Cebu Pacific or Cebgo. Important to know the difference
Cebu Pacific has now bought out Tigerair and has set up a "new" domestic offshoot called Cebgo.
Cebgo is operating out of Terminal 4 which is the old original domestic terminal. It has been upgraded thank goodness.
If your flight number begins with DG xxxx then it is a Cebgo flight and most likely will fly out of and into Terminal 4. I say "most likely" because my recent ticket one week ago said "arrival at Terminal 4" but it came to terminal 3.
If the flight number is 5 J xxxx then it is branded as a Cebu Pacific flight and will fly out of and into Terminal 3.
Knowing this detail is going to be crucial for those of you using Cebu Pacific and arriving on international flights and hoping to transfer to a domestic flight without a stopover. You might have to plan for the clusterf*k that is involved in changing terminals but then again you might not.
The days of simple thinking when PAL was always Terminal 2 and Cebu Pacific was always Terminal 3 are gone.
Buyer beware lest you end up in the wrong place.
Preparing for first trip.
Well I'm back after a successful first semester in college after exiting the military. I finally got myself a subscription in preparation for my first trip. Any advice is appreciated and I will heed it. I was originally shooting for two weeks in may, however it doesn't look like I'll be able to make it with school. So I was planning on going in late August and staying for about a month. My only experience with Filipina's where with the bar girls while I was stationed in Korea. They were wonderful. A little back story about me is I recently got out of the Army and after serving three deployments I have been dying for a trip like this. I really need to some down time to unwind. I have traveled before but only for the military, I have never been anywhere In the Far East or Pacific outside of Korea.
My main goal of the trip will be to relax and focus on having fun with the girls. I am not a big eater or drinker. I would say I could possibly average about two to three drinks a day on this trip which is a lot for me. I imagine most days I won't drink at all. So I am hoping to dedicate most of my budget to female entertainment. I would like to see a girl for LT everyday if possible, and on occasion take two or even three. But I can adjust my budget accordingly and I hope to add to it by the trip date.
My current budget is about 5,000 USD for the trip. This is after covering my hotels and plane ticket. I will be flying out of Raleigh North Carolina. Not sure if the info is relevant but I am a 29 year old 6'3 white guy.
I was planning on staying 13 days at Pacific Breeze in Angeles and about 17 days at The Pub Hotel in Subic Bay. This is based of previous advice you guys gave me and some research I have done. Subic Bay seems like my style as I really enjoy a low key environment.
I appreciate your time and any advice. I wanted to make sure I got fully prepared for my trip in advance as I'm not a seasoned traveler. Thanks.
Local traffic: Yin & Yang
[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1983865]I think the difference in perception can be largely attributed to experience driving in the third world. For those accustomed to countries in which people usually obey traffic rules, driving in any big city here is likely a nightmare. For those of us who, for the past few decades have become inured to driving in the third world, where traffic rules are viewed more as suggestions, and are largely unenforced at any rate, driving here represents no particular challenge. True, the routine left turns from the right lane, the motorcycles with no lights, the use of lanes intended for traffic going in the opposite direction, the oblivious jeepney and trike drivers are nuisances, but over time one learns to anticipate the idiocy and it becomes more or less normal. Like WR, I've driven in places that were more anarchic (Vietnam, Thailand, Uganda, Mozambique and more) than here, but even in those countries, once you've internalized the patterns, you learn to anticipate and it all becomes normal. My major fear when driving here is pedestrians crossing largely unlit streets at night or bicycle riders, with no lights, no reflectors, and wearing dark clothes.
GE.[/QUOTE]Thanks to WR and GE for their interesting and enlightening observations.
Thanks also to GE for noting that perceptions are intrinsically subjective. See, for example, Kurosawa's classic, Rashomon. With regard to local traffic, truly, your "mileage may vary."
Certainly, there are a few drivers who are exceptionally enlightened, who can surmount local traffic conditions with aplomb. I would suggest, however, with all due respect, that for the rest of us mere mortals, local traffic often can be shudder-inducing.
I do not espouse its methodology or findings, but the Waze Driver Satisfaction Index 2016 (which "analyzes the driving experiences of millions of monthly active Waze users in 38 countries and 235 metros") is interesting.
Of 186 global cities rated by Waze, Cebu was dead last, at #186, with a "miserable" index of 1. 15. Manila is rated at #170, with an index of 3.68, actually "better" than Cebu and certain cities in Indonesia, El Salvador, Brazil, Colombia, South Africa, and Russia. Angeles was #147, with an index of 4. 55.
On a "per country" basis, Philippines was rated #37, and saved only by El Salvador from being dead last.
Having been enlightened by the posts of WR and GE, I note that the areas in Africa and the Middle East which they mention (which areas I have never visited, thank God) perhaps were not included in the Waze survey.
Locally, the 9-16-16 Cebu Sunstar (daily newspaper) reported, "Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena agreed with the survey result of Waze, tagging Cebu as the worst metro to drive in. " Of course, Mayor Tom's focus seems to have shifted this time around, and he seems to spend much time "bashing" his predecessor in office, who in turn had the temerity to supplant Mayor Tom a couple of terms ago.
As Georgie Best might have said, "Life is a big giggle."
OM.
