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Any of you guys think immigration targets guys returning from Thailand or the Philippines cause they know both are sex tourist destinations. The 1st time I came back to Canada I never got the search and question thing. I was picked out of the crowd this time. I know they have to random check some of the people. I never had anything to hide, but the dude was really interested in my negatives(photos). There were a few pictures of my sweetie's young sister and her cousin that he kept asking about. I thought like, " FUCK OFF MAN, DON'T EVEN GO THERE". Absolutely nothing wrong with the pics, just normal shots of smiling kids.

I'm wondering now if I'll be searched every time I go. A 40ish male going solo, you think "profiling", the same way they profile Muslims. Anyone have any experiences with immigration on their return home?

I am bringing my electric shaver and my cell phone recharger to the phillipines. Do I need a converter for the outlets? I am staying at the Apartelle if that makes any difference.

[QUOTE=Imperial521]I am bringing my electric shaver and my cell phone recharger to the phillipines. Do I need a converter for the outlets? I am staying at the Apartelle if that makes any difference.[/QUOTE]

Check your chargers. It is 220v here so if your phone charger says 100-240v (which it probably does), you don't need a transformer. If your electric shaver says 110v (which it probably does), you need a transformer for it. You can buy one at Ace Hardware or any hardware store for about 250-350 pesos.

[QUOTE=Imperial521]I am bringing my electric shaver and my cell phone recharger to the phillipines. Do I need a converter for the outlets? I am staying at the Apartelle if that makes any difference.[/QUOTE]Converter for outlets, and voltage. Go to any hardware at any mall they can fix you up cheep.

B.B.

[QUOTE=Tungsten Chef]Any of you guys think immigration targets guys returning from Thailand or the Philippines cause they know both are sex tourist destinations. The 1st time I came back to Canada I never got the search and question thing. I was picked out of the crowd this time. I know they have to random check some of the people. I never had anything to hide, but the dude was really interested in my negatives(photos). There were a few pictures of my sweetie's young sister and her cousin that he kept asking about. I thought like, " FUCK OFF MAN, DON'T EVEN GO THERE". Absolutely nothing wrong with the pics, just normal shots of smiling kids.

I'm wondering now if I'll be searched every time I go. A 40ish male going solo, you think "profiling", the same way they profile Muslims. Anyone have any experiences with immigration on their return home?[/QUOTE]I think they ask questions but why would they bother you again? I think it's random and you got the luck of the draw.Canada I have been told is different than the states but I have also heard stories from guys from the U.S. I amself have never traveled anything but solo many times now and never had a problem.

If you look like an unmade bed you might attract attention but clean shaven and somewhat neet, I have never had a cross eye on any trip over or back.

B.B.

[QUOTE=Tungsten Chef]Any of you guys think immigration targets guys returning from Thailand or the Philippines cause they know both are sex tourist destinations. The 1st time I came back to Canada I never got the search and question thing. I was picked out of the crowd this time. I know they have to random check some of the people. I never had anything to hide, but the dude was really interested in my negatives(photos). There were a few pictures of my sweetie's young sister and her cousin that he kept asking about. I thought like, " FUCK OFF MAN, DON'T EVEN GO THERE". Absolutely nothing wrong with the pics, just normal shots of smiling kids.

full I'm wondering now if I'll be searched every time I go. A 40ish male going solo, you think "profiling", the same way they profile Muslims. Anyone have any experiences with immigration on their return home?[/QUOTE]

Yes, I think that you are correct; they are profiling. I was singled out from a full plane on a trip back from Singapore/Sumatra. Generally I'm not a very clued-in individual, and at first I was surprised that the woman agent was only interested in my digital camera. She wasn't interested in my luggage -only if I was carrying any more chips. I let her go through 250 snaps, mostly of repetitive jungle and beach scenery. When she asked if I travel alone, I growled back, "I always travel alone!" I wanted to add *****. Her only comment after she was through was "You took a lot of pictures." Pretty inane comment, but one can't afford to challenge these guys.

Of maybe 50 countries whose borders I've crossed over the years, only four have even looked in my luggage: Canada, New Zealand, Israel and the States.

What you really have to watch out for nowadays is that you declare all your cash upon entry. A fellow worker had his seized when he inadvertently forgot to declare an amount in travellers cheques just over $10,000. It took a visit to his MP and several months to get some, not all, of the money back. This guy is a meek working stiff, totally legitimate, returning from a family visit to SEA. They grilled him for three hours. He said they were "very rude."

Right now I'm searching for a friendlier police state in which to retire. Wish me luck.

