General Info

[QUOTE=Dg8787;2178333]Manila drivers would have be 2 meters behind a car to have glaring taillights in their face. If there were 2 meters of space, 5 motorbikes, 2 Trike's, 3 taxis and 1 bus would cut in front of him! Joking I write this.

The other day I was in a private paid car and I notice the front windshield was tinted. Not the curtain tint but regular tint. Same dark tint as on the side and rear windows. This was at night and I was sitting in the front seat. It was clear his vision was reduced. In addition to the danger of walking in front of vehicles, be aware of the extra danger of tinted windshields.

As much as I hate EDSA blvd in Manila, the other day riding in a luxury bus on a holiday whereas traffic was way down, I got a good look at EDSA businesses. It was a sunny day and I was surprised that EDSA looked good without the impaired vision of trucks, buses and black smoke spilling jeepneys. Truly a day that taillights were able to glare.[/QUOTE]Believe it or not, once one lives here, has a car and drives every day, the general chaotic insanity becomes internalized, starts to appear normal, and you adjust to the erratic driving behaviors. I know, for example, when there's a vehicle, any vehicle, on my right at an intersection, that there's an excellent possibility the driver will try to cut across the front of my car to turn left. I know when approaching an intersection that the concept of "right angle turns" doesn't exist here, nor does the concept of right of way. I know that lane markings are considered purely decorative and that traffic can go in any direction in any lane. I know that even during periods of heavy rains at night some idiot on a motorcycle (usually without rear lights) will try to weave in and out of traffic, and that cyclists wearing dark clothes and with no reflectors or lights will peddle blithely through traffic at night. I know that that dark, slow-moving splotch 25 or 30 meters ahead of me at night, is likely a trike full of people struggling to make it up a hill. I know that the jeepney in front of me will stop wherever the driver pleases with no signal and no warning and I know that no traffic regulations will be enforced. Ever. It's just one of the more bizarre aspects of living here to which one has to adjust.

I've adjusted to all of the above, as have all of the expats I know here who drive. The problem comes when I return to the West and then I have to struggle for a couple of days to remember what safe, correct driving behavior is.

As to the heavy tint on front windshields, it's true and it's normal. I've grown accustomed to it as it does cut way down on the glare from a relentless sun and at night it makes me hyper vigilant. I've also grown accustomed to the fact that many, if not most drivers will not turn on their lights in heavy rains, and will wait until it's pitch dark at night to do so. Why? "Because I'm saving my battery sir. " I've also noticed that there's no comprehension whatsoever of torque or appropriate shift points. I've often asked Grab Taxi and Uber drivers if they know what the tachometer is for and what it measures. The unanimous response is "no sir," which could explain why so many drivers continue up fairly steep inclines in fourth gear at 1,500 RPM: "I'm saving gas sir. " And though I've tried, I could never convince any of them otherwise.

All of the above explains whyI'the prefer to drive my own car almost all of the time, regardless of circumstances. I taught my wife to drive about 15 years ago, and I taught her according to the rules under which I learned. She became an excellent driver of both manual and automatic cars, and gets even more frustrated than I do about the general anarchy on the roads here, cursing other drivers in an endless stream of Tagalog or Visayan profanity.

GE.

GE, your post offers a very observant slice of Filipino life. In my view it's a report of distinction, but you're going to have to take my word for it, because it's a hassle making the actual link over into the reports of distinction thread.

[QUOTE=SoapySmith;2178732]GE, your post offers a very observant slice of Filipino life. In my view it's a report of distinction, but you're going to have to take my word for it, because it's a hassle making the actual link over into the reports of distinction thread.[/QUOTE]Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's not particularly insightful and virtually anyone who lives here and drives regularly could, I'm sure, have made the same points. Driving here does have the benefit of forcing yourself "to accept the things (you) cannot change," though I need to remind myself of this ineluctable fact at least once a day.

GE.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;2178701]Believe it or not, once one lives here, has a car and drives every day, the general chaotic insanity becomes internalized, starts to appear normal, and you adjust to the erratic driving behaviors. I know, for example, when there's a vehicle, any vehicle, on my right at an intersection, that there's an excellent possibility the driver will try to cut across the front of my car to turn left. I know when approaching an intersection that the concept of "right angle turns" doesn't exist here, nor does the concept of right of way. I know that lane markings are considered purely decorative and that traffic can go in any direction in any lane. I know that even during periods of heavy rains at night some idiot on a motorcycle (usually without rear lights) will try to weave in and out of traffic, and that cyclists wearing dark clothes and with no reflectors or lights will peddle blithely through traffic at night. I know that that dark, slow-moving splotch 25 or 30 meters ahead of me at night, is likely a trike full of people struggling to make it up a hill. I know that the jeepney in front of me will stop wherever the driver pleases with no signal and no warning and I know that no traffic regulations will be enforced. Ever. It's just one of the more bizarre aspects of living here to which one has to adjust.


