Pedro, Get well soon! Hope you were able to stay out of the hospital. You are in Europe?
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Pedro, Get well soon! Hope you were able to stay out of the hospital. You are in Europe?
I live in a suburb, lots of green, space etc. I live alone, eat well / healthily and live a clean life. Moderate drinker. Non smoker, don't mix much. Yet here I am, having to factor in covid risks going forward. Thanks for the informed comments. Food for thought.
[QUOTE=WestCoast1;2590884]ECQ update.
And a link to this article: "Drone footage captures Manila under lockdown".
[URL]https://www.yahoo.com/news/drone-foo...053331400.html[/URL][/QUOTE]Thanks Westie for the frequent informative updates. The situation in Manila that you have been illuminating helps some of us keep our Philippines wanderlust under control. Some of your mall photos look like Robinson's Place in Ermita, but I thought you were staying in Makati.
I couldn't get the yahoo link to the EDSA drone footage to work. I think Yahoo may have taken the story down. I found the same footage on Reuters and other outlets:
[URL]http://br.mobile.reuters.com/video/2021/08/09/drone-footage-captures-manila-under-lock?videoId=733945097&videoChannel=117763[/URL]
EDSA without congestion is hard to imagine.
[QUOTE=SoapySmith;2591735]Thanks Westie for the frequent informative updates. The situation in Manila that you have been illuminating helps some of us keep our Philippines wanderlust under control. Some of your mall photos look like Robinson's Place in Ermita, [/QUOTE]Welcome. That was Robinson's Ermita. In the grocery store about 2:30 pm, I counted 9 checkout lanes open, 3 of which had customers (1 customer each). Just prior to last weekend's ECQ lockdown it was a madhouse just an hour after opening. Still have to have a mask when in public, and also a face shield to enter the mall. However since the shield mandate was dropped a few weeks ago, many businesses dropped it also. Can now go into 7-11 or MiniMart with just a mask. I only take the shield with me now if I am specifically going to a mall.
[QUOTE=SoapySmith;2591735][URL]http://br.mobile.reuters.com/video/2021/08/09/drone-footage-captures-manila-under-lock?videoId=733945097&videoChannel=117763[/URL]
EDSA without congestion is hard to imagine.[/QUOTE]Roxas, Makati Ave. They are pretty dead even at normal rush hour times during ECQ. Good catch on the drone footage.
Must say that when Filipino are told to stay home, they STAY HOME.
Six days since the last one. See pics. Delta cases up, from 450 to 627 (39% increase). Deaths up from 9 to 13 (44% increase).
[QUOTE=PedroMorales;2590962]I live in a suburb, lots of green, space etc. I live alone, eat well / healthily and live a clean life. Moderate drinker. Non smoker, don't mix much. Yet here I am, having to factor in covid risks going forward. Thanks for the informed comments. Food for thought.[/QUOTE]Glad to hear you are getting better. Have you been advised of any long-term affects? I've heard of some having symptoms for a loooong time but my info is 4th and 5th hand conjecture.
Hope you are fighting fit soon. 👍128077;129310;.
At same time I noticed many vaccinations going on in many places, many of my chatmates told me that they are fully vaccinated.
In Manila but also in Cebu, and Palawan, Puerto princesa but even some isolated villages fully vaccinated.
They talk about sinovac and also AstraZeneca.
That's good to hear, they try really to strongly improve the vaccination level which is the only way we have now to fight this virus, even if not the best.
[QUOTE=Goferring;2591912]Glad to hear you are getting better. Have you been advised of any long-term affects? I've heard of some having symptoms for a loooong time but my info is 4th and 5th hand conjecture.
Hope you are fighting fit soon..[/QUOTE]A friend is dropping me in an oximeter today so I can measure my oxygen. More to the point, I sleep round the clock but am always tired and want to sleep again. I wake from a deep sleep but am not refreshed. I am going to have a full check up when this is over. I did not not conjunctivitis or anything, just like an awful does of the clap for 3-5 days and a persistent cough that is now gone. The cough like that of a very sick baby, with the diagrphagm coughed out of me, like I have been badly bruised all along it.
Now I am perusing this site for a good recuperation spot for 2021.2.
Needs.
