Preparation for A Visit to the Philippines

[ginapeterb]

Preparing for a Visit to the Philippines !!!


What should you do before going ??

What should you take ??

How Much money will it Cost ??

What is it like when i arrive ??

What can I expect when I meet a Filipina ?

How should I act with her ??

[ginapeterb]

So you got to this topic ok....and you would like an insight into the preparation for the Philippines...also you might like to have some pre-arrival advice on what happens when you arrive in the Philippines and it would probably help you if you are in the right frame of mind for your arrival at Ninoy Acquino International Airport.

Trust me when i tell you that landing in the Philippines and then making your way through immigration and baggage collection..then coming out of the airport to see the masses of Filipinos that are outside...is quite frankly a cultural shock....its not like Londons Heathrow or Gatwick or Manchester etc...which you may be used to...so a little help in what to expect will make you hardened a little to what you will see...hahahaha wait until you get there...you will know what I mean....so I will spend some time answering the questions above in this topic.

[ginapeterb]

What should you do before leaving UK ?

Well perhaps you might like to get some information about the Philippines.

A good thing to do is to do a little research on the internet...perhaps look at maps of the Philippines..get a basic understanding of the main islands..the main cities..and the area you are ultimately travelling to...if its Mindanao the largest island to the south...then Forum Admin is familiar with this island and can help you...if its Visaya...I can help you with that...especially if its..Negros and surrounding islands...if its to the North...in Luzon..then look around the internet.

Then start to think about what you will need....for example there are some essential items you should take to make your vacation courtship in the Philippines a lot easier than it has been for others who went before you.

I have made a small list for anyone who wants to go.and its a list for British Guys who make this trip....ok

So.....what should you take with you in your Baggage...one word of caution..try to take 1 large peice of Baggage with all your things in..then a small holdall for the aircraft and to carry your emergency essentials which I will talk about shortly.

Essentials

1. Toilet Paper (moist if possible) 1 Box at least
2. Sun Shades
3. Flip Flops
4. Shorts..Slacks..cotton shirts..shoes...
5. Sun Bloc
6. Moisturizing Lotion
7. Lip Balm
8. Mosquito Repellant
9. Digital Camera and Baterries charger...SD Card..Xd card, MMC Smartmedia card...Film...etc etc.
10. Money Belt
11. Money...(not travellers cheques)
12. Shorts cotton...plenty of spares..for swimming..walking around in...its hot.
13. Shaving cream..razor..wet toiletries
14. Books to read on long flight.
15. Anti-Dhiorrea medicine
16. Salt Tablets
17. Any other Medications you take in UK...take them with you...and extra if needed.
18. A Small first aid kit. (Very good idea)
19. Saline pods (for treating infection and washing a cut or bite) (very useful) (Consult a Pharmacist about this)
20. Innoculations against Hepatitis A



To be honest lists can always be added to...and when making a list...its for the things we can think of...but mainly its the thousands of situations that we cannot think of...but the above list is helpful and alot of it...will save you aggravation...especially if you get bitten by something....or you get Glorias revenge..which you will 100 per cent get on day 1.

Glorias revenge has already been covered in other areas of the forum...but dietary and water changes will effectively mean your internal system will immedeatly cause you to be on the toilet on a more frequent basis...anti-dihorrrea medicine such as Immodium needs to be taken straight away....on arrival in the Philippines in fact start taking it the minute you get to a hotel room...dont wait until 2 days after when it has kicked in...its hard to get rid of.

Ok you have a list of things... you have got those...you have done some preparation...check your passport is valid...you dont need a visa as you will get a 3 week visa automatically on arrival or 21 days.

Make sure you try and get Philippine Pesos before you go...these can be got at banks on special order...you can also get them at the airport....but its best to be prepared first before you go...travellers checks in US Dollars are ok...but hard to change..and when its hot in the Phils you dont want to be walking around Manila trying to get rid of them.

Buy your PHP here in UK as much as you can get....take a little UK Money for back up...but PHP is a must ok...it talks much better in the Phils.

[ginapeterb]

So How Much Money will it cost ?

Depending on what you actually want to do when you get to the Philippines can often determine how it affects your bank balance.

As the Philippines is much cheaper than just about anywhere else you can go...a general rule of thumb is that you need to take about £500.00 per week, although as I Can prove to you, its possible to go which half that amount and still get by, but it does depend very much on what sort of person you are, if you are a spender and like to spend money like their is no tomorrow, then the rough rule of thumb, is that you can have a good vacation in the Philippines for 3 weeks for about £2000.00.

You will probaly get a return flight to Manila or Cebu for some where between £395.00 through to £795.00 although seasonal differences, oil surcharges and routes, airlines do make a difference, if you are on a budget, you might try Quatar Airways, or Gulf, if you are not too worried and not particularly on a budget, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, even British Airways can get you to Manila.

