General Info

Travelers Cheques. (SM MEGA MALL TAKE AMERICAN EXPRESS)

If you’re planning on taking Travel Cheques to Manila, make sure they are American Express.

If you take Visa Travel Cheques your holiday will be ruined!

I had 2 weeks of stress and grief with Visa Travel Cheques I even swapped banks because of them.

If your unlucky and have Visa Travel Cheques I think there are only 2 places in the whole of Manila which take them, so check out the website of the Visa Travel Cheques!

Take your American Express travel Cheques to Sm Mega Mall, use the MRT, or ride a Taxi. Once inside Sm Mega Mall go to the Top floor, there is a travel agency who take them, near Globe Cell Phone Shop!

Tip!!!!! Only ride in MGE Taxi’s for your safety and insurance. They are marked with a Big Green Stripe! Also the Yellow Striped Taxi’s but I forgot the company name.

dangers & safety advice philippines

i have been to the philippines 5 times. i am 21 years old.

i would like to share my knowledge with u.

whenever i went out i would carry money in 3 different places on my body, i prepared my wallet every day as though it was going to be stolen. keep your debit card in a separate pocket. not in your wallet.

my second visit to manila i had a knife pulled on me, broad daylight! loads of people around me! it happens so quickly, you have to make your choice, do you give? or do you fight?

giving money to the poor

never! never! never! give money to the poor it’s illegal! and you put yourself in big danger! you also put other tourists in danger! don’t be small minded, think about the bigger picture, its hard yes, but its bad news. you get your wallet out to give some money and you’re asking for trouble, you also show that tourists are rich and have money on them. bad news!

tips

giving tips can get you killed, sounds crazy but it’s true, you give a taxi man a big tip say p500 he might tell his friend who is a gangster ‘hey this white guy gave me p500 i think he’s rich and he’s staying at this address’ you could get kidnapped! extreme example but it can happen!

maximum tip you should give is 25php – 50php maximum 100php!

i am a member of a gun range in the philippines, because these stupid americans would keep giving tips, they now have a foreigners price which is 20php a bullet! when the filipino pays 3php a bullet!

your not mr. big man giving out tips, stop it.

scams

a few scams. .

• you leave your friend jerwyn to do some shopping on your own, a person comes up to you and says "hello,, john, your friend jerwyn told me he wants you to buy this picture for him" how does he know your name? how does he know your friends name? because he has been following you!

• you exchange your money on the street, they count it out, your happy, you walk away, you count your money, there’s money missing! magic!

pick-pockets

the world’s best pickpockets live in manila, i stayed with a filipino who makes a minimum of 3000php a day by targeting mobile phones, and he cuts peoples pockets with a razor! he targets the mrt day and night.

girls hanging around near hotels

don’t pick up girls directly outside your hotel, you will take them to your room, they will cry [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123][CodeWord123][/url], the police will come, you will have a case put against you, will take 4 months to process, you need to get home for work, so you pay $4000 to have the case dropped. another reason to wear condoms.

boats

pirates are active in the southern islands, and over crowed boats in the peak season can make it dangerous.

kidnappers

10 years ago there were about 40 active groups, now only 3, they target rich chinese business man. there operations are planned.

they can target foreigners because they want to blackmail there government for money.

change your routine frequently, the risk is very low, but if you flash the cash you’re asking for trouble.

check your receipts

don’t be surprised to find the odd extra item placed on your bill.

taxis

stick with mge, your insured, there a big company; they have a green stripe down the side with mge in big black letters.

can anyone eles add to this?

[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]

perhaps this seems useful to those who have never been to to the pi, but i find much of it utter nonsense. i've been there way more than 25 times and am way older than 21 (lol!) yet never got held up at knifepoint, pickpocketed or otherwise scammed. use big city common sense, of course, and odds are you will be fine. yes the lrt is famous for pickpockets but what foreigner takes the lrt anyway?

he says it is "illegal" to give money to the poor; please cite the statute (as this is pure bollocks as they say in england). most times your wallet should be locked in your hotel safe anyway, and having coins and small notes in a pocket with no wad of 1000piso notes is a good idea. of course you never flash loads of cash (but that obvious piece of common sense hardly justifies report of distinction treatment imho!)

travelers checks are way less convenient than an atm card or cash.

as for his aversion to tipping, he can go f himself as i will tip whomever i want and if he does not like it too bad. that said, i would not tip a taxi 500piso but this mantra of "you tippers are ruining it for us koriput [cheapskates]" gets so old.

