Gina and Pete's Philippine travel diary - No Reservations

[ginapeterb]

Gina and Pete's Triumphant return - Philippines holiday blog

I noted when I left a message saying it was that time of year for us to travel back to the land that once brought us together, some of you asked if i would do a Pete special on how things are, I am absolutely delighted to do a sort of daily blog, perhaps there will be some things of interest to some, I love to read about what others do on their holidays, so here it is for what its worth.


Day 1 - The Hanging around - waiting to Fly.

Friday was a pretty funny day, in that it did not seem real, after all we had been sort of packed, well not actually, but Gin had packed all her suitcase, I had done absolutely nothing the night before, but then again I was not working.

The time seemed to drag, and Friday morning I got most of my clothes together and bundled them into a bag, Gina's suitcase was huge, and I was worried about baggage allowances, as most years we really do get hammered for excess baggage, and Cebu Pacific can be donwright awkward when it comes to this.

But at around 3 pm in the afternoon, our taxi arrived and we headed down to Heathrow airport, this time to terminal 5, our flight being with British Airways, Flight BA031 departing at 21.15 pm.

What is great about British Airways for those who have not flown with them before is that they have a baggage weighing area, in terminal 5, plus on online check in service, which enabled Gina and I to get our boarding passes at home, and allocating our own seats, some of you I know will be very familiar with this, and you can do this 1 day before check in, a good idea because you are not rushing to get to the airport in quite the same way.

British airways were very generous in any event, as they did not charge us for any excess Gina had 28 KG of baggage when the allowance is only 23 KG.

I had a flymo box with me, about 12 KG my bag was carry on, so not a problem there, she also had a carry on, and a bag.

So no real problems, the flight was on time, and the food was very welcome, the best morning full english breakfast yet, staff very courteous, and our flight landed safely in Hong Kong at around 16.00 in afternoon, thats when the usual problems start when you transfer to one of the Philippine registered carriers.

Day 2 - Delays and problema.


We transferred through quite happily to the landside of the airport, but as there was little time to go, we did not feel there was time to go around Hong Kong, our flight with Cebu Pacific was scheduled to leave at 19.30 so we had coffee and cake at the Pacific coffee company on the upper level before check in, the airport free wi fi was pretty crap, so we just sat and waited to check in.

As usual Cebu Pacific had not changed its spots, talk about things being in their nature, the baggage allowance for Hong Kong to Manila is at present 15 KG can you believe that ?

So we were 15 kilogrammes over the top, but the funny thing is they charged us HKG 250.00 to pay the excess petty I am sure you will agree, I also had the fortune to be stood next to a Philippine Army Colonel who kept me amused for the 3 hours the flight was delayed, their was a big sigh and faces of resignation when they announced that the inbound flight from Manila was 2 hours late due to a typhoon crossing the Philippine sea.

What did I care, I had my Ipod and the Colonel to kee me amused, I think he was just about as bored as we were, a very pleasant gentleman, very well spoken.

Finally after3 hours of hanging around, we boarded the flight, as we were about to board, 3 young chinese girls working for airport services came around relieving us of our hand baggage saying that the flight was full, and Cebu pacific had requested hand baggage be checked, as it was they sent an A319 the smallest aircraft in the fleet.

At 23.30 pm we finally landed at NAIA terminal 3, exhausted, and hot, however the typhoon had cooled the air, and it was only 25 degrees local.

We headed into a taxi which by the way costs P750.00 from NAIA 3 to Makati Avenue, arriving at 0030 hours, at our hotel the Great Eastern for anyone that stays there, they had no record of our room reservation telling us that perhaps Quezon City had taken the booking.

After all i had called 3 times, e mailed 3 times, and had an e mail confirmation, nevertheless I was determined not to let this SNAFU get the better of me, I told Gina to flip out a package of Cadburys chocolates to smooth the way forward.

Amazingly, they did have a room for us, a superior room, and to be honest the way we felt we would have taken a nippa hut, we were so tired, an hour later, we were fast asleep, end of day two.

[ginapeterb]

Day 3 - Sunday Morning -

We started early on Sunday Morning, with a quick taxi ride down to the Intercontinental, where Gina and I first met back in 2004, we remembered with interest how we used to take breakfast at the Jeepney restaraunt, and it had not changed one bit, apart from it used to be P700.00 for a buffet breakfast, now its P1000.00

Lets face it things do go up, and it has only gone up 300 pesos in 5 years, or thereabouts, It did not take long for both of us, to tuck into Longanissa, Ham and tomato omellette, fish, hash browns, bacon, tea coffee and mango juice, the guy serving us, brought over a plate of fresh fruits, every kind you can think of, toast, cakes, croissant, we were hungry and it showed.

This was 8 am in the morning, and the temperature was about 23 degrees C, not bad for Manila although the sun was not up as yet, a little humid, but no cares in the world, after breakfast we took a taxi back to the room, and slept for another 2 hours, I don't know where Gin had gone, but as usual she is the eternal butterfly, wanting to go down to Glorietta to look around, ha ha, she could not, they did not open until 10.00 am.

I said, we have to leave for the airport at 11.30 for our flight to the provinces, and we also have to face the dreaded Cebu Pacific baggage problems again, we were carrying 150 bars of Cadburys chocolates, to give out to every person in the Philippines that came past us, (well thats what I thought)

We managed to enlist the same taxi driver who took us down to Makati, he said he would be back on the dot at 11.30 am, and he was, the most friendly Manila taxi driver I have ever been a passenger with, no reklamo, not complaining about life, or how hard it is, he simply jumped out, put all our bags and boxes in the back of his beautifully air conditioned full lengh van, its always better I find that when you land at NAIA you take one of the large white air con vans, with lots of luggage space, these crap little rust bucket taxis are a no no.

It costs a bit more to use them, but hey your on holiday, 200 pesos more is really worth it, when it comes to my comfort and security and ambience, 200 pesos is worth it dont you agree boys ?

At the airport, we checked in ok, amazingly, the lady at CP was really nice, checking us into the exit row on the A320, a much larger aircraft, and giving me loads of leg room, ok they charged us a few hundred pesos for excess baggage but it was ok, we hardly noticed the difference, the flight was great, and I ate pancit canton on the trip to Bacolod City, it was enjoyable no complaints whatsoever.

A good day, and no problema, yet !!!

[kimmi]

Have a happy holiday there in Pinas, Kuya Peter and Ate Gina..;D

[Arturo]

A good day, and no problema, yet !!!

Amused to see the Great Eatern and Quezon City. I was over there 4 weeks ago. I booked in the GE at Quezon ... arrived to find no record of our reservation, Ella dealt with the situation while I stood back looking stupid!

The really bad news was we were on the 8th floor at the front looking down onto Quezon Avenue....which is as busy and noisy at 3am as it is at 3pm!
And the room curtains did not fully close so we had orange coloured search light beamed into the room.
I had an iPod to kill the noise and an eye mask to shut the light.

Great to read the "travel blog" ... maybe highlights and fun bits from your hols aand return flight will appear.

Arthur & Ella

[ginapeterb]

Day 3 - Going downtown to do things ! Like pay bills, buy things we need and shopping at SHOEMART.

