Back from Manila

[DeltaRomeo]

Hi all,

Got back from Manila last Monday, but unfortunately straight back into work.. I've sorted out the photo's now and also a video so these are the links.. I'm not sure how facebook works with links.. I have made the albums public so you should be ok to see them, if you have problems then let me know. Video is on Youtube.

http://youtu.be/eQlF2Kf86yk


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1670423&type=3

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1670423&type=3

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1670423&type=3

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1670423&type=3


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1670423&type=3


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1670423&type=3

I'll write later in the week to tell of my travels.. but I had a fantastic time.. already planning a 3 week visit for September / October.. a million things to sort out before then though.. I'll have many questions I think!

[lastlid]

I stayed at the H2O hotel, Luneta, during my first visit which is part of the Ocean Park complex.....needless to say we visited Ocean Park...

Nice video.

[Steve.r]

Great albums Dave

[stevie c]

Fantastic video thanks for sharing

[Terpe]

Wow!! Great stuff.
The video was just fantastic. Is it all your own production work?

Really enjoyed your photo's too

Thank you for sharing Dave. .

I can tell you're so excited to return to the paradise islands

[joebloggs]

yes great video
we can see you had a time Dave

[joebloggs]

Great albums Dave

and congrats Steve on your 3,000 post
just gone over 13k myself

[stevewool]

great video, brings back lots of memories for me and also for many who have seen it i am sure,look at your pictures later, thanks for sharing them

[Moy]

just gone over 13k myself

congrats joe am not even a third from yours

[grahamw48]

Super video and photos Dave.

...So glad you had such a great first trip and looking forward to the full report.

[mikey73]

great video
thanks for sharing with us

[Steve.r]

and congrats Steve on your 3,000 post
just gone over 13k myself

Thanks Joe, I didn't realise

[joebloggs]

congrats joe am not even a third from yours

you probably have, if you added all your posts together using all your aliases Ros

[Eyes O'Donnell]

Thank you for sharing this great video

[DeltaRomeo]

grrrr.. just spent an hour writing a reply.. pressed post and it had timed me out!..
Ok.. I'll try again, but write it out first offline

[DeltaRomeo]

Thanks everyone for all the positive feedback, especially on the video.. (Terpe) yes, my first attempt.. something I'd wanted to do for a long time but lacked the inspiration for subject matter until now!
(lastlid) yes H20 looked very nice, a bit out of my price range considering that I wish to visit 2 or 3 times this year. The mall next door was heaving when we visited, they were shooting the final of 'Big Brother' in the park outside, so huge crowds, very busy.

(Graham) The resort in Subic that you stayed at looks very pleasant and a good price.. was that for the room or each person? I think on my next visit I will need to visit Manila quite a few times.. what is the travel time from Subic?
A full report? gosh.. that would take me all week! and I'm no writer, I think you'll find very disjointed thoughts and only a mention of some aspects of something and not the complete picture. Yes I'm one of those people that always thinks of what I should have said in a debate / argument several hours later!..but ok.. I'll give it a go...