i hate guns, but i have half a mind to gun find his gun range and give bigger tips (so next time they charge foreigners 100 piso per bullet lol!)
the prevalence of guns is one of the biggest problems facing the pi (along with overpopulation for which the church is largely to blame, but i digress).
girls hanging outside hotels will accuse you of [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123][CodeWord123][/url]? never had a problem but of course it is possible. but bar girls, streetwalkers from away from your hotel and la cafe indies will never make such accusations? give me a break.

while taking blue bird taxis in jakarta makes sense as they are both reliable and prevalent, i have never seen this taxi company the guy is shilling for. there is no equivalent of blue bird group in manila.

as anybody who has ever been in manila knows, getting a driver to accept the meter without negotiation can be a challenge at times, but i have flagged taxis off the street thousands of times and the worst that happened was he whined about traffic and wanted a few extra piso at the end. while there may be isolated anecdotes of robbery by taxi drivers, like anywhere, this is not a persistent problem for foreigners imho.

yes kidnappers have targeted chinese businessman but that has nothing to do with foreigner sex tourists. ditto pirate boats in the sulu sea. i bet dollars to donuts this guy has never been outside luzon (where there are no "pirates"

)

Ok, Just thought it would help someone.

I also get a kick out of what gets recommended for distinction.

The EDSA LRT can actually be worth considering if you're staying at Dusit, Intercontinental or one of the nearby places at Glorietta and you want to go to EDSA Entertainment complex. The station is right there at Glorietta between those two hotels. You can take it to the end of the line and then it's a shortish walk to the girlie bars. It could be a good idea if the traffic is gummed up along EDSA, which it often is in the early evening or weekend nights. Of course you could be jammed on the train Tokyo style so it's not for everybody. You can also take it the other way to SM Megamall, if Glorietta/Greenbelt wasn't already enough malling for you.

I used travelers checks in my first few visits to the Philippines in the early 90s. It wasn't unusual to take close to an hour while they fussed, called superiors and looked at the checks and the receipts every which way. And the rates are also bad.

The way to go now is to bring cards and a few hundred dollars contingency cash.

I've never had any problem with violence in my 25 or so trips. I've had money stolen from my room once. And there was one attempted pickpocketing by an old man-little girl team. That's the extent of my law and order troubles in the Philippines in 15 months or so in country.

Taxis: Mostly they're a Manila problem. I rarely have issues in other cities. Insist on the meter or grab another one. Get to know the approximate fares for certain distances. Then give him the fare, get out and shut the door whether he's bitching or not. In nicer hotels you'll have to go outside to get a meter taxi to avoid the overpriced hotel limos.

Asheron,

Although I do amd have seen some of what is said here the facts seem jaded in most of what is said here.The illegal part on giving cash is not what I have found to be true.You can give what, and whatever, you like to anyone, its your choice.

The tip part could be people tip out of working on a budget, and some never tip so to each his owne.Others spoiling things for others, I think not.I never knew that some countries are not required to tip, its a social thing so thats why some dont fall in line with this when they visit other places.

Taxi rides yes they try and scamm but they all do it, so knowing this just be ready for the deal at hand.

Always count your cash at the window.Who would ever take cash even from your mom without counting it first.I would say that this is a general rule we all have learned from childhood and common sense.

Knifepoint well somepeople have bad days I guess, and I have heard and never seen this and yes I am sure it can happen.

I think the person reporting has a thing for the U.S. because he uses the refrence in some of his post.I think there are more people from other places here in the P.I. other than americans.And I would like to say that most here are not BIG TIME CHARLIES there people spending there money the way they want, where they want.Most of the working guys her are just that, working blue collar guys.The others are retired guys spending there retirement here.They live on a fixed budget and do what they can with what they have to work with.

I myself at the age of 21 would have never had the cash to come here on a vacation so this person is very lucky in my opinion.He is also lucky he was able to escape with his hide in the knife wealding city of manils right.Could be hewould have been safer walking the family dog at home.

Most of what is in the quote is COMMON SENSE no more no less in any metropolitan city anywhere on this planet.You go and take precautions when you travel an unknown place.You use what you have in your head and what mommy and daddy taught you as a child.You never flash and act like a bigshot thats just how it is.Lowprofile is much better even at home.I am sure at 21 and having the ability to travel the world I also would have looked at the business end of aknife or two because of my age and ability to act that age.Could be this was a good experence for a young guy thinking trrough 21 year old glasses.Could be next trip over he will have a wonderful quiet vacation here or in another place of his choice.