GE.[/QUOTE]Great FR GE and I can add that when in Cebu I am used to seeing 15-20 motorbikes in front of me at the traffic lights even though I am the first vehicle waiting to leave when the lights turn green. And you must get used them weaving / slaloming along any road without any care for their safety but if they hit you it is your fault LO.

As for turning left despite being in the wrong lane. Even I am tempted to do only because everyone else does LOL.

Lastly my car got a scrape on the driver side front wing. How? In the left lane filter (second lane) a taxi decided to go straight on and side swiped the car. The police report clearly stated I was at fault as I was on the inside lane turning left and he turned into me hence causing the dent on the left and his dent on the right. Go figure that one as clearly spurious and ridiculous and even the insurance had a good laugh at that one.

But for me it is like driving in Saudi so it feels like home form home at times LOL.

[QUOTE=SoapySmith;2178549]Sim, in my experience Boston driving is worse than NYC.[/QUOTE]I have no doubt that is true. Even as a pedestrian the difference between Chicago and LA is vast: LA you cross the road and cars give way (and pedestrians step out with this knowledge, so often don't even look up from their phone); Chicago you have to walk around or over the cars. If they even stop.

Regarding the comments about tint, I will not drive in the Philippines at night any more. My night vision isn't great anyway, so add tint and dark streets into the mix and it's just not worth it.

Some years ago, may still happen. In Puerta Rico an auto accident happens and a PR cop first visits the driver of each damaged auto. After that interview the fault for the accident officially falls on the owner who has car insurance regardless of who is really at fault. LOL.

[QUOTE=Simmer;2178984]
Regarding the comments about tint, I will not drive in the Philippines at night any more. My night vision isn't great anyway, so add tint and dark streets into the mix and it's just not worth it.[/QUOTE]I hear you. The older I get, the worse my night vision becomes, which is why I typically ask my (much younger) wife to drive at night. There are times however, when my driving at night is pretty much unavoidable, and rather than trusting myself to the often unstable ministrations of a taxi driver, I just bite the bullet and drive.

GE.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;2179102]I hear you. The older I get, the worse my night vision becomes, which is why I typically ask my (much younger) wife to drive at night. There are times however, when my driving at night is pretty much unavoidable, and rather than trusting myself to the often unstable ministrations of a taxi driver, I just bite the bullet and drive.

GE.[/QUOTE]I should have regaled my first time driving there. So the remnants of a typhoon were still in effect and I'm driving in a foreign country on the wrong side of the road, driving my Filipina wife and her parents through / over / around trees on the road, and through angry waves crashing over the road. Laughing at the image of a poor white man driving rich Filipinos around in their own country. Anyway, survive the suicidal trucks and buses passing on the wrong side on blind bends for 3 hours and literally within sight of our destination there is a dog in the road. No problem. Just drive around it, slightly onto the grass verge. Except it wasn't. It was a U-shaped concrete drainage channel with long grass growing out of it. Two wheels planted in the ditch. Thankfully it was literally right outside the Barangay captain's house and he and several others just lifted the car out of the ditch. Drank a fair few Red Horse that night to deal with the embarrassment.

Another reason I am less keen to drive is that apparently if you hit a pedestrian then you're assumed to be at fault until / unless somebody gets you out of the jail. The chances of this happening (whether the driver's fault or not) increase dramatically at night, of course, so. Nah. We will be moving over there eventually and I plan to have a driver on-call, or wife, or use public transport.

No alcohol sales.

No gun carry.

Voting buying in full progress now.

Ran into an interesting article yesterday: [URL]https://www.gobankingrates.com/investing/real-estate/best-countries-investment-property/[/URL]. It rates Philippines as best global real estate investment opportunity in the world.

Basically it is looking at the offset of high rental yield vs low tax rates. It does NOT appear to consider operational costs, and I haven't yet looked at follow up data, but it certainly was enough to start me wondering about buying in to the market. Maybe two apartments. One for long-term rental and another for AirBnB which I can use for myself when I need some LBFM-lovin'.

And that got me thinking. I recently read some commentary in one of the threads (forget which) about time share scams. Started thinking about a time share setup dedicated to mongers. Extra towels, more cleaning (by people who know the score), sturdy furniture, easy clean furniture materials. :-p Monger-friendly buildings, and entry layouts. Big beds, mirrors, large showers, large bathtubs, etc, etc. I can imagine a network of places around the world in the various monger hot-spots, catering directly to the lifestyle. Buy in and get 4 weeks a year to spend in PI, or DR, or Ukraine, or Ghana, or Thailand, or, or, or. Woot!

