Manila

Did not happen in the Philippines but I guess it could and does.

"They pretended to be females, hanging around bars or other places to lure males, and offered them drinks or snacks in which they put anaesthetic drugs. Once the males became unconscious they took all money from them."

[url]http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9aa_1343498278[/url]

[QUOTE=CondiMan; 1308199]Fully agree here. Spent 4 nights at a hotel on Makati Avenue last month on a business trip, different girls each night. I was woken up early by a call one night rom the reception (was pissed drunk the night before and it was a steamy night with someone I had picked from 7*11) to enquire if it was fine for my guest to leave. Put out my hand to grab my watch for the time. But it was not there! I panicked and said that I am coming downstairs. Grabbed my jeans, and into the elevator. Reached the reception and saw the girl on the desk holding my watch. She had also retrieved one of my debit cards (she didn't know it required a pin!) said 'yr name is on it'. I let the girl go, did not want to file a case and admit to having spent the night in her company in the charge sheet, a copy of which I am sure would have been sent to my home.

Thanks to the drill that hotels follows, saved almost $5k.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Red Kilt; 1309070]Why didn't you just ask for Andros 100 mg and be done with it like I advised in my post?

Same price, and you bite the 100mg in half.

I get mine at same store.

Just ask for a box of Andros 100mg.

5 tabs; about 1600 php and equivalent to 10 tabs of 50 mg or around 160 php for a 50 mg shot.

If you saw my post and ignored advice from an expat who has lived here for 15 years then you have thrown good cash away.[/QUOTE]Wow, The gap has closed considerably from Indian generic drugs like Kamagra, forzest who dominated the generic scene for sometime, but still the price seem higher. I get 140 PHP. 4 sidinefil tabs. 20 mg, that would mean 100 mg would cost around 175 PHP. Five 100 mg tabs would be 875 PHP. Still half the price sold from andros.

I think abdros is manufactured in the PH Biomedis, Inc, not sure if its a distributor, however, they do have. 25 mg tabs as well it seems.

[url]http://www.thefilipinodoctor.com/search-drug-details.php?id=20050950[/url]

If they allowed Indian generic drugs into the PH, the price would come down further. Not sure how the quality is.

[QUOTE=Starchild2012;1309299]Wow, The gap has closed considerably from Indian generic drugs like Kamagra, forzest who dominated the generic scene for sometime, but still the price seem higher. I get 140 PHP. 4 sidinefil tabs. 20 mg, that would mean 100 mg would cost around 175 PHP. Five 100 mg tabs would be 875 PHP. Still half the price sold from andros.[/QUOTE]You still have to order the generics from an internet distributor, and that means running the gauntlet of the corrupt Philippines mail system.

A friend of mine has lost 2 packs of generic sildenifil in transit, and it has been tracked to the Philippines where it disappeared.

At least with Andros you are getting a packaged product over the counter and properly marketed under controlled conditions. I feel more confident that it contains what it is supposed to contain instead of loading my body with pills bought on Burgos etc that have dubious origin. I am concerned more with the long-term effects of any other material included in the tabs that might be a trigger for some pretty nasty side effects.

After I found out that EDSA and especially Burgos is too expensive, I decide to give MBC / LA Cafe another try. Last time I went there was a Sunday, today it's Saturday so maybe it's better now. And yes, it turns out to be one of my best experiences. The story goes like this:

I get to the cafe at 11, Saturday night. The ground floor is packed, upstairs there are some people, but it looks boring (150 cc, a band is playing). So I decide to stay downstairs, the quality of the girls is much better now compared to my last visit. When I first arrive a waitress ask me if I want sit, I reply "yes", and she finds me a seat by the bar. That is: she tells a girl sitting there to get up to make a seat. I sit down, order a beer, take a look to the left, and. What good luck! An absolutely gorgeous girl is sitting there! We begin to talk, she and her friend are really a lot of fun. They joke that I should take both of them home, garanteeing a nice time for me! She is not pushy, but relaxed, something I like. In fact: she tells me later that she don't like to walk around and "push" the men. But rather wait for them to approach her. Yes, she has that seldom combination of being both classy and friendly. (She also warns me that some girls steal stuff in the hotel room, something I experienced myself the night before.)

I suggest the price 2500, something she agrees to for four hours (then she has to go home). We go to my hotel, I set the air-con to max, and its' needed: She's fantastic, we have two sessions. Also, I get to try the super-thin plastic. 02 condoms I bought in Japan, and I must say I am satiesfied with them. Not a big difference from ordinary ones, but there is somewhat more natural feeling using them. The next evening she comes to my hotel, fantastic again. Now she suggests that I should try her friend too, and make a threesome tomorrow."You need to try", she says. I met her friend at the cafe, she's really sweet (big boobies!) So now I'm thinking about saying yes.

