Travel Announcements Only (No questions or comments please)

[QUOTE=Lomion]Have 4 month unintentional vacation coming up and will prob go to Boracay from Mid April to Early August. Not trying to pay crazy resort rates though .... looking at keeping this entire 4 months under US$8K (lodging / food / drinking / diving / women).

Anybody know any contacts or sugestions in the area for getting a furnished pad on (or near) the beach in a location close to some nightlife and diving. A live in local girl would be great also.

I can do multiple bedrooms also if anybody wants to join me for part of the time / needs a place to crash for a bit. Its cheaper to spread the rent and as I am traveling by myself, always enjoyable to find somebody to start the night off with drinking / bullshitting / speaking english before picking up the locals.

As for why Boracay .. no reason other than I want to get some diving in and I have been told there is a PADI course here as I need to get certified. Trying to avoid Malaysia at the moment (cartoon issues) and have already did the Thailand circuit. I am open for other travel suggestions.[/QUOTE]Sand Castles has fully furnished apartments for rent for long term lease The place is owned by an Aussie,Greg Hutchinson 632-823-2725 or mobile 63-917-8193049 [url]www.tribaladventures.com.[/url]

[QUOTE=Lomion]Have 4 month unintentional vacation coming up and will prob go to Boracay from Mid April to Early August. Not trying to pay crazy resort rates though .... looking at keeping this entire 4 months under US$8K (lodging / food / drinking / diving / women).

Anybody know any contacts or sugestions in the area for getting a furnished pad on (or near) the beach in a location close to some nightlife and diving. A live in local girl would be great also.

I can do multiple bedrooms also if anybody wants to join me for part of the time / needs a place to crash for a bit. Its cheaper to spread the rent and as I am traveling by myself, always enjoyable to find somebody to start the night off with drinking / bullshitting / speaking english before picking up the locals.

As for why Boracay .. no reason other than I want to get some diving in and I have been told there is a PADI course here as I need to get certified. Trying to avoid Malaysia at the moment (cartoon issues) and have already did the Thailand circuit. I am open for other travel suggestions.[/QUOTE]

Cannot help you with Boracay, but if you're interested in looking at Davao I can help with both the PADI certification course and the apartment.
GE

GE, I was thinking about getting dive cert myself. Is it Henny doing that in Davao? I seem to remember you telling me he was a master diver. How much and how long does it take?

X

[QUOTE=X Man]GE, I was thinking about getting dive cert myself. Is it Henny doing that in Davao? I seem to remember you telling me he was a master diver. How much and how long does it take?

X[/QUOTE]
There are several dive shops and instructors here, but Henny is without question the best and the most highly-qualified. He only takes one pupil at a time, and his charge is PhP14,000 including the rental of the equipment and the tanks. It typically takes 4 days if you're going for your first certification. This typically includes 2 days in a pool and 2 in the ocean.

Let me know if you're interested and I'll send you Henny's email address. You can then contact him directly to make the arrangements. Once you're certified, you're welcome to join us. There's a group of us that goes out almost every Saturday and we have a great time.

GE

Anyone plan on being at LA Cafe on 31st March ? If so i am more than happy to have a beer for more with fellow members and or their associate.

Let me know.

14,000 p is a very fair price. About what I paid more than ten years ago. The RP is a great place to get certified. Nice warm water for "check out/training" dives plus nice scenery even while learning, and hard to beat the "top side" venue.

Sounds like you're in good hands with GE.

FD

Guys,

I think everybody with an intrest in traveling to the Filipinas has seen the news lately. I have seen some sh*t on tv recently...protestors...militairy...tanks roll in true Manila City...etc..etc...etc..

Whats up with that emercency state?? I mean could things get worse for forreigners?? Should I back off from my trip next month to see my GF? The ticket is allready booked and paid for....

Anybody got more info about this?

happy mongering

Johan

Johann:

No worries at all. The army stayed in its barracks, and a few thousand people hit the streets protesting against the government. There's nothing out of the ordinary here. Foreigners are in no greater danger than usual, and the PI is still the PI.

:D

GE

[QUOTE=GoodEnough]Johann:

No worries at all. The army stayed in its barracks, and a few thousand people hit the streets protesting against the government. There's nothing out of the ordinary here. Foreigners are in no greater danger than usual, and the PI is still the PI.

:D

GE[/QUOTE]In Cebu,There are not even any soldiers on the streets and NO rallies.I heard that was the same in Davao and AC also.Of course I had some cancellations @#%&&% But thats life,The were some people having their picture taken in the rally in Makati though,Great souvenir pictures

[QUOTE=Johan007]Guys,

I think everybody with an intrest in traveling to the Filipinas has seen the news lately. I have seen some sh*t on tv recently...protestors...militairy...tanks roll in true Manila City...etc..etc...etc..

Whats up with that emercency state?? I mean could things get worse for forreigners?? Should I back off from my trip next month to see my GF? The ticket is allready booked and paid for....

Anybody got more info about this?

happy mongering

Johan[/QUOTE]I landed at 12:30 pm today, got picked up by the hotel driver and passed through Manila on the way to Angeles. I saw nothing, no idea that anything is going on.

I'll be in manila during these days. Planning on some LA cafe and maybe some P.Burgos St. Staying on Roxas Blvd. Please PM me if you'd like to hook up.

