Wish me Luck

[ginapeterb]

Well wish me luck everyone, including Keith Admin our chief Forum Moderator.

Im off to the Philippine Embassy to try and get my visa today, fingers crossed, let us all hope its open, and their is not some national holiday, or something.

See you all later.

Hmmmmmm Am I trying to get in that bad.

[peterdavid]

Just out of interest, what visa are you asking for - are you planning on holidaying there longer than 3 weeks then?

[mdelg55]

The Visa cost only £65.00 and is valid for one year..It is better to get this ,as like me I frequent visit my girfriend soon to be wife and the official do not even want to look at your ticket as you can go in and out of the country as many time you like during the calendar year..
Suggestions: Please Glue your Embassy receipt on the passport next to the Philippines embassy Visa, as it come to my attentions that some English Visitors paid again there on arrival and to the custom officer..(they pocket the money) I guess...Maurizio

[mdelg55]

GOOD LUCK PETER...TODAY IS NOT A HOLIDAY BUT LAST MONDAY IT WAS....MAURIZIO ;D

[mdelg55]

WHEN YOU WILL BE IN THE PHILIPPINES ? ARE YOU THERE WHEN i WILL BE THERE? iF SO LET ME KNOW ...MAYBE WE CAN MEET THERETHE FOUR OF US...MAURIZIO

[ginapeterb]

Hey got some good news, yes I got the liucky ticket out of here, got my vissa today, got a 6 month one Maurizio for £43.00 and they did it in the Embassy, although me and andother english guy pushed them to give it us today, they told us to come back at 4.30pm and I arrived at 11.48am, so we had to hang around Starbucks and McDonalds for a chat, all in all a great result.

Maurizo, hey are you coming up to Manila with Richie, if so, I will be back in Manila on 4th January, but is Richie coming to meet you, or are you going to Davao, and then coming back, if so, I have Personal messaged you with Gina's miobile so you can get in touch with me, but I have lost your numbers, please contact me before 10th if you can and give me your contact numbers.

The Embassy were great today, didnt even ask me for bank statements, and just asked for my return ticket, and got it later on in day, and it looks decent as well, not that scrappy bit of paper they normally put in.

[ginapeterb]

To answer Peters question (PeterDavid) yes I am going back for an extended stay this time, wont be back until 2nd week of January, plus I am going back in march to get Married hence the visa requirement, may need to spend more time there.

Thanks for asking.

Maurizio, lets meet up in Manila for a foursome, also i think there is another guy who wants to meet up with us, his name is Steve Smith, his wife is in Dasmarinas, Cavite, he will be there also, in Manila around, that time.

Good we can all meet up for a meal or something.

[Admin]

It's our 4th wedding anniversary on the 11th Jan, and we'll be in Singapore. What a celebration.

Strange World. Filipino's are trying to get in the country, while we're all leaving ;D Maybe we should just arrnage a population exchange :

[ginapeterb]

Congratulations to Keith and Ping on their 4th wedding anniversary, and of course we know you will be in Singapore, so we know you are looking forward to that, Maurizio advises sticking the cashiers receipt in your passport, to avoid being fleeced out of the fee again.

[peterdavid]

To answer Peters question (PeterDavid) yes I am going back for an extended stay this time, wont be back until 2nd week of January, plus I am going back in march to get Married hence the visa requirement, may need to spend more time there.

Thanks for asking.

Congratulations. Hope it goes well for you. Wedding in manila or elsewhere? (Sorry, just being nosey, but I am interested). Tell me to mind my own if you wish

[ginapeterb]

Hello Peter thanks for asking.

The wedding is in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, which is in the Western Visayas area, of the islands of Panay, Cebu, Negros, Bohol.

The wedding is being set up, so that all family can attend.

The engagement has been just over 1 year, so its time we got on with this now, wewould have married this year, but I am still awaiting my divorce final absolute papers, so thats holding matters up.

Otherwise we would have got it over with and hopefully in UK living together.

Its been one long hard wait.

Thanks for your interest.

[peterdavid]

Hello Peter thanks for asking.

The wedding is in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, which is in the Western Visayas area, of the islands of Panay, Cebu, Negros, Bohol.

The wedding is being set up, so that all family can attend.

The engagement has been just over 1 year, so its time we got on with this now, wewould have married this year, but I am still awaiting my divorce final absolute papers, so thats holding matters up.

Otherwise we would have got it over with and hopefully in UK living together.

Its been one long hard wait.

Thanks for your interest.