So I need to change my opinion on freelancers, they can really be the best. And not necessarily more risky than gogo-bar girls. Rather, for the last days it has been the opposite for me. You just have to look around and use some time and effort to find one that suits you, plus have a bit of good luck!

[QUOTE=WantitBadly;1307304]Was in manila for work, staying at a hotel in makati, the city garden. When I came back from work I saw a few street hookers. Was interested but I had to ditch my boss first. After I ditch my boss, I went down looking for the same ones I saw 2 hrs earlier but to no avail.[/QUOTE]When you do decide to manger again, here's a word of advice. Avoid street girls in the Burgos area, and any 'red light' area of the PI in general.

There's an abundance of FL opportunities here. Street carries the largest risk for problems.

[QUOTE=Westcoast1;1307013]. When I mentioned how much I make in an hour (in pesos) , and told her that when I wait in line, I see that time as money lost, you should have seen the look on her face. Time=money is surely not a pinoy concept, as they have more time on their hands than they know what to do with, and not enough money for anything.[/QUOTE]It doesn't relate here culturally because they are rarely pushed for time efficiency in that type of situation. One big reason for it is people who do things for themselves here either have a lot of time and / or don't dare complain because they are used to it. On the other hand people whose time is worth money send one of their people (driver, maid, secretary whatever) to do that kind of thing. This includes: banking, paying bills, figuring out why something doesn't work right etc.

[QUOTE=Red Kilt; 1309310]You still have to order the generics from an internet distributor, and that means running the gauntlet of the corrupt Philippines mail system.

A friend of mine has lost 2 packs of generic sildenifil in transit, and it has been tracked to the Philippines where it disappeared.

At least with Andros you are getting a packaged product over the counter and properly marketed under controlled conditions. I feel more confident that it contains what it is supposed to contain instead of loading my body with pills bought on Burgos etc that have dubious origin. I am concerned more with the long-term effects of any other material included in the tabs that might be a trigger for some pretty nasty side effects.[/QUOTE]Agree, a very good deal compare to last few years when it was almost impossible to get any generic drugs in the PH. I think it would only improve in coming years and price would come down, if one more competition comes along

thought i would add this report regarding driving in the philippines. i had a rental car and i was returning to makati area during a rain storm and heavy traffic. i was driving towards edsa and looking for the turn off for makati area. signs and exits are not marked very well and it was 5 lanes of free for all traffic. i was in a turn lane and decided to move to the other lane and continue straight.

there were 2 cops standing in that area and waived me over with their flashlights. i stopped. as soon as they approached my car and saw my white face their eyes lit up immediately. they both were at the window of my car explaining how i made an incorrect lane change and were asking me where i am going and where am i from and bla bla bla. it was obvious they were looking for a handout. my patience level was maxed out from driving in the traffic but i tried to hold my calm. i explained that i was trying to avoid an accident because someone cut me off and that is why i moved lanes. i suggested they give me a warning and let me continue since i was not from there.

no sir you are in the philippines and you have made a driving infraction and we will need to issue you a ticket and confirep001e your driver's license until it's paid. wtf? they had my driver's license in their hands at this point. i just wanted to get to my destination. i only had about 500p on me since i left what was in my pocket with my gf. i asked the police if i could just pay the ticket now.

their response was ah ok sir it will be 2500p if you want to pay it now. i did not have it plus i was pissed off. i said to them fuck it just give me the ticket and take my license. my license needed to be renewed anyways and i told them that and i could get a new license when returned to usa. they looked at me very confused. sir are you sure you want you license confirep001ed? yes sure just take it i don't care i said.

they went to the back of the car and talked for a minute then came back and said oh sir we will let you go now. there are cameras here and we would never take your money in the street as we don't want any trouble. i took my license back and told them they are free to go now. they said ok thank you sir.

Catching you making that questionable turn was like dangling a donut in front of a cop from the USA.

