In Asia now, seeking travel input

[robert angel]

A taxi driver doesn't make a whole lot of money over there and you'd be surprised at the deals some guys will offer for a long trip--hiring a cab by the day. Where you can lose a 'bargain' deal is if you agree to pay for the driver's meals. We went to lovely Eden Gardens, a ways outside of Davao City and said 'yes' we'd pay for the driver's meals. That guy had quite an appetite for the good stuff and it being a spot that a lot of tourists frequent, the food tab really added up!

I'd  ask a few cabbies and compare airfare to renting a cab by the day just to see what the difference in cost and time involved is. Road travel certainly isn't the same there as in many more developed nations and you might get more worn out traveling via road than by flying some puddle jumping prop plane. Less check points in flying too, especially about this time.

[Cigano]

OK, so I'm booked in Davao until Jan. 4. But I made the bookings in approx. 4 day chunks, so I can still make cancellations or modifications. I found more options (and cheaper ones) on Agoda.com, but still nothing in CDO. I'm going to go tomorrow instead of the next day, possibly losing one night's hotel $, but I'm bored stiff here. In Davao I'll be going from an in-town hotel to a beachside resort and back. If anyone hears of vacancies in CDO, Dumaguete, or General Santos please let me know. Thanks for your input so far.

[robert angel]

Cigano,

In Davao, if you're looking for a a nice, small souvenir, you might want to stroll along San Pedro street and check out several of the sidewalk merchants selling coins and precious metal. I have picked up several of the lovely 1907 one peso coins, which were minted in the USA and have a lovely lady on one side and a really well rendered American eagle on the other.

San Pedro street is interesting in it's own right and late at night after the stores have closed, the nature of what ''for sale' is very different! Davao is one of few cities where I don't feel scared to death to walk around late at night and you can usually find someplace to grab something good to eat anytime.

I have actually paid less for the coins than the melt down value of the silver! There's a jeweler almost across from the Galleria Hotel (not a bad place to stay and reasonable)  who will custom make a  fluted bezel holder (again for an unbelievable price)  so you can wear it as a pendant.

Oddly--the same guys selling old Filipino silver on the cheap sell things like early 1970's Kennedy half dollars for far more than their actual worth.

Not to knock CDO, but if time was an issue, I'd check out Bohol first. You might find it easier to fly from Bohol back to CDO, but flight routes are kind of spotty over there--a lot of people go with the Super Ferries instead.

[robert angel]

Forgot to mention--those 1906-1907 one peso coins are almost the size of an old US silver dollar--they make nice medalions and some are in really good condition. silver's about $16+ an ounce now and those US minted, Philippine currency coins are probably at least 4/5ths of an ounce each and 90% pure. Very lovely as well.

I collect RP currency from the 1800's --during the Spanish  occupation, then the US occupation, the Japanese occupation and post independence occupation money. The RP tends to change their coins and money rather frequently and some of the really not so old coins aren't even legal tender! If you're nice, sometimes banks will give you the old, obsolete coins. My wife's old boarding house has chairs they glued 1000's of old, useless coins to (one of her house mates worked in a bank), but most Filipinos I've met have little interest in the old currency--it just doesn't have any usefulness for them. They'd take an old jeepney leaf spring and make a bolo knife out of it, but old coins you can't spend?--not much interest there.

It's weird how around 1900, General Douglas MacArthur's dad was also a general and was in charge as tens of thousands of Filipinos were killed by US troops when they resisted US occupation after we 'won' the Philippines from the Spanish by way of the Spanish American War.

Douglas MacArthur of WWII fame is revered there with almost religious fervor, with RP streets and whole areas bearing his name, but very little is said about the hurting his father helped put upon the Philippine resisters. How soon we forget!

[Ray]

“The main attraction in Cebu is the females. You need a tour guide...”

Hmm. The same could be said about Guadalajara, Mexico. It's $300, four hours, and no jet lag away from home, and I have a very good tour guide there.

Cig,

I guess you could also make the same case for Tijuana...or Chula Vista.   

And I agree that the big malls can be boring. I think most Filipinos go there to escape the heat and humidity.

I’m not sure what you are looking for in the PI. I thought it was to meet some ladies and see if you like Filipinas(?)

