General Info

[QUOTE=Frank Hank]I will be visiting both Manila and Cebu over the next few weeks. I know that this is not a mongering topic, but I am wondering about the tailors there. I bought some suits in China, a few years ago, and they were very good. Are Philippine tailors good? How about the prices?

Any recommendations?[/QUOTE]Umm Frank. Most Filipinos will never wear a suit in their life. Never mind a tie. Except perhaps when they are being buried. As such. Don't bother trying to get suits made in Phils. Thailand is ok. But Shanghai is stilll best.

[QUOTE=Frank Hank]I will be visiting both Manila and Cebu over the next few weeks. I know that this is not a mongering topic, but I am wondering about the tailors there. I bought some suits in China, a few years ago, and they were very good. Are Philippine tailors good? How about the prices?

Any recommendations?[/QUOTE]The "barong" is the formal wear of choice here so suits are not in big demand. China and Korea are good places if you want plenty of choices.

[QUOTE=Frank Hank]I will be visiting both Manila and Cebu over the next few weeks. I know that this is not a mongering topic, but I am wondering about the tailors there. I bought some suits in China, a few years ago, and they were very good. Are Philippine tailors good? How about the prices?

Any recommendations?[/QUOTE]Yes they can be good. Yes they can be cheap. BUT western style suits are less in demand here. The traditional 'Barong' formal wear is still favoured. This is a pair of suit pants over which a funny lookin (to us) shirt type thing is worn. Local tailors outside of Manila can be very very cheap. Tailors in Manila are more familiar with western style suits becuase they are more in demand there.
AV

Go to Byrons in Harrison Plaza, 2nd floor. The owner is a dependable guy, has a number of stores, and does business with a lot of Americans. He travels frequently to California. Prices aren't the best - but they'll get it right.

[QUOTE=Amavida]Yes they can be good. Yes they can be cheap. BUT western style suits are less in demand here. The traditional 'Barong' formal wear is still favoured. This is a pair of suit pants over which a funny lookin (to us) shirt type thing is worn. Local tailors outside of Manila can be very very cheap. Tailors in Manila are more familiar with western style suits becuase they are more in demand there.
AV[/QUOTE]

There's an excellent tailor here called Chardin, around the corner from the Apo View Hotel. This place has made me more than two dozen shirts, as well as pants and a suit and a few barongs, all beautifully done. The prices are quite reasonable, though it's probably the most expensive such shop in Davao. They have a wide selection of excellent cloth as well.

GE

[QUOTE=Amavida] This is a pair of suit pants over which a funny lookin (to us) shirt type thing is worn.
AV[/QUOTE]

They are odd looking to western eyes. A typical Barong is see through and is therefore worn over a white vest or t-shirt. It looks fine on a dark Filipino but not so good on a pale skinned westerner. I have some rather embarrassing photo evidence of the only time that I was talked into wearing one at a formal event. It was back to the boring old short sleeve shirt and tie after I saw the result:D.

[QUOTE=Gamahucher]They are odd looking to western eyes. A typical Barong is see through and is therefore worn over a white vest or t-shirt. It looks fine on a dark Filipino but not so good on a pale skinned westerner. I have some rather embarrassing photo evidence of the only time that I was talked into wearing one at a formal event. It was back to the boring old short sleeve shirt and tie after I saw the result: D.[/QUOTE]Suggest instead of using the barong made from Pina (the semi transparent one) try the linen one. It looks MUCH better on the Western man.

I've worn to a few formal functions and always get good looks, except for the fact tha linen creases easilly.

This is a SEX forum and were talking about shirts. Having a good morning laugh right now.

[QUOTE=FreebieFan]Suggest instead of using the barong made from Pina (the semi transparent one) try the linen one. It looks MUCH better on the Western man.

I've worn to a few formal functions and always get good looks, except for the fact tha linen creases easilly.

This is a SEX forum and were talking about shirts. Having a good morning laugh right now.[/QUOTE]Yeah FF Im having a chuckle too :)
Oh well just to add a little more trivia before returning you to your regular program... The most formal Barong, that which is worn to a wedding, is the semi transparent type made of fibres of pineapple plant. It has special symbolic significance to the locals.
AV

Please forgive me if this has been spoken of before, but I've been searching all over the forums for this kind of information and couldn't find it (about 6 hours).

My question is. Where oh where would I keep an adequate amount of cash in safekeeping? I plan to go to the Philippines in October and want to have enough cash to handle hotels, drinking, girls, and travelling that will tide me over for a month.

At first, I was considering opening a bank account in the Philippines with one of their local banks, deposit cash, get an ATM card from them and withdraw when necessary. However, I had heard that setting up an account was not an easy thing to do.

So, my second option, was only to bring enough cash to last me for my first week and then withdraw as necessary through an international credit card, but I'd heard that using international credit cards was not such a hot idea because of fraud, scams, and so forth. Not to mention the availability of machines in which to withdraw money.

Finally, my third option, was bringing enough cash, keeping it in the hotel safes and taking out as necessary (which would frankly make me paranoid as it is. Since I plan on travelling around the Philippines).

Could any of you Philippines vets please give me some info. On this? What's the best course of action to take?

