General Info

[QUOTE=Mongerman69;1366901]Just wondering about getting around the country, and the safest, most economical ways to do so. Advice on getting between islands, things to watch for, scams, or even places to avoid during my month long trip. Just looking for general advice from the vets.[/QUOTE]Some general advice:

If you buy well in advance and plan to travel very light, it's worth shopping Cebu Pacific, Philippine Air and others for economical airfares between various destinations. Read the fine print on the bargain prices.

Buses and ferries are the most practical modes of travel between some destinations, but both can eat up a lot of time from a short stay in the Phils. Air conditioned buses have reasonably comfortable seats but may get very crowded. Non-air conditioned buses, in addition to getting very hot, often have hard seats. Route information and station locations can often be found online.

Unfortunately, the best travel between particular destinations is often particularistic, and ISGers are unlikely to lay out the various details when you ask such a general question. Lonely Planet and other similar travel guides, as long as you get a current guide, are usually pretty good on travel information and touristy sites. They make snide remarks about monger activities, so just ignore these and use them for what they do well.

[QUOTE=Mongerman69;1366901]Just wondering about getting around the country, and the safest, most economical ways to do so. Advice on getting between islands, things to watch for, scams, or even places to avoid during my month long trip. Just looking for general advice from the vets.[/QUOTE]You mentioned month long trip. If you will be entering the Philippines without a visa you will be issued a free tourist visa good for 21 days not including your arrival day. Please note that you will need a visa extension if you will stay longer than 21 days. You can visit any BI office to get the extension. Cost 3030php. Wear long pants, closed toe shoes and a shirt with a collar, like a golf shirt. Although a clean t-shirt will do so long as it's not a wife beater. No shorts, no flip-flops or sandals, otherwise you might be renting some god-awful clothes or shoes from a local outside the gate.

BI was supposed to extend the 21day tourist visa to 30days sometime in 2012 but as of yet the change has not been implemented. Maybe Jan 1st? But don't hold your breath on that one.

[QUOTE=Hutsori; 1366760]Really?

Wikipedia isn't the most authoritative source, but a quick read turns this up:

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I do have an interest in getting the facts before I start using or believing absolutes such as "never". Up to you to decide whether the apology and compensation was sufficient.

Was the Japanese Imperial military the most horrific or nastiest one in world history, as someone else has written? I'm pretty sure Genghis Khan's Mongol horde tops Japan's. Here's a quote: 'Man's greatest joy is to slay his enemy, plunder his riches, ride his steeds, see the tears of his loved ones and embrace his women. ' I recently saw a documentary on Discovery or NatGeo that stated 1 in 200 of the world's male population is a direct descendent of Genghis Khan. In Asia it's 8% of all males.[/QUOTE]Just joined ISG to better plan my return to RP after a 20 year hiatus. Haven't been there since my squadron rotated through NAS Cubi Point in the early 1990s. Visit "Philippines General Info" and the first posts I read are regarding Japan with several grossly uninformed rants about what the Imperial Japanese Army did during WWII how they are the "most horrific and nastiest" ever. Really?

Hutsori (sp) closed the loop on some absurd statements with his very well put together statement above. Japan officially apologizes about every 2-3 years in general or to specific countries, and backs it up with yen in reparations. That is how it has official diplomatic relations with everyone in Asia save North Korea. The calls for apologies every couple of years from some corner of Asia formerly under the Japanese boot has more to do with diplomatic leverage for a particular bi-lateral or multilateral circumstance, as political cover during times of times of economic turmoil, and (as seen recently the East China Sea) as political cover during large dictatorial power turnovers (China).

I will add perspective in addition to Hutsori's (sp) mention of Genghis Khan (look up his descendents Kublai Khan and Tamerlane for some added brutality). Hell, read about the Roman Legions, Khymer Rouge, etc. I could go on and on.

My added perspective is the Philippine-American War (1899-1902).1/9th (estimated 1, 000, 000 of 9, 000, 000) of the Philippine population was killed during the 3 year war, mostly from disease while being locked up in concentration camps created by US Forces to separate rebels from their support. Additionally, there are hundreds of firsthand published reports in US newspapers of entire villages and towns being slaughtered and torched by US Forces. This is a true "black hole" in US history that no one ever mentions. I used to wonder why the Filipinos liked us so much. Must not teach much history there.

To put it in perspective, Philippine casualties during WW2 were approximately 860, 000 (Wikipedia).60, 000 military deaths. 800, 000 civilian related to the war. This is out of a total population in 1945 of 16, 000, 000. That equates to a casualty rate of a little more than 1/20. Far less than 1/9th.

I didn't pull this out of a hat; we read about it the Philippine Insurrection during a portion of Naval War College (I'm a retired Marine Colonel / Naval Aviator) dealing with insurgency. (Although the majority of readings were from the Algerian War of the late 1950s and Vietnam).