Our first day in Bacolod City commenced with none of us being able to sleep, haha, I got up at 3 am, as the rooster was crowing, and we have 2 guard dogs at the house, they were both barking as well, I don't know why they love it so much here to have dogs, but really, I was informed by my house manager that she prefers to have dogs outside as they bark continuously if someone approaches, and there have been a number of robberies in the sub division.

I could not sleep, Gin got up and made coffee for the 3 of us, and we sat up and cracked jokes about everything from Globe Broadband, to the Great Eastern telling me that the American breakfast i did not order was not in my itinerary.

The heavens had opened up in Bacolod City, and as most of you will be aware, of course the roads were never built with adequate drainage for the many inches of rain that can fall here in the rainy season.

The roads were like lakes, luckily though I keep a 4x4 Sport Utility vehicle at the house, so when we drive downtown we avoid most of it, but still we forgot our Payong, and got drenched parking up and getting under cover, nevertheless its ok, all part of the fun.

I absolutely refuse to reklamo about anything when I am here, I just simply accept the SNAFU and realize its the Philippines, no use complaining, better to grin, because I find people understand the grinning and nod in agreement.

Filipino's who are local, they know its all SNAFU, they make fun of it too, so a foreigner making fun usually gets the polite nods of agreement.

We went to Centrum to buy a colour t.v. for the house, that was fun also, we had to go in and pick out what we wanted, then we tried to get a lower price, that was fine, apart from the fact, it took 2 hours from start to finish, first to sort out the mountain of paperwork for the transaction, it was almost as we were buying a house, not a colour t.v., its not like Tesco, where you just pay for it, and take it to the car, or have it delivered.

Here they have to fill out multiple copies of this and multiple copies of that, its not like I was not expecting it, I was, I have travelled this road many times, I amused myself standing and watching the t.v.s in the store, for want of nothing more to do, after all, as Arthur said, you kind of feel redundant, like a spare part, not fitted, just standing in the background watching proceedings with a big grin on your face.

While the wife does all the talking and makes the transaction, the only time you are consulted is when its time to pay, but no matter how many times I come to the Philippines, it never really changes, you are there to pay, and nothing else.

Shoemart was an experience this afternoon, we were in there for 2 hours again, I really dread the grocery experience here, why it takes so long to shop I will never know, but the problem is friends, cousins, high school class mates, former work colleagues and Lola's.

My Gin stops to chat to everyone, and they tell each other about where they went, what they did, what they bought, and of course, the proverbial, I have a pasalubong for you, stop by later and collect it.

I of course do my usual bit and stand looking like the 3rd peson in 3 is a crowd, standing there, redundant, bemused and carrying the shopping.

They rattle away in Illongo, the local dialect, I can undestand quite a bit of Illlongo words, but the translation gets lost by the sheer speed at which they talk to each other, with animations and emotional expression.

I think Gin is telling someone they had sale on in London at Selfridges, and thats where she got the item they are talking about.

Finally, we get to go home, its raining really hard, and I cant wait to get back to the house, today was a day I expected to do everything, we did 2 things, one buy a t.v. 2 shop at shoemart, I was dissapointed with what we did not do, Gina tells me tomorrow we will buy some more things.....yikes, how long will that take, and how many things will we tick off our list.

Things move slowly here, after all i am told, whats the rush.

[somebody]

A great read sounds like your both having a great time. You sound like me wanting to rush rush (British style) but the beauty of phill is rush rush is a no no.
Always takes me a while to adjust and once I do its heaven

Relax and enjoy

[Jay&Zobel]

Day 3 - Going downtown to do things ! Like pay bills, buy things we need and shopping at SHOEMART...

...Finally, we get to go home, its raining really hard, and I cant wait to get back to the house, today was a day I expected to do everything, we did 2 things, one buy a t.v. 2 shop at shoemart, I was dissapointed with what we did not do, Gina tells me tomorrow we will buy some more things.....yikes, how long will that take, and how many things will we tick off our list.

Things move slowly here, after all i am told, whats the rush.

Hehehe.... Girls and shopping!!

[Mrs Daddy]

enjoy the rest of your holidays.

[Alan]

A nice 'blog' Peter! Please continue.

Al.

[ginapeterb]

Days 4 5 and 6.

Hi Guys, thanks for reading, I hope this not boring the life out of you all, cos if it is, please don't mind my rantings ha ha, I am trying not to rant, Globe broadband again, we are having so much problem with it.

I was mad, because, I thought rather wrongly it turns out, Why after so many trips out to Phils will i not understand, that my best of intentions, in the UK with all these great ideas I have for improving the Philippines on my next trip, simply never come to fruition.

Keep it simple stupid, isn't that what its all about, and after all, chill out dude, i mean whats the rush, calm down, have a soda and a pancake sandwich and kickback.

I had this idea of bringing a Dell Laptop 17 inch, a really nice desk top model, with Windows Home Vista, thought to myself, this will be nice for the house, will complement the broadband, and after all, the old computer system we had, when dinosaurs were around can go.

Hmmmm not so, for one thing the modem and software is not compatible with windows vista, we had no end of problems in setting up the new system, I mean don't get me wrong, the Globe guy was nice, but his multiple overtures of:

Sorry Sir, we cannot do it,
Sorry Sir, it wont work.
Sorry Sir, we are maintaining the lines right now.
Sorry Sir, its not very good the connection.
Sorry Sir, maybe after it rains.
Sorry Sir, its raining right now.


I think you get the picture on this one,

and finally

Sorry Sir " maybe tomorrow (Bukas)

No amount of offers of bribes, oysters, dinner, and a patridge in a pear tree was going to get the system working for what we were paying for.

It always amazes me at just how you pay for a service in the UK and lets be honest guys and girls we expect to be given the service we are paying for.

However not so here in Phils, you pay for a service, and feel lucky if you get it, if you don't everyone simply shrugs their shoulders and says, Bukas.

No amount of reklamo ng reklamo, (complaining and complaining) is going to change that, so why get up your blood pressure in the process.

I am LOL Gina just came in the computer room, and said Good Morning Itlog !

why she said that I don't know !

She is LOL as my shorts have split and she said, you can't go downtown with split shorts, its not good for a foreigner to have split shorts, I said, its not good for anyone let alone a foreigener.

However apart from connection problems, the weather has been glorious, over 33 degrees in last 3 days, great for British sunbathers, of which there are none as far as I can tell.

I saw about 3 foreigners in Shoe mart today, 2 nodded, and gave me what i call the "Hey your a foreigner, I'm a foreigner how are you.sort of acknowledgement look"

The 3rd foreigner a really nice guy from Ohio, who lives in the area, was really nice, he stopped me in shoe mart said hello, and we chatted for about 10 minutes, he invited me to a monthly breakfast meeting, they are having, he said all the foreigners go, and I said, I am on vacation so would not have the time really, but he thanked me and moved on.

That was nice to be stopped and greeted, I noticed though that the 2 other foreigners were pretty scruffily dressed un shaven, I was dissapointed, I never go downtown scruffily dressed and unshaven, I was in casual canvas trousers, Nike Trainers and a Fred Perry top, I insist on looking decent downtown, i think locals expect to see foreigners scruffily dressed, look at the locals though they are never scruffy.

In fact they are immaculatly dressed at all times, especially Filipino business people.

