A Month in Manila: Random Thoughts
having been coming to the philippines on diving vacations twice a year for the past 15 years, i now find myself living here in manila for a year on a job assignment. a month into it i offer some random musings. for you long-term veterans of the 'pines, i'm afraid there's nothing new or particularly enlightening here. sorry 'bout that! but maybe others might find a few things that match (or don't) their experiences.comments welcome as i am always open to (re)education. hey, who knows, maybe a 'random thoughts' thread may come out of the feedback.
-memo to self: when a gal i've been out with once starts calling me 'honey'. be afraid. be very afraid.
-they've perfected one-stop shopping here. every mall has a chapel.
-memo to self: if a taxi driver tells me, 'my meter isn't working well, how much you can pay? ' get out and find a different taxi.
-the largest sections of the supermarkets are cooking oil and canned meat.
-memo to self: next time i need a bank acct here, but am non-resident and don't have the acr (alien certificate of registration), try hsbc first. amazed that i could show them a passport, a drivers license id, and a 59 day tourist visa, and walk out of there in 45 minutes with a usd acct, a php acct, a php linked checkbook, and a visa debit card.
-the largest sections of the bookstores are bibles and self-help.
-if my gal starts drinking red horse, i'm in for a bumpy ride. or no ride at all.
-memo to self: if the burgos bar waitress cajoles me to buy my gal a drink, tell her 'not yet'. then, if i like the gal sitting next to me, tell her, 'don't worry, i'll leave you a nice tip for the time you spend with me here.' i end up saving money (from the crazy 350 peso ld's), and the gal makes just as much, if not more. a rough formula = 100 php per 30 minutes. more, of course, if the chat is supplemented with 'body language'.
-the most common answer to, 'how long does it take by taxi to get to _____ from here? is 'it depends'.
-memo to self: quit buying those 100 peso 60-minute wireless prepaid cards at sbucks. instead, invest in a smartbro mobile usb router for 1900 pesos. then, with smartbro pre-paid cards (from any smart wireless center), connect for 10 pesos per 30 minutes.
-seems like you can't be a filthy rich politician here without a little boy's nickname.
-memo to self: if the taxi driver, after hearing where i want to go, says something like, 'shall i pass by _______ road (fill in the blank)? ' just say, 'i usually take ______ road, but take whichever street has the least traffic right now.'
-rush hour around here is 24/7.
-memo to self: if i'm on the streets in ermita during a heavy downpour, find a rowboat.
-umbrellas are like amex cards—never leave home without one.
-memo to self: next time i fancy a gal in a burgos bar, resist the urge to pull out the wallet for the outrageous barfine. instead, tell her, 'i don't barfine because i know the bar owner is already rich enough. but i'd be happy to give you my number so you can text me when you are off work. then we can have a real date.' works about 50% of the time. for the other 50% there's always la café.
-starbucks baristas are cute, friendly, gainfully employed. and datable.
-memo to self: next time i put up my profile on date in asia, or one of the other sites, expect to get inundated in the first 48 hours with dozens of inane messages from gals rep001tered all over the country. 'hi, can i be your friend, text me at _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
-'taglish', with its reliance on strong vowels, rolled r's and a melodious lilt, is a wonderful linguistic creature.
-memo to self: don't meet a gal from dia based solely on her profile photo. duh!
-in spite of the poverty and crappy, fatty, fast food diet, filipinas have lovely white teeth. go figure.
-memo to self: wanna make a fortune here? invest in a plastic dashboard jesus factory.
-who the hell gives the bar girls those ridiculous names? 'bambi'? 'chastity'? 'yuki'? 'johnnie'? 'rumba'? 'irish', 'apple'? i ran into all of them in one night!
-memo to self: resist the temptation to yell sarcastically, 'yeah, i know, sherlock, i'm not blind! ' when the department store sales clerk follows me around from aisle to aisle telling me the obvious, 'men's socks, sir. men's shoes, sir. shoulder bags, sir.'
-drivers are not actually trying to clip my butt with their rearview mirror as i cross the street; it just seems so.
-memo to self: don't ask a bar girl, 'what's your real name? ' until i'm at least back at my place with her.
-what's the deal with the demand from landlords for post dated checks to cover the whole rent period.
-memo to self: next time i want to rent a condo or apt, remember that the rent is almost always negotiable. offer more up front as a negotiating tool.
-the most common definition of 'kuripot', when muttered by a gal i'm with, seems to be 'you cheap bastard, why won't you give me as much money as i want whenever i want it'. my other boyfriends do.
-memo to self: when a gal i've gone out with once texts me that 'there's some problem at work and i didn't receive my salary yet', don't reply. ever.
-the most frequent oxymoron i've heard here: 'i'm a simple woman.'
[size=-2][b][u]editor's note[/u]:[/b] [blue]i would suggest that the author or another forum member consider posting a link to this report in the reports of distinction thread. please [url=http://www.internationalsexguide.info/forum/announcement-reportsofdistinction.php]click here[/url] for more information.[/blue][/size]
Angeles comparisons; the air; the costs; the temps
Mostly I have been a long time Mexico monger.
Being not bad looking, I usually had no trouble picking up women right of the street with a simple: Quiesera una muchacha por me cuarto por una hora.
But as I have gotten older the prices have gone up and it is not as easy to attract the right attention from the right women.
Now I am seriously looking at living in the Phil. I do not have the income or job to be going back and forth, so it is more a matter of where to settle.
Seems to me from what I have read that the ONLY really CHEAP place for bar sex in the Philippines is Angeles. But since I don't do bars much anyways, it is more relevant to me how accessible the non-pros or part time pros are, or just the sluts ;-)
The barfines I have seen from other places, CDO, Bacolod are outrageous-P3500 for example. What a joke. That is more than most
filipinas pay for rent in a month.
How much effort do I have to put in to do what I did in Mexico, pick up freelancers? I go for the quick close, I don't like to spend alot of time courting them just to get them into the sack. Do not mean to offend, but sorry I don't believe all the stories I see here about how easily and quickly you meet them in the mall and then they are in bed with you an hour later.
Also I am thinking of living there for some time and found this list of best cities to live in the Phil:
[url]http://moneysense.com.ph/wordpress/2008/04/best-places-to-live/[/url]
Can anyone who has been to these places rank them in terms of air quality, relative climate, housing costs and ease of freelance pickup/putout?
Thanks for any good feedback.