[quote=tally wacker; 1309706]thought i would add this report regarding driving in the philippines. i had a rental car and i was returning to makati area during a rain storm and heavy traffic. i was driving towards edsa and looking for the turn off for makati area. signs and exits are not marked very well and it was 5 lanes of free for all traffic. i was in a turn lane and decided to move to the other lane and continue straight.

there were 2 cops standing in that area and waived me over with their flashlights. i stopped. as soon as they approached my car and saw my white face their eyes lit up immediately. they both were at the window of my car explaining how i made an incorrect lane change and were asking me where i am going and where am i from and bla bla bla. it was obvious they were looking for a handout. my patience level was maxed out from driving in the traffic but i tried to hold my calm. i explained that i was trying to avoid an accident because someone cut me off and that is why i moved lanes. i suggested they give me a warning and let me continue since i was not from there.

no sir you are in the philippines and you have made a driving infraction and we will need to issue you a ticket and confirep001e your driver's license until it's paid. wtf? they had my driver's license in their hands at this point. i just wanted to get to my destination. i only had about 500p on me since i left what was in my pocket with my gf. i asked the police if i could just pay the ticket now.

their response was ah ok sir it will be 2500p if you want to pay it now. i did not have it plus i was pissed off. i said to them fuck it just give me the ticket and take my license. my license needed to be renewed anyways and i told them that and i could get a new license when returned to usa. they looked at me very confused. sir are you sure you want you license confirep001ed? yes sure just take it i don't care i said.

they went to the back of the car and talked for a minute then came back and said oh sir we will let you go now. there are cameras here and we would never take your money in the street as we don't want any trouble. i took my license back and told them they are free to go now. they said ok thank you sir.[/quote]its funny how when you show some balls and act somewhat inconsistent to what they expect you get some crazy results. 2500p if you had it on you, you would have probably paid it and moved on as its just not worth the time and arguing but you didn't and your responses seemed out of whack and bizarre to them probably thinking that maybe you are undercover so you got a better result.

in june i had a flight booked with cebu pacific to go to bora with my gf. they lost our luggage and my gf silly enough (typical filipina) had her passport and all her i'd's in there. this was after they cancelled my flight to boracay (caticlan) then made us wait for couple of hours at the airport only to put us on another flight to boracay (kalibo). first i lost it in manila telling them that this is not on and that they should have let me know that the flight is cancelled. i started pushing for refund and they gave me us a coupon for a free flight each. in kalibo they expected us to take a bus to caticlan (2hrs) and they lost my bags. i let my gf handle things but they were just saying thats all they can do. they i started yelling saying that i will contact dot and my embassy and that there were diplomatic papers there and started taking down names and acting official with everyone that i talked to. few minutes latter i had the manager from cebu pacific at the airport issue us another free domestic flight coupon and charter a private mini van and pay for out ferry tickets to boracay. he also promised to make sure our suitcases were found and brought to our hotel by 10 am the next morning. we had the luggage in our hotel by noon, with a note of apology and yet another free domestic flight coupon each. its one of the craziest things ever to happen to me in phils pity i am now busy and i won't be back for a while to use the free flights but my gf has already taken a holiday to cebu on the coupons and yeah they worked.

[QUOTE=Mc Don; 1309794]. .

In June I had a flight booked with Cebu Pacific to go to Bora with my gf. They lost our luggage and my gf silly enough (typical filipina) had her passport and all her I'd's in there. This was after they cancelled my flight to Boracay (Caticlan) then made us wait for couple of hours at the airport only to put us on another flight to Boracay (Kalibo). First I lost it in Manila telling them that this is not on and that they should have let me know that the flight is cancelled. I started pushing for refund and they gave me us a coupon for a free flight each. In Kalibo they expected us to take a bus to Caticlan (2hrs) and they lost my bags. I let my gf handle things but they were just saying thats all they can do. They I started yelling saying that I will contact DOT and my embassy and that there were diplomatic papers there and started taking down names and acting official with everyone that I talked to. Few minutes latter I had the manager from Cebu pacific at the airport issue us another free domestic flight coupon and charter a private mini van and pay for out ferry tickets to Boracay. He also promised to make sure our suitcases were found and brought to our hotel by 10 am the next morning. We had the luggage in our hotel by noon, with a note of apology and yet another free domestic flight coupon each. Its one of the craziest things ever to happen to me in phils pity I am now busy and I won't be back for a while to use the free flights but my gf has already taken a holiday to Cebu on the coupons and yeah they worked.[/QUOTE]You got them at a good time McD.

There has just been a lot of publicity here about a show business star (prima donna) who completely lost it and started loudly abusing a Cebu Pacific luggage attendant when Cebu Pacific lost her bags on the flight from Boracay to Manila. When a local reporter (one of the local tough guys) started filming her tirade her husband (also a show biz star) and the body guards saw him and started bashing him (It's all over YouTube - everybody started filming everybody else filming everybody).

I won't mention names here because it is in the courts now and both sides are suing each other and anyway, names are irrelevant.