I think it stands out when we dress well in town, something to think about for the future I also note that people warm to me in town, especially the sales girls, I have occasion to complement them on their english, the service they give, and how attentive they are.

Example, we went to buy Gina's nephew a new mobile phone from the Nokia concession in shoe mart.

Now this is what I call service, we were met by a young lady, how to say she is immaculately dressed, beautifully done up face, not bad actually, ssssshhhhhhhhhh hope Gina is not looking.

She greets me, and invites me to come in and see the phone, as I am outside the shop just looking.

Ok I go in, she takes out a new phone, describes every peice in detail, charger, head set, device, memory, features, I can just imagine this at Nokia in UK, orange, etc, she then tells me how many free downloads we can get for music, and demonstrates phone in different modes, video, camera, and music.

I am impressed, it makes me want to buy, and we did, she spends another 30 minutes, going through warranty, downloads, computer connections via usb, I am desperately wanting to get away, but feel compelled to listen, she is attractive too, which is all part of the process for a man I think.

In the end, we buy the phone, not bad for P5300.00 with 2 mega pixel cam, and uncle tom cobley and all.

This is all part of days work for this sales girl in the Philippines, for her, a quick sale, for me I feel tired.

hahahaha, its back home to rest, is that my one deed for the day, Gina hastenly takes me to Shoe Mart grocery department, she says I will like to eat, Shawarma Beef, she buys me one, and its amazingly tasty, its like a wrap, with Beef, rice, egg and all kinds of sauces, I am greedy so I have two, no one cares, the staff behind the concession look on and laugh, they can see how I am enjoying it.

Gina introduces me to all kinds of foods, she says,later we will eat oysters, she says, someone will bring them to the house, we don't have to go and get it, this is the Philippines after all, if you have the money, everything seems to be available, and it comes to you.

Our car is making a funny noise, this morning when I was sleeping, a mechanic showed up and took it away, downtown to be fixed, when I finally rise, its outside, fixed a slipping fan belt, he charged P200.00, for his time.

I am shocked, this is the Philippines, and its not a £200.00 bill, I am just handed the Manila bulletin, with my pancake sandwiches from Jollibee, its laid out on the table, my clothes are ready, boxer shorts, shirt, and shorts, the helper just tried to whip off my shorts, she says she will sew it now.

Gina says take them off, and brings another one, the maid whips them away, she is sewing them now.

This is the Philippines is it not my friends, everything is not a problem, and things get done if you have the money.

Thats it for today, I am going swimming, the driver is waiting outside to take us, but first the maid wants to assist me to dress, is this going too far, is this subervience, no not really, this is service and your paying for it.

No reservations....and I love life here.

Don't get too comfortable Pete.........its not the real life for you....just remember...your on holiday...

[Northerner]

Keep on blogging Pete.. Makes me wish I was there buying a cell phone from that girl

Ahh, might just do that in ooh, 98 day's

[Ji&Ma]

Sorry Sir, maybe after it rains.
Sorry Sir, its raining right now.

Very good blog Peter
Especially this got me into the stitches as I have my own very similar personal experience

[fred]

Personally I think the Shawarma`s are a mouthful of mush ...I had one,but never again..

[Jay&Zobel]

True true... Money can buy everything! hehe... Can't wait for our next holiday so we can indulge too!

[mickcant]

Thanks
This is very intresting to read.
Mick.

[scott&ligaya]

Hi Pete and Gina,
we have both been reading and getting more and more envious by the minute and have decided to start looking for our trip "home" next year around April time. We both miss our place in Palawan and Ligaya`s home in Pangisinan as well as our old place in Hong Kong. UK summers do not seem to be getting any better( so much rain) and after we get the Citizenship thing sorted (another 17 months yet) we might look to return to HK despite the pollution we left because of. Maybe I can swin git to be home based in the phils as I work mainly in China or with Chinese clients anyway so HK and Manila are both not to difficult to cover China from.

Anyway thank you for your blog and making us think about the phils, enjoy your vacation

[ginapeterb]

Days 6 and 7

Wow I cannot believe it, its been nearly a week now, time flies when your enjoying life, not looking forward to coming back to UK, I know Uk is where I make my living, but cannot help feeling, the Philippines is where my heart really is.

Yesterday, was a lazy day, woke up at 9.00 am, sun outside the patio door, Gina let me sleep, she had been up since 6.00 am, she sat outside with Tita this and Inday that, chatting about everything, they had coffee and toast, then every vendor in the area had been past, selling everything from fish, chewing gum, food servers, insurance, jewellry, you name it they are selling it.

I had a Sony Bravia 32 inch cinema surround system installed in the bedroom this year, it was great to wake up and stick on a concert, to watch, I had Ronan Keating Wembley 2002 blasting out, no one cares here about noise, in fact, neighbours liked it, wanted to know more about it.

The maid taps on the door, "Your Clothes sir", wow thats what I call service, getting worried about this, may not be able to dress myself soon, and anyway, isnt dressing ones self a little overrated.

Walking around now regulalry in my boxers and flip flops helpers dont seem to notice, you get used to those close to you in house, anyway, house seems to be like Bhowani junction, everyone coming and going, driver coming in for coffee, then helpers moving around doing washing, cleaning floor, so much dust comes in, hanging out clothes, and getting me snacks.

Life is good, decided to get dressed and go to cinema, we watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince which is showing right now at SM CITY, very perculiar habits the Filipinos have.

In UK, we all get to the cinema about 20 mins before, and get ready for the start of the movie, here, they seem to go in at any time, we noted that very few people actually go in when we do, the cinema seems to be packed with people already in from the last showing, whats going on here I ask Gina ?

She said "oh they probably came in to watch half way between the last movie showing"

I say "Why is that", thats weird !

She says "Well they cannot wait, so they go in, it doesnt matter if the movie is half over, they will stay to see the first half"

I say "But thats crazy, no one does that in UK, they go in, and then they watch the movie from start to finish, then they see it all the way through"

She says "Not here, I am afraid, they will go out soon, when they get to the part they started at ?????xjxjxjxjdpod-3-3-3=3=3= ??????

They are weird then honey, I say, she says thats the way it is.

I am slightly irritated, as when we get in the movie, about 15 minutes later, they all start piling out, during the movie, someone is playing on 3G internet on their cellphone, another is taking a call, I am so mad.

I look at the young lady, as though to say, "Hey girl I am trying to watch the movie", she looks back and just carries on talking, even Gina has to say, "Excuse me Miss please do not talk on your cellphone while the movie is playing"

She gets the message and shuts down the call.

The movie is over and we leave, interestingly enough, I decide to venture into the cinema toilets, amazingly, this year, they have an attendant, handing out tissue paper, and hand cleaner is available.

I marvel at this, as in previous years, they did not have it, things have really changed here, its getting better and better every year.

We decided to go to a restaraunt called Appollo, its chinese, and I have been looking forward to eating there, there are 4 of us, myself Gin Gin, the helper and our driver, thats the way it seems these days, when you go out for meal for 2, there is like 4 of you to say the minimum.

We order lots of special fried rice, Beef Tenderloin sizzling tips, All kinds of seafood, hot and sour soup, there is enough food to feed a purok.