Sounds nice. We have never been there - I think Boracay is about the nearest we got to Visayas. Cebu is always somewhere I wanted to visit when we were there, but travelling around the Philippines can be so awkward sometimes that we just never got round to it. From what I hear, Cebu is like Manila, but with much less crap.

Yep, the waiting can sure be the hardest. The Embassy also knows how to make a painful process ten times more painful, with added rudeness for good measure.

How does your fiance feel about her impending move to the UK and leaving the family and friends behind? Has she been here before? How do you think she'll get on?

Hope it goes well for you, and the absolute comes through ok.

[ginapeterb]

Thank you for asking Peter, my fiancee and I have been to Boracay on 3 different holidays, we tend to spend about 4 to 5 days there, generally near to Boat Station 1, at Casar Pilar, we often stay there, although we have stayed also at the Boracay Regency Resort, although we actually goto Nigi nigi noos noos to drink, I had hoped to do a diving course their but when it got round to it.I couldnt be bothered, I think hanging around in the water petting with her Ladyship somehow seemed more interesting.

I agree with you whole heartedly about travelling around the Philippines, even the Pangulo stated that "the Infra structure of the Philippines is not helpful to tourists", the problem I find with travel around the Islands, is the lack of integrated transport network of course this is difficult as most of the cities are on separate islands, for example if you wish to get from Bacolod City on Negros Occidental, there is no direct Supercat (high Speed marine vessel - for other members), linking Bacolod and Cebu City, Lapu Lapu.

You have 2 options,


1. Fly back to Manila Domestic Airport, via Cebu Pacific or Philippine Airlines, or if you want to save money, take a chance airways, good old Air Philippines.

2. You can take a Bus across the island of Negros, through Oriental to the other side at San Carlos City, or if you like bumpy roads in buses, you could take a bus via Kanbankalan to Dumaguete, and then take a ferry over to Tagbiliran, then link up with the Supercat to Cebu City.

Such is the problem of internal transport in the Philippines, the same problem occurs with visits to the Northern City of Baguio, you can take an air conditioned bus over 7 hours.

or take a 19 seater via Asian Spirit to Loakan Airport, the latter being the much more enjoyable trip.

As far as cebu is concerned Peter, its a pretty typical Philippine city, similar to Manila a little smaller, all the usuals, fish markets, open in the sun, sutff being sold on the pavement, the usual number of muggings knifings and corrutpions,

As far as my fiancee is concerned, she is looking forward to joining me here in UK, everytime I leave the Phils, she weeps buckets, Im sure you understand that, she has so much family and freinds in her work, but she understands and realizes that her place is with me, I think she is looking forrward to it, and msses me, I am preparing her for it gradually, and integrating her as best I can into UK Life, I send her lots of photos of London, my trips around the city, lots of souvenirs, and e mailing her straight off my mobile phone when I am in the city, keeps her dreams alive of joining me.

I think she will settle ok, I have warned her that its a whole new way of life, and obviously I am sensitive to her feelings, perhaps Peter you might like to tell us a little about how your wife made the adjustment to UK Life.

I would be very interested to hear about that.

[Admin]

Strange World. My girl never used to cry when I left, but now every time she sees me she bursts into tears ;D

[peterdavid]

To be honest, she adjusted with surprisingly little fuss. Whether it was because she was relatively westernised anyway (both in terms of the food she ate and her attitude to life), whether it was because she's just someone able to adapt quickly or whether it was because we'd been living together in the philippines for a couple of years anyway and so she wasn't moving to the UK 'to be with me', we were both moving the life we had together already from one country to another, or a combination of all three, I'm not sure.

She hasn't really found much, if anything, to moan about, and has actualy admitted that living here, she has realised how bad they actually do have it in the philippines - I mean the little things in life and all the hardships you just put up with when you're there, and just assume are normal - until you go somewhere where those hardships are removed - for example having front loading washer driers that don't require you to do anything other than bundle the clothes in, piped gas, reliable hot water and electricity supplies, being able to exchange goods in almost any store without having to undergo a three hour inquisition by some SM gestapo officer over their defective 50 peso product - and being able to exchange it in a matter of minutes, not having to queue for three weeks in the inappropriately named "customer service" queue, being able to go into shops where the people working there actually have at least an ounce of knowledge about the product they're selling and don't just obviously answer yes to any question you ask, regardless of whether the product has it or not, just to get a sale. Basically, the little things in life that make it more bearable - she approves! She also approves of the fact that just occasionally, if someone does help you out, they dont hang around for money afterwards, but they actually are offering genuine assistance.

Things she found a little difficult - the cold, especially now - although she did like the 'outdoor freedom' when it was warmer which meant you could go outside without walking into a blast furnace wall of swelteringly relentless humid heat day in day out - not having previously been to a country with a temperature less than 25 degrees, she didn't realise how 'pleasant' being outside in the sunshine could be, when you're not been instantly fried by intense heat. But considering my wife is someone who considers Baguio to be too cold, again, surprisingly little moans now that we're down to about 10 degrees.

She occasionally needs a rice fix - although she's not a "must have rice morning, noon and night or I'll simply cease being able to function" type of person, she occasionally craves it, in the same way I craved good old danish bacon when I was there (that american straky crap is just appalling) - she's happily adjusted to having fries with her KFCs and McDonalds instead of rice (I know how to treat a lady), but has yet to shake off the deeply ingrained survival instinct about traffic lights (still getting used to the fact that cars stop at red lights and pedestrian crossings and won't actually set foot on the road until the oncoming driver has stopped his car, turned the engine off, left the vehicle and sat down in starbucks across the road whilst waiting for her to cross).

Despite being fluent in english, she originally got a little shy about speaking english in an english speaking country, but i think this was just 'beginner's nerves' - in the same way that I got her to do most telephone conversations in Manila because it was easier for her to speak tagalog to them, we started off doing the same here with me doing it, until I realised it was (re)inforcing a hesitation to do it herself without the reassurance of being able to revert to tagalog - more an initial confidence thing than anything else - but when I took a step back and left her to do it, she was fine.

Not having a maid was a shock to both of us - didn't realise how used to having a maid I had got. We have to clean our own toilet now and look after our own kids!

Happy to chat about any specifics or aspects you'd like to hear about - overall, the whole process was relatively painfree, to be honest. She does miss her family, obviously, but knows they are only a phone call away or a webcam chat away. She has also said, however, that she doesn't feel any longing or desire to return to the Philippines to live. This is possibly due to the fact that when she came to the UK, it wasn't the case that she was wrenched away from her family and friends, we were already living together and had already established a life together that came before other family and friends. She wasn't leaving a family home behind - she had done that already a few years back when we got married - and although she was moving away from her family, her home (ie, our home life) was moving with her, so it was only half the adjustment (if that makes any sense whatsoever - it's late and my command of language is slipping away rapidly!!) Our life here is pretty much a continuation of what it was there, but without the corrupt taxi drivers and useless shop assistants (albeit it with eye pleasing regulation mini skirts - you have to take the good with the bad ) Films come out here later than over there - another minus, although hardly earth shattering.

If there are any specific aspects you would be interested in chatting about, let me know - always happy to share.

Enjoy xmas over there - wouldn't mind being there myself to be honest - will be my first non philippine xmas for a while, but our first british one - we put up her first 'real' xmas tree today! Only the joy of snow and sub zero temperatures to go. ;D

[Admin]

My babe was in Singapore for 10 years as a maid before coming over here so had already adjusted to Western life. As you mention, it's the cold that is the problem, and the house is never under 75deg Winter or Summer :o

She even complains that in the Summer it is a different heat that bites over here!! That'll be instead of a nuclear meltdown then ;D

Strangely enough, the day temp in Singapore is always around 90 deg, and I never have a problem with that, and yet the wife does, but then I am weird. I can fish for 3 hours in the snow and wind off Llandudno pier without freezing to death, must be my alien DNA :

With the food we use the Chinese Wharehouse in Luverpool, as I eat Asian food around 80% of the time, and we get everything there, ranging from the usual Asian stuff, to things like Pak Choi, Octopus, S Asian fish, etc

It just took me a while to stop her cooking in bloody vinegar Makes the house smell like Aushwitz!!

[ginapeterb]

Keith, thats excellent, can you find out for me about the Chinese warehouse in London please, i heard there is one, but I dont know where it is, the next time you are in, ask them about their London warehouse please.

[peterdavid]

On the positive side, mine, since coming here, has lost the obsession with skin whitener and, as the sun isn't as strong, no longer has an instinctive urge to rush into the nearest building when a speck of sunlight falls on her arm. ;D

But when the cold weather started to lead to drier skin....ooooohh boy was she not happy....

[Admin]

I bet the umbrella still comes out on a Sunny day. Starnge bunch these Filipino's

[peterdavid]

The mini skirt still comes out even though the temperature is in single figures.

Still, who's complaining.... ;D