Or are you more interested in doing the standard tourist stuff on your own? If so, then I don’t think you will enjoy CDO, Dumaguete, or Davao. Manila and the island of Luzon would be your best bet.

If you want to learn a little about the culture and the women, you will need to hook up with a woman (or 2, or 3) and spend some time interacting with Filipinos in their basic environment. I personally think the best place to do that is not in the larger cites, but out in the provinces (rural areas), where the true Filipino culture and hospitality will be much more evident.

If you can meet a lady or 2 who are willing to show you some of the more out-of-the-way places, I think you would find that much more fulfilling than hanging around the larger hotels and McDonalds’s restaurants.

I’m sure there are some nice ladies who would enjoy a few days vacation traveling around and playing tour guide with all expenses paid. What about that tall babe at the airport? Did you get her number? 

Ray

[Cigano]

 So I was in Cebu for a couple of days and didn't really like it. I love the fact that unlike Thailand the air is very clean, so I can go jogging again. But where I was in Cebu it was a nice hotel near a nice mall but outside of that it didn't really look walkable or joggable. The overall vibe I got at the mall was that I was one of dozens of white guys hanging around, thus old hat for the ladies.

 Yesterday before I left there was a mixed family having breakfast at the table next to me in the hotel. She was a cute little thing. I swear, that guy's gut was bigger than her whole body, but it was obvious from her body language, she was in love with him. Good for them, they both got what they wanted. :-)

 I got to Davao yesterday and it seems a lot better. I was at the swanky hotel downtown last night, and when I arrived just after noon I went out to find a place to eat. There are several restaurants in the hotel, but expensive and I wanted to go out and eat what the locals eat. The area around the hotel was walkable, and I didn't make it two blocks before a couple of girls were hitting on me. I sat down and had a Coke with them, and they recommended a basic restaurant a block away. I went in there for some fried fish and rice, and had a few people come around to check me out, since apparently they don't get too many foreigners. Another customer came in, a 20 y.o. Chinese/Filipina girl, and she was giving me the eye so I started chatting with her and sat at her table. That's when I noticed she had a stud through her tongue, which I hear is pretty kinky :-). She invited me to go to her tech school to meet her friends and professors, so we went there together in a taxi. After about an hour there, with her showing a lot of interest in me in terms of body language, I got a little restless because I wasn't that attracted to her. I knew if I didn't do something she'd be on me like a barnacle for the rest of my time here, so I said I was tired and needed to go back to my hotel, mentioning the 12 hour time-zone difference which by now was a little white lie. So she went back with me in the taxi, scrunched up against me, and by the time we got back to the hotel I had to turn her down twice because she wanted to go up to my room with me.

 After a nap, I went out for dinner a couple of blocks away at a place where the locals eat, and had blue marlin on one of those sizzling hot plates. On the way there, I passed a pawn shop with a very cute girl behind the glass barrier inside. We made eye contact three times by the time I got past her shop, and I was going to stop in and introduce myself, but it seemed a little awkward with the armed security guard standing right there, who for all I know had the hots for her. Maybe I should have anyway. Well, Davao was a great recommendation and I'm glad I came.

 I'm now across town at a different hotel across from a strip mall, with at least ten restaurants within walking distance. One reason I wanted to come to the PI was to look at martial arts studios to do some intensive training for a couple of months sometime, since my work schedule at home doesn't allow me to sign up somewhere and then show up week after week. Turns out that one of the schools I'm interested in is right across the street and I'm going to contact the instructor tomorrow and see what we can work out on a future visit. This school does Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and boxing, so maybe I could alternate and do both. I'll probably look at some Kali/Escrima schools too.

 What do you guys think I should do about the street kids that hit me up for money here? Give them money? Give them food? Ignore them so as not to encourage them? I was thinking of making a deal with the kids outside my hotel, giving them 100 pesos apiece if they promise to leave me alone for a week. But something tells me while they would readily agree to the first half of that deal, they'd quickly forget the second half. Their interest in me seems to be fading a bit already, now that they've pegged me for a stiff, so maybe that's the right approach. If there was a local charity taking care of street kids, I could go give them some money that they could use to actually help the kids.

[robert angel]

Cigano,
Have you eaten at Banoks? We eat at the one across from People's Park--by the Apo View Hotel. Very consistent local food/service and a bargain too. It's mostly Italian food, but Pico Bello, on top of the South Mall is good and across the street, Dencios South has good, slightly upscale local 'cuisine'.

