Thanks for the comments everyone. Follows is another highly interesting, insightful account of stuff wot I can remember. Weather still nice, though it rained heavily last night, but the suns out this morning and I still look like a shrimp. Been to the local market in Calbiga which meant a 0530am wake up (I thought I was supposed to be on holiday!!).
Price of major things brought so far:
Samsung 32” Led TV series 4 4003 model with “free” Samsung HT-D330K bluray player with 5.1 surround sound = 24,000peso. There are 3 similar models of this between 21,000 & 27,000. I got this one as the cheapest was out of stock. In Tacloban I found a difference of about 4500peso between 3 stores, one local, the other Robinsons and the last was the Samsung shop (this is where I got it from) in the Robinson mall.
Condura fridge / freezer CTD260MN 238 litres. 18,000peso, 15500peso after discount.
Super king (bloody massive, so much so the king size bedding we brought from the UK doesn’t fit!!) size bed with mattress and 2 side tables. 48,000peso, 42500 with discount. I was worried about this one as her sister got this before we arrived. We went to the store in Tacloban when we arrived and even though there where cheaper beds this was the cheapest of the good quality ones so it should last a good few years. It better bloody do is all I can say!!
In general we’re paying skilled workers (carpenters etc) about 300peso /day. Others (painters, water boys etc) 200peso / day. In with this are 3 meals / day plus snacks and beer. This is now starting to cost me quite a bit and am now glad that the vast majority of workers finish today so I can get some peace and they stop empting my fridge of san mig bottles!! They all seem to think (including the wife sometimes) that I’m a bottomless pit of money. Discounting spending money this holiday I’ve sent about 7 grand over here this year!!!!!
Observations whilst in the province:
The main one so far is if family and “friends, distant relatives etc” are within 100 yards of your house they will hang about until you feed them at least twice during the day. Its even worse when they find out you’ve got a TV, even though we’ve not got cable or even a ariel hooked up! Not so bad if those are working for you on the house but those that just come for a look and then stay 8 hours are starting to wind me up!
A lady has just turned up to measure for curtains (the first I’ve heard of it!) and she’s been here nearly an hour, not looked at any windows, just sat down, peeled a couple of shrimp which now entitles her to lunch I dare say.
The flip side is if we go out grocery shopping and take a couple of them (sisters etc) and offer them a snack and drink or something similar then they go all shy and coy!!!
Why do they insist on having plug in power supplies for electric showers within 18 inches of the f**king shower head. The thing isn’t even earthed!!!!! I’m fed up trying to explain it. The “electrician” was going to earth it to the plastic pipe that supplies the water!!!
Any idea of a budget just forget it. Our bed and fridge was brought before we got here but we’ve already gone through nearly £2000!! To be fair a lot of that is due to house refurb and workers wages, but then again I was told the house was nearly ready. Like ...... it is!! I’m told that after this a lot of expense will decrease as the house bar a bit of yearly maintenance should last for 5-7 years.
Realise that nearly everything I’ve said or wanted for this house has been on the whole ignored.
I seem to have written a lot of negatives here which I suppose is going to be the way as I have to adjust to the way of life out here. On the whole it isn’t bad, we’re literary in the middle of no-where (its about half an hour by banka boat to the nearest main road then about 1 hour to tacloban) so its peaceful, apart from the hammering and sawing and screaming kids and dogs barking. The air is clean, the view is nice, I basically don’t have to lift a finger and as long as there isn’t a brown out I’ve got cold beer.