1. Ease of exit from Europe. Turkey and Turkish Airways seem best.
2. Ease of paperwork. Somewhere that wants $$$ and is not made change the rules every day.
3. Cash hungry women.
1 and 2 are the problems, big problems, not just for Europeans. Any country relaxing restrictions over the next months would be flooded.
[QUOTE=PedroMorales;2592131]
Now I am perusing this site for a good recuperation spot for 2021.2.
Needs.
1. Ease of exit from Europe. Turkey and Turkish Airways seem best.
2. Ease of paperwork. Somewhere that wants $$$ and is not made change the rules every day.
3. Cash hungry women.
1 and 2 are the problems, big problems, not just for Europeans. Any country relaxing restrictions over the next months would be flooded.[/QUOTE]I'm not European but I'd preference Cebu over MNL: big enough but not so big that everyone is paranoid; direct flights and other international transit options should the SHTF. Not to mention a metric shit tonne of girls out of work and seeking cash. Many more in the wider Visayas areas that would happily accept a bus fare and suck any residual toxins from your body.
I've also noticed a few AirBNB and Agoda adds highlighting that they are accepting tenants with no Covid or vaccination paperwork. I'm not sure if this is a good thing (signs of opening up) or a bad one (lack of containment).
Good luck with the recovery. Long term chronic diseases can deflate both body and soul.
Cheers.
After I posted, I checked flights with Qatar and Turkish into Phils. Both asking for papers and both saying no Europeans need apply as no admittance. Fares were expensive too. There must be places, mostly on a small scale I imagine, where Gestapo rules do not apply. I hear of ferries crossing the North Sea, no papers needed, train routes into Switzerland.
My soul is fine, I am doing the non canine equiva.
[QUOTE=Goferring;2592372]I'm not European but I'd preference Cebu over MNL: big enough but not so big that everyone is paranoid; direct flights and other international transit options should the SHTF. Not to mention a metric shit tonne of girls out of work and seeking cash. Many more in the wider Visayas areas that would happily accept a bus fare and suck any residual toxins from your body.
I've also noticed a few AirBNB and Agoda adds highlighting that they are accepting tenants with no Covid or vaccination paperwork. I'm not sure if this is a good thing (signs of opening up) or a bad one (lack of containment).
Good luck with the recovery. Long term chronic diseases can deflate both body and soul.
Cheers.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Amanut;2587779]I enjoy watching Reekay'sLifeBeyondTheSea YouTube channel. In this link he outlines changes coming to the BI which will increase the length of time a visitor can initially stay in the Philippines, but no longer allow for a Visa on Arrival option. Visas must now be approved through a Philippine Consulate prior to arrival in the Philippines. I only hope that the Philippines will be as efficient as Vietnam is in processing their visas but with the Philippines, change does not necessarily mean increased efficiency. Some posts in the comments section following the video may also be of interest.
[URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQV_xgEkPl4[/URL][/QUOTE]Lots of the same small blob articles out there which says to me not much is really known what might happen. But one article did mention immigrants being involved in crime. Including kidnapping, smuggling, human trafficking, labor recruitment, and terrorism. So better checks and balances would hopefully keep those people out. Same with those trying to live off a tiny bit of savings or income stream.
Some more Covid info, new study on viral load.
[URL]https://www.yahoo.com/news/double-jabbed-people-carry-same-140126657.html[/URL]
From the article:
[I]Fully vaccinated people carry the same amount of Covid as the unvaccinated, scientists have found in a new study that calls into question the effectiveness of vaccine passports and changes to the NHS app. Experts had hoped two doses of vaccine would significantly reduce the viral load carried by people who became infected, lowering the risk of them passing on Covid.[/I]
SNIP.
[I]However, the new study by the University of Oxford shows that the delta variant wipes out the viral load reduction. Instead, even the fully jabbed carry high levels of the virus if they become infected and are also more likely to be symptomatic than vaccinated people who pick up an alpha infection. The results suggest those who are fully jabbed could be as capable of passing on Covid as the unvaccinated, although they are less likely to pick up the virus in the first place.[/I]
SNIP.