[QUOTE=Gamahucher]They are odd looking to western eyes. A typical Barong is see through and is therefore worn over a white vest or t-shirt. It looks fine on a dark Filipino but not so good on a pale skinned westerner. I have some rather embarrassing photo evidence of the only time that I was talked into wearing one at a formal event. It was back to the boring old short sleeve shirt and tie after I saw the result:D.[/QUOTE]I did the same thing. I paid 1000P for mine and when I put it with a white t-shirt, it was like I was glowing. After veiwing the pictures, I won't be wearing that again:(

Zackary,

I like to take two ATM cards and store them separately, in case one gets lost, stolen or malfunctions. (I have two different accounts with two different banks that I can withdraw funds from). ATM charges are reasonable, especially considering the fact that you don't have to risk having large amounts of cash stolen. ATM's are more and more common.

If I am going to withdraw money, I'll often ask the hotel security guard to keep any eye on me. They're armed, and happy to do so, particularly if you tip them, like I do.

Hotel safes can be dicey. I've heard stories of guys who have lost money in safes, and it's your word against theirs. There is nothing wrong, though, with keeping a moderate amount of cash in a hotel safe. Withdraw a couple of hundred from the ATM, keep a hundred, and keep the rest in the safe.

I also bought a wire mesh bag that is a portable safe. It has a wire that can be looped around a pipe or item of furniture, and secured with a padlock. This is also good if you have female company that you might not trust around your valuables. This comes in handy for those beach resorts, and many hotels don't have safes.

I prefer to divide up my cash among several pockets, perhaps a waistband under-the-clothes belt, the hotel safe, and my portable safe. The idea is to keep from losing a large bundle of cash --especially because flashing a huge wad of bills can invite trouble.

[QUOTE=Zackary Kr]Please forgive me if this has been spoken of before, but I've been searching all over the forums for this kind of information and couldn't find it (about 6 hours).

My question is. Where oh where would I keep an adequate amount of cash in safekeeping? I plan to go to the Philippines in October and want to have enough cash to handle hotels, drinking, girls, and travelling that will tide me over for a month.

At first, I was considering opening a bank account in the Philippines with one of their local banks, deposit cash, get an ATM card from them and withdraw when necessary. However, I had heard that setting up an account was not an easy thing to do.

So, my second option, was only to bring enough cash to last me for my first week and then withdraw as necessary through an international credit card, but I'd heard that using international credit cards was not such a hot idea because of fraud, scams, and so forth. Not to mention the availability of machines in which to withdraw money.

Finally, my third option, was bringing enough cash, keeping it in the hotel safes and taking out as necessary (which would frankly make me paranoid as it is. Since I plan on travelling around the Philippines).

Could any of you Philippines vets please give me some info. On this? What's the best course of action to take?[/QUOTE]


Just bring a little emergency cash and for the rest just use your ATM from your local bank. The ATM will give you local currency which is what you want and it sure beats exchanging your cash for pesos. I actually bring an ATM card from two different banks just in case something goes wrong. I also notify my banks that I will be overseas.

Sergeant and Southbound,

Thanks for the info. ! I'm now looking into getting 2 different ATM cards to use overseas. Also, the info. About the portable mesh pouch was intriguing. What brand and model are you using?

Unfortunately, where I'm living now (South Korea), I haven't been able to locate that kind of pouch in any of the internet shopping malls yet but it's a great idea for security and would put my mind at ease knowing I'd have that extra safety precaution.

Just as a side note: Excluding the hotel fees.- would about 1000 US in cash sound reasonable as back up? Too much? Too little? (expecting to do some hardcore mongering. Hehe). What amount do you usually feel comfortable handling? Also, how much would be a typical night for hanging out and possibly hooking up in the Manila area? Does about 100 US sound right?

[QUOTE=Zackary Kr]
So, my second option, was only to bring enough cash to last me for my first week and then withdraw as necessary through an international credit card, but I'd heard that using international credit cards was not such a hot idea because of fraud, scams, and so forth. Not to mention the availability of machines in which to withdraw money.
[/QUOTE]

As mentioned earlier, I'd just use your ATM card from your bank and take your withdrawals. I also have two accounts, just in case I can't get enough cash. Not all ATM cards will work in all ATM's there. Some there have different networks than the Plus and Cirrus and aren't accepted. You sometimes have to look for another ATM at another bank. Usually though in the big cities, there is another one very close by. I think you are crazy thinking about taking that much cash with you. Bring some for emergencies and some exchange though. Compared to using your credit card and the charges they most likely charge you, I'd rather pay bank fees for using the ATM card.

I generally go to P.I. for 2 weeks at a time. What works for me is this: I take my ATM card and charge card. My hotel room charges go on my charge card. When I run low on cash (I take about $1500 in crisp $100bills) I use my ATM card and withdraw 10,000p at a time. Sometimes the ATMs will not work, out of service, etc., so don't run completely out of cash. Let your bank know you are traveling to the P.I. so they don't block your card when they see the charges. I put my "big money" in my left pocket, my spending money in my right pocket. My wallet and ID I leave in my room. If you are robbed you try to throw the money from your right pocket one way and run the other way...that's what I've read, never had it happen, knock on wood.

Do what feels comfortable, have a backup plan..a friend at home you can call for $$$ if the worst happens.