Well it was a bit of a culture shock, to sum up in a word.. my first thought of Manila was 'Chaos' and this thought persevered for the first week stay of my stay.
Venturing outside on the first day.. (still tired from 3 days without sleep, as I'd set off on my journey straight after a 12 hour night shift from work) we just went for a stroll.. through Malate - the quickest way towards the sea. We got to Roxas Boulevard.. Oh my God!.. the traffic!.. it took us at least 5 minutes wait for a reasonable gap in the traffic to dash across the 6 lanes road - I could just imagine having finally making it to Manila that I'd end up in Hospital or worse on the first day!
Having said that.. throughout my stay the only traffic 'accident' I saw was at night a car shunting a carelessly abandoned pedicab out of his way.
So 20million inhabitants within Manila... even if just 1% are car owners.. that's 200,000 vehicles! and I have no idea if there is such a thing as road tax or compulsory insurance.
I'll never complain about taxes again. The government there has a mammoth task to sort the infrastructure out.
Having got across the road.. we could not see the bay because of the hoarding that stretched in both directions for miles.. work ongoing to repair the damage from last years typhoon season I was told.
We decided to rent an apartment rather than stay in a hotel.. thinking it would be a bit more real life and we are able to see more of how each other lives day to day.. at least within the home environment albeit without the hassles of work and such; then with that knowledge be better able to assess and decide if at the end of the visit we were both still as keen to continue. It sounds a bit cold writing it like that.. suffice to say that it was a good way to get to know each other in the real world. Having said that, we ate out almost every night (and no.. not because of Chell's cooking skills! ;-)) The apartment was just off M. Adriatico, not far from Malate Church. From the reviews I'd read beforehand, I took this to be one of the nicer areas of Manila, but I guess that depends on your comparison. As it turned out, the 'deluxe' apartment turned out to be basic in comparison to Western 'deluxe', but it was comfortable enough. I think next time it'll have to be a hotel, the non paying guests (cockroaches) were a bit much and plentiful and care had to be taken to disinfect kitchen utensils before each use. The local Barangay outpost was on the only approach to the block and there was a security guard on the immediate gate, that idea took some getting used to, no smoke without fire right? But I have to say every body I met, including the many touters and triers were polite and pleasant although there was nearly always the undernote of economic gain.. however I felt no threat to my security. I would add though that the local Robinsons Mall was held up at gunpoint during my second week stay, the 2 villains robbed the guard filling the ATM and made off on motorbike, but threw 2 hand grenades into the street as they left. One failed to explode and the result of the other.. 6 injured, 1 dead. So glad we weren't in the vicinity that day. The mall re-opened 2 hours later.
I never did get used to the lay out of the place, a store, a few derelict building with squatting families (spliced into the mains supply.. no wonder the Brown outs!), a modern hotel, cafe's for locals, a few bars.. all on the same block, there seemed no order.. I think here a district would be run down or the opposite, but there it is very mixed.
We took a Jeepney to Divisoria.. a market district through Chinatown.. the journey took us through a very poor area.. the heat, and the smell... not nice. Divisoria itself though.. wow!.. hundreds of stalls, thousands of people and a constant line of traffic through the middle of it all.. I've never seen anything like it.. the scale of the place, the numbers of people.. there you made sure you kept your hands in your pocket, tight hold of your camera (I decided to err on the side of caution and not start waving my camera around).. or whatever. Difficult to not stand out as a tourist as I towered above everyone else.. but having said that.. no hassles, no problems.. just a biased expectation maybe. No way that I'd purchase meat from there.. 32 degrees the day we visited.. no refridgeration and the meat humming and chunks on display on open tables. I pointed it out to Chell and her opinion was that your immune system would get used to it.. I don't think I'd want to test that theory. By the way I had no illnesses for the duration of my stay, however I was careful to only imbibe bottled water, no ice or salad etc.
Other places we visited.. on the tourist trail.. Intramuros, Mall of Asia, Ocean Park, Rizal Park, pretty much what you would expect, well tended, clean, modern, very much a different world to the bustle outside or only a km away.

I went with a curious mind to looking at business opportunities, although no plans as such.. I think it is always useful to have a plan B. However I must admit that I'm stumped as to what would be a good business there.. perhaps an internet cafe in the provinces, but in the provinces.. would there be enough demand? I don't know.

The trip we made to Tagatay was a different experience, stopping off at Cavite and Tanza on the way, definately a more relaxed lifestyle, although again you cannot compare housing, utilities, shops to the Uk. And what's with the tin roofs?.. when it rains.. as it does frequently.. wow.. deafening!


I didn't know what to expect before I visited, and I don't really know how to describe it now I have.. People say it is a third world country, yes I'd agree in many ways and disagree in others, but maybe I should not try to give an opinion on a country with only a short time visit and having seen part of only one city.. I feel there is a lot more to the Philippines than I have experienced yet.. and I am eager to see much, much more. There is a definite beauty to the place and to the people in general. The countryside.. I would love to lose myself in the Jungle for a couple of weeks! Society - the people are friendly and warm from my experience, family values hold true and solid... a lot more than can be said for the disjointed 'civilised' society here.

On a personal level, Chell and I got on really well, continuing and building on the relationship we had developed on-line. So much so, that we affirmed our feelings by committing and getting engaged... so much to plan and prepare now!

So difficult to leave after that, but a necessary step to the next phase.. I am hoping to return for just over 3 weeks in September / October.. providing that my Annual Leave request for 3 consecutive weeks is authorised. If it is then we will make preparations beforehand and plan to marry during that visit... fingers crossed.. it really feels like every minute is an hour now we are so far apart.

[stevewool]

a great read, funny how at first we think 3rd world, no offence to any one ment, but how wrong we are, yes there is poverty but in tha poverty there is beauty too, everyone has that smile, nothing is a problem, i loved being there and i cannot wait to go again , but this time less in manila and more in other places

[Terpe]

Great write up Dave. Well done. You managed to convey all the emotions and culture shock that everyone can relate to. But always with an affectionate smile and a warm heart.

Congratulations to both on the engagement. Can't say I surprised though

We all know those last moments together and feelings when you get back to UK.
Stay strong, be good to each other and hang on the idea you'll be together soon.

