General Info

[quote=goodenough;1408899]speaking of the well know mindanao power deficit, there was a lengthy article in the inquirer yesterday or the day before bemoaning the fact that politicians have known about the impending crisis for about ten years, but in typical filipino fashion have done nothing about it but make speeches. i guess we're now reaping the dubious benefits of monopolistic control of the power sector, lack of competition and corruption. the bottom line of course, as always here, is that no one with the power to ameliorate the situaton gives a damn unless he sees a way of exploiting the situtation to his own advantage. the general economy of the region suffers of course from a lack of reliable power, but in the end, so long as the oligarchs aren't affected, no one cares. t'was ever thus here and will be so for the foreseeable future.[/quote]trust you ge, to turn a simple comment about the hot weather and my high meralco bill, into a vehement statement about the lamentable ineptitude, verging on the criminal, that percolates down through every rotten level of the economic and political strata of this mismanaged, dysfunctional country.

but you may be interested to know how this impacts on the peso in yours and my pockets. the cost of power to the end user, in the philippines is easily the highest in south east asia and is amongst the highest in the world. converted to us cents / kwh, this is what electricity costs here in comparison to a selection of other countries.

philippines 30.46

singapore 21.53

hong kong 12.02 to 24.0

thailand 4.46 to 9.79

usa 8.00 to 17.37

uk 20.0

germany is slightly higher. only denmark, amongst other european countries is significantly higher. the rest are cheaper.

interesting, huh? the corruption, mismanagement etc and the concomitantly ridiculously inflated cost of power not only means that your utility bill is artificially high but also pushes up the prices of goods in the marketplace and keeps a fair chunk of the population in energy poverty. when you and i are concerned about high monthly bills because air con units are running day and night, we should perhaps spare a thought for the millions of poor filipinos who have to ration the amount of time that they can use their single household fan.

it could also go to explain why hotel prices here are so much higher than their regional competitors. i.e thailand.

CS, it's my lot in life to take everything as a metaphor I suppose, but of course living here makes that proclivity easy to act on. You're correct in that the ridiculous cost of the unreliable energy affects virtually every aspect of the economy, further discouraging potential investors. Of course I doubt that this upsets the olligarchs who are perfectly content to control what amounts to a fairly closed economy that discourages innovation and risk taking. When I dwell on the whole macro mess of the country, it saddens me, because this place is destined to remain, I believe, a country of unrealized potential, and yes it saddens me as well when I consider the day-to-day struggle, marginal life quality and lack of any chance of upward mobilty for the average Filipino. This country has always been run for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many: first the Spanish, then the Americans and now the oligarchs and their associates. It's not going to change any time soon.

My business partner pointed out a couple of weeks ago, that with one of the highest birth rates in the world, the Philippines adds 1. 9 new Filipinos per year. I don't know the annual death rate, but the net increase in population is substantial, meaning that the pressure on a basically dysfunctional economy for job creation will continue to grow and the gap between haves and have-nots will increase. Given that this country produces virtually nothing (but cheap labor) that the rest of the world wants or needs, and gets the lowest amount of direct foreign investment of any country in ASEAN except Brunei, things don't look likely to improve. The higly reputed Economist Cielito Habito has a column in today's Inquirer in which he talks about how unprepared the country is for ASEAN economic integration which is coming in 2015, which may mean that the countries that are preparing; Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, for example, will eventually influence large swaths of this economy.

It's been 6 months or so since I've left the country to remind myself that there are other, more functional places. Clearly, the time is approaching for me to get out for a week or two.

GE

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1408997],,,,,, but of course living here makes that proclivity easy to act on. GE[/QUOTE]That mention of proclivities GE does re-remind me of this rather academic student I was trying to bed.

She brought me to my heals when she said: "My awareness of your proclivities in the esoteric aspects of sexual behaviour precludes me from such an erotic confrontation".

Somewhat startled I said: "I don't get it".

"Precisely" she said.

As may be guessed she was not a Philippines educated student.

KongKing

[QUOTE=Cunning Stunt; 1408947]The Philippines is easily the highest in South East Asia and is amongst the highest in the world. Converted to US cents / kWh, this is what electricity costs here in comparison to a selection of other countries.

Philippines 30. 46

Singapore 21. 53.

Hong Kong 12. 02 to 24. 0.

Thailand 4. 46 to 9. 79.

USA 8. 00 to 17. 37.

UK 20. 0.

Nd.[/QUOTE]Remember the Lopez family lost huge amounts of money a few years ago. Well they are surely claiming it back now, helped by a government that knows these rates are the highest but hasnt the capitalisation to invest in new infrastructure so they have let the old established families take one sector each. Lopez for power. Ayala for water and communications and and and. Aboitiz for the south etc. As GE says, a closed economy run by oligarchs. FYI cost of power in most hotels surprisingly only runs about 4-8 % of total revenues.

