I don't know but I'll answer anyway....
Well, first we are talking about a 12 hour flight, and a 10 hour time difference. Trying to find a convenient arrival AND departure time could be a bit complicated.
Second point, is a lot of these flights connect somewhere. There are a lot of cities (HK, Tokyo, Taipei) which attract more high-paying passengers than MLA. For example, arrival time in Tokyo is convenient, but the last leg to Manila put you in around Midnight. (I'm thinking NWA on this)
x
[QUOTE=Chivas 1]Does anyone know why all the flights from the U.S to Manila arrive at 10:45pm or at 4 or 5 in the morning no matter where you depart from in the U.S?. This seems so strange to me, so if anyone has an answer for it it would be greatly appreciated.[/QUOTE]
I understand X Man but....
[QUOTE=X Man]Well, first we are talking about a 12 hour flight, and a 10 hour time difference. Trying to find a convenient arrival AND departure time could be a bit complicated.
Second point, is a lot of these flights connect somewhere. There are a lot of cities (HK, Tokyo, Taipei) which attract more high-paying passengers than MLA. For example, arrival time in Tokyo is convenient, but the last leg to Manila put you in around Midnight. (I'm thinking NWA on this)
x[/QUOTE]Thank you for your imput X Man and I fully understand where you are coming from, but with the number of travelers coming to Manila you would surely think that some airline would leave the United States at a time that would connect to a connecting flight into Manila that would get you into Manila at a reasonable time.
Mining the Online Introduction Boards - Part 3
Mining the Online Introduction Boards, Part 3
I hope I’m not boring everybody with this pre-report stuff. Reactions have varied from praise to pan. The biggest criticism has been along the lines of ‘why bother?’ when there are so many opportunities just waiting for a traveler to take. I can’t refute that viewpoint. I’m doing this partly out of curiosity and partly from boredom while waiting for the time to pass until I can leave again. But in the process I have met and written to and chatted with some truly charming women – some little more than girls – and generally had an entertaining two months. But if I ever do this again, it will be in country, not from the US. Anyway, I'm off tonight, and we shall see how it goes.
There’s another aspect, too. I’m a writer and I’ve saved nearly all the emails and chats. I don’t know exactly what to do with it all, if anything, but I think it’s fascinating. Maybe I’ll try to turn it into something commercial, or at least into art.
Lots of things have changed since my last update. For those who have been following, I had already suggested as much in Part 2. For those who haven’t, I decided this trip to see what could be done via an online introduction board. I chose Cherry Blossoms ([url]www.blossoms.com[/url]) almost two months ago. Since then I've been writing to or chatting with a number of girls. Now, just days before the trip, I think I’m in love with five different women. Oh my, oh my. And they are not quite the same five as I ended the last report with. One has definitely dropped off and another is a maybe. But there are replacements in the wings.
As before, names have been changed to protect the wicked and innocent alike.
The one who definitely dropped was the one I said was the sweetest of the bunch last time – Marisol (Davao). What a tangle that turned out to be!
Marisol originally wrote to me through a friend whose command of English was better. Marisol and the friend wound up exchanging angry emails through me accusing the other of being money-grubbers. In the process, it turned out that several lies had been told, and that Marisol was not the semi-innocent (if anyone with an illegitimate baby can be called an innocent) she had seemed. In fact, she had been a Japayuki – a bar girl in Japan.
I didn’t care about that so much as I didn’t like being lied to. And I really didn’t like the tangled situation in which what was true was very unclear. So I dropped her like a rock, despite pleas that continued for two weeks. Nope, not doing that. I have a contact in Davao with whom I hope to have a drink and get some local guidance, perhaps a guided tour. And there’s a new girl that I will meet on the second day of my visit.
Right now, she seems like a great find. She won’t meet me without a chaperone, but she promises the chaperone will mind her own business. By that stage of the trip, I probably won’t care whether it goes very far or not. But she is so sweet I just had to meet her.
