it sits stopped in traffic.

Went to church in downtown AC. On the way back the guy next to me was squirming. While he distracted me, the guy one over pulled out my wallet. Maybe I didn't pray hard enough.

[QUOTE=SoapySmith;1837380]I have used jeepneys on many occasions and neither I nor anyone I know well have been pick pocketed in a jeepney. The reason is simple. People who ride jeepneys are not high rollers. So a much more lucrative target is somebody who is exiting a Western Union or Moneygram facility. "Holdappers," as Filipinos call them, are more likely to work in pairs and figure out a way to trap and strongarm somebody who has just exited such a business, such as when they are walking toward a jeepney stop. There are of course purse snatchers, including those riding as passengers on loud under-powered motorcycles, and those who snatch jewelry and the like from unsuspecting passersby. But these are easier to accomplish in a mall or busy area where the getaway is easier than it is from a jeepney. I have been told about thieves who carry knifes and slit packs and purses in jeepneys to get at valuables. But unlike Pantot's description of the barriers to getting at a rear pocket, these things are more vulnerable because they are out in the open. But I have only heard of these events in second hand accounts.[/QUOTE]

I liked it too The security guy liked it too. He says it's a lot hotter now. No shade.

[QUOTE=RedKilt;1837011]I quite liked the earlier "tree through the roof" version, but I guess that's progress.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;1837419]Try cargo pants or those that have zippers on the pockets (very hard to open quietly on a vehicle that rocks to and fro)[/QUOTE]Yeah, those are OK, but button the flaps on the cargo pants. A mate's wallet was nicked from his leg pocket by a street seller or accomplice right by Amazonia in Manila. The MO is to get close and distract you with flowers, viagra, whatever. Don't fool yourself that there's safety in numbers; there were four of us close together when the pickpocket struck. The most brazen are the street kids who swarm in groups.