Manila

My problem was that the Jp airline folks got an internal computer printout about my passport. They, the Japanese, being the rule of law followers decided not to let me fly. My thinking I could of gotten in PH with out much effort had I showed my passport to Phil immigration. Nothing the 500P document would not take care of or perhaps go undetected.

I assume there is a reason for the need of having 6 months or more on the passport? Any one know? I asked at USA embassy but they did not know why necessary. Not necessary when coming in Japan.

OK, so I really hate walking through a lobby or even past a grinning security guard with my lady for the evening. Can someone please tell me if there are any hotels, aparetelles, condos, with a private entrance in Manila? Preferably Malate area, but would also possibly consider Makati if not too expensive. I read on another board that Cherry Blossoms hotel has a second entrance down a side street. And that Amazonia is a possibility for this kind of request as well. Anyone? Thanks in advance. Full report will come following the trip which begins this week.

[QUOTE=Skip Kost;1327951]I'd rather jump through these extra hoops for advance visa processing than run the chance of having Delta bump me from my flight at the last minute.[/QUOTE]No US carrier is going to bump you from a flight because your itinerary stretches past 21 days. You must have been singled out! Have passport, will travel!

[QUOTE=Skip Kost;1328352]Have you found a place to buy load or simm cards before passing out through customs? Is this Terminal one?[/QUOTE]In Terminal One or Three you must clear customs first. Just past you will see the vendors that sell SIM cards.

[QUOTE=FreebieFan;1328263]I guess we all have amusing airline stories.[/QUOTE]I was on a long vacation (30 days wife hunting) in the PI. Flew round trip with PAL. When it was near time to return to the USA, the hotel I was staying at tried to verify my flight for me. There was a problem with PAL and they wanted me to pay a large change fee. I had not change anything from my original itinerary. I was in AC and was returning to Manila a few days before the flight so had to go to the PAL office. Turns out the airline had discontinued my flight and booked me on a different return flight without telling me. I was routed through SF to LA instead straight to LA. The agent tried to charge ME a change fee for a change they made. I had to ask for a supervisor to straighten out the problem. He gave the agent a dirty look while he was typing the info in the computer terminal. He apologized for his agent and explained discontinued flights were a rarity and the agent had never handled one before.

Slim

P.S.

Trip was a success and I have been happily married for over 25 years.

X, Gangles: Clear out your inbox.

[QUOTE=Gaijin Gigolo;1328405]OK, so I really hate walking through a lobby or even past a grinning security guard with my lady for the evening. Can someone please tell me if there are any hotels, aparetelles, condos, with a private entrance in Manila? Preferably Malate area, but would also possibly consider Makati if not too expensive. I read on another board that Cherry Blossoms hotel has a second entrance down a side street. And that Amazonia is a possibility for this kind of request as well.[/QUOTE]The hotel staff in Ermita / Malate are all very used to guests taking ladies back, they won't even blink. If you keep looking at their reaction, then it's your own problem. If you are so shy, then take the lady to Amazonia or Sogo Hotel, they specialize in this field. I know one major Ermita hotel that you do not need to pass the lobby. Pearl Manila Hotel, you may see the guard in the first floor, but lobby is not on the first floor, then you can take elevator straight to your floor.

[QUOTE=RCA Knight;1328440]I know one major Ermita hotel that you do not need to pass the lobby. Pearl Manila Hotel, you may see the guard in the first floor, but lobby is not on the first floor, then you can take elevator straight to your floor.[/QUOTE]Thanks for that. This is what I'm looking for. Anybody else got any suggestions? Perhaps in Makati too? I'd prefer an apartelle probably, but I'm leaving tomorrow and realized probably not enough time to find one of those.

[QUOTE=Mattrick;1328410]No US carrier is going to bump you from a flight because your itinerary stretches past 21 days.[/QUOTE]So the two Delta ticket agents spent 25 minutes deliberating over processing me onto the flight because:

A) they were bored and looking to fill their idle time;

B) Delta finds it cost-effective to have two employees occupy themselves in this way;

C) they detected the testosterone-charged glint in my eye and as femi-nazis felt a need to intercede to protect all those defenseless Pinays;

D) both B and C;

E) none of the above.

The reason scientists build confidence intervals (or margin of error) around predictions of future behavior is that human behavior is often unpredictable and tends to defy 100 percent certainty.