If you are heading down to Cebu direct and bypassing Manila then Singapore Airlines and Silk Air will get you there from Singapore Changhi.

So you have proably already spent around £600 on a flight, now its time to think about your bduget.

My advice is always try to take a little more than you think you will need for back up or emergencies, I always keep around £400.00 just in case...but the amount is up to you, in general you will probably spend most of your vacation money on the following:

Hotel Accomodation
Eating out
Taxis
Entertainment
Gifts for your Filipina lady freind.

I have already covered Hotel Accomodation in other areas of the Forum (See Hotels in the Philippines in off topic section)

You can get Hotel Accomadation in the Philippines from Budget offerings to 4 star, my advice is if you are used to fairly good standard of accomadation, when you Arrive in Manila, just get the taxi driver to take you to the Intercontinental Hotel in Makati, its in a better part of Manila close to the Business District, and its opposite Glorietta the largest shopping mall in the area, plus their are nice restaraunts across the way, like Tony Roma, Outback mainly steak houses.

Intercon will cost you about 3500 per night which is about £35.00 just over, you can of course get less and I have shown that in the hoels guide.

You can eat fairly cheaply in the food court area on Glorietta 4, there are various fast food outlets, you should need about £25.00 a day for food, but then again you will probaly spend more, or less depending on how you like to eat.

You should also think about entertainment for example. you might want to take her to a resort, thats almost a certainty, so you will want to think about cost of that, your Filipina lady will advise you on the cost, they are pretty good at arranging accomodation for you, dont worry too much about credit cards, you can use them almost everywhere, but I find cash is better,

Also you might like to give some thought to your Filipina lady, you might want to buy her Pasalubong, (Pasalubong is mentioned in the forum under local customs)

Filipina's generally love clothes and jewellry, and mobile phones, if you really want to endear yourself to her, assuming she hasnt got one, put your hand in your pocket and buy her the latest camera Mobile phone, there are few contract phones in the Phils, so its not like here, you will have to shell out for the full price of it, but also there is a good tip here for you, if you do that, she can be in constant contact with you through text messaging, so its helpful to you too.

So I will repeat what I said earlier, "It aint cheap to court a Filipina" if you dont want to spend some of your hard earned cash, dont bother, because by the time you have courted her, made a few trips to the Philippines, shelled out for visits, gifts, package tours, clothes, jewellry, and the wedding, visa etc, you are in for a few grand.

Still interested.....hahahah read on !!!

[ginapeterb]

What will it be like when I arrive ?

I have discussed this in detail in other parts of the Forum so if you want to cross check some of this with other subjects please do so.


The point to note here, is that arrival in the Philippines can be quite daunting for many of us, it certainly was for me so dont think its only you, I found the whole experience quite hard to get used to, although maybe I didnt notice that at the time.

Why is this ?

The Philippines is a temperate climate, one thing you do notice immedeatly on leaving the terminal building at NAIA (This is Ninoy Acquino International Airport) is the temperature, and that in itself does put you on the back foot, the instant heat blast can in effect throw you off balance, although after a few days you do get used to the constant perspiring, your face is like a sweat bucket all day, your shirt feels like its stuck to you like superglue and your mouth and lips are dry.

So the Climate in itself is the main reason many of this are thown off balance.

The next thig to notice is the sheer weight of people around the airport terminal, Filipinos are not allowed into the airport building unless they have a ticket or a boarding pass, so most of them are outside in a communal area across the road, I know from my own experience there seem to be more Filiipinos per square yard out there than any other place in the country.

So when you leave the aircraft whats it like, well firstly depending on which gate you land at, you will walk down the corridor just like any other terminal building, then you will head for immigration.

You should have been given a landing card on the flight in to Manila or Cebu, I am talking here about Manila so imagine its more or less the same in Cebu, when you get to Immigration it should be a formality, hand your passport over and the landing card, and you should pass through fairly easily without any problems, you will receive a 21 day stamp in your passport, then you can head down to the baggage carousel, hahaha if you could call it that.

Assuming your bags are there later,,(good tip for you, dont rush to the baggage carousel, take your time, and if you are feeling nauseous, go to the gents toilets) which are located to the far left up ahead, your bags will be there, it just takes time for them to come out.

When you get your bags, take your time...head for the customs people at the end, and hand in your customs form, they are quite polite and will wave you through, then when you get ouf of the airport this is where my advice comes in handy.

Whatever you see outside, ignore, you will be deluged by taxi touts, people shouting, dont worry too much just a polite wave off of your arms and head out of the airport, down to the Meeting Point, this is a tunnel across the road where the taxis are parked, you should see it right in front of you, this is an area where people who are there to meet passengers can wait, they have a telelvision screen with all the flight arrivals on it, so she will known when your flight has landed.