So the tail end of the trip has changed, and so has the front end, perhaps. I might still hear from Lina, who is supposed to meet me in Manila and tour guide me to Tagaytay. She isn’t on-line much. But her CB profile has changed to make it clear she is still very much searching for the right guy, which implies I am not it. And we haven’t written very much, especially compared to the others. Maybe she’s simmering in Manila, just waiting for me to fly in and grab her, but maybe not.
But that’s a minor problem as there are plenty of opportunities in Manila for entertainment. If Lina doesn’t show, I plan to head for the LA Café. As a matter of fact, I half hope she doesn’t, as I’d really like to check out the café while it’s in its prime. Great places like that have a tendency to come and go. (I just learned yesterday that the Cafe has closed. Sigh.)
If that’s the way it works out, I’ve got a couple of options for the days freed up by the change. I might go up to Subic Bay and Barrio Barreto for a night or two, or I might slip into Angeles City a day earlier than my second appointment is expecting me. I’d like to check out the perimeter bars, which I didn’t have time for last visit. I understand that afternoons at the Rio can be entertaining.
In any case, things are still on with Melissa in Angeles City for my second stop. As previously mentioned, Melissa is in a different category. She is not a Cherry Blossoms girl, she’s a door girl that I met on a visit nearly two years ago. We’ve been chatting and writing steadily for the past two months, and we’re both eager to renew our acquaintance. I’ve booked two nights at the Orchid Inn and one night at L’Tinio’s Jaccuzi Suite. Should be sweet.
When I stagger out of Angeles City, the next stop is Cebu (via Manila). What was a somewhat cautious involvement with the youngest of my serious correspondents has gotten hot and heavy. Fannie has made it pretty clear that she will likely throw caution to the winds and bonk my brains out. She’s asked if I would be sure to use a condom. I take that as a pretty clear hint.
Fannie is more fun than anybody so far. She is funny, frank and suggestive without being gross. She is also as crazy in love with me as you can be without ever meeting in person. Like my new girl in Davao, she will come to Cebu with a chaperone, but we have joked many times about how bored the cousin will be confined to her room while Fannie is in mine.
Fannie’s family is dirt poor. She sent me a picture of her house and an interior shot. They were pretty shocking, although I doubt she thought so. And that ‘house’ has since been torn down by the owner, who wanted the land for another purpose. They are slowly building another and sleeping on the floor at a cousin’s house meanwhile. The trip to Cebu will be a first for her. Sleeping on a hotel bed and eating in a restaurant will be firsts for her. She hasn’t asked for a thing, but if all goes well I will send her home with a gift to help with the house.
After Cebu is Zamboanga and Georgina, who is also crazy in love with me. Georgina is fun but not as much fun as Fannie. She is a little more aggressive with her questions, where Fannie is tactfully quiet. Georgina wants to know where I’m going and who I’m meeting. She is 28 but looks much younger in some of her pictures. I joke that I will have to check her ID first.
Georgina has also had some trauma during our correspondence – lost cell phone, undisclosed troubles involving a cousin, serious auto accidents involving friends, a neighbor who shot her cat and the resulting legal efforts to get him in trouble. I almost eased away from her, but I was left with a prepaid flight to Zamboanga and a lack of information about who might be there as an option. I probably could have found someone to fill in, but Georgina already knew where I was staying, even if she doesn’t know my real name.
And despite the rocky road, I think Georgina will turn out to be lots of fun. She has a good sense of humor and a great smile. Our last few chats have been both heavy and suggestive. But I have to be careful. Zamboanga is not that big of a town. Her family knows I’m coming. I need to get out on good terms if I want to get out alive.
Finally, with my last breath, I’ll push on to Davao. As mentioned, I hope to connect with an expat living there for an orientation and perhaps some hands-on guidance. (That doesn’t sound right, but I’ll leave it.) I’d like to visit Ground Zero.
The next day, I’m meeting Annamarie. She’s a late-comer to the party. I don’t expect to score a touchdown with her, and that will probably be a relief. This poor old body may be worn out by then. Correction. It surely will be worn out by then. So some kiss and cuddle will be plenty.