[I]Despite the findings, the study showed the jabs are still helpful in preventing an infection in the first place, which will have a role in stopping transmission. Two doses of the AstraZeneca jab lowered the rate of a new infection by 67 per cent and Pfizer by 82 per cent.[/I]
Careful what you wish for. NCR (and I think Laguna) will have the last day of ECQ today, and move to MECQ tomorrow for Aug 21-31. Supposedly the Modified ECQ is a less-strict form of ECQ. Other gents here, do I have that right? However this time I don't see much difference. The restaurant situation stays the same (take-out only), curfew will stay the same (8 pm). The only change will be the lack of the Quarantine pass.
Pics from today's news online, including ABS-CBN. Self-explanatory, with:
Pic #2, group of people. Just guessing that is an ayuda formation from the past week. Its a cattle-call event, one person from each eligible home shows up to pick up cash given by the government when people can't work during lockdown. Last week it was p4 k per family, at least in the several Brgy where I know folks. Whatever this line is, its slow-moving, as you can see a gentleman sitting / resting at the bottom of the pic. Previous ayuda lines I've seen before were more organized and socially distanced and single file; not a large blob of people in such close proximity like this one.
Pic #4, Quarantine passes no longer needed. During the ECQ, many Brgy distributed a laminated pass, one to each family. Supposedly, only 1 person from your home can go out at any one time for food, supplies, medicine, medical. Over 2 weeks time I only needed to show mine once.
I understand at least one provincial city has recently dropped out of ECQ to the less restrictive GCQ.
I went to the shop early this morning, my first shop trip in August. I am itching to get a provider, even a local over priced one. However, I still have a cough and am very weak so maybe next week. Or the week after.
There are people moving around Western Europe, young adventurers and the like but it is flatter than a pancake.
I have been watching a lot of youtube videos on Thailand and Japan. All are masked up, pattaya / Jomtien seems to be just expats and long haul hookers, who have forsaken the war pain. There was a good video on how hooker prices have fallen way back to bearable levels. This is a few months old but it gives the price picture. [URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKW4YMMRp1A[/URL].
The Japanese and Thai videos give a good current snap shop.
This [URL]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/[/URL] shows the Philippines is much riskier than Thailand for the locals. I would hate to have a family depending on Duterte and his type.
With my own covid, I have been phoning everyone I know, gleaning opinions. All seem to be ready for a long haul of washing hands, wearing masks and avoiding The Great Unwashed. The relatively large number of anti vaxxers I know increasingly come across as nut jobs, Certainly their proposed cures are worse than the disease.
I have heard first hand reports of 3 year olds infecting entire families.
Where do we / I go from here? I cannot think of anywhere worth a punt. There are obviously lots of willing women in the Philippines, Indonesia, Latin America and so on. And plenty of over priced lardies in Europe. But is it over? Many European providers are now asking for vac certs (wtf) and they seem a waste of time in any event. Not the Pampanga / Pattaya sort who let things rip.
It also seems Turkish and the various Middle East airlines are being squeezed out in Europe, locking all possible escape routes.
The only way forward here seems to get into a bubble. But with crazy European prices, it may be a case of going back to World what One where the Austro Hungarian conscript said: Before the war, my wife was my right hand. Now my right hand is my wife.
My own situation is I am still recovering from Covid, I have a digital passport but I have nowhere I can go where the risk and hassle does not swamp the reward of barb wired pussy.
Quite simply, the old days are gone and are not coming back. Look at onlyfans (which thankfully is under pressure). Paying $20 a month or more to see some virtual BS. Bring back even a whiff of the old days before we die.
We are coming into the Northern winter again and talk is of jabbing and boosting us all. At this rate, even 2021 will be the good old days.
[QUOTE=PedroMorales;2594873]
Quite simply, the old days are gone and are not coming back.[/QUOTE]I hope a lot of the newer breed of mongers feels this way and seek local talent in their respective home countries. When I first started going to angels I feel like it was the hayday of walking street hell it might have even been better before I got there. In this hobby red tape and hassle leads to 9's-10's sitting and waiting for you to show up. This has changed over the past 10 years or so bar girls are no longer sweet and have kind of a bar girl archetype you can still find gems every now and then but they soon get tainted and jaded. This is the reason I started to travel to Laos and myanmar for less ridden hookers where you can still find 9's-10's sitting around. While you might see the hassle as hassle for hassle sake it serves as a firewall to weed out half hearted mongers. Just means that if you do get in you will be rewarded with sweeter juice. I do not crochet, nor do yoga, nor do I protest anything, I only monger it is my only hobby and the only thing I give a shit about.