Taking how much you all love the RP and some even live there, perhaps you should read some more of the local history. Regards.

[QUOTE=Bakabon23; 1366995]snip. And the first posts I read are regarding Japan with several grossly uninformed rants about what the Imperial Japanese Army did during WII how they are the "most horrific and nastiest" ever. Really?

Snip. Taking how much you all love the RP and some even live there, perhaps you should read some more of the local history.[/QUOTE]Not another crying heart apologist for the Japanese? You are going to be a real useful member of the forum if this cherry post is a guide of what to expect in future. Mind you, it makes a change from the usual stupid, endlessly repeated questions asked by Noobs, which was probably posed and answered on the previous page or two, if they had only bothered to RTFF. Mind you, on reflection, I suspect that you are not a noob.

Comparing the behaviour of the Japanese Imperial Army, in war, to the mongol hordes is appropriate and perhaps not too extreme. Both were vicious, cruel and implacable in war and conquest, to both civilian populations that came under their sway and to combatants that were unlucky enough to be taken by them.

I had an uncle who was captured in Singapore and later used as expendable slave labour on the death railway in Burma. He was one of the lucky ones who survived the experience but it affected his physical and mental health for the rest of his life. He lived till the late eighties, long enough to see the Japanese economic miracle. But he, like most FEPOWs, was ever able to forgive the Japs for what they did to his comrades and himself. He would never have anything made in Japan in his house which was a bloody inconvenience for his wife and family. As far as I know, he never received an apology from the Japanese Government.

War is a nasty business but the Japanese Forces, in war, was a particularly brutal and unforgiving enemy. Even the Nazis treated their POWs better than they did.

Thought it was the British who invented the concentration camp idea in the Boer war? Are you claiming this dubious distinction for the USA?

[QUOTE=Stroker Ace88; 1366965]Please note that you will need a visa extension if you will stay longer than 21 days. You can visit any BI office to get the extension. Cost 3030php. Wear long pants, closed toe shoes and a shirt with a collar, like a golf shirt. Although a clean t-shirt will do so long as it's not a wife beater. No shorts, no flip-flops or sandals, otherwise you might be renting some god-awful clothes or shoes from a local outside the gate.

BI was supposed to extend the 21day tourist visa to 30days sometime in 2012 but as of yet the change has not been implemented. Maybe Jan 1st? But don't hold your breath on that one.[/QUOTE]Or you could get the extension at the airport (NAIA) for around 2800 pesos. Go the small office on the left of the foriegn toursit immigration / passport desks and there you can wait for 15 mins and they will provide you a 59 day visa. Much easier than going to a BI office

[QUOTE=Wicked Roger;1367204]Or you could get the extension at the airport (NAIA) for around 2800 pesos. Go the small office on the left of the foriegn toursit immigration / passport desks and there you can wait for 15 mins and they will provide you a 59 day visa. Much easier than going to a BI office[/QUOTE]How do you get to immigration area without holding a boarding pass at NAIA?

Thought it was the British who invented the concentration camp idea in the Boer war? Are you claiming this dubious distinction for the USA?[/QUOTE]Not sure the Americans were the inventors, but the North and South both had POW camps during the Civil War that were pretty ugly. And yes, the Japanese army in WWII was worse than brutal. I had an elderly Dutch neighbor captured in Indonesia that survived many of their camps. He somehow managed to keep his sanity for after the war.

[QUOTE=Sammon;1367305]How do you get to immigration area without holding a boarding pass at NAIA?[/QUOTE]This is as you arrrive Sammon not on the way out.

As you walk towards passport control for foreginers on the left is a small office, pop in there ask the extension, hop out once you have and pass through to baggage reclaim. Easier and much better than queuing up later

[QUOTE=Wicked Roger; 1367380]This is as you arrrive Sammon not on the way out.

As you walk towards passport control for foreginers on the left is a small office, pop in there ask the extension, hop out once you have and pass through to baggage reclaim. Easier and much better than queuing up later[/QUOTE]Rog,

Just to clear up some confusion, what NAIA terminal are you refering to? T1? T2? T3?

On one side of T2 international arrival wing as you come down the stairs there's a small room off to the left, BI passport control straight ahead, on the right side is the connection desk and the loo located under the stairs. On the other side of T2 international arrival wing when you come down the stairs there's no place to go but to the loo located on the left under the stairs and BI passport control straight ahead.

T3 no idea where the BI office is located.

[QUOTE=Sammon;1367305]How do you get to immigration area without holding a boarding pass at NAIA?[/QUOTE]Sam,

Yep Rog was talking about when arriving at NAIA on an international flight and being able to get a 59day visa extention before going through the BI passport control booth.