When we are finished, we cannot eat it all, most of it gets boxed, and the helper and driver take the food home with them, left overs will not be left as in UK, you just leave it, here everything gets used, I am bemused by this process, and look on smiling.

Then outside we are accosted by 4 little boys, all beggars, they are asking for money, so I decide to say "Sino gwapo ?", the boys laugh and all say "iKAW", I decide to give them 10 pesos, its fun, and i like helping them.

We decide to head home, and have coffee in the gazebo, we laugh and joke, freinds are coming over, and are bringing cakes, Filipinos are great for that, someone brings cakes, somone brings pulutan, someone brings something else, next minute you know there is a midweek party, they are laughing joking, and talking about everything that happens, but most of all, they are making fun of the Philippines, its their country, and they know its shortcomings, they talk about the politicians, and what they did not do, but lining their own pockets, I listen intently, but cannot follow, this is the Philippines and I am treated like a King, never feeling left out, always feeling inclusive, I may not speak the language, I may be a foreigner, but you feel a sense of belonging, and thats enough for me.

I feel at home, and would not wish right now to be anywhere else, I am glad I came again for my holiday, its a long way to travel, but the waiting is worth it, its already been one week, and I want time to slow down, wow if it only it could.

[Dedworth]

A good read thanks for taking the time

[ginapeterb]

Day 7 A Night to Remember.

Going out for dinner in the Philippines can introduce you to foods you rarely eat at home, last night was one such experience, I am all for trying things new, but to try things new and then come away thinking wow that was superb just about makes it all worthwhile for me.

Gina took me to her favourite restaraunt when she was a little girl, she said, friends who were rich used to treat her, she could never afford to eat there, she always asks me "Why you Bitish men come here, and meet us poor girls, and then you marry us, bring us to your country",

I think she is asking a rhetorical question, it deserves no answer, I look on and smile, she nestles her head in my shoulder, and laments on the fact that life has changed and we have all moved on.

As we drive through Bacolod City, she asks me to stop in the old Barangay she used to live in, she takes a trip down memory lane, Barangy no 8 affectionately known as Punta Capri was where the squatters used to live, she is not ashamed to take me there, and although they had a reasonably well constructed house, the place is no more, the landowners having evicted the people that lived there, and have since done nothing with the land.

As we drive down, she puts down the window and hails several people walking around the fish market, she says to me, this is where I used to take lunch, this is where my father sent me to buy rice, this is where I caught the jeepney to work, she is quiet and pondering how life was, I give her this private time to chat to this one, people here in this part of town are poor, but they are polite, and have not lost their self respect and dignity.

The people come up and peer inside the car, they want to see you she says, they are tickled by you, they know you are my husband, they say, oh that is Gina;s husband, he is so white, they are all standing at the window, in perfect english, they say, "Good afternoon sir", I smile and greet them also, they are poor, but they have the politness of the best people in the world.

We pop downtown to the plaza mart area of the city, as Gin wants to go to Post Marketing, she wants to install satellite television at the house, she said it would be better for me to have Star Movies, HBO and CNN as she is worried I might get bored when it rains, as it does so heavily here in the rainy season, as we arrive a boy comes out to guide us into a parking space, we glide in with no worries, he gets 10 pesos for his assistance, parking is at a premium around here, and you need a helper to get you a space, this does not seem to be a problem one is always available for a 10 pesos tip, Gina tells me, "Always keep lots of change near the change lever" "This is handy for giving the boys to park us" I make a note of this as its good advice.

I have been coming out here for years, maybe on my 15th trip, and still learning about life in Philippines, I realize, I am no expert, still a novice, and still learning every day, Gina does not expect me to live as a Filipino, she knows that will never be possible, but expects me to pick up tips and hints at how to make life easier, plus, my Illongo understanding is getting better year by year, I notice now she is talking more in the local dialect to me, but I reply in english, she breaks into illongo dialect quite frequently to tell me something, if its a simple request, or a peice of information, she then has to break back into english to give me the meaning, if I look blank, or my head goes brain dead.

Maybe its a sign, she is noting my advances in the language and feels comfortable to talk to me, little does she realize, I have to translate and it takes time to reply, but I'm getting better by the year, some english guys never bother learning Tagalog, or Cebuana, or Illongo, I think personally this is a mistake, as you entrench yourself, and especially when you are trying to access services in the Philippines, you need to speak a little of the local dialect if you can, it helps, and also, causes a few warm smiles along the way.

Gina tries to encourage me to eat at home, refraining of eating out every day, she wants me to get used to life at home in the Philippines, not expecting to eat downtown all the time, she is slowly trying to get me to eat the food she cooks at the house, some of it I am not happy about, others is ok, she says, "If only you would try - you might like it"

At the Post Marketing, we are going in to enquire about Dream Satellite t.v., we are directed to an older lady who is dealing with it, we are invited to sit down and discuss the various options, this is not like Sky T.V. where you either book online, or do it in some shopping mall.

Here you go in to the people that install it, and sit and discuss your options, how much it will cost, installation fees, packages etc, it only takes about 2 hours to complete, and yet again I feel tired, geeeeeeze, how do they ever get anything done here ? I am smiling and watching, sights and sounds everywhere, hustling and bustling, my private thoughts I keep to myself, its can be seen as being rude to criticise, I have to remind myself of something I learned about 5 years ago, its no use saying "Back home in UK we don't do it that way", "Its much faster there", in fact, thats not strictly true, after all, the lady tells us, they can come at 10.30 in the morning and complete the installation", well lets be honest, SKY cannot do that for you the next morning, in fact, I was told recently, that to get SKY HD it would be about 6-9 weeks.

I also remind myself about my recent purchase of a suite of furniture from Harveys furnishings in UK, its been 9 weeks and we are still waiting for the dining table, here in the Philippines, you buy a dining suite, and its delivered often that afternoon, or latest next morning, I am ashamed at how long it takes to get anything delivered in UK, and lament that Philippines in part may be slow to get something ordered, but to have it installed and delivered, thats a different matter.

I find people want your money here, and your business, and move fast to fulfill your order, money talks, and once you have paid and handed over your cash, things start to move, and to be truthful, thats the way I like it, especially being on holiday when time is a premium for all of us.

That being sorted out, we head over to the Globe Lines office in 27th street, on arrival, the security guard comes out to ensure our car is parked properly, I ask Gina why is he complaining about where I parked the car, I feel ashamed as Gina tells me "No honey he is not complaining - he is worried that your car will be damaged, and is suggesting you move it closer to the wall, then it will be safe" again, my zenophobia has got the better of me, assuming the worse, instead of keeping an open mind, I make a mental note, not to judge what someone is saying in the Philippines by facial expression and tone of voice.

When we get inside the building, its beautifully air conditioned, we take a number which is 3078 and are told to sit in a certain place, and wait our turn, this is like buying your fish at Tesco deli counter, Gina tells me this system is better because when you are called to take your turn, you get the full attention of someone who will deal with your enquiry.