Head down through the tunnel with your baggage in tow, and when you get through, look for painted letter on the floor that is the initial of your surname, just stand their for a few minutes and wait, dont get worried about, if she does not suddenly jump out and bite you,, hahahahaha its just that she has almost certainly seen you first before you have seen her, you will be surprised how easy you stand out, remember you are the foreighener, you stand out like a sore thumb.

You might be apprehensive at this point, if this is the first time you will see your Filipina lady, the second and third time you go, it will be different.

If you are apprehensive dont worry, its normal, its the far of the unknown that creeps in, for example what if ? what if ? she doesnt like me, she doenst turn up, it all goes through your mind, but trust me when I tell you, it all tends to be a laughing matter later on when you do eventually meet up.

By now, your Filipina lady freind should have picked you out of the crowd and will have come over to you, do yourself a favour, at this point, dont expect too much,
that isnt to say, that you wil fall into each others arms and walk off into the sunset, thats cool it can happen, but it might be the reverse, if that happens, it can ruin your vacation although my advice is to play it as it comes, sometimes you will find that after 2 days or so, things do start to blossom.

It all depends on the nature of your relationship, has it got that far, is it an affectionate relationship, or just a freindship, its unlikely you will have travelled to the Philippines if its not a romantic attachment, so I would proably expect her to be sweet on you, on arrival.

Well you made it....have a good time, if its a good time you want,, you went to the right place.

[ginapeterb]

What can I expect when I meet a Filipina ?


Hmmmm thats a hard one to answer, with a Filipina almost anything ?? hahaha

You should expect her to be very well spoken, charming, and loving, and very helpful, after all she knows its your first time in the Philippines, she will want to look after you and take care of you in a strange country.

She is well aware that you took the time to travel there just to see her, she will be over the moon about that, and flattered that you came all that way to be with her, thsi she will take very seriously, as if she is genuinely interested in a love relationship with a view to marriage, she will want to make your stay as comfortable and as enjoyable as it can be.

You can expect her to be very nice to you, she will want to take you around, she will want to go and eat, and probably will want you to take her shopping, although I am convinced you are not taking a filipina, she is taking you, and she will feel most proud to have you walking around with her, this almost appears to be a "Parade" process, its quite chic in the Philippines to have a westen boyfreind, dont be surpirsed if you get a few stares from Filipinos, its only that they are most probably admiring.

The main thing here to remember, is that a Filipina can be the most accomodating woman in the world, that is to say, that nothing is a problem for them, treating you like a man should be treated, comes natural, just go with the flow of things, and the way you treat her will be highly noticeable.

What can you expect from her ?

Anything provided you understand one thing, that she ony wants to be treated as you would expect to be treated yourself, enough said I think, enjoy it.

[ginapeterb]

How Should I act with A Filipina ?

There is only one answer to this question ! I would say its the best advice I can ever give, is act like a gentleman with her.

I have given this advice in other areas of the forum,but time and time again it needs to be said.

Just be yourself, be cool, and take your time, Filipinos are used to seeing "Kanos" slang for Americanos, or our U.S. Cousins, travelling to the Philippines, they dont always leave a good impression, so it kind of makes your job out there a little harder, although sometimes Filipinos dont make the distinction between the Yanks and the Brits, they see us all as "Kanos", although I havent seen that put to me as much as it has been written about, Filipinos do know there is a difference beteen us and the Yanks.

If you behave as a gentleman, it is noticeable, not just by your Filipina lady, but by hotel concerierges, clerks, restaraunt staff and many other people, the word soon travels around that you are a gentleman, and even at that an english gentleman.

So your reputation soon goes before you, and if you are a git in public, you kind of muddy the water for the rest of us who have to go back out there, so keep that in mind.

So what else is there ?

Do be polite to her
Do Compliment her
Do open the door for her
Do look after her as much as she looks after you, and work togther, you will be suprised how much you get on well, and hopefully if you adhere to these few guideleins you will have a successful courtship, and best of luck with it,, remember the most important thing to be, is yourself.

Best of luck if you need any advice or help, Forum moderators are here to help.

Go for it !!!!

[ginapeterb]

So how did that trip go to the Phils ?? how was it....did you have fun or did it turn into a disaster...hahahahaha well if you came back here maybe you propsoed marriage to your loved one..if you did...maybe its time to stop by the next section that might interest you..how to get a visa for your loved one....go to the section "How to obtain a UK Visa for a spouse/fiancee" good luck....mine is a Fosters and Lime by the way...if you want to buy me a drink.


Best of Luck


Pete and Gina