General Info

[QUOTE=Econo Tech; 1562462]I had the privilege of being walked through one such scam, an ex's sister's bf.

He even showed live videos of girls and the 'girl' goes. Let me show you my boob. And nothing else on web cam. I caught the scam almost when the admirer. Supposedly the girl, introduced herself saying the mutual friend requested to say hi.

It was pretty convincing. I never exposed myself, claiming my web cam was faulty. And played along, claimed I will send the money and the so called girl goes 'send to my cousin's name, as I don't have any I'd to collect. ' etc etc. And insisted I give my full address in Malaysia as part of WU verification, it wasn't hard for me to feign innocence and cook up a fake address.

I continued playing and swore I sent money and on and on. When the guy figured out I was bluffing he threatened to invoke the wrath of PNP. And said he is sending cops over to my hotel in Manila where we were supposed to rendezvous for fun. When in reality I was in Malaysia

If I didn't know Philippines, and that everyone name drops PNP or BI, I may have folded.

They can get pretty convincing and scary for the lesser initiated.[/QUOTE]I played one guy for months. Said he was from African and had some blood diamonds. He was going to have a flight attendant bring them to NYC as long as I sent money first. For those less initiated: There are no random strangers that are going to reach out to you and make you rich. These guys prey on greed. When I travel I always assume that anyone walking up to me and offering me anything is a scam. Same way with the internet. No complete stranger is worried about me getting rich. He's more worried about himself getting rich on your dime. Ignore any stranger. Unless you want to pull their leg. The guy from Africa was pretty pissed that I wasted months of his time. But that's all he does anyway. Try and find suckers. There's one born.

Refering to my Adams family report you can see I was interrupted by quite a few questions (same every 10 minutes or so "what are you doing now"?). It is fully irritating but to my experience if you answer them without a "LOL" or "sweetie" you will get the "are you mad at me" question in return.

My last trip I admit I did a seemingly younger crowd than I normaly do and these youngsters seem to have the same questions trained from somewhere unkown to me.

Also got this "did you have lunch?" Question loads of time and at 6:30am in morning "hows your day"? I don't know any sane answer to this last one as I normaly don't answer and by far is ready to get out of bed (normaly I am assisted by a spinner next to me anyway and morning session is about to happen in a few hrs.

So anyone have any insights why pinays (the younger ones) do like this? Maby it is about confident as the tad older crowd just send "I am on my way I text you when outside" line. More comfortable so to speak.

[QUOTE=Skogis; 1562896]Refering to my Adams family report you can see I was interrupted by quite a few questions (same every 10 minutes or so "what are you doing now"?). It is fully irritating but to my experience if you answer them without a "LOL" or "sweetie" you will get the "are you mad at me" question in return.

My last trip I admit I did a seemingly younger crowd than I normaly do and these youngsters seem to have the same questions trained from somewhere unkown to me.

Also got this "did you have lunch?" Question loads of time and at 6:30am in morning "hows your day"? I don't know any sane answer to this last one as I normaly don't answer and by far is ready to get out of bed (normaly I am assisted by a spinner next to me anyway and morning session is about to happen in a few hrs.

So anyone have any insights why pinays (the younger ones) do like this? Maby it is about confident as the tad older crowd just send "I am on my way I text you when outside" line. More comfortable so to speak.[/QUOTE]We've all experienced this endlessly. The truth is, it actually doesn't matter what you reply as the routine will follow the same inane manner with the same mind numbingly dumb questions. They get it from each other.

They feel a need to use a phone constantly and that its better to fill the emptyness with nonsense than anything else. Watch 4 filipinas sitting together in a Starbucks. All four wil be working their phones and won't be looking talking to each other.

Reply however you feel, but I think many of us try for the self amusement factor.

For instance " have you had your breakfast "." Well I'm imagining you naked on my table right now and I have a knife and fork in hand.

The reply will be " Huh?"

" Hows your day" well " I'm imagining you lying next to me ready for 3rd round " Another " Huh?"

If she says " have you had lunch " and you reply " huh?" she will reply " are you mad?".

Another variant is when she says " have you had your lunch" to reply " have you had your lunch?". She will reply "huh?"

We don't understand their text language and they don't understand ours.