[QUOTE=Bakabon23; 1366995]My added perspective is the Philippine-American War (1899-1902).1/9th (estimated 1, 000, 000 of 9, 000, 000) of the Philippine population was killed during the 3 year war, mostly from disease while being locked up in concentration camps created by US Forces to separate rebels from their support. Additionally, there are hundreds of firsthand published reports in US newspapers of entire villages and towns being slaughtered and torched by US Forces. This is a true "black hole" in US history that no one ever mentions. I used to wonder why the Filipinos liked us so much. Must not teach much history there.

Taking how much you all love the RP and some even live there, perhaps you should read some more of the local history. Regards.[/QUOTE]The Philippine-American War is a useful comparison. It may help put things in perspective. I am neither Filipino nor an Ex-Pat, but I have read Filipino history written by Filipinos (and Americans). The accounts I have read suggest their were atrocities on both sides, and most acknowledge that the Americans forced civilians into ghetto confinements (ostensibly to "protect" innocent villagers from rebels) and perfected the use of water torture and extracting confessions by hanging suspects up by their thumbs. And reports were written about American forces wiping out entire villages. Some were probably true, but domestic American journalistic sources at the time were not very reliable, since the conversation was widely divided among strident imperialists and anti-imperialists. Both sides employed hand-picked journalists to get out their particular versions of events. War is hell.

The numbers of Filipinos killed in the Phil-Am War is widely disputed. Stanley Karnow, for example, has put the number at 200, 000. Renato Constantino, usually regarded as having written the first Filipino-centric history of the Philippines, similarly cites the figure 200, 000. Other historians have suggested between 200 and 250, 000. An American general, Bell, claimed that one sixth of the population of Luzon alone (about 600, 000) had been killed. Military leaders, of course, have their own agendas to serve in pronouncing enemy casualty counts. The one million number (or even 1. 4 million from another source) was calculated from "estimates" of the population before and after the war. Problem is, it's not clear who conducted either estimate, nor what, if any, methods they used. Other popluation estimates put the population at 6. 7 and 7. 5 million, respectively. But just for perspective, approximately 126,000 Americans served at one time or another in the Phil-Am War. So if 1.4 million Filipinos were killed, that's an average of more than 11 per American soldier. I understand upholding the image of the American fighting man, but this claim is a little beyond belief.

I confess I had never thought of the Naval War College as a primary source for "local" Philippine history.

Why did Filipinos love Americans inspite of these atrocities? Many reasons. Despite tacit racism and thinly veiled self-interests, the Americans did introduce universal primary education and government institutions like those back home. They did promise independence even as the commonwealth government was being instituted, and they followed through on the promise. The 39 or so years under the Americans probably stood in stark contrast to either the Spanish colonizers or the Japanese WWII occupation. A more cynical view, sometimes echoed by Ex-Pats in this forum, is that Filipinos are compliant and loyal people. There's a long history to this that far precedes the American incursion; it includes loyalty to harsh Spanish rulers and Catholic hegemony. Interestingly, the Philippine national martyr, Jose Rizal, believed Filipinos were not ready for self-rule in the late 19th Century, and thus distanced himself from the Katipunan and others (Bonifacio, Aguinaldo, etc.) who espoused violent rebellion. And despite American duplicity in dealings with Aguinaldo and others, many of the Philippine ilustrados (educated elites) actually believed the Americans' initial benevolent intentions. The armed engagement led by Aguinaldo and others against the Americans was hardly a universal sentiment.

[QUOTE=Stroker Ace88; 1367390]Rog,

Just to clear up some confusion, what NAIA terminal are you refering to? T1? T2? T3?[/QUOTE]Terminal 1 as this where most of us who arrive in the country enter through.

Am not sure T2 or T3 as when using the latter (as a Cebu Pacific passenger) I never need to get an extension

Well clearly the anti trafficking measures are really working well at manila airport.

Last night in Beijing (was a mere minus 5 for all you short and tshirt clad wimps LOL) I met a 22 year old Filipina who is an ocassional bedmate.

She bought along two friends who were cold, who are also pinay and working in Beijing. One was 18 and one was 19 (they didn't join as bedmates sadly) _.

I asked them how they could get past all the anti trafficking crusaders aka immigration officials.

One of them blithely replied that she had a grandmother working in immigration in Manila airport and she helped them bypass immigration checks.

[QUOTE=Wicked Roger; 1367501]Terminal 1 as this where most of us who arrive in the country enter through.

Am not sure T2 or T3 as when using the latter (as a Cebu Pacific passenger) I never need to get an extension[/QUOTE]My last time through Term 3 (Cebu Pacific from Hong Kong) the immigration office had never heard of getting a visa extension on arrival there. 'This was last summer I had posted the news elsewhere, sorry seems I forgot to post it here.

[QUOTE=Wicked Roger; 1367501]Terminal 1 as this where most of us who arrive in the country enter through.

Am not sure T2 or T3 as when using the latter (as a Cebu Pacific passenger) I never need to get an extension[/QUOTE]T1 all airlines. Almost.

T2.Philippines Airlines.

T3. Cebu Pac (and Air Phil Express and Zeste. I think.)