Don't forget to check out the restaurants at Jack's Ridge--especially at night. The view from up there is great and it's a real treat--and a romantic date--for the locals. If you go to Paradise Beach, try the paella. It takes forever for them to prepare it, but that's because they do it the correct, old fashioned way. While you wait, laying back on a recliner, watching the clouds float by Mount Apo volcano--the highest mountain--volcano in the RP is a nice thing to do. The water's really pretty there too. Davao City certainly isn't huge and actually feels a lot smaller than it's large population, but what it lacks in size, it certainly makes up for that in charm. The people just seem nicer and even a bit more innocent than in some bigger cities. I've always been with one gal there, but I've heard a number of guys say Davao has the healthiest and cleanest gals in Asia.....

[Cigano]

I took the boat out to Paradise Island today, but hadn't eaten yet so I ordered lechon instead of paella. They said the paella takes an hour and fifteen minutes to prepare, and I wanted to try lechon anyway. I used to live in Valencia, Spain, where they invented paella, so I'm pretty particular about it. If you go to Spain, seriously, don't judge paella based on any you find outside of the city or province of Valencia; chances are it was made in a factory in Barcelona, shipped frozen, and heated up in the microwave before being served to you, which is like going to Italy and getting a microwaved pizza. So if it takes over an hour to make it here, that's a good sign! I'm going to take one of your other suggestions for dinner.

 Also, when I went to take the boat over, it was 15 pesos per person, 7 person minimum, or 100 pesos to charter it and go. There was one couple on board already, and no one else arriving, so I paid the 70 peso remainder and off we went. I offered to take a picture of the two of them together and we got to talking, and it turns out she works as a tour guide in General Santos, so she's going to look into finding me a hotel room down there. Looks like I might get to go there after all!

[stevjulietb]

Ciggie...have you tried crispy pata?  I had it about 5 times on our last trip.  The best was at Bohol tropics in tagbilaran.  We ate at an open air resturaunt, complete with singer and a band. We had about 12 people in our party and the bill was under $80.00.  You can check it out on the web

Steveb

[Dave H]

If you want to learn a little about the culture and the women, you will need to hook up with a woman (or 2, or 3) and spend some time interacting with Filipinos in their basic environment. I personally think the best place to do that is not in the larger cites, but out in the provinces (rural areas), where the true Filipino culture and hospitality will be much more evident.

If you can meet a lady or 2 who are willing to show you some of the more out-of-the-way places, I think you would find that much more fulfilling than hanging around the larger hotels and McDonalds’s restaurants.


Ray

Hey Ray,

I agree! The best places to learn about Philippine culture and meet some fine ladies is in the smaller cities and rural areas, unless one is into "social" ladies trying to look and act like AW'S. If one is into morena (brown) beauties, it is doubtful that many will be found working in fancy malls, resorts, hotels (maybe as maids) or at the airport, especially in big cities. "Beauty" is often an important requirement to obtain a decent job in the Philippines, especially jobs dealing with the public (including some nursing jobs). The Philippine standard of beauty for women includes "flawless" (light skin) and height. Check out the aisles full of skin lightening soaps and lotions at the mall. There are no morena ladies working at my McDonalds (small city) and few at the mall. Those who were brown have bleached, scrubbed off layers of skin (some look raw), and applied white makeup. Morena Filipinas at the mall are usually customers, many of whom are married to or dating foreigners and their family members. Often I see OSW's that lighten their skin (many use pills) and their brown skinned children.

Dave

[piglett]

man what is up with this skin color thing
that's crazy



piglett

[william3rd]

light skin is the top of the food chain in Thailand. Means you arent a farmer or have a need to work outside. Malls are full of skin lighteners and abrasives just like Dave posts. There are other things involved in dark skin as well. . .

[Dave H]

RP launches Tribal Olympics
By Ding Cervantes (philstar.com) Updated August 22, 2009 12:00 AM


Jerwin Sibal, an Aeta from Angeles City, shows off his skills in archery, one of the events in the tribal games.



CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – Aeta athletes started yesterday eliminations for the national competition of tribal communities, which is envisioned to lead to international games or a so-called indigenous Olympics.