I just had an interesting scenario with a taxi driver. I only take meter taxi's and it's not the money so much as the principal, as I always give the honest ones a healthy tip. I caught a taxi out side of the tune hotel in malate who agreed on using the meter. Well about 10 meters down the road in the sleaziest part of mabini street he pulled over and insisted on charging me 300p or he would leave me and my bags on the side of the road. At first fantasies of turning his body into a punching bag and his face into a spittoon were happily parading thru my head, until a thought entered my mind. Now he has the upper hand, when we get to makati and my bags are safely inside the tune hotel, then I would have the upper hand. So with a forced smile I agreed on 300p for the ride.

Upon arrival, I hopped out and retrieved my bags and sent them safely inside with the hotel employee. On completion of the first part of my ploy, I turned with fire in my eyes and said " how much do you want for the ride " with out even so much as a tiny smile on my face? He stepped back and started to shake and said " 300p ". MY answer was a precise and crisp "fuck you, you said you were going to use the meter at first, and then pulled over and threatened to dump me on the side of the road, I should be beating the fuck out of you". Was I pissed? Hell yes. He looked just a little different then when he was behind the wheel, jacking me for 300p, I should say just a little bit less confident, but he still had the nerve to ask 250, with a quivering lower lip I might say. I reached in my wallet as I stared threateningly into his beady eyes and pulled out 200p. I stepped forward and handed him the money with a foot note," mother fucker I should be kicking the fuck out of you instead of paying you, take this and get the fuck out of here you piece of shit". Was I pissed? Dangerously so.

After payment, we continued our conversation, filled with expletives and one fingered hand solutes, until he was well in his taxi and rapidly leaving the tune behind.

Now some may say that I was a bit hard on him, and should have paid the 300p and some would say I was a bit to easy, and that I shouldn't have paid him at all. Had I have agreed on the 300p prior to climbing in the taxi I would have paid him and been forever pissed at myself for being a chump. But in essence, he held me up in his cab after agreeing on using the meter which would have been less then 200 plus a tip. I'm not the type of person to try and get a free ride, I pay my way in life and always have. I gave him what I thought was a fair amount, said just enough to pucker his sphincter and sent him packing. This gave me much pleasure, and gave him what he should have gotten, A positive ending to a situation that could have ended very badly for us both had I acted on my fantasy instead of my logic.

happy pooning, and taxi rides, LAT

[QUOTE=LuvAsianTang;1564111]Now some may say that I was a bit hard on him, and should have paid the 300p and some would say I was a bit to easy, . < SNIP > A positive ending to a situation that could have ended very badly for us both had I acted on my fantasy instead of my logic.[/QUOTE]I understand your logic and your anger, but your actions may bite you on the bum.

If he is seriously feeling angry about what you did and said, he may decide to seek revenge by getting a few of his cronies to join him and wait for you near Tune since he knows where you are staying.

He never lost face in the eyes of anyone else except himself so he might also just shrug and say WTF; I tried but I didn't get away with it so I will forget it.

I would be watching over my shoulder for the rest of my visit if I were you just the same (or move to another hotel).

[QUOTE=Red Kilt; 1564120]I understand your logic and your anger, but your actions may bite you on the bum.

If he is seriously feeling angry about what you did and said, he may decide to seek revenge by getting a few of his cronies to join him and wait for you near Tune since he knows where you are staying.

He never lost face in the eyes of anyone else except himself so he might also just shrug and say WTF; I tried but I didn't get away with it so I will forget it.

I would be watching over my shoulder for the rest of my visit if I were you just the same (or move to another hotel).[/QUOTE]Thanks for the advice red but I'm neither a runner or worried about a little fight. I was raised in the streets of LA and know my way around a street fight. Besides I did pay him a fair amount and he knows it, he just didn't get the bonus.

If we let these taxi thugs just do as they please then there will be no end to it, and I for one am not willing to let that happen.

LAT

At major US airports, cabbies form long lines, waiting long time for their turns. So they don't want to do short drives. The guys can be very nasty with people going cheap rides, only a few miles.

I got dumped a few times at dark spots, or got harassed for big tips on these short rides. So I would tell the rogue cabbies, that I would take their cab number down and complain to the cab company tomorrow. They would immediately lose their job, not to mention getting sued for putting me at grave risks of getting assaulted, possibly murdered, and robbed of my expensive luggage and big amounts of cash. They could also be criminal suspects in arranging the robberies.

The rogue cabbies were all shaking and sweating. The prospects of losing their jobs and had their wives / GFs holding out on sex must have been terrifying. They were immediately very respectful and cooperative afterwards. Hungry people can turn into beasts. I just pity them.