But Annamarie is worth meeting. We connected immediately. You know how that goes? We just liked each other, and each time we talked it got better and better. She’s a potential keeper. I only told her yesterday that I was coming to Davao. It was a gamble, but I just couldn’t let the opportunity to meet her pass by.
Although I said at the end of Part 2 that I was not looking for any more contacts, I lied to myself and you. I kept responding to emails and checking the CB lists of matches and of people who had checked me out. Annamarie is one result. There are several others, including Janie in Manila, Annie in Talisay (south of Cebu), and Layla in Cagayan de Oro. Annie and Layla are really too young, but they are so encouraging, so enticing, and so beautiful that I haven’t been able to let go. Janie is a little older and also very pretty. She is recovering from a severely broken heart. I told her my own sob-story and she latched on to me as an understanding and kindred spirit. Then there is Joey in – damn, I’ve forgotten – a small town on the west coast of Negros Occidental, the daughter of a drunk who is struggling to help her mother pay back her college loans. And Reina, a student in Manila, who wants to connect with me but just can’t overcome her shyness.
I wish I could have them all. I wish I could marry them all and live in connubial excess for my remaining days. A month ago, I was sure I would not wind up with any of them. That’s still my best guess, but I’m slipping. If any of them were willing to live with me without marrying, I might consider it. Fortunately or unfortuanately, that’s not likely to happen.
Oh, one final drama. I told my wife I was taking this vacation, which led to a rough two days before the storm passed. I haven’t been explicit but she knows what I’m up to. She’s not happy but she accepts that the consequence of various decisions she has made leave me little choice. I floated the concept of separate vacations in the future.
Right now, she’s still on probation at her new job and can’t take any time off until next year. She might go see her parents then. That would be okay with me. Maybe I can take another trip then. I doubt we can stay together much longer, but her present tolerance has extended the time for decision.
My next report will be after my return. Hang on. It should be an interesting ride.
Titmouse
[size=-2][b][u]EDITOR'S NOTE[/u]:[/b] [blue]I certainly hope that the author or somebody else will post a link to this report in the Reports of Distinction thread. Please [url=http://www.internationalsexguide.info/forum/announcement-reportsofdistinction.php?]Click Here[/url] for more information.[/blue][/size]
Attention Scuba Divers. A Walking Shark!
New York Times. Sept 19
New Species Found Off Indonesia.
Scientists have discovered dozens of new species, including a shark that walks on it's fins and a shrimp that resembles a praying mantis.
The team from Conservation International warned that the area, known as Bird's Head Seascape, is in danger from fishermen who use dynamite and cyanide.
"It's one of the most stunningly beautiful landscapes and seascapes on the planet," said a senior adviser.
The new shark is called the Indonesian speckled carpetshark. It looks like a leopard shark.
Advice from Dear Abby spamhog
[QUOTE=Wander Luster]I've asked something similar in the past, but that was 2 years ago. I'm going to change some facts a little because I think they will help you all to give me unbiased advice.
I need to decide soon whether to divorce in which case I will be living and working in the phils about 10 months of the year where I own a biz. I doubt I would marry again. I'd be a player to at least some extent, although I'm not a drinker or someone that likes to show off materialistically.
My situation as it now stands...well you can read the below post. And/or assume the following:
1. I am married to someone that everyone seems to think is the sweetest, most beautiful thing. She is so NICE. That's part of what is disarming. She's a catch, but trouble is we are quite different. At the same time, all couples have to "work through" differences. Ours seem pretty big, although at the same time there is a very strong connection when we are not arguing.
2. We've been together about 5 years since we met. No children.
3. I CARE a lot about her and she about me. We will always care about each other. But man, we fight and bicker like hell much/most of the time. I am concerned about what might happen with her. She is sooo picky about guys, and really it makes no sense why she thought I was so much more unusual then a lot of other guys that would be interested in her. Again, she is a GOOD person, very few would deny that.