What this means is that the airline is very sensitive now about lost luggage and so they reacted quickly to your agitation about your situation.

I think you already understand having been here long enough that under normal circumstances nobody will give a damn about your luggage [B]especially[/B] if you start yelling and losing your temper as you said you did.

I think it is never good advice to tell people to start yelling and thumping the desk if things don't go your way anywhere in SE Asia.

In your case you timed it well and got away with it to your advantage.

that was ballsy, tally. i think you got lucky.

[quote=tally wacker; 1309706]no sir you are in the philippines and you have made a driving infraction and we will need to issue you a ticket and confirep001e your driver's license until it's paid. wtf? they had my driver's license in their hands at this point. i just wanted to get to my destination. i only had about 500p on me since i left what was in my pocket with my gf. i asked the police if i could just pay the ticket now.

their response was ah ok sir it will be 2500p if you want to pay it now. i did not have it plus i was pissed off. i said to them fuck it just give me the ticket and take my license. my license needed to be renewed anyways and i told them that and i could get a new license when returned to usa. they looked at me very confused. sir are you sure you want you license confirep001ed? yes sure just take it i don't care i said.

they went to the back of the car and talked for a minute then came back and said oh sir we will let you go now. there are cameras here and we would never take your money in the street as we don't want any trouble. i took my license back and told them they are free to go now. they said ok thank you sir.[/quote]

[QUOTE=Red Kilt; 1309828]You got them at a good time McD.

There has just been a lot of publicity here about a show business star (prima donna) who completely lost it and started loudly abusing a Cebu Pacific luggage attendant when Cebu Pacific lost her bags on the flight from Boracay to Manila. When a local reporter (one of the local tough guys) started filming her tirade her husband (also a show biz star) and the body guards saw him and started bashing him (It's all over YouTube. Everybody started filming everybody else filming everybody).

I won't mention names here because it is in the courts now and both sides are suing each other and anyway, names are irrelevant.

What this means is that the airline is very sensitive now about lost luggage and so they reacted quickly to your agitation about your situation.

I think you already understand having been here long enough that under normal circumstances nobody will give a damn about your luggage [B]especially[/B] If you start yelling and losing your temper as you said you did.

I think it is never good advice to tell people to start yelling and thumping the desk if things don't go your way anywhere in SE Asia.

In your case you timed it well and got away with it to your advantage.[/QUOTE]RK, that was not my point. I don't think you should lose your cool anywhere and almost always its cheaper and easier to pay off the locals and move on then to fight them. I am just saying that at times we get unexpected results when we catch them off guard. I never expected my bags or the tickets from Cebu pacific. I have had previous experiences with them when I have received back damaged suitcases with things missing 2 weeks latter a day before my departure. I did what I did because just like TW I had nothing to lose really. My personal things were safe in Manila, it was a weekend getaway to Bora and all I packed was 2 tshirts, shorts and underwear. I didn't care. What I have noticed in phils is that my accent sets me apart and I know it sounds crazy but it gets things done. They bought the whole diplomatic paperwork crap at least at Kalibo and phones were ringing in front of me with my gf translating what was said. The manager called manila to trace our luggage and they called my gf latter that evening (we are talking around 11pm) to tell her that the luggage was found and will be on the first flight to Bora tomorrow. Even then I didn't believe it to be honest.

They funniest thing out of that experience is you would think my gf would have learned the lesson NEVER to put her passport and paperwork in her checked in luggage when travelling. No prices for guessing where her docs were on the flight back to Manila.

[QUOTE=Tally Wacker; 1309706]Thought I would add this report regarding driving in the Philippines. I had a rental car and I was returning to Makati area during a rain storm and heavy traffic. I was driving towards EDSA and looking for the turn off for Makati area. Signs and exits are not marked very well and it was 5 lanes of free for all traffic. I was in a turn lane and decided to move to the other lane and continue straight.

There were 2 Cops standing in that area and waived me over with their flashlights. I stopped.[/QUOTE]500 will normally do it. Locals pay about 200.

Me I don't stop for them.

[QUOTE=Mc Don;1309900]RK, that was not my point. I don't think you should lose your cool anywhere and almost always its cheaper and easier to pay off the locals and move on then to fight them. I am just saying that at times we get unexpected results when we catch them off guard. SNIP. .[/QUOTE]That was EXACTLY my point McD. The fact that you got unexpected results because you were there when Cebu Pacific was VERY sensitive about lost luggage.

I know that you know not to raise your voice etc here. I was just concerned that some newbie in SE Asia might read about you "losing it" (you did say that in your post right?) and might think that is how things get done.

Systems normal. It's all cool.