[quote=john dust]yes, i think that you are correct; they are profiling. . . .

of maybe 50 countries whose borders i've crossed over the years, only four have even looked in my luggage: canada, new zealand, israel and the states.

what you really have to watch out for nowadays is that you declare all your cash upon entry.[/quote]on a return trip from costa rica, i got "light" questions from the border enforcement agent. she asked my purpose for visiting cr. i said, "to see a beautiful country, practice my spanish, and meet nice people." i volunteered that i took "lots" of pictures, and asked if she wanted to see all of them. it should only take a few hours. she declined with a wacked smile. generally, i do not take any pictures of little people, unless in a market scene or the like.

now, israel, i can understand. you should expect a full luggage search. i got one while in high school on a "sponsored trip" with my congressman as the patron.

with respect to the money. the u.s., and most countries, are very, very serious about moving large amount of currency over national borders. one should have a serious reason for having more than $10k in cash on yourself at any point in time. even local police will confirep001e such during a search, and you will need counsel to get it back.

Chaps,

There are loads of books about or set in the bar scene in Thailand (No Money No Honey, Thai Private eye, Stephen Leather does a lot of good stuff etc) there is certainly 10s and probably hundreds of them. I've even read a book set in the various mongering areas of Singapore.

I've been searching for literature fictional or otherwise that explores the Philippino bar culture in a similar fashion and have been unable to find a single book.

Can anybody recommend any books/authors that I can search for? If there aren't any of these sorts of books for the Philippines, why do you think that would be the case?

Cheers,

Blunderer

I've never read it but it's been in my favorites for awhile now. I was going to get it but never got around to it. So if you do get this book let everybody know if it's worth buying.

The authors name is " Amsterdam Rios " , HaHa great name!

Books called BARGIRLS, "BOOZE, SEX AND THE SINGLE MALE! Angeles City, Philippines"

Oh yea its a E-Book so no reading it in barns n nobles , darn

[quote=john dust]yes, i think that you are correct; they are profiling. i was singled out from a full plane on a trip back from singapore/sumatra. generally i'm not a very clued-in individual, and at first i was surprised that the woman agent was only interested in my digital camera. she wasn't interested in my luggage -only if i was carrying any more chips. i let her go through 250 snaps, mostly of repetitive jungle and beach scenery. when she asked if i travel alone, i growled back, "i always travel alone!" i wanted to add *****. her only comment after she was through was "you took a lot of pictures." pretty inane comment, but one can't afford to challenge these guys.

of maybe 50 countries whose borders i've crossed over the years, only four have even looked in my luggage: canada, new zealand, israel and the states.

what you really have to watch out for nowadays is that you declare all your cash upon entry. a fellow worker had his seized when he inadvertently forgot to declare an amount in travellers cheques just over $10,000. it took a visit to his mp and several months to get some, not all, of the money back. this guy is a meek working stiff, totally legitimate, returning from a family visit to sea. they grilled him for three hours. he said they were "very rude."

right now i'm searching for a friendlier police state in which to retire. wish me luck.[/quote]why would anyone carry over 10, 000 in cash on a vacation? and why when you know about the rules about the amount would you add yourself to that jackpot? like i have said before, think before you act. i never spent 10, 000 in less than 3-5 months with an extended stay here. things are cheeper here and where you gonna hide the cash or are you stupid enough to carry that much here or anywhere on the planet for that matter. the limit is 10, 000 and who needs that much cash? unless you are gonna set up shop for good here. get a wire trans or set up a bank account here and do it right. remember, everyone here needs cash and if they get the chance to seperate you from yours they will. you can get someone wasted here for less than 100. 00 dollars so what do you think they will do for a thousand or more?

laptops, cameras, and the like are checked on a regular basis by immigration and they should be. there is a large ammount of fucked up people here and all over the world today doing nasty things so get up to speed. whats the problem? if they want to check who cares unless you got something to hide! they have a job to do and if they did not do it here at home whereever what kind of shape would we be in then?

just make sure the stuff is in a restricted p[lace if you do not want them to see the pics you took. take out the card, add info to a disk i hopeyou don't think they will sit you down and check every disk they find. they on the other hand just might if they find a link to a reason off another source.

why push the buttons or give them a rope if you don't want to get held up.

b. b.

Joe,

Thanks for that, unfortunately, I've hunted through that site ad naseum and cannot find a click here to buy type link. I left a message so we'll see what happens, but he must lose a lot of customers this way.

Anybody got any other books they can suggest?

I've emailed him on both of the addresses on the site, but one has been rejected due to a full mailbox. If anyone does work out a way to buy this, please let me know.

Hmmm.. I hacked up the source of one of his pages such that the paypal link works again, paid my $4.95 and was sent to the download page, but downloading the book leads to a 404/File not found.

Bummer $4.95 and nada to show for it.

[QUOTE=Joe Island]I've never read it but it's been in my favorites for awhile now. I was going to get it but never got around to it. So if you do get this book let everybody know if it's worth buying.

The authors name is " Amsterdam Rios " , HaHa great name!