This is just my observation and noy ment to disrespect the person writing the original report.Nice to see people of all ages having some woorld wide travel under there belt.


B.B...

I have good experience in BKK and other cities in Thailand and in some Eastern Europe countries too (I have posted not too much reports BUT if you need some information please post me).

I travel often to Thailand and now planning a visit to Philippines, probably Manila or Angeles City and have no experience in this country. However, I have read some reports (positive and negative) but just want to try if the quality, services and prices are attractive too for mongering, hotels or shopping.

Probably I will fly from BKK to Manila. I have no idea about distances from Manila to Angeles City (Km and hours for bus, taxi, train, bus or flight?)

How is the action in both cities? Manila and Angeles City? Can I compare them with BKK and Pattaya?

Are these danger cities in matters like criminality? Food quality and girl services or any further recommendation would be much appreciate. Thanks

do not let talk of pirates, laws against giving money to the poor, accusations of [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123][CodeWord123][/url] and the like deter you from visiting the pi. use common sense and you are as safe there as most anywhere else (is anywhere completely "safe"?).

angeles is 2 to 3 hours from manila, depending on traffic, but you can fly direct to angeles (crk) on a few carriers. tiger is probably best, but you need to change planes in singapore. cebu pacific flies bkk to mnl but in the middle of the night and their customer service is the worst you will ever encounter (although the planes are quite new). thai air is best but pricey (if you have luthansa or united miles use 20,000 for an award on thai).

angeles is the equivalent of pattaya in some respects (i.e it is sin city with little other industry), but for pure debauchery pattaya is better imho (though i admit not having been back to angeles in almost 10 years). manila is much better than bkk for nonpros imho. as a whole, nonpro action is much more available in pi than los.

but the best thing about the pi is that you can score in most any town because most people speak english (unlike rural areas of thailand). the best thing about the pi is that 99% of the people think foreigners are better than filipinos, whereas 99% of thais think foreigners are inferior to thais.

the infrastructure is better in thailand and patience is a necessity in the pi (get used to incompetence that will make your head spin!). but at the end of the day, it is the warmth of the girls that outshine their mercenary thai sisters and make visiting the pi so much more fun than thailand.

[quote=surfer]do not let talk of pirates, laws against giving money to the poor, accusations of [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123][CodeWord123][/url] and the like deter you from visiting the pi. use common sense and you are as safe there as most anywhere else (is anywhere completely "safe"?).

angeles is 2 to 3 hours from manila, depending on traffic, but you can fly direct to angeles (crk) on a few carriers. tiger is probably best, but you need to change planes in singapore. cebu pacific flies bkk to mnl but in the middle of the night and their customer service is the worst you will ever encounter (although the planes are quite new). thai air is best but pricey (if you have luthansa or united miles use 20,000 for an award on thai).

angeles is the equivalent of pattaya in some respects (i.e it is sin city with little other industry), but for pure debauchery pattaya is better imho (though i admit not having been back to angeles in almost 10 years). manila is much better than bkk for nonpros imho. as a whole, nonpro action is much more available in pi than los.

but the best thing about the pi is that you can score in most any town because most people speak english (unlike rural areas of thailand). the best thing about the pi is that 99% of the people think foreigners are better than filipinos, whereas 99% of thais think foreigners are inferior to thais.

the infrastructure is better in thailand and patience is a necessity in the pi (get used to incompetence that will make your head spin!). but at the end of the day, it is the warmth of the girls that outshine their mercenary thai sisters and make visiting the pi so much more fun than thailand.[/quote]surfer,

thanks a lot for your kind response and valuable information.

i guess that manila would be my choice however, if you have information about the current prices would be nice. i use to pay thb 2000-3000 usd 60-90 for long time in bkk. difficult to qualify the girls according to the standards in this forum, i can only say that i am mostly happy and satisfied with the whole service (mostly with condom, but good oral and massage and seldom willing anal sex in bkk)... are the rates and service in manila similar?

and what about hotels like majestic suites in bkk? any updated experience regarding prices for the pros and non pros and hotels and places of action in manila (like soi nana or soi cow boy)?

thank you again and if you need information regarding bkk please let me know too

Pricing is a controversial topic as YMMV, so I will give you RANGES (and your post talks ST rates so I assume that is you preference):

1. BKK has nothing like LA Cafe where you can get freelancers for ST as low as 500, more likely 1000, and never more than 1500. No bar fine.