Not sure how relevant this post is but would like to get some feedback from the experinced guys on the board. I will be going to PI soon and intend to purchase a moto. I have been there before and don't like riding jeepneys when I have a girl with me. Moto should provide more freedom. Also want to go to Biliran island where you are at the mercy of motobike taxis. I will be in PI for 4 months cruising around trying to get laid. Might snorkel a bit between love fests. LOL. Anyway, anyone here tried the moto ownership thing in PI? How did it go? I was thinking of one of those ubiquitous Chinese bikes. 150cc like that. Comments welcome.

Thanks

Ok, so a Filipina midget texting you in the morning probably don't rank as one of those small things that annoy the shit out of you like you guys were talking about earlier, but this one got me.

I spend almost an hour going back and forth simply trying to get a confirmation on where and when we're going to meet. (as I'm supposed to be getting ready to go do that) You know how sometimes they just refuse to answer. Or answer with a totally irrelevant question.

So 30 seconds after we finally nail it down, here comes a text from a number that's not in my contacts;

[quote]"good morning have a niice day?"

"Who's this please?"

"ahh yu did not remember me? Why?

"ahh ok, yu did not remember me we meet yu yesterday,

So I'm wondering. Andrea, the hot one sitting on the wall? Crisleen, the really brown one in the supermarket? Cherry Anne at the coffee shop?

So I guess Andrea.

"o my g0d I'm jenny, ok if yu did n0t remember me maybe yu havd many girls,"[/quote]It's the same chick, just on a different number because she ran out her load.

I couldn't believe it. I hope I banged her so hard I turned those rocks in her head into sand.

[QUOTE=Lonely566; 1411027]Not sure how relevant this post is but would like to get some feedback from the experinced guys on the board. I will be going to PI soon and intend to purchase a moto. I have been there before and don't like riding jeepneys when I have a girl with me. Moto should provide more freedom. Also want to go to Biliran island where you are at the mercy of motobike taxis. I will be in PI for 4 months cruising around trying to get laid. Might snorkel a bit between love fests. LOL. Anyway, anyone here tried the moto ownership thing in PI? How did it go? I was thinking of one of those ubiquitous Chinese bikes. 150cc like that. Comments welcome.

Thanks[/QUOTE]Not a problem for you to purchase a moto in your own name. I had one for several years until advancing age and the ubiquitous insanity of Filipino drivers prompted me to sell the bike and to use my car full time. I had a Chinese-made 150 cc bike that, on a foggy day and through squinted eyes somewhat resembled a Harley. It was extremely reliable, and aside from having to replace the battery (those made in China don't lst long) I never had a serious problem.

GE

[QUOTE=Lonely566; 1411027]I was thinking of one of those ubiquitous Chinese bikes. 150cc like that. Comments welcome.

Thanks[/QUOTE]Sounds like you've got a fun trip planned, I've been thinking of doing the same with regards to a scooter / motorcycle.

You didn't say in what city you were going to purchase it and start out from. So be aware that you can't drive on any of the expressways / toll roads as they have a 400 or 450cc minimum (seen signs for both, LOL). Shouldn't be problem, you'll just need to carefully plan your route (s) and allow extra time.

We'll be looking forward to some FR's, I'm sure they'll give us a different perspective on traveling there.

I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do but I thought I'd share my experience chatting. I met a filipina Nurse on DIA and we were having fun chatting on cam. She's pretty cute and seemed totally into having a wild time. I'm planning on being in Manila in 3 weeks and last night she tells me she is married. Here's the twist, she said she told her husband that she wants to have sex with another man and he wants to watch. Now, being from the states, this is no big deal and I've been a part of stuff like that. I'm thinking it would be nuts to be involved in sex while her husband is watching. Anyone else experience anything like that in the Philippines? By the way its a Filipino husband and hes a engineer so she says.

BTW, FYI Guys. Got this from Margarita Station:

5 Day Alcohol Ban.

During the election period of May 9-13 2013 Comelec will enforce a liquor ban in all establishments throughout the country except in DOT-accredited businesses. DOT businesses like hotels and restaurants will be able to sell alcoholic beverages to foreigners, but not to Filipinos.

NOTE: Bars & cocktail lounges are not accreditable so it will be illegal for them to serve alcohol during this perio.

[url]http://www.margaritastation.com/readfull.php?m=1116[/url]

[QUOTE=SuperMuda;1412200]I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do but I thought I'd share my experience chatting. I met a filipina Nurse on DIA and we were having fun chatting on cam. She's pretty cute and seemed totally into having a wild time. I'm planning on being in Manila in 3 weeks and last night she tells me she is married. Here's the twist, she said she told her husband that she wants to have sex with another man and he wants to watch. Now, being from the states, this is no big deal and I've been a part of stuff like that. I'm thinking it would be nuts to be involved in sex while her husband is watching. Anyone else experience anything like that in the Philippines? By the way its a Filipino husband and hes a engineer so she says.[/QUOTE]Thanks but no thanks says me. According to PH Law, any intercourse outside the marriage can lead to jail for the woman + the man. If not jail, the prospect of being threatened / blackmailed etc. It is NOT worth it.

Though History favours the Brave!