The tryouts were held in preparation for the national tribal games dubbed MAD, which stands for Mangyan, Aeta and Dumagat indigenous peoples, which will be held here in November.

“We hope to coordinate with the sports officials of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries so that by next year, it’s going to be an international sports event that we would like to institutionalize,” said Guy Hilbero, chief of the tourism department of Mabalacat, Pampanga.

The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB), the Philippine Soft Tennis Association (PSTA), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Mabalacat Tourism Office organized the MAD tribal games.

Hilbero said the tribal athletes competed in archery, spear throwing, and barefoot races.


He said 50 Aeta athletes, clad in their traditional bahag (g-string) (my kind of people!), from the slopes of Mt. Pinatubo in Pampanga and Tarlac participated in the elimination round held at the picnic grounds in the Clark freeport.

“I prepared for this at home. I hope to be chosen for the national competition in November, then perhaps in the coming years, the international games will be held in other countries so we can go abroad,” archery participant Jerwin Sibal said in Filipino.

Sibal, 15, is a resident of Barangay Sapang Bato, Angeles City.

Bert Sevilla, 53, of Mabalacat, Pampanga, said this is the first sports event ever to be organized to preserve the traditional skills and culture of indigenous peoples.

“Our young folk no longer know how to use arrows and spears. They now just sell them as souvenirs,” he said.

The elimination rounds for Mangyans would be held in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro on Sept. 18 while the tryouts for Dumagats will be held in General Nakar, Quezon.

“We hope to include other indigenous peoples in the future,” Hilbero said.

The athletes would later compete at the national games in Clark Freeport on Nov. 6.

The POC will provide umpires and a technical group to record the competitions, Hilbero said.

Organizers said three athletes per team would participate in archery and spear throwing, and six members per team in the barefoot races.

Archery will be conducted in standing, squatting or kneeling positions, with each athlete shooting three arrows at targets 10 meters away.

Each athlete will also be allowed to throw three spears and the winner will be the one who hurls the spear farthest.

Hilbero said the sports events would also include tribal cultural presentations.

“The project has as its objective the projection of the cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples,” he said.

He also said that PSTA president Jeff Antonio Tamayo Jr. is set to hold meetings with sports officials of ASEAN governments to prepare for a bigger international tribal games next year, hopefully to be hosted by the Philippines.

“Apart from preserving the cultural heritage of tribal folk, this endeavor will also promote tourism,” he said, adding that in Malaysia the Orang Asli tribes consist of 19 ethnic sub-groups that also include Negritos.

Tamayo said he wants to institutionalize the sports competitions for the indigenous tribes and turn it into a form of Olympics.

“It’s not just preserving their culture and traditions, but also for us to learn from them their respect for the environment and their joyful simplicity that those of us stressed out in the city can learn from,” he said.

He said that the same sports categories would probably be adopted at the international level, since indigenous peoples in other countries are also known to have such skills.

[robert angel]

Never mind the old TV program "The Wide World of Sports" "Spanning the globe--Bringing us the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat" --'the feet' in this case--We now have "The WILD" World of Sports"--and thanks to our loyal sponsor--DAVE!

And now--back to our earlier programming remember my Irish and Italian immigrant grandparents commenting how when they came to the, anyone with any sort of tan, sunburn or dark skin was looked down upon as someone who by necessity obviously had to do physical work outside and was likely low class and with little education.

So weird how things have changed, with white AW women paying $100's to go to tanning booths, while in many parts of Asia, they'll still go to endless lengths and expense to make their skin lighter.

When my wife goes back home, someone invariably asks her why her skin is a bit darker than it was back in the RP, although she stays out of the sun--I can't even get her to the pool and at the beach, she stays under the umbrella the whole time.

Sort of a dicey subject here, but in many places world wide, there's a stupid pecking order where people with the lightest skin tend to try and look down on the darker ones. Often in terms of political power and economic wealth, the lighter the skin, the more of both they're likely to have. This sad fact extends to Asia, Spain, Mexico, Central and South America to name but a few areas.

Whether it's simple (perceived) beauty, height, the shape of one's nose or many other physical features, it seems people just have to find something in other people to put down to make themselves feel better about themselves, no matter how mean and baseless.

I actually thought the Oompa Loompas were pretty good looking--but nonetheless, Wonka got to run the whole show!!