Wonder if you could pull that kind of leverage in Manilla? I hate to get into fights with these street urchins over small money. They would probably fight far more often, perhaps with concealed weapons, and could really injure the passengers. A cabbie in Bangkok drove a long machete through his ride's back after an argument.

I would rather spend time in Manila screwing sexy babes, not screwing around at the precinct, reporting to the police.

[QUOTE=LuvAsianTang; 1564111]I just had an interesting scenario with a taxi driver. I only take meter taxi's and it's not the money so much as the principal, as I always give the honest ones a healthy tip. I caught a taxi out side of the tune hotel in malate who agreed on using the meter. Well about 10 meters down the road in the sleaziest part of mabini street he pulled over and insisted on charging me 300p or he would leave me and my bags on the side of the road. At first fantasies of turning his body into a punching bag and his face into a spittoon were happily parading thru my head, until a thought entered my mind. Now he has the upper hand, when we get to makati and my bags are safely inside the tune hotel, then I would have the upper hand. So with a forced smile I agreed on 300p for the ride.

Upon arrival, I hopped out and retrieved my bags and sent them safely inside with the hotel employee. On completion of the first part of my ploy, I turned with fire in my eyes and said " how much do you want for the ride " with out even so much as a tiny smile on my face? He stepped back and started to shake and said " 300p ". MY answer was a precise and crisp "fuck you, you said you were going to use the meter at first, and then pulled over and threatened to dump me on the side of the road, I should be beating the fuck out of you". Was I pissed? LAT[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=LukeSkywalker; 1564137.

I got dumped a few times at dark spots, or got harassed for big tips on these short rides. So I would tell the rogue cabbies, that I would take their cab number down and complain to the cab company tomorrow. They would immediately lose their job, not to mention getting sued for putting me at grave risks of getting assaulted, possibly murdered, and robbed of my expensive luggage and big amounts of cash. They could also be criminal suspects in arranging the robberies.

The rogue cabbies were all shaking and sweating. The prospects of losing their jobs and had their wives / GFs holding out on sex must have been terrifying. They were immediately very respectful and cooperative afterwards. Hungry people can turn into beasts. I just pity them.

Wonder if you could pull that kind of leverage in Manilla? .[/QUOTE]I think you must be totally new or not well indoctinated to the country to realise that its 1% organised and 99% pure chaos.

Good luck finding a cop who is interested in your story.

Good luck finding a cabbie who feels his job is threatened by a whitey.

Good luck finding a cab operator who takes the word of his tagalog speaking driver versus a white passenger.

Sorry to say, but you give yourself too much credit.

Your status as a passenger counts for very little.

Just be polite, non demanding and most of the time everything will be just fine.

"Wonder if you could pull that kind of leverage in Manilla? .[/QUOTE]I think you must be totally new or not well indoctinated to the country to realise that its 1% organised and 99% pure chaos.

Good luck finding a cop who is interested in your story.

Good luck finding a cabbie who feels his job is threatened by a whitey.

Good luck finding a cab operator who takes the word of his tagalog speaking driver versus a white passenger.

Sorry to say, but you give yourself too much credit.

Your status as a passenger counts for very little.

Just be polite, non demanding and most of the time everything will be just fine" [ quote ]


Yeah freebiefan, I'm new here iv'e only been traveling se asia since 1976 (sarcasm) I've made at least 2 month long trips every year since. I was even here when Marcos was deposed, I had a Huey hovering at my window for about 30 seconds as I looked upon it with hungover eyes lol.

I'm always polite until someone tries to rip me off, then my whole attitude changes. The points you are trying to make don't even relate to my post. Never did I mention looking for a cop, nor did I threaten his job. I didn't call the cab operator, nor do I give a fuck about my status as a customer.

I don't whine to anyone about my problems I just handle them at the moment they arise. If you choose to bend over, grab your ankles, and take it so be it. Bring your own ky.

Have a good day, LAT.

P. S its indoctrinated and realize.

If you guys previewed your posts before posting we wouldn't get the chaos that arises in the past 2 posts where the reports "quoted" were not done correctly.

Previewing your posts shows this fuckup clearly and you can then correct it using the "edit post" then
save changes" buttons.

It might have stopped LAT from attacking FF when he should have attacked Luke SW

[QUOTE=LuvAsianTang; 1564129]Thanks for the advice red but I'm neither a runner or worried about a little fight. I was raised in the streets of LA and know my way around a street fight. Besides I did pay him a fair amount and he knows it, he just didn't get the bonus.

If we let these taxi thugs just do as they please then there will be no end to it, and I for one am not willing to let that happen.