[QUOTE=Johan007]Guys,

I think everybody with an intrest in traveling to the Filipinas has seen the news lately. I have seen some sh*t on tv recently...protestors...militairy...tanks roll in true Manila City...etc..etc...etc..

Whats up with that emercency state?? I mean could things get worse for forreigners?? Should I back off from my trip next month to see my GF? The ticket is allready booked and paid for....

Anybody got more info about this?

happy mongering

Johan[/QUOTE]

I was in Makati about three years ago when there was the real attempted coup by some military officers. Even that one was really less then played up by the press.

In most cases the protesters are paid to run the streets by the opposing party if you ask me. I have been told this by locals. For 20 pesos they will go protest for you and vote for the way you ask as well, although that would be hard to prove as they could vote for anyone once in side the polls and tell you anything.

One surprising thing, or at least to me it was surprising, is during this attempted military coup by the some renegade officers in the military I was in the P. Burgos bars on most the nights. They never closed of course. Most of the girls did not approve of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and hoped she would resign. I thought she would have had more support from the ladies

FF

Hey guys, newb here, this is my first post, though I've been trolling a while. I'm going to be in Manilla for a couple weeks in May and I've got a question regarding the hotels.

I was considering staying at the best western in Makati, but I've seen people mention elsewhere that you can get rooms much cheaper in Manilla if you don't book in advance through an online agency. Is there any truth to this?

I'd like to spend anywhere from 30-50 per night, obviously the less the better, but I'd also like to have a somewhat nice place. CL gave me some recommendations, but I didn't ask about the whole walkin thing.

Anyway, this will be my first trip out of the USA, so I'm excited. I'm going with a friend who is from the area, so to stay near where he's at I need to find a place in Makati or Quezon city. If a walk-in rate is really that much better, I could stay with his family for a night or so until I find a place that suites me.

I'll also be in Boracay for a few days if anyone wants to meet up. I'll be in Manilla the second and third week of May, but I don't know exactly which days we'll be in Boracay.

Take it easy

[QUOTE=Xtorted Decay]Hey guys, newb here, this is my first post, though I've been trolling a while. I'm going to be in Manilla for a couple weeks in May and I've got a question regarding the hotels.

I was considering staying at the best western in Makati, but I've seen people mention elsewhere that you can get rooms much cheaper in Manilla if you don't book in advance through an online agency. Is there any truth to this?

I'd like to spend anywhere from 30-50 per night, obviously the less the better, but I'd also like to have a somewhat nice place. CL gave me some recommendations, but I didn't ask about the whole walkin thing.

Anyway, this will be my first trip out of the USA, so I'm excited. I'm going with a friend who is from the area, so to stay near where he's at I need to find a place in Makati or Quezon city. If a walk-in rate is really that much better, I could stay with his family for a night or so until I find a place that suites me.

I'll also be in Boracay for a few days if anyone wants to meet up. I'll be in Manilla the second and third week of May, but I don't know exactly which days we'll be in Boracay.

Take it easy[/QUOTE]

[color=blue]Xtorted Decay,
I will suggest you stay at the Cherry Blossom in Ermita. I've stayed there more than 15 times in the past 4 years. It is a decent place, next to Robinson's Mall (1 min walk), 5 min walk to the LA Cafe and in general just a good location.
The price has been php1,250 if you make reservation in advance. They will answer your email and confirm. I've never had a problem with a lost reservation or anything. You also get a breakfast for 2 every morning, but you have to go down to get it before 0930. They also call your room when the ladies leave without you to make sure you didn't get rolled too. The rooms have all been redone in the last year and they added 2 more floors a year ago. This place is not a pure monger hotel, they have conferences and other events going on. I was there once when they had a PI Educator's conference.
The email is: [email]blossoms@i-manila.com[/email]


Forgot to also say, they haven't had Internet so far, but it's coming. I normally get a dial up card at 7-11 and use the phone in the room. It cost php10 per call, even if it's 2 hours or more.

Don't worry you will like the place it’s not a dump, location is everything and at php1250 a night you can't beat it.

Have a wonderful trip.

RaZZoR [/color]

[QUOTE=Xtorted Decay]Hey guys, newb here, this is my first post, though I've been trolling a while. I'm going to be in Manilla for a couple weeks in May and I've got a question regarding the hotels.

I was considering staying at the best western in Makati, but I've seen people mention elsewhere that you can get rooms much cheaper in Manilla if you don't book in advance through an online agency. Is there any truth to this?

I'd like to spend anywhere from 30-50 per night, obviously the less the better, but I'd also like to have a somewhat nice place. CL gave me some recommendations, but I didn't ask about the whole walkin thing.

Anyway, this will be my first trip out of the USA, so I'm excited. I'm going with a friend who is from the area, so to stay near where he's at I need to find a place in Makati or Quezon city. If a walk-in rate is really that much better, I could stay with his family for a night or so until I find a place that suites me.

I'll also be in Boracay for a few days if anyone wants to meet up. I'll be in Manilla the second and third week of May, but I don't know exactly which days we'll be in Boracay.

Take it easy[/QUOTE]Hi Send me A PM,If you want to really stay at the Best Western,Their Sales Manager used to work for me and I can get you a rate of about 1,300 pesos or about 25$.Cheers and Best Regards