[Dave H]

When my wife goes back home, someone invariably asks her why her skin is a bit darker than it was back in the RP, although she stays out of the sun--I can't even get her to the pool and at the beach, she stays under the umbrella the whole time.

Hey Rob,

Oh yeah...another typical jealous insult!   Somehow, they expect that wants you touch US soil you magically turn into a white person. Another is, "You don't look like you have been to America!" Of course if you flaunt it and pretend to be wealthy, they will talk about you still and ask to "borrow" money.  

When my mother-in-law was in the US, I used to tease her about getting her a membership at a tanning salon.   She couldn't believe such establishments existed (even in Florida)!

Here I am with some Mamanwa (means “First Forest Dwellers”) that passed by the house today. Their ancestors are considered by many to be the first inhabitants of the Philippines (before the Aetas), having arrived 30,000-50,000 years ago. They are very nice, peace-loving people (unlike me!).   This particular group (especially the boy) appear to be mixed with some Malay, as they are rather tall (except grandma) and somewhat lighter skinned. They are from a less isolated area than others I have met. We communicated using sign language. One lady signed that my 500 watt halogen floodlight (motion sensor) is bright like the sun. She saw it last night when she passed by and it startled her. When my wife came out, they were able to communicate pretty well in one or more of the Visayan languages.

Dave

[Jeff S]

Hey Dave - I can tell Grandma thinks you're hot in your black "wife-beater" tee shirt. I see you're getting plenty of local action - Hubba hubba.  Sign language, I'm sure.....

[Dave H]

Hey Jeff,

That would be the one day I am wearing my black "wife-beater" around the house. I had to start wearing  "wife-beaters" under my shirts to help absorb all of the sweat. I wish I'd had time to puton my barong tagalog.  After Algore melts all of the snow, tell him that we still believe in global warming here. 

Dave

[robert angel]

In light of the in depth coverage of areas of more immediate interest, (including amazing pictures) as well as coverage more global ones on this website, we're cancelling our National Geographic subscription!

[Bear]

I did that over ten years ago!!!

The USA is in the mist of one of its worst winters in recent history and we have a new "El-nino".  Its snowed in Houston three times in 4 years (NEVER OCCURED BEFORE IN KNOWN RECORDED HISTORY) but we are in the middle of Global Warming.  Additionally recent studies show that 'yes' the glaciers are melting but from the ground heating up from increased seismic activity in the earth (note all the earthquakes and volcanoes).   And I can send you to a site where 31,000 scientist say its all a big scam and they say "global warming" because they'll lose FUNDS FOR their government supported research if they don't.

This is solely for the purpose of transferring power from the governments of the world to the UN and the redistribution of wealth without going through things like the constitutional challenges.

The Bear Family

[Cigano]

 Bear: I'm happy to notice that more and more people are catching on to what you know about AGW.

 I found a martial arts school in Davao, so this is where I'm staying for the rest of my vacation. The owner is the highest-ranking practitioner of his art nationally, and agreed to give me an intensive short course for a very reasonable price. He's also been very hospitable overall, inviting me to the school's Christmas party, offering to take me sightseeing, taking me to Christmas Mass tonight, and I'll spend Christmas with him and his family, going out somewhere to distribute food to needy children and visit mental patients who have been abandoned by their families. He's also brought up the idea of finding me a nice lady if I'm interested, and has some ideas on what to look for and what to avoid. Coming to Davao was a great idea; in general the people have been very nice and hospitable.

 I've been to Banok's by the People's Park a couple of times, but haven't found crispy pata yet. Banok's is definitely a place where the locals eat, and it's funny how much I get stared at there, being the only white guy. Going to chain restaurants like Dim Sum Diner or Pancake House, not so much, maybe because they're more middle class and/or they see more foreigners there. With the prices at some of those places, I don't know how many of the locals can afford them.

[Bear]

Davao is where my wife is from and her family lives now.  She has three brothers and one sister still at home.  Lots to see and do in Davao.  Have fun.  I stayed at Marbella Mansion (1375p/night credit, 975p/night cash - full accommodations.  It was walking distance from 2 malls, city hall, Roxas Blvd and my church. My wife has a few hundred friends there as well so how long are you staying.

The Bear Family

[Cigano]

I'll be here until the second week of January. I'm moving today to a new hotel downtown to be near