LAT[/QUOTE]Good luck with that then LAT.

Whilst I agree in principle with EVERYTHING you say, the reality is that pinoys do not fight fair and also don't follow the Marquesse of Queensbury's boxing rules in altercations. You may find you are taking on 6 or more guys armed with everything from guns to knives to chains to broken bottles to sticks with nails in them etc. It has happened before and will happen again; I just hope for your sake it's not with you as a fellow forum member.

As you said, the cabbie may not be concerned as he got a good payout from you anyway and you obviously know your way around the streets and he might sense that. I just hope that any other wannabee Jack Reachers reading your post don't figure that rules in other places necessarily follow in the Philippines, and particularly in the cesspool that is Malate / Ermita.

[QUOTE=Red Kilt;1564206]If you guys previewed your posts before posting we wouldn't get the chaos that arises in the past 2 posts where the reports "quoted" were not done correctly.[/QUOTE]+1.

That taxi driver learnt a valuable lesson, too. Next time when fleecing whitey make sure to collect the demanded amount before resuming the drive. :p

[QUOTE=Red Kilt; 1564206]If you guys previewed your posts before posting we wouldn't get the chaos that arises in the past 2 posts where the reports "quoted" were not done correctly.

Previewing your posts shows this fuckup clearly and you can then correct it using the "edit post" then

Save changes" buttons.

It might have stopped LAT from attacking FF when he should have attacked Luke SW[/QUOTE]Actually luke was talking about the us not the phils.

LAT

Fellow members of the forum, I didn't write my initial report looking to receive acclaim or [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] in any ones mess kit. It had just happened and I wanted to share my experience. Apparently some of you find it necessary to directly condemn me for my actions. If you want to say " I would not do that" then that's cool and entirely up to you.

But please don't tell me I should have done this or done that, I am, after all, a grown up and fully aware that my actions have ramifications. I'm also confident enough and prepared enough to handle what comes down the pike. If I were to compare myself to a food, it would be a hearty beef stew with a few habanero's thrown in to weed out the weak. I'm just not a milk toast kind of guy, and never will be.

If you met me you would know that I'm very polite, kind and concerned for my fellow travelers. I just don't take crap from a punk ass taxi criminal.

I will edit my original post to add a disclaimer for those who may not have the chutzpah, cajones, or what ever you want to call it, to pull it off.

having just made the above statement, i went and tried to edit my original post but i've found that i can no longer do that. I'm not really worried as most people know there limits and wont attempt this at home or here in the phils.

Enough said, LAT

[QUOTE=LuvAsianTang;1564111]I just had an interesting scenario with a taxi driver. I only take meter taxi's and it's not the money so much as the principal, as I always give the honest ones a healthy tip. I caught a taxi out side of the tune hotel in malate who agreed on using the meter. Well about 10 meters down the road in the sleaziest part of mabini street he pulled over and insisted on charging me 300p or he would leave me and my bags on the side of the road. At first fantasies of turning his body into a punching bag and his face into a spittoon were happily parading thru my head, until a thought entered my mind. Now he has the upper hand, when we get to makati and my bags are safely inside the tune hotel, then I would have the upper hand. So with a forced smile I agreed on 300p for the ride.[/QUOTE]You made a mistake by accepting the 300 pesos, there is not reason to stay and pay a crook taxi driver in my book.

Something similar happened to me twice, one outside Mall of Asia and one outside the airport. On both cases when they didn't want to use the taximeter or they were charging me too much I just got out of the taxi and took the next taxi, the one outside the airport wanted to charge me 500 pesos to go to Makati (when he saw my luggages) , so I got out and took the next taxi and paid only 200 pesos.

I know Ermita is a bit more dangerous, but I been walking with my luggage for 5 blocks around Del Pilar and Mabini street to my hotel Riviera Mansion (which is beside Tune Hotel) , and nothing happened to me during the day. If that happened at night, I would had just found the closest hotel (which by the way there are lots around that area) , and ask the security guard with uniform to watch my luggages until I find a taxi (of course I will tip him first, half before and half after). You probably end it up paying more but at least you don't give the pleasure of giving your hard earn money to a crook taxi driver.

By the way an advice for anyone coming out from Manila airport, if you want to save money just take the local bus, they have a stop inside the airport (don't remember how much I paid, but around 20 to 50 pesos) , and you can go to certain areas in Manila and then you can take a cheap taxi from there. Those buses have a big space in front for you to leave your luggages.