She is right, we sit for 40 minutes waiting, and I am bored, but there is a newspaper to read, so i content myself with that, when we are finally called to the counter, we explain that we wish to upgrade our broadband to 1 MB which seems to be the new speed, I have to contain myself from laughing, but my little jokes about them being 20 years behind UK, fall on deaf ears, and in any event, I don't think the lady behind the counter has even got the joke "When dinosaurs were on the earth, we had 256 kb, now since they went, speeds have got faster"

She is not amused, or didn't get the joke, she continues on with her explanations at what will happen, we fill in a form, and show our ID, we are informed as our house is over 400 metres from the connection that Globe have in the area, it could be the problem that we are experiencing, she suggest that we switch to a kind of satellite broadband, its a mini dish on the roof of the house, communicates with the local Globe tower, I think thats a better idea, and she says, its the latest technology in Philippines, I am shocked at what they have here, although in UK of course we are used to fibre optic cable.

But I am all for it, and we are informed they will install it in 2 days, again, I am in shock and awe, wow, what a great service, 2 days, geeeeeze with British Telecom when we move din our flat, it was 6 weeks before we could get the phone connected, as there were no cables running up to the development, again, I have to eat humble pie here, things are moving faster in the Philippines and I have to say I am quite impressed.

We say our goodbyes and the guard stands behind my car as I back out, making sure I hit nothing and seeing me onto the road, another visit to a service provider, another job well done, I have learned a nice smile, a friendly greeting, and being well spoken goes along way to getting the best out of Filipinos who work in offices.


We move quickly out of this area, and decide its time to head over to the restaraunt where we will eat dinner, so we head over to ABOYS a well known and popular place in the city.

Gina wants me to eat different local filipino foods, she says, if you live here one day, I will have to let you try these, and get used to them, when we arrive the service is impeccable, we are taken to a nice air conditioned area, there are lots of Filipinos parked up outside and going in, Gina tells me Negros is rich in some areas, the Filipinos did welll out of sugar cane, and the island once thrived on the world price of sugar, some are doing ok, others not so ok, but the people that dine here are generally well off people.

I ask Gina where is the menu, she says, there is no menu as such, the seafood is raw, you just go to the chef, look at what they have caught and then pick it live, I see fish swimming around, and I am shocked to find that we are to choose our catch, this is something new to me, I am mesmerized by all this.

The only thing not swimming around is of course the Blue Marlin, a deep water fish, and this has to be caught quite far out at sea, she says, do you want to try the Blue Marlin, I have to say it looks inviting, she picks out a Kilo of blue marlin, it looks like a huge steak, but white of course slight white, and more of a creamy colour look, the chef takes it and they start to cook it, the chef puts lemon bits, and garlic, and puts tomato and onions in, with red peppers, this will all add to the flavour, he tell us, I feel like I am at Gordon Ramsy restaraunt in the West End.

When the blue marlin comes to the table, its amazingly hot, soft and delicious, served with rice, and calamansi, soy sauce and locall vinegar, then a tray of beautiful fresh scallops cooked in butter and garlic sauce arrive, I ask who are they for, Gina tells me, they are for you honey, try them, next a plate of dressed crab omellette, in the crab shell, I try this as well, its amazingly, yummy, I can't stop eating them, everything I try is amazingly tasty, and at the end, the scallops just keep coming, the theme of my travell blog is no reservations - because here in Philippines, you don't need a reservation to have fine dining, its everywhere ubiquitious, if you have the money.

My Gina orders me a gourmet belgian waffle filled with mango ice cream, and sauces on top, enough to sink a ship, I ask if she will join me, no she says, its for you, everywhere I go, people seem to put themselves out for me, its as though they know I am on holiday and they want me to have a great time, I feel like I am living as a King, and its a great feeling.

After a superb meal, we thank the waiters, the chefs, who have a broad grinning smile of appreciation when I tell them, its the best fish I have ever tasted, it means so much to them, they know you are a satisfied customer, thats what counts.

We head home, the streets are quiet now, not many pedicabs around, not many drivers, a few people crossing the streets, but life is there if you look for it, lots of Filipinos hanging out on the barangay entrances, selling foods, sitting and laughing and joking, you can be poor, but you can have a good time at night too, you dont have to have money, it helps though.

Gina tells me she has plans for tomorrow, she says, we are going swimming at a private resort, she says we will probably have the resort pool to ourselves, its an olympic size training pool, and spa, I ask why we will have it to ourselves, she says, no one can afford to go there, only the rich.

I ask how much it costs for a swim there, she says, P125.00 I lament on the fact that it is probably going to cost us about £3.00 between the two of us to swim there, and most people here cannot afford £3.00 to go swimming, when we go swimming back home, it normally costs us £8.00 for two of us, and thats at a basic swimming pool, not a leisure pool.

She says, we will swim and take lunch, and then later go to Vienna Kaffee House, to have gourmet coffee and cake, later then we will watch a movie, and then perhaps later, we will have dinner and some other unspecified gourmet fine dining, she has one picked out, and she wants to introduce me to a high school freind of hers, this seems to be the life here in the Philippines, swimming, lunch, coffee, browsing the mall, cinema and dinner out.

but then again, who is complaining, certainly not me !

[Jay&Zobel]

Day 7 A Night to Remember.

I ask Gina where is the menu, she says, there is no menu as such, the seafood is raw, you just go to the chef, look at what they have caught and then pick it live, I see fish swimming around, and I am shocked to find that we are to choose our catch, this is something new to me, I am mesmerized by all this.

The only thing not swimming around is of course the Blue Marlin, a deep water fish, and this has to be caught quite far out at sea, she says, do you want to try the Blue Marlin, I have to say it looks inviting, she picks out a Kilo of blue marlin, it looks like a huge steak, but white of course slight white, and more of a creamy colour look, the chef takes it and they start to cook it, the chef puts lemon bits, and garlic, and puts tomato and onions in, with red peppers, this will all add to the flavour, he tell us, I feel like I am at Gordon Ramsy restaraunt in the West End.

When the blue marlin comes to the table, its amazingly hot, soft and delicious, served with rice, and calamansi, soy sauce and locall vinegar, then a tray of beautiful fresh scallops cooked in butter and garlic sauce arrive, I ask who are they for, Gina tells me, they are for you honey, try them, next a plate of dressed crab omellette, in the crab shell, I try this as well, its amazingly, yummy, I can't stop eating them, everything I try is amazingly tasty, and at the end, the scallops just keep coming, the theme of my travell blog is no reservations - because here in Philippines, you don't need a reservation to have fine dining, its everywhere ubiquitious, if you have the money.

My Gina orders me a gourmet belgian waffle filled with mango ice cream, and sauces on top, enough to sink a ship, I ask if she will join me, no she says, its for you, everywhere I go, people seem to put themselves out for me, its as though they know I am on holiday and they want me to have a great time, I feel like I am living as a King, and its a great feeling.

After a superb meal, we thank the waiters, the chefs, who have a broad grinning smile of appreciation when I tell them, its the best fish I have ever tasted, it means so much to them, they know you are a satisfied customer, thats what counts.

If you enjoyed that type of setting, it's also worth visiting Seafood Paluto Restaurants "Dampa", along Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City near Mall of Asia. But this is slightly different, you have to shop for your own favourite fresh seafood at any seafood stalls/market and have them cooked at any restau of your choice. They will cook everything the way you like them to be!

Aaaaahhhhhh!!!! YUMMY!!!

I'm missing the PI more!!!

Anyway, I'm an avid follower of your blog.