To give you an idea of the prices, in Cebu City I was looking around. Personally, I would only buy a Honda because I know how reliable they are. I found a second hand Dream 125 for 32k. Really nice condition. 2011 model. But that was really hard to find and I think the sticker was 2011. (Supposed to be 2012) So you would have a pain in the ass with that. So figure maybe 40k, unless you buy a beater. Think about how much will you loose? Maybe 15k? And how long will it take you to sell it? If you leave it at a shop to sell, you will have to rent in the mean time at a daily price. How much of a pain in the ass are you going to have with registration and all that compared to what your holiday time is worth? Oh ya, and you will have to buy a helmet if you don't bring yours.

I'm renting a brand new Honda XRM 125 for 4k a month hassle free until I'm sure I want to stay.

[QUOTE=Pip Jaeger; 1411964]Sounds like you've got a fun trip planned, I've been thinking of doing the same with regards to a scooter / motorcycle.

You didn't say in what city you were going to purchase it and start out from. So be aware that you can't drive on any of the expressways / toll roads as they have a 400 or 450cc minimum (seen signs for both, LOL). Shouldn't be problem, you'll just need to carefully plan your route (s) and allow extra time.

We'll be looking forward to some FR's, I'm sure they'll give us a different perspective on traveling there.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Econo Tech; 1412250]5 Day Alcohol Ban. During the election period of May 9-13 2013 Comelec will enforce a liquor ban in all establishments throughout the country except in DOT-accredited businesses. DOT businesses like hotels and restaurants will be able to sell alcoholic beverages to foreigners, but not to Filipinos. NOTE: Bars & cocktail lounges are not accreditable so it will be illegal for them to serve alcohol during this period.

[url]http://www.margaritastation.com/readfull.php?m=1116[/url][/QUOTE]For some reason Comelec decided to extend the usual two day ban to five days. I would sooner believe most election violence occurs because murder is considered an acceptable way to eliminate opposing candidates, rather than from overly zealous drinking.

I can suggest a possible remedy, but it requires planning ahead.

Many years ago, when I was stationed near Newport News, one of our favorite weekend haunts was a bar in Virginia Beach called the Jolly Roger, I think. This was '66, so some of you were not even born and the bar is probably long gone now. It was a long drive through a tunnel under James River Bay, but we were young and usually let our glands overpower our brains. I was only 19, and Virginia drinking age was 21, but I presume my military buzz cut and visible dog tag chain got me a patriotic pass on the drinking age law. My first time there two SYTs were sitting at a table with me and a buddy, and they warned us a few minutes before midnight to drink what was in our glasses and quickly order cokes. Seems alcohol was cut off at midnight, and they literally cleared anything left on the table at midnight. We followed the girls' advice. We had our cokes in a few minutes, and out of the girls' purses came half pint bottles of some favorite hard stuff. They were very careful to pour into the coke glasses when waitresses were not nearby. But from looking around we figured out this was a common practice. I was from New York, where drinking age was 18 and cutoff time wasn't until 2 am (and in some counties 3 am) , and by then everybody was either too full, too drunk, or gone home. So there was never a 2 am rush back home. This shenanigan probably seems like old hat to some of you.

So a possible Phils remedy: stock up some small bottles of hard stuff before the ban begins, carry it to your favorite club concealed, and mix up your own drinks with whatever soda or mixers are being sold. Be careful taking BGs into your confidence, but some of them might play along if they think they're getting a BF out of their encounter with you. If you will be arriving during the ban, bring a few bottles in luggage. Anybody tried this in the Phils' bars during previous two-day alcohol bans? Or is enforcement so stringent as to make this risky?

[QUOTE=SuperMuda;1412200]I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do but I thought I'd share my experience chatting. I met a filipina Nurse on DIA and we were having fun chatting on cam. She's pretty cute and seemed totally into having a wild time. I'm planning on being in Manila in 3 weeks and last night she tells me she is married. Here's the twist, she said she told her husband that she wants to have sex with another man and he wants to watch. Now, being from the states, this is no big deal and I've been a part of stuff like that. I'm thinking it would be nuts to be involved in sex while her husband is watching. Anyone else experience anything like that in the Philippines? By the way its a Filipino husband and hes a engineer so she says.[/QUOTE]I would strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with Philippines adultry laws and prosecutions in adultrry cases.

[QUOTE=SuperMuda;1412200]I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do but I thought I'd share my experience chatting. I met a filipina Nurse on DIA and we were having fun chatting on cam. She's pretty cute and seemed totally into having a wild time. I'm planning on being in Manila in 3 weeks and last night she tells me she is married. Here's the twist, she said she told her husband that she wants to have sex with another man and he wants to watch. Now, being from the states, this is no big deal and I've been a part of stuff like that. I'm thinking it would be nuts to be involved in sex while her husband is watching. Anyone else experience anything like that in the Philippines? By the way its a Filipino husband and hes a engineer so she says.[/QUOTE]Run far and run fast away from this situation. Filipino prisons are not where you want to be, and can easily be if you go through with this. Filipino men can be jealous, shallow, all macho guys when they decide its in their interests to be so.

Shagging a guys wife might just be the moment he does his macho " I will kill you wifefucker" act with either a home made gun or gets local cops involved so they can all get a piece of your financial assets.