Nothing to do with your color
Star:
First sorry that you went through hard times there. It is par for the course. Sometimes you get it easy, sometimes it is hard. I am also Indian, but born elsewhere. I have never had problems going through Phillipines. I always found Filipinos are some of the nicest people on the planet. Go there quite a bit. I think it may have more to do with your Indian passport.
Also, please remember that they sometimes confuse your passport with ones from Pakistan. They really don't want the Pakistani's there. One piece of advice, when you go somewhere, don't expect everyone to throw a red carpet invitation. It doesn't happen. Most probably just before you went to the immigration, there was another Indian person who probably had visa problems or passport issues.
I have been traveling extensively for 25 years now. Pretty much have seen it all.
One piece of advise, have a lot of patience. And carry some in reserve. Never ever, lose your cool, as you are in someone else's country. It doesn't matter what color or race you are, I found that even if they start treating you poorly, and if you maitain your cool, and always, always be nice to people, they eventualy are very nice to you back.
If you get into a confrontational situation, walk away fast. Don't ever fight back. Grab the closest taxi you can find. Doesn't matter where you are headed, just get away from the trouble spot. Also, remember, you can always make money. You can never get your freedom or life back once you lose it.
Customs officials will ask a lot of questions if they see something wrong, something fishy. I've have had the same problems getting into India, belive it or not. Answer all your questions as brief as possible. Do not evade. Do not offer anything more than what is asked. Do not banter with immigration or custom officials. They get suspicious. Do not ever be a smart mouth. You do that, and you will sitting there for another hour or two. I was a smart alec, coming into San Francisco, and the moron immigration officer sent me to the longest customs line, and then he came to that customs line, went through every single thing in my bag. He didn't miss a thread.
What I am trying to say is, it is not racial. They saw something in you. You may have looked suspicious. There was something there, that they picked up on.
Always remember, you are in someone else's country. Respect them.
Good luck. I am headed down there the 28th of December, can't wait.
CT.
[QUOTE=Starchild2012; 1223499]What a ride, finally made it to Manila, which I thought I would never. I don't know may be it was my dress or constant smile of going to manila or the sex tourist tag. I was picked up from the crowd in Manila as I walked into the immigration counter. They started asking all sorts of questions like why I'm going to manila, how long I will stay, they asked for my return ticket as well as get this yes even my hotel voucher...[/QUOTE]