Call it MNGR. Managed Network of Global Realestate. .

[QUOTE=BaddHabbit;2180079]
Basically it is looking at the offset of high rental yield vs low tax rates. [/QUOTE]So basically what you want is charging your fellow mongers high rents LOL.

[QUOTE=Mogwai;2180088]So basically what you want is charging your fellow mongers high rents LOL.[/QUOTE]Wasn't proposing that I be the one to do it. LOL! But if you had 50 people kick in to a dozen or so apartments, it could get interesting. And then, no, there would be no rent, it would be time-share style. Maybe you could charge high-rent to non-members for unallocated member time.

[QUOTE=BaddHabbit;2180079]And that got me thinking.. :-p Monger-friendly buildings, and entry layouts. Big beds, mirrors, large showers, large bathtubs, etc, etc. I can imagine a network of places around the world in the various monger hot-spots, catering directly to the lifestyle. Buy in and get 4 weeks a year to spend in PI, or DR, or Ukraine, or Ghana, or Thailand, or, or, or. Woot![/QUOTE]When I go somewhere to get pussy the only deals I want to make are for exactly that. There are already plenty of monger friendly hotels and condos around. Why get bogged down with the stress of business deals. This is supposed to be a relaxing period. And when the mongering hotspot turns to a mongering cold spot then what?

I got a buddy down in Rio now who invested in rental property when Copacabana was a mongering hotspot. Now that it is a mongering cold spot he has sold his places but is still left with the burden of getting his money out of there a little at a time. Or what if you had invested in Boracay? You would be mad as a mf right now.

Go. Have fun. And take your ass back home (or move there). Forget all the bright ideas (especially the ones that revolve around mongering.) Reminds me of my buddy a couple of months ago getting the bright idea to buy a bunch of dresses off Amazon and bringing them to Pattaya to sell. Clearly it was not a well thought out plan. First of all, if the girls had money to spend on that then they would not be hookers in the first place. Second of all there are plenty of rolling stores running around selling $3 dresses. And of course the ones that he had he would have to sell for way more than that. Needless to say, he went back home with just as many dresses as he arrived with.

Don't add unnecessary shit to your plate. Focus on the mongering at hand. Who wants to leave with more grey hair than they came with?

[QUOTE=MrEnternational;2180191]When I go somewhere to get pussy the only deals I want to make are for exactly that. There are already plenty of monger friendly hotels and condos around. Why get bogged down with the stress of business deals. This is supposed to be a relaxing period. And when the mongering hotspot turns to a mongering cold spot then what?

......

Don't add unnecessary shit to your plate. Focus on the mongering at hand. Who wants to leave with more grey hair than they came with?[/QUOTE]I was actually in discussions with some guys back home where we would pay for the place, set it up with hot tub, sauna etc and have two girls live there. They would be paid a "salary. ".

Each "investor" would have exclusive nights. It would have worked out much less than traditional methods but we could never get enough guys interested in to make a go of it. There were two ladies who did fully interactive 3 ways interested in the arrangement. They wanted a veto right on any investor.

The main drawback to getting others to come on board was that they said that they would quickly tire of the same two several times a month. A few were OK with once a month but the original ones in the discussion wanted to have several nights a month. The girls wanted to keep it to less than 6 guys so we were looking at 5 times each a month. (We were looking at about $3 k CDN each a month. That would be $5 k for the place and $5 k each lady, with a small reserve in case we had people drop out.).

We were going to set it up that you could come as early as 6 PM and sleep over leaving by 6 AM. In hind sight it was a good thing we never went ahead with it. Just after the discussions fell apart my employer closed doors and I had to leave for overseas work ending up here a year later.

However for the guys who come and go, renting a place on a 12 month term, setting it up as the group wants, with scheduled times to use just might work out. You could offset some costs with Airbnb when not otherwise in use by the investors.

[QUOTE=KabulGuy;2180399]I was actually in discussions with some guys back home where we would pay for the place, set it up with hot tub, sauna etc and have two girls live there. They would be paid a "salary. ".

>SNIP<

However for the guys who come and go, renting a place on a 12 month term, setting it up as the group wants, with scheduled times to use just might work out. You could offset some costs with Airbnb when not otherwise in use by the investors.[/QUOTE]Well, the original comment was just an amusing thought experiment (You're a party-pooper, Mr E!), but being in the AEC industry I can in fact see how to make it work, even after a mongering destination were to go cold. The real point of the posting was the more generalised point from the article about real-estate investment opportunities.