[trader dave]

Keep on blogging Pete.. Makes me wish I was there buying a cell phone from that girl

Ahh, might just do that in ooh, 98 day's

was just thinking that myself maybe the maid could give you the old wash treatment in the shower


great blog wish i was back there not waiting in uk for wifey to arrive

[ginapeterb]

Sunday exactly 1 week since we arrived.

Its been a week now, and a great week it has been, certainly done lots, had fun, and had some great days here.

Today was one of those lazy days, it was Sunday morning and at 6.00 am I could not sleep, I tried to mess Gina around, she was having none of it, if a Filipina is not eating, shopping, or at the cinema or in the mall, she is sleeping, and this was the moment I dare not disturb her, about an hour later I went back to sleep, the noise of the aircon buzzing in the background, my trip to the loo proceeded by a quick check for cock roaches in the shower area was my only venture outside the comfort of my bed.

There were no cock roaches in the shower, one has to check, I don't know how these vermin get in to your house, but even in the richest houses, I am told they find there way into your lounge, kitchen and shower area.

Having a shower in the Philippines is always a hit and miss affair, its ok in major 1st class hotels, and even the lower cost ones, some showers I find are a death trap, like the one I experienced in Baguio City, about 3 years ago, the one at my house is powered by an AEG water heater, we have a great shower cabinet, with dolphins on the side, doesnt matter how much we paid out, I think it was P30,000 in totall, if the water supply is not up to scratch, then your shower experience isnt going to be that good.

We pride ourselves at the house for having hot water, well for about 1 minute, we also pride ourselves on a dedicated cold water storage tank, which at great cost to me was mounted on a mini tower, that resembles a low level cellphone tower in UK, most of the houses here have them, if you have not got one, your water pushing to your house is going to be pretty crap.

The tank fills up slowly during the night, in the morning its full, the water pressure is then so much better, and you can actually get a decent shower, however, the hot water is another matter, we still cannot seem to get a decent hot shower, not that you need one, but its nice first thing in a morning to wake you up.

Here to get a hot shower we have to turn first the hot tap on the basin which opens up the hot supply, then quickly make a mad dash for the shower and switch on, it last for about 1 minute, enough to get you used to the cooler water, which then comes gushing out in true deluge style, that comples that experience, Gina also tells me, if you want to use the toilet, go now, as they are fixing the pipes down the road, and there will not be any water until morning.

I have to remind myself where I am, its the Philippines is it not, they have top of the range cellphones, 3G internet, latest technologies abound, but water supply is still 3rd world, and we are well advised not to forget that.

I take heed of my wife's kind words, after all, they have lived with this for years, it might seem a novelty to us, but it does get kind of irritating after a while, I am told if the water goes down, there is a deep water bucket in the 2nd shower room, with a tabo, I am also told that is the back up, we can always go in there, Gina says, she will come in and pour the water over me while I take a shower, in the Philippines there is always a way, you just have to know what to do.

She also shows me how to save money on water consumption, she gets in the shower and lathers herself with strawberry shower gell, from head to toe, and puts palmolive hair wash in her hair, she has not switched on the water yet, and why should she, she is not ready to bathe as yet, she tells me this is how Filipinos save money on water, she says, only switch on, when you are ready to rinse, clever advice I think to myself, we don't do this in UK, but maybe its a good habit to get into. hmmmmm food for thought here.

Today, we are visited by inday Mylou, who is a relative of a relative, she is a seamstress by trade, and comes to make cushions for the house, she tells me that one day she hopes to have her own sewing machine, I ask how long as she been sewing clothes for other people, she says, about 25 years, she has made a small living out of it, but she is trying to borrow someone elses sewing machine, but there's is broken and the cannot afford to have it fixed.

I tell Gina and tell her to send the driver downtown to buy one, a 2nd hand machine is about P3000.00 seems to be the quickest way me thinks to get the work done, inday is mesmerized when the sewing machine shows up at the house, I tell her, now Inday you have sewing machine, is this ok ?

You have never seen such a big smile on someone's face, maybe this is worth everything, £40.00 for me, and a new future for Inday Mylou, seems like a good investment to me, she promises to get on with the job and have it all done today, I tell her to relax, finish it when she is ready, there is no rush.

We get ready as it is raining and decide to go to the cinema, we get there about 4pm and watch Ice Age 3, as we sit in the front row of the premium area, I can hear this unusual noise, it sounds like someone snoring, and loudly at that, Gina is grinning as she already knows what it is, I look behind me in disdain, but she cautions me to look ahead, she says, people come in here to sleep as well, as it is cool, and they don't get disturbed, I am wondering as to why come in, if not to watch the movie, Gina tells me young couples come into sneak kisses, and to sleep.

But she tells me that sometimes, boys come in to sleep but have their wallets stolen while they sleep, I LOL at the thought of that, but then again its not funny.

After the movie, we stroll over to Pizza Hut and order a barkada meal, a large multi topped piza with 3 types of starter, garlic bread, meatballs and spagetti, and salad, its enough food to sink a ship, and unlimited coke.

Total cost P700.00 its about £9.00 in UK money, we cannot eat most of it, and it all gets packed up as a take away, I am informed that there are other mouths to feed back at the house, the house manager, the seamstress, and also we can take some over the road to a friend who lives across.

This is what they seem to do in the Philippines, there is always someone else to take food for, we also go around to Red Ribbon bake shop, as Gina wants to buy a cake for a certain Doctor who rendered her good service so many years ago, she tells me its customary to take a nice cake, I think to myself why are we going around at 7 pm on a Sunday looking for a cake.

She tells me now is the time to catch her in, so we take a cake for a Doctor, pizza for the neighbour, and left overs for the staff at the house, I feel like a delivery boy, but I am told its all worthwhile, and people always remember what you do for them, we call in at the pharmacy on the way home, I am exhausted from stopping and waiting in the airconditioned car, I ask why we are the pharmacy, she tells me that so and so's sister is sick and she needs to buy meds for her, plus she is picking up a prescription for manang so and so, (ate so and so) who cannot get downtown, I can't help feeling that if we did not have a car, we would not be doing this.

But something inside tells me, not to complain, its not wise to do that in front of your wife or partner, you may be seen as being stingy and unfeeling, people in the Philippines seem to do so much for each other, no errand or picking something up, is too much trouble, I know we cannot be bothered to do things like this in the UK, but then again, its not the UK here, and things are done differently.

I lament on the fact we are not an inter dependant culture like the Philippines, we are self dependant, but they are not !"

Its only a Sunday afternoon and I am exhausted, geeeeeeeze what will Monday be like !

[ginapeterb]

Monday 27th July 2009 - SONA Philippines - State of Nation address day.

Yesterday was that time of year, when the President addresses the nation and tells her what is the state of the country after a further 12 months in office.

As I had satellite t.v. installed at our house I decided to watch this grand spectacle at the Batasan Pambansang, house of representatives, or simply the Philippine congress.

This is where the President and both houses of the congress, the senate and congressman meet together to hear the President set out the many accomplishments that her govenrment has made in the preceeding 12 months, I was expecting lots of detailed facts about what the President claims are her accomplishments, and yes that is exactly what one got.

I looked on intently at the t.v. and noted that I as a foreigner was the only one watching in the house, the remaining relatives, including my wife, sisters, and helpers, freinds etc, were the slightest bit interested, instead they were all outside laughing and joking and cooking something, such is the priorities of life in the Philippines.