3A. If she doesn't find someone in the next few years and marry, she will be getting to an age were childbirth is a bit dangerous. But she and I can't do that I don't think because we are too unstable anyway in our relationship. she is not happy about marrying a guy who's already got a kid...does not want to be a step mom.
4. She is just not into sex. Is she good in bed? I guess, but mostly because of her great looks. More importantly, I'm not into the sex because there's something weird with me about sex and her. Maybe I'm just so damn turned on by the NEWness of screwing someone I've not been with for 5 years.
5. She LIKES sex and she likes it with me more than boyfriends she had. But, on a scale of 1-100, she would be as into sex as to place her at about number 10. For me I would be at about 90 compaired to guys (as would most of you :) .
6. I have a biz that would operate better if I lived in the Phils 10 months of the year.
7. Finances are important. I do not want to live there unless I have comfortable savings. I want to help people in the 3rd world, but given all the hard work I've done in the US, I do not want parts of my life to feel very 3rd world.
Actually, I've been there done that when traveling on the cheap in my 20s with little money. So the success of my company has a lot to do with whether I would want to be there 10 months of the year. I would say chances are 3/4 that the company would stay at a perfectly satisfactory level. They are 1 in 5 that it would go below my comfort level.
8. Very important: getting divorce has big consequence on your family when they all think your wife is a perfect catch and say things like a person wouldn't even MEET a person like her, let alone have her be interested. Of course they only see one side! There is another side that would drive many guys crazy and cause a lot of arguments.
So you all can be a big help. I have been on this board and another run by a guy who's first initial is B. I've been on both for close to 10 years.
Cheers[/QUOTE]
I guess I'll take a stab at this one as I've been married and divorced lived in the PI and other places in Asia so I suppose that qualifies me for my 2 cents.
I was married to a western woman for twenty years had two kids, a house, a cabin, a boat two cars and was a sucess in my job i suppose a "good husband" BTW me and the X had a GREAT sex life so I never felt the need to cheat on her (NOTE THIS POINT, WILL RETURN TO IT) but when my son turned 18 the X decided it was time to go her way, coulda knocked me over with a feather. So I retired, took my pension and went to work for a UN subcontractor in the worlds arm pit; E. Timor. Turned into a total monger, realized I wasted a great deal of my life with one woman, got it out of my system and Married a Filipina again, now I reside in third world luxury.
Lessons learned with women in general
No matter how "beautiful" she may be, educated and "Nice" it doesn't mean SHIT if you are not SEXUALLY COMPATABLE. Lets be honest, male sex drive is a powerful thing, if it wasn;t there wouldn;t be sites like this, if your "other" is on the same level as you then whatever else may be wrong in your life you are both satisfied in bed, when people are satisfied sexually there is less tension between them, less arguement and bickering in their lives. I may be reading into your post here but I get the imnpression that neither of you are sexualy compatible.
If you aren;t happy or satisfied in your marriage now, it will only get worse, as women get older they get bitchier, sex is less important for biological reasons that impacts on their psych (menopause). You sound like you are coming to the Phils to work and the wife will be in the US, seperation in a realtionship can only strain it, make no mistake, your wife knows exactly what you are gonna be doing over here she will argue and fight with you more over it, never let you forget it etc.
Finances: One MUST have an income to survive in Asia, yeah I know some guys work here and have successful businesses, if you have an established business great but by and large most guys live here are retired and draw a monthly pension, 401 K whatever as most businesses FAIL. So financially you may be able to cover your expenses easily, however I take it you still must support your wife "At home" how much does it cost to support her? Your mortgage etc. can you make more money in the US or will it average out with the cheap cost of living in the PI...do the math.
Depending where you stay in Asia you can live well on as little as $1000 a month, factor in more for manila due to rent etc.
My advise: If you don't get along get out, end it, don't waste your time. Do the honerable thing, a fair divorce settlement and uphold your end of the bargain then you are free to do what you want if there are no kids yet then this may be a good time to exit before there are, children complicate everything finacialy and emotionally.