2. EDSA Complex: Barfine=1,000 Piso and for ST between 1K & 2K tip to girl.

3. Makati/PBurgos: have not been up there in almost as long that I have not been back to Angeles, but generally 50% higher than EDSA if not more.

4. Internet: join either Cherryblossoms or Filipinaheart for a month BEFORE you go, then line up girls than run the gamut from HCH (hard Core Hos) to virgins seeking a husband to EVERYTHING in between. You can do Yahoo messenger for free BUT WAY more scams and less lucrative (this is secondhand though as I have never done it as I do SO well on the other two).

5. Shopping malls: freelancers abound.

6. Get AWAY from tourist areas and you'll see TONS of possibilities. Get hooked up with a good local procurer and you'll have more than you can handle.

I agree with Surfer.

Reading some posts on PI (and other foreign lands) is enough to put one off from going there.

I’ve only been to the PI once, for 3 weeks, but I walked around by myself at all hours of the night and morning in Manila (especially Ermita), Cebu and Davao, spoke to anyone who spoke to me, girls or guys went to local places where I was the only foreigner and never felt the hint of trouble or animosity (except twice with two other foreigners, but that’s a different issue).

I found the place very friendly and safe and fun. The guys there are very easy going- more than I would be in their place. The tiny little scams they sometimes try (like taxi meters, etc.) are absolutely nothing. I can’t believe anyone could really make an issue out of it. Maybe these complainers never go out in their own cities or maybe they live a paradise somewhere.

I’ve also been to India, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and worked in Bangladesh. In all these places, except for a few of minor instances that were quickly diffused, I’ve never had any real problems. Being the adventurous type, I’ve always done things that some people might consider dangerous and sought out areas and venues where I was the only foreigner.

I nearly always give something to the poor or people who ask me (unless they come across as aggressive), I talk to street people and usually leave tips (unless the service/attitude was crap).

Obviously, sometimes things will happen. But this is regardless of where in the world you are in and is rare.

What I do find is that it’s easy to get into an argument with other foreign guys. Some guys seem to go to Asia and suddenly think they are the BIG guy. I can’t believe they act like that at home because that sort of behaviour would get them a smack (at least in the UK).

But then again, I find it’s much easier (and quicker) to get into arguments/fights in the UK then in Asia.

[quote=surfer]perhaps this seems useful to those who have never been to to the pi, but i find much of it utter nonsense. i've been there way more than 25 times and am way older than 21 (lol!) yet never got held up at knifepoint, pickpocketed or otherwise scammed. use big city common sense, of course, and odds are you will be fine. yes the lrt is famous for pickpockets but what foreigner takes the lrt anyway?

he says it is "illegal" to give money to the poor; please cite the statute (as this is pure bollocks as they say in england). most times your wallet should be locked in your hotel safe anyway, and having coins and small notes in a pocket with no wad of 1000piso notes is a good idea. of course you never flash loads of cash (but that obvious piece of common sense hardly justifies report of distinction treatment imho!)

travelers checks are way less convenient than an atm card or cash.

as for his aversion to tipping, he can go f himself as i will tip whomever i want and if he does not like it too bad. that said, i would not tip a taxi 500piso but this mantra of "you tippers are ruining it for us koriput [cheapskates]" gets so old.

i hate guns, but i have half a mind to gun find his gun range and give bigger tips (so next time they charge foreigners 100 piso per bullet lol!)
the prevalence of guns is one of the biggest problems facing the pi (along with overpopulation for which the church is largely to blame, but i digress).
girls hanging outside hotels will accuse you of [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123][CodeWord123][/url]? never had a problem but of course it is possible. but bar girls, streetwalkers from away from your hotel and la cafe indies will never make such accusations? give me a break.

while taking blue bird taxis in jakarta makes sense as they are both reliable and prevalent, i have never seen this taxi company the guy is shilling for. there is no equivalent of blue bird group in manila.

as anybody who has ever been in manila knows, getting a driver to accept the meter without negotiation can be a challenge at times, but i have flagged taxis off the street thousands of times and the worst that happened was he whined about traffic and wanted a few extra piso at the end. while there may be isolated anecdotes of robbery by taxi drivers, like anywhere, this is not a persistent problem for foreigners imho.

yes kidnappers have targeted chinese businessman but that has nothing to do with foreigner sex tourists. ditto pirate boats in the sulu sea. i bet dollars to donuts this guy has never been outside luzon (where there are no "pirates")[/quote]i certainly hope that the author or somebody else will post a link to this report in the reports of distinction thread.