[QUOTE=RCA Knight;1328440]The hotel staff in Ermita / Malate are all very used to guests taking ladies back, they won't even blink. If you keep looking at their reaction, then it's your own problem. If you are so shy, then take the lady to Amazonia or Sogo Hotel, they specialize in this field. I know one major Ermita hotel that you do not need to pass the lobby. Pearl Manila Hotel, you may see the guard in the first floor, but lobby is not on the first floor, then you can take elevator straight to your floor.[/QUOTE]Pearl Manila, corner Taft / Gen Luna / United Nations. Pass the security guy at the door (he will take the girl's I'd) and go to the elevator (elevators are very slow). Lobby is on floor 9, of all things.

I was in and out of MBC for several parts of my recent trip in early-mid September 2012, and used Ermita as "home base" as I visited other spots in PI and Thailand. I stayed at Cherry Blossom during my time in Malate. CB has been my favorite for several years now.

A few notes\observations about MBC:

1) I confirmed that they are ending the live entertainment at MBC at night. They were not charging a fee to go upstairs on a Saturday night. Unclear if this is forever or temporary. Since all the women can now go up for free, there were a lot more women upstairs and several on the dance floor. Even though there was no live band, there was still plenty of women dancing on a Saturday night.

2) The women don't get a commission on the drinks you buy for them at MBC. Amazonia and Gpoint apparently pay them a commission for every drink you buy for them. I personally tend to pay cash on the spot for all my drinks\food and typically don't run a tab. I like to stay "mobile" and thus typically don't buy drinks for the women I talk to. If I am talking to a woman in MBC, then in all likelihood, we will be leaving shortly.

3) The Asian takeover of MBC continues. I went back on a Sunday morning. There were 16 asian men and 1 white guy there (me). About half were over the age of 55, and the other half appeared 30-40. Most were chain smoking. The ratio moderated a little as lunch time approached.

4) Most MBC women that I went with asked for a condom. I am not sure if it is the result of the increased awareness of STDs among foreign sex tourists, or if it was my increasing reputation as a butterfly. Either way, I wrapped up for the days I was there.

5) All women initially agreed to 1500 PP plus a tip for ST. I got to decide the tip. At top end of the scale, I paid a max of 2200 (after tip\taxi) for a smoking hot lady that really rocked my world, and a minimum of 1700 PP for a mediocre quickie. All of the girls that I took were at the upper end of the cuteness scale and I averaged about 1800-1900 PP after tip. I didn't take any women LT.

6) It's been stated here before, but I'll restate this for the benefit of others. Many of the women live in the province and come into Ermita for multi-day work trips. They stay at one of the boarding houses around MBC, make some moolah, and then go back to the province. Repeat.

[QUOTE=Pip Jaeger; 1328229]Gentlemen, thanks for all of the helpful info.

I flew on United out of JAX, FL (via Houston, Hawaii, and Guam). A bit of a hassle with all of the connections, but the best and least costly I could do on short notice. It looks like it was just dumb luck; dumb luck in the sense that I selected a carrier that does not enforce, up to a point, the PI advance visa requirement for stays exceeding 21 days.

Earlier today I called United's help desk. I was informed that they will allow you to travel, and more importantly board the aircraft, whether or not you have the proper visa beforehand. They realize that some travelers don't have the time to get an extended stay visa ahead of time, which was my case back in May. They presume that you will get the visa either upon arrival or within the 21 day visa time frame given upon entry.

But, and this is a big BUT, if you fail to get the proper visa and they are fined (up to $5, 000 USD) , the fine plus all other associated costs, legal fees, taxes, levies, etc are passed onto you the traveler. That's supposedly buried somewhere in the pages of gobbledy gook fine print that you have to agree to, but never really read, when you initially purchase your ticket.

The fact that immigration let me though without the proper visa was again probably just dumb luck or they hope that you will not get the visa and they can collect a big fine. Had the officer counted the actual days, instead of perhaps just seeing a May arrival and a June departure, then he most likely would have referred me to the office that WR mentioned (unless of course they're really hoping to collect the fine).

Incidentally, I just counted the days of the extension stamped in my passport. I didn't bother with it before; I only glanced at the expiration date (July) and noted that it was after my actual departure date in June. The total was indeed for a total of 59 days from my initial arrival date, so my thinking of getting a total of 80 days was flawed. Sorry, my bad; whip me, beat me, spank me with a spoon (and no WR, even though I know a few ladies who'd do it, I'm just kidding; I'm a Dom too, LOL).