Downtown, earlier in the day, I had passed a large gathering of people at the centro plaza area, they were listening intently in the rain to a political meeting whose leaders were against the SONA, and what it stands for, I ask Gina what is being said, she tells me "The spokesperson is saying, that regardless of SONA it does not matter what they say, the problems of the Philippines will still be there"

I looked at myself and said, "Told you so" as if to say, why should I not be surprised, I also saw on t.v. over 75,000 people gathering on commonwealth avenue Quezon City, they were also protesting the SONA and burning efigies of PGMA, saying that she is corrupt, is guilty of graft and gross incompetence.

I turn to the t.v. again, and wait for the President to come up on her podium and commence her speech, I also notice how immaculately dressed all the congress people are, the congressman and senators in their barong tagalog, the ladies in superb dresses with embroidered sequins, with the mandatory, wings on the shoulders, like they are Queens of Kingdoms, you can clearly see that these people are multi rich, Gina says to me, oh they are so rich, they have 3 gardeners 5 or 6 helpers, 2 or 3 drivers, and lots more besides, they live on another planet.

The president steps up to commence her speech, first telling the party faithful on how when her father was president, (the late President Disodado Macapagal) the economy was 2nd only to Japan, (not sure about this one) and that in 2001 they inherited the largest debt of any South East Asian country, she says, foreign debt has been reduced from some 83 per cent of GDP to 31 per cent of GDP, she cites various figures to back this up, saying that she had made the right decisions at the right time, which were hard decisions to bring the economy back to growth and prosperity for all Filipinos, not just a few.

She talks of great bridge building and road building programmes, talks of scholarships and businesses started, shows in the crowd examples by having the ones favoured stand up and be recognized, the lucky ones get up and nod and grin not sure what there place is in this great spectacle of self congratulation.

The speech starts of well and dignified in english, but fails to keep the momentum as the President drifts into expressions of Tagalog, and the back into English, as she moves between the two languages.

She continues to pile on the examples of her great strides forward and leadership credentials, continuing to cite examples of where the OFW of the world have contributed 16.4 Billion dollars in 2008 towards the Bankgo Central ng Pilipinas, thanking congress for economic and political reforms.

The speech lasts about 45 minutes to 1 hour, but closes rather undignified by continuing to make jibes and have pops at her political oponents, whom she seeks to make slight fun of, by saying that "I made these unpopular decisions and my critics are now silenced" I did this, and my critics blah blah, she often uses the term critics, but fails to identify who these ones are.

The speech started off rather dignified and Presidential for the whole, but finishes rather un-presidential with too many jibes, at her opponents, she tells the faithful she will step down in 2010 when her term expires, but also says, she will not step down until that term ends, she will see out her term, and she will work every single minute until its time for that term to end.

She tells everyone of her sterling commitment to helping the Filipino wherever they are, and that whoever comes forward to stand for the next presidential race, "Please try to build up the country, and not tear down each other"

With that she gives a solemn Maraming Salamat Po, and steps down gracefully from the podium to rapturous applause.

That was the SONA, it came it went, and now life for the ordinary Filipino carries on for another 12 months, it won't change anything, the roads in the provinces will still be the same, potholes and mud, poverty and filth, I ask my driver Georgo what it means for him, he just grins and says, not much, he tells me about his life here in the Philippines, when I listen to his story, because he speaks perfect english, I am reminded that his story could fit just about any of us.

Georgo was educated at one of the best colleges in the city, he trained to be a Nurse, but because of financial constraints, he could not complete his education, unlike some who do get through by borrowing funds, his Mother was unable to do this.

Georgo, did well during the time when the Negros sugar industry was booming, he had a nice house, a decent lot in a decent sub division, when the price went down dramatically, his business suffered, the people he owed money to, wanted it back and took all his business activities in return for the loan he had.

Sounds just like one of us borrowing from a bank and then they forclose when life is tough, thats happened to many in UK over last couple of years, his story is similar accept that his financial backers are money lenders, and not banks.

Georgo has nowhere to go with his wife and 3 children, he ends up squatting in a shanty area of town, where people live in buhay kubo's or nippa huts, all huddled together, with no running water, no electricity, and filthy conditions.

I ask him why he smiles so much, he tells me "Life is what you make it" "Its not great, but if I just had a good job, I could get going again"

I ask Georgo, what is the main problem in your mind that affects the Philippines" I am surprised by his answer, I was expecting him to say "Poverty", he shocks me by saying "No Jobs" I ask him to expand this, he tells me "poverty is not really the problem here in the Philippines", its lack of jobs, if I could get a decent paying job, I could lift my family out of poverty, its a direct consequence of job opportunities that are not there.

He tells me, "Here you have to be good looking, or young, or some set of factors to get a job, like if you want to work at shoemart for the girls, they have to be pretty, and well made up, or they have to be younger, for older people its hard to get a job, I ask him what he is doing when he does not drive for me "He says, I work on a pedicab, maybe I will make P200.00 a day, if I am lucky, its just about enough to feed my family"

I look on in disbelief, thats about £2.50 a day, he tells me that is better than what some are making, the ones who live near the sea area, they are on less than USD 2.00 a day, some collect plastic and sell it, others try and cook food and sell that, others etch out a living by collecting garbage.

I look at my driver, and ask him is he happy driving for me, he says, yes sir, you see, with what you are paying me, and you are also feeding me, life is better for me and my family, I feel at slight embarassment, as even I am not paying him that much, just above the daily average, for just acompanying me around town, Georgo is acting as my local knowledge guide, he does things like going with me to do errands, or goes down to pay something or get something.

Sometimes with the traffic, he will rather do it than I, I get sometimes tired of driving in the traffic, Georgo is great in this role, he also cleans outside the house, and does some gardening, but he is not lazy, or work shy, and he is here from 8.00 am in the morning until around 6-7 at night, he works long hours, and I am proud to say, he asks for nothing, last night, we went to shoemart, and picked up some chocolates and drinks, I gave them to him to take home for his children, a big smile crosses his face.

He also asks me can he take the plastic bottles from the coke that we bought in last few days, I ask him what he will do with them, he tells me, that they do not have running water, "Sir with the bottles, I can use them to buy water from BACIWA the water company, we can fill them for the house" I smile in slight embarassment as I have no concept of no running water.

Georgo has taught me so much about life, and how we all live different lives, in the UK we take for granted our running water on demand, our electricity on demand, our satellite television, hot water when we want it, Georgo places a value on everything he gets, and knows exactly what he has got.

No matter how many times I come to the Philippines, I still don't really understand what it is like for ordinary people, I kid myself that I really want to understand more about the lives of others, I tell myself that this should not be, that people should not have to live this way, then I make myself feel better by citing the examples of the makati rich and elite who live like Kings while the masses live in poverty, if they cannot change the lives of these people, then what can I do.

Gina tells me "Do what you can for them, and give what you can, anything you can do will be appreciated, anything you can give will make their life just a little bit better" She tells me "They don't expect you to give them anything, they would rather work for it " I take a mental note, that the only thing seperating me and Georgo, is better life chances, and yet who is always smiling ?

Strange....its not me.