[quote=surfer]perhaps this seems useful to those who have never been to to the pi, but i find much of it utter nonsense. i've been there way more than 25 times and am way older than 21 (lol!) yet never got held up at knifepoint, pickpocketed or otherwise scammed. use big city common sense, of course, and odds are you will be fine. yes the lrt is famous for pickpockets but what foreigner takes the lrt anyway?

he says it is "illegal" to give money to the poor; please cite the statute (as this is pure bollocks as they say in england). most times your wallet should be locked in your hotel safe anyway, and having coins and small notes in a pocket with no wad of 1000piso notes is a good idea. of course you never flash loads of cash (but that obvious piece of common sense hardly justifies report of distinction treatment imho!)

travelers checks are way less convenient than an atm card or cash.

as for his aversion to tipping, he can go f himself as i will tip whomever i want and if he does not like it too bad. that said, i would not tip a taxi 500piso but this mantra of "you tippers are ruining it for us koriput [cheapskates]" gets so old.

i hate guns, but i have half a mind to gun find his gun range and give bigger tips (so next time they charge foreigners 100 piso per bullet lol!)
the prevalence of guns is one of the biggest problems facing the pi (along with overpopulation for which the church is largely to blame, but i digress).
girls hanging outside hotels will accuse you of [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123][CodeWord123][/url]? never had a problem but of course it is possible. but bar girls, streetwalkers from away from your hotel and la cafe indies will never make such accusations? give me a break.

while taking blue bird taxis in jakarta makes sense as they are both reliable and prevalent, i have never seen this taxi company the guy is shilling for. there is no equivalent of blue bird group in manila.

as anybody who has ever been in manila knows, getting a driver to accept the meter without negotiation can be a challenge at times, but i have flagged taxis off the street thousands of times and the worst that happened was he whined about traffic and wanted a few extra piso at the end. while there may be isolated anecdotes of robbery by taxi drivers, like anywhere, this is not a persistent problem for foreigners imho.

yes kidnappers have targeted chinese businessman but that has nothing to do with foreigner sex tourists. ditto pirate boats in the sulu sea. i bet dollars to donuts this guy has never been outside luzon (where there are no "pirates"

)[/quote]

best check the us and uk embassy travel advisories first, then look at some of the old hands experts on this board. the embassies are heavily involved in the real problems and update their advisories carefully and regularly.
most filipinos will be the first to warn foreigners of the safety record as they themselves have to put up with 'incidents'. hold-ups in buses, jeepneys, banks, hotels, murders are common. drugs are the cause of most problems, or just sheer poverty. if one is still unconvinced on the need for great care, check out the philippine tv, example the tv patrol program. be especially careful during election time as police are detailed off regular duty to protect candidates, leaving the door open for general crime opportunists.

[QUOTE=Mahku]The EDSA LRT can actually be worth considering if you're staying at Dusit, Intercontinental or one of the nearby places at Glorietta and you want to go to EDSA Entertainment complex. The station is right there at Glorietta between those two hotels. You can take it to the end of the line and then it's a shortish walk to the girlie bars. It could be a good idea if the traffic is gummed up along EDSA, which it often is in the early evening or weekend nights. Of course you could be jammed on the train Tokyo style so it's not for everybody. You can also take it the other way to SM Megamall, if Glorietta/Greenbelt wasn't already enough malling for you.[/QUOTE]
I've ridden the LRT and MRT a few times. More out of a sense of adventure than anything else, but I don't plan on riding again. Two things about it: It's dang cheap, I mean really dirt cheap. And I never saw another kano there. Good reason for that, as Makhu says, it's almost always crowded Tokyo style. One day, it took me 3 trains before I could shove my way on board, Tokyo style. When it's that crowded, you really have to watch the pickpockets. I denied them at least twice. Never saw their faces, just slapped their hands away when I detected them getting too close. So I stick to taxis when traveling about by myself, but I may use a jeepney for short rides if I'm with a local.

Hi, I am currently in Korea and I'm trying to find out the price range to fly one way from Manila to San Francisco if I purchased my ticket in the PI. If anyone can recommend me a travel agency in Angeles or Manila for this purpose, that would be helpful as well. Thanks.