Good luck
Spamhog
Leaving marriage for the fruits of the Phils?
[QUOTE=Spam Hog]I guess I'll take a stab at this one as I've been married and divorced lived in the PI and other places in Asia so I suppose that qualifies me for my 2 cents.
Spamhog[/QUOTE]
Very good reasoning in your response, and the best part of all is that I think you said what I want to hear. I say THINK, because my whole life I've been a dreamer...always looking to "what's better and what's next".
And my big question is....do you feel like you need a soul-mate. I hate even using the word, but is life like yours (which sounds like what mine would be) "lonely". I think if I were living off too little money it would. But to be able to travel in SEA and have at least decent money to kick around. Well, that may bridge the gap.
[QUOTE=Spam Hog]
No matter how "beautiful" she may be, educated and "Nice" it doesn't mean SHIT if you are not SEXUALLY COMPATABLE. Lets be honest, male sex drive is a powerful thing, if it wasn;t there wouldn;t be sites like this, if your "other" is on the same level as you then whatever else may be wrong in your life you are both satisfied in bed, when people are satisfied sexually there is less tension between them, less arguement and bickering in their lives. I may be reading into your post here but I get the imnpression that neither of you are sexualy compatible.
Spamhog[/QUOTE]
I don't think Sex is that much an extreme in a relationship for me. The girls that I've been with in the Phils as "girlfriends" I've been with 50% for their looks and great sex. But that was worse then a wife you love be around but rarely have sex with and instead J. off to a DVD now and then. BUT, having a new girlfriend every week or two at once and being honest that you're doing that, well that has been, when i've had time in the phils, the most enjoyable.
[QUOTE=Spam Hog]
If you aren;t happy or satisfied in your marriage now, it will only get worse, as women get older they get bitchier, sex is less important for biological reasons that impacts on their psych (menopause). You sound like you are coming to the Phils to work and the wife will be in the US, seperation in a realtionship can only strain it, make no mistake, your wife knows exactly what you are gonna be doing over here she will argue and fight with you more over it, never let you forget it etc.
Spamhog[/QUOTE]
yea, the sex will only get worse. What i wonder is if the bickering will get worse. I've seen it both ways with other couples. Do we grow together or apart?
You further mentioned that if I'm over there then she will not like it and we'll grow apart. That's part of the problem. If I stay with her I will have to cut down on time over there. She is naive about me over there. But some day she will find out if I'm spending 3 months a year there, right? I can't imagine after 10 years her not finding out.
And you mention honorable. Well it feels a bit dis-honerable to say "bye" when this could be worked out somehow. But if she is a willing party, then that's different and is what is making this more possible. if I keep this company and even only go for 2 months a year and am fooling around...well that's what all Phil guys do...but for me it wouldn't sit so well I guess after many, many years. Some guys do it and I wouldn't put them down for it.
Financially, she's a career woman. Splitting might put me in a little bit of a better situation.
The bigger issue is that my company is quite large. i've gone into a lot of debt to build it to where it is. Now we are profitable. If it sinks, then I'm in pretty bad shape. But most of the money could be paid back over a long period of time because the debt comes from friends who would let me do that at low interest.
So worse case financially, I live more modestly than I ever have and start a small company-- maybe one out of a house with just a few IT guys working with me. I would make at least 2000K bare minimum a month while paying back debt over decades (earnings after debt payments). No children, no wife. My hightest paid employee there makes about 1000K a month. Pretty funny for me to think of earning even in the ballpark with him given how very low salaries and costs are in the Phils (out of Manila).
It all sounds fine, but this is a fine, fine person I'd be leaving. don't know if I'd ever find someone to be with that is such a great companion.
By the way, she didn't grow up in the US or Phils, but I won't say where.
I have an itch to live in the Phils and also work from the road in other countries. That's the other thing, I'm in IT, so I can do a lot of work from the road. Like Bankok road or Phnom Penh road.
All other suggestions more than welcome! Thanks Spamhog!