[fred]

The only thing not swimming around is of course the Blue Marlin, a deep water fish, and this has to be caught quite far out at sea, she says, do you want to try the Blue Marlin, I have to say it looks inviting, she picks out a Kilo of blue marlin,

Blue marlin is a good first class fish but if you ever get the opportunity try and get a couple of kilo`s of white marlin..(in visaya`s they call the sliced steaks Tiniggi)
Simply the best fish I have ever had the pleasure to eat..and eat..and eat.

[fred]

At the Post Marketing, we are going in to enquire about Dream Satellite t.v., we are directed to an older lady who is dealing with it, we are invited to sit down and discuss the various options, this is not like Sky T.V. where you either book online, or do it in some shopping mall.

We got a chipped Dream box for 8k....Never have to put a card in it for some reason??

[mickcant]

Monday 27th July 2009 - SONA Philippines - State of Nation address day.
Hi Pete,
Tjhank you for this latest blog, this has been very intresting reading and an eye opener on what happenns in the lives of filipino's.
Thank you very much.
Mick.

[Tawi2]

Glorias speech was like the lady herself,full of flatulence,they really do live in ivory towers blinded to the plight of her country,but dont worry,she will retire to the statesIf your driver is on £2.50 a day he is lucky,if your on Negros try and get down to Dumaguete,pop over on the Don Martin or fastcraft to Larena,the girls there working in Burger Junction 7 days a week without a break are on £15 a MONTH

[ginapeterb]

Tuesday 28th July 2009 - Taking the Magulang to the mall.

Today my Filipino wife has reserved this day for taking out the Magulang, or in English, the parents, it seems customary that when the overseas foreign daughter has left home, at least once a year, if resources allow, she comes home for a visit, some are luckier than others, they might come twice a year, or they may go once every two years, or even 3 or 4, but at some stage they will travel home to visit family and parents.

Some girls have big families, others may not have a big family, I can only blog about my experience with my wife's family, some of you may read this, and say, its not like that, but I can only tell you as I am living it now, and this is my personal experience of life here, I like to be truthful with my writings, because its easy to gloss over the reality, the truth is always best, it never comes back to bite you, so for what its worth here it is.

When I discussed coming back to the Philippines this year, we have relatives in the U.S.A. who will not come back to Bacolod City, they think I need my head examined, they say it always costs you too much in having to fund everyone else in the family, plus also others, I know there is an element of truth in there reservations, because thats also my experience here too.

You have the best of intentions in the UK, you set a budget for your trip, and you hope to live within that budget, I have to tell you guys, we had these big intentions about how we will budget, that has all gone crashing down.

To be honest, I have been somewhat quiet in last couple of days, my wife has noticed my quietness, we have spent nearly P100,000 in just over 10 days, I have friends also, I think they told us, they spent similar in the time they were here in Philippines, its not that you dont have good intentions, but its clear to me, that you will never stop the flow of money outwards when you get here, this is about the 4th or 5th visit I have made over last 3 or 4 years, and when we come, it does not change.

The mathematics of coming to the Philippines, means that if you go anywhere, other costs creep in, like for example, taking the parents out for a shoemart visit, my wife wants to treat them to a months food for their house, then there is allowances for the month, then there is cousins who need help with school fees, help with hospital bills, then there is this one and that one, nephews who are promised a mobile phone, and also, new clothes, then there is female cousins, who are promised things as well, then there is continuious loading of mobile phones, and others mobile phones.

I could make long list for you, this is my experience, please people out there reading this if you wish to comment you may do so, however I will not reply to individual stories of how its different for you, of whether you never let this happen, the simple fact of the matter is, my wife tells me, my family loves me in the Philippines.

They say, what a generous husband my wife has, and wherever we go, people tell me, that my wife is very happy with me, it seems then to onlookers, that happiness for the Filipina is measured in the pleasure and help she can give to immediate family, by financial aid, pasalubong, and help with other costs.

This does I find ingratiate you to your immediate family, my private thoughts I have to keep to myself, my holiday budget being smashed very quickly, and having to draw on other funds, I did not intend to spend, however, my wife tells me, she has never been happier, and it shows, her love for me is never in doubt, she worships the ground I walk on, never stops telling me how proud she is of me.

She tells me how I bring so much pleasure to her and her family, we are travelling up to Subic Bay during the last few days of my visit, her cousin a young lady of 25 has never been out of the city, let alone visited the capital.

She toyfully asks if she could come, my wife asks me if we could take her, I check out a flight and its about £25.00 return to take the lady with us, we text her to tell her to meet us, and she is coming to meet us at Red Ribbon for coffee during her work break.

She works 9 hours a day, and 6 days a week, with 1 day off, like some of you have mentioned in your comments, the wages are low here, she earns P7500.00 a month, for 54 hours a week, she lives in a boarding house because its so far to her house with parents.

She at least has a job, but the job is going nowhere, I break the news to the cousin that she is booked on a flight to Manila with us, she is ecstatic, she cuddles and kisses the foreigner cousin in law, she tells me, can i get a husband as generous as you, I laugh and say, yes if you really want to....she is beautiful (get your hands off you lot).

She is so happy and my wife tells me, in seconds the whole office will know she is going to the capital city with cousins from UK, my wife then laments on the trip home, "You have made someone so happy", "Why are you so nice"

£25.00 does not seem an awful lot of money to you and I, but here in the Philippines, its bringing pleasure and has affected one life with a trip they will cherish forever.

I can spend £25.00 on one days groceries down at tesco, but I cannot buy the pleasure the young cousin will get from coming with us to Subic Bay, how do you put a price on that kind of joy.

Every where we go when downtown, we seem to have to pick up food for this one and that one, my wife tells me, its custom here to do that, she tells me that when she lived in poor conditions, these ones would always share what they had with her, she tells me, its her way of returning the generosity of others, I have to say, Filipinos are quite generous when they have something to share, I remind myself again of the inter-dependancy of this culture, where the good fortunes of one are shared by those around them.

I have to say to the guys here on this forum, my wife has a spring in her step I haven't seen so much in UK, yes she sends money to support her ageing parents, but I think its different here, she has demonstrated to them that she can come back to the Philippines, get out her bank cards, and spend money on them, it seems to me to be important enough to her to say "Look when i was young you sponsored me at school and got me through college, when money was tight" "Now its my turn, I went abroad and now I am back to help you", I can certainly see, how important it is to her, I do not involve myself in this cultural way of doing things, but as you can see, I see everything and say nothing.

I see this everywhere in the Philippines, we all know that they all send money to support family in one way or another, but this has hit me personally, it may not be your experience, but this has been mine.

A sigh of relief goes over both of us, tomorrow we fly to Mindanao for a 5 day trip, perhaps then we can have some time together on this part of our holiday, our obligations fulfilled, its time for a well earned break.

[aposhark]

Good blog, Pete.

I admire your generosity, but your spending seems a lot to me

You must be much wealthier than me, but if money is no object then fill your boots

[Tish]

I once been in the Philippines with one of my 'ex-filipina friend' and she spent half a million pesos in just 2 weeks

I tried to make her see sense by quietly reminding her of the amount she has spent at that time, but all i got was basically mind your own business kine of reply!

It wasn't my intention at that time to make her feel 'bad', but she took it the wrong way