Books called BARGIRLS, "BOOZE, SEX AND THE SINGLE MALE! Angeles City, Philippines"

Oh yea its a E-Book so no reading it in barns n nobles , darn[/QUOTE]

[quote=bill buxton]why would anyone carry over 10, 000 in cash on a vacation? and why when you know about the rules about the amount would you add yourself to that jackpot? like i have said before, think before you act. i never spent 10, 000 in less than 3-5 months with an extended stay here. things are cheeper here and where you gonna hide the cash or are you stupid enough to carry that much here or anywhere on the planet for that matter. the limit is 10, 000 and who needs that much cash? unless you are gonna set up shop for good here. get a wire trans or set up a bank account here and do it right. remember, everyone here needs cash and if they get the chance to seperate you from yours they will. you can get someone wasted here for less than 100. 00 dollars so what do you think they will do for a thousand or more?

laptops, cameras, and the like are checked on a regular basis by immigration and they should be. there is a large ammount of fucked up people here and all over the world today doing nasty things so get up to speed. whats the problem? if they want to check who cares unless you got something to hide! they have a job to do and if they did not do it here at home whereever what kind of shape would we be in then?

just make sure the stuff is in a restricted p[lace if you do not want them to see the pics you took. take out the card, add info to a disk i hopeyou don't think they will sit you down and check every disk they find. they on the other hand just might if they find a link to a reason off another source.

why push the buttons or give them a rope if you don't want to get held up.

b. b.[/quote]

well bill, the question asked was "are middle-aged single male travelers being profiled?" my answer was yes. i found my own experience surprising and especially annoying after being awake 50 hours or so. if they had searched every single one of the passengers, they would have found many undeclared or illegal products: expensive jewelry, electronic equipment, clothing, maybe even the odd banned animal product. this used to interest customs in the old days, i.e. they used to be interested in items; now they are only interested in information.

i for one, was oblivious to the law concerning declaration of cash in excess of $10,000. i'm sure that it's written down on some leaflet, but not considering myself a money-launderer, it just didn't register, just as it didn't with my co-worker. there never used to be "currency controls" in canada. it's kind of a joke because billions of dollars are laundered daily by the big banks for big profits, and no government seems too interested in these bad guys. the international system is set up for this.

it may surprise you that some people don't consider $10,000 a large vacation expenditure. the person mentioned was carrying t-cheques, not cash; he was visiting a rich sea country, not a poor one. apart from human and animal trafficking, there is nothing that customs should bother about.

personally, i don't carry cash, as credit cards are handier nowadays in most countries. as you pointed out, it saves a bit of worry.

bye

I think that is odd, too. I thought the $10000 rule was in CASH.

[QUOTE=John Dust]Well Bill, the question asked was "are middle-aged single male travelers being profiled?" My answer was yes. I found my own experience surprising and especially annoying after being awake 50 hours or so. If they had searched every single one of the passengers, they would have found many undeclared or illegal products: expensive jewelry, electronic equipment, clothing, maybe even the odd banned animal product. This used to interest Customs in the old days, i.e. they used to be interested in items; now they are only interested in information.

I for one, was oblivious to the law concerning declaration of cash in excess of $10,000. I'm sure that it's written down on some leaflet, but not considering myself a money-launderer, it just didn't register, just as it didn't with my co-worker. There never used to be "currency controls" in Canada. It's kind of a joke because billions of dollars are laundered daily by the big banks for big profits, and no government seems too interested in these bad guys. The international system is set up for this.

It may surprise you that some people don't consider $10,000 a large vacation expenditure. The person mentioned was carrying T-cheques, not cash; he was visiting a rich SEA country, not a poor one. Apart from human and animal trafficking, there is nothing that Customs should bother about.

Personally, I don't carry cash, as credit cards are handier nowadays in most countries. As you pointed out, it saves a bit of worry.

Bye[/QUOTE]Suprise what? They fucking tell you to declare your cash if it's more than 10, 000 on the plane! I am not thinking that ten grand is big jack, but why travel with that much or more cash?

At home I feel safer with the cash than I do there because the cops smell the cash they just might charge you with a bogus trumped up fine. I don't think any le I have ever met here would dare to seperate me from the green but who knows. With atm's all around I am sure that will never be a big thing for me to wonder about. And yes, changing cash here, is not my kinda thing to do on a regular basis. Never had a problem, could be I never will, but, why take chances over paper when plastic gets the job done just as easy. Again the trans fee is not that hard on the wallet. After all some guys never give a gal taxi or trike cash the next day say nothing about a tip.

Like I said before, "if you think 50 peso's is lots of money you have stayed here too long"

Could be they never bother me because who knows why? Mid fortys white clean cut travel alone most of the time. Stay several months at a time. Who knows why I sure have no answer for it. Could be I have an honest face, or only 6-8 jailhouse tats glowing off my upper body and head could be they don't check until you have 10 or more showing. Just another good luck story I can tell ha.

B. B.

Changing the subject slightly, in the past we have discussed outsourcing programming work on here before and setting up an outsourcing office in a PEZA. This got me thinking about how I could wangle myself a holiday to the Philippines and I have come up with ingenious idea of travelling there on the pretense of doing some computer training. Ideally I would like to attend a bootcamp where I can master advanced object oriented techniques and PHP frameworks but failing that, a shorter holiday with just a 4 or 5 day UML course would suffice.

Therefore has anyone ever travelled to the Philippines and been on this type of training course? The alternative is India but I am not really fan of that type of lady.