I guess I'll be cutting my next trip back to 58. 999 days, LOL. I'll probably play it safe too and get the visa ahead of time. Or if I really want to stay longer, I'll have to a get the multiple extensions in advance; then leave the Phils for at least 24 hours near the end of my first visa (hmmm, maybe a quick hop over to Pattaya for some "Thai Pie"?).[/QUOTE]One way around this nonsense is to buy a one way ticket for the cheapest flight out of Philippines that leaves within 21 days of your arrival, even if you never have any intention of using it. Usually Air Asia or Cebu Pacific will have a cheap offer. I even once got a ticket from Clark to some mining town I never heard of in Malaysia for about $25 one-way. See it as a tax. This is to keep the airlines happy as I was never once asked by Immigration in over 20 times arriving in Philippines for proof of onward flight.

[QUOTE=Simian;1328893]One way around this nonsense is to buy a one way ticket for the cheapest flight out of Philippines that leaves within 21 days of your arrival, even if you never have any intention of using it. Usually Air Asia or Cebu Pacific will have a cheap offer. I even once got a ticket from Clark to some mining town I never heard of in Malaysia for about $25 one-way. See it as a tax. This is to keep the airlines happy as I was never once asked by Immigration in over 20 times arriving in Philippines for proof of onward flight.[/QUOTE]All you need is an itenary. Book a ticket on travelocity or orbitz, print the itenary out, and cancel the ticket right away.

[QUOTE=WhatsUrName; 1328715]I was in and out of MBC for several parts of my recent trip in early-mid September 2012, and used Ermita as "home base" as I visited other spots in PI and Thailand. I stayed at Cherry Blossom during my time in Malate. CB has been my favorite for several years now.

A few notes\observations about MBC:

2) The women don't get a commission on the drinks you buy for them at MBC. Amazonia and Gpoint apparently pay them a commission for every drink you buy for them. I personally tend to pay cash on the spot for all my drinks\food and typically don't run a tab. I like to stay "mobile" and thus typically don't buy drinks for the women I talk to. If I am talking to a woman in MBC, then in all likelihood, we will be leaving shortly.

4) Most MBC women that I went with asked for a condom. I am not sure if it is the result of the increased awareness of STDs among foreign sex tourists, or if it was my increasing reputation as a butterfly. Either way, I wrapped up for the days I was there.[/QUOTE]2. Not sure if the girl gets a commission. However the cost is not the same as your drink anymore. Better ask the waitress how much it will cost you for the drink lady wants. One girl ordered martini and it cost me 300 pesos.

Beer I believe is 200 pesos for ladydrink. Why the change of policy? Undoubtedly they want to make money. So it is fast becoming like a go go bar rather than a freelancer place. Pretty soon they will start charging barfine or exit fee.

4. It is common practice for a long time to use condom with MBC ladies. These are regular prostitutes whether they come for one day or many days there to make money. Yes, there maybe some young clean mothers but cannot take a risk. I am sure very few of asian men like condoms.

Last year when I went there it cost the same as your drink.

[QUOTE=Simian;1328893]One way around this nonsense is to buy a one way ticket for the cheapest flight out of Philippines that leaves within 21 days of your arrival, even if you never have any intention of using it. Usually Air Asia or Cebu Pacific will have a cheap offer. I even once got a ticket from Clark to some mining town I never heard of in Malaysia for about $25 one-way. See it as a tax. This is to keep the airlines happy as I was never once asked by Immigration in over 20 times arriving in Philippines for proof of onward flight.[/QUOTE]Although your advice is well intentioned I would question it. I went to the the phils between the 21st August and 8th September this year. The arrival stamp in my passport also included a 'stay until sep 11 stamp' ie 21 days.

With countries that have dubious administrative systems I would always play it by the book.

[QUOTE=Sammon;1328902]4. It is common practice for a long time to use condom with MBC ladies. These are regular prostitutes whether they come for one day or many days there to make money. Yes, there maybe some young clean mothers but cannot take a risk. I am sure very few of asian men like condoms.[/QUOTE]Common to who? Mongers? Or perhaps you mean it is your custom. No man likes condoms, asian or otherwise. He wears one out of fear. Sexy, huh?