Take care

[tiger31]

Hi all,

Got back from Manila last Monday, but unfortunately straight back into work.. I've sorted out the photo's now and also a video so these are the links.. I'm not sure how facebook works with links.. I have made the albums public so you should be ok to see them, if you have problems then let me know. Video is on Youtube.

http://youtu.be/eQlF2Kf86yk


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1670423&type=3

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1670423&type=3

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1670423&type=3

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1670423&type=3


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1670423&type=3


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1670423&type=3

I'll write later in the week to tell of my travels.. but I had a fantastic time.. already planning a 3 week visit for September / October.. a million things to sort out before then though.. I'll have many questions I think!

hahaha forget going back in sept you wanna get back now to get some tan on those legs lol very nice video btw well done

[andy222]

You summed it up pretty well Dave. The phils has that magnetism. Once you have been you want to continue going back. Roll on 5 weeks time.

[DeltaRomeo]

hahaha forget going back in sept you wanna get back now to get some tan on those legs lol very nice video btw well done

You noticed! I did consider cropping all the photos, but by the time I'd be finished there'd only be a nostril left!.. anyway.. those shots were the first day.. I'm like a bronzed Adonis now.. haha!
I was surprised at the weather.. yes vry warm, but not stifling,. a lot of rain for the majority of the days.. but not like here... it was 'on' or 'off', no little drizzle to lead up to it... a downpour or nothing!

Thanks very much Steve and Terpe... Yes very fond memories, like you Steve I would love to see much more outside Manila, Chell's mother lives in Guiuan, Eastern Visayas.. looks very remote on the satellite images, would love to go see one day sooner rather than later.. my knees however are already cringeing at the thought of the bus journey in seats built for Filipinos lol

[DeltaRomeo]

Yes Andy.. it was only 8 days ago I returned.. seems so long ago already. Where will you be staying/visiting?

[lastlid]

Good write up. PS in an embarrasing way that is obvious to my wife too, there are some aspects to the Philippines that puts the IOM in the "dark ages" .... a bit of an exaggeration but ....

[andy222]

I will be staying in manila makati palace for 2 nights, My wife is coming up from mindanao to meet me. Then back home to Mindanao for 3 weeks. We will go to C.D.O for a couple of nights. Its the 5th time I have been to the phils. We went to boacay twice, Bohol and cebu. Its a great country mate. I love it.

[grahamw48]

Great trip report Dave !

Reminds me a lot of my recent holiday there.

To answer your question about hotel rooms...yes, the price is for the room you'll be relieved to know, and 2 people sharing is fine. . Manila to Subic (Olongapo actually) is about 3 hours with a stop-off at the services for food and loos, but an interesting journey.

Congratulations on your engagement !

The province is totally different to Manila of course ( like comparing London to the Cotswolds etc), so well worth a stay there sometime.

[Rosie1958]

An interesting report and well written. Well done Dave and congratulations on your engagement!

[Doc Alan]

Thanks Dave for the photos, video, and write up
Congratulations on your engagement

[DeltaRomeo]

Thanks all for the congratulations and nice comments.

Hope you have a great trip Andy.. I remember reading the FCO Advisory before I left.. Mindanao.. dangerous place, steer clear!.. not that good a write up for the Philippines in general though. It makes me wonder though what the advice would be regarding travel to the UK, some of the crime here is frightful, just today for example .. the local news - 4 year old boy stabbed by man... clearly a danegerous place and not recommended to bring children to Oxfordshire!!

Thanks for the info Graham, I don't fancy a 6hour round trip each day.. further than I imagined. I am thinking that I will stay in Manila again for the beginning of my next visit and then maybe honeymoon in Subic.

[stevie c]

You summed it up pretty well Dave. The phils has that magnetism. Once you have been you want to continue going back. Roll on 5 weeks time.

Same here Andy roll on 8 weeks for me i cant wait

[grahamw48]

Thanks all for the congratulations and nice comments.

Hope you have a great trip Andy.. I remember reading the FCO Advisory before I left.. Mindanao.. dangerous place, steer clear!.. not that good a write up for the Philippines in general though. It makes me wonder though what the advice would be regarding travel to the UK, some of the crime here is frightful, just today for example .. the local news - 4 year old boy stabbed by man... clearly a danegerous place and not recommended to bring children to Oxfordshire!!

Thanks for the info Graham, I don't fancy a 6hour round trip each day.. further than I imagined. I am thinking that I will stay in Manila again for the beginning of my next visit and then maybe honeymoon in Subic.

Probably nicer places to Honeymoon.
I'm sure plenty of suggestions will be forthcoming.