Membership is a good investment
[quote=meteorman;1627615]is there a better site for short term monthly rentals than airbnb, i find them quite expensive.
in regards to getting caught with coworkers nearby, what do you mean. do most filipinas frown upon bringing pros to rooms or is it something else?
is xanax and valium available without a prescription in most pharmacies?
how much are gyms generally in manila?
what does rtff mean?
final question: would banging pros be a negative when it comes to dating regular girls in the phils. i mean is manila small enough where everybody is connected in everybody business?
[b][u]editor's suggestion[/u]:[/b] [blue]there is a link labeled "[u]abbreviations[/u]" in the menu bar at the top of this page. this will take you to the forum's glossary where you will find a chart with most of the terms & abbreviations used in the forum. [i]thanks![/i][/blue][/quote]mm, most long time forum members would like to see you pay the $19.95 for a membership. you've already asked a lot of questions and members have been accommodating, given that you're a newbie. but if you can't see it in any other way, consider how the membership carries with it the ability to send and receive private messages from other members. many of our well-informed members prefer to convey useful information out of public view, and i think you'll find this pays off quickly.
by now you know that rtff means to read the ffing forum. answers to most of the questions you ask have been answered already somewhere in the forum.
to most folks manila refers to the greater metro manila area (officially named national capital region or ncr). it is a large, extended urban area of 16 cities and one municipality (lacking sufficient population to qualify to be a city). population estimates run from between 12 million to 20 million. generally speaking, it is not a small area in which most people know each other's business.
that having been said, some of the areas where pay for plays (p4 p) are most easily found do overlap with business areas where you may run into business associates. if you come entirely for recreation, then no problem. but those of us who come to manila for business and like some horizontal recreation on the side figure out strategies for separating our private and public lives. my strategy is to stay in three and four star hotels in areas that are just inconvenient or unattractive enough that my american and filipino professional associates avoid them.
some of the long-time expats make connections using online venues, agree to meet their entertainment in neutral areas out of sight from business associates, and then employ a hot-sheet hotel for a few hours. sogo, eurotel, and victoria court are names that have hotels rep001tered around the metro area, and they all maintain websites. they often rent for increments of 3, 6, 12, or 24 hours. their employees have no misconceptions about the reasons that older patrons with young filipinas are coming and going for short hotel stays. their rooms are small, usually lack windows, but have ac that works, foam bed mattresses, reliable hot and cold showers, and probably change the bedding between customers.
the philippines is a country with pronounced class distinctions based on money, educational attainment, and family heritage. most of us who conduct business here rub elbows with folks from the higher social strata, and those folks do not formally approve of recreational mingling with the lower classes, from which many of our bed partners originate--even though in private many from the middle and upper classes are also engaged in recreational sex outside their marriages. but the bottom line is that sexual values in the philippines are among the most conservative in the world; they are based on traditional catholic values that european catholics discarded decades ago. there are numerous examples of prominent filipino politicians and show business personalities who are conspicuous womanizers, but, if you anticipate mingling with filipino business associates, you should plan a "self-presentation" geared to conservative philippine values. when they get really comfortable with you your local business associates might start inviting you to their "under the radar" retreats.
i concur with many who have advised carrying a copy of the photo and id pages of your passport, and then keep the passport locked up at your hotel. i carry a "money belt" slung from my neck, under my right arm, and between my outer shirt and undershirt. this means having to wear shirts that are not tucked in, but i can keep a few larger bills in it, an atm and credit card, and the passport copy.
many medications can be purchased without prescription in philippine drug stores. i have found it helps to have the prescription written out, including dosage, on a separate piece of paper (and spelled correctly). often you will stand in line to get waited on at the prescription counter, and having the prescription on paper avoids having to announce it loudly. you may or may not have luck getting some of the pain medications, but if one drug store chain won't sell to you, try another. in my experience mercury drugs is most likely to ask for for a prescription and generic and star drugs less so. others may have different experiences.
you will need to ask some of the expats about gyms and rentals, but there has been considerable discussion about rentals, both in this thread and the hotels thread.
US passport card and ATMs
Yes, you are right. US passport card is not valid, unless you are making land border crossings. Even then, I think they are only valid between US-Canada, US-Mexico. Only other exception is, I think you can use it to go back and forth to the Caribbean.
Leave the passport at the hotel. I was stopped by a cop once, and I showed him my California drivers licence. Told him my passport is at the hotel. HE asked which hotel, and when I responded Intercon. HE let me go. But years of traveling through Phillpines, never really needed it.
When I try to change currency, I am always standing in a long line. I started using ATMs, and that has worked out really well. I think the rates are better.
CT
[QUOTE=RadicalGuy;1627790]I agree that you should not carry around your passport on your person. However, it is wise to make a photocopy of your passport and keep it somewhere separate from your passport in the event your original passport is lost or stolen. Additionally, I obtained a USA Passport card, which I keep with me. Although it isn't valid for travel to or from the Philippines, it does contain necessary information to identify you in the event of some emergency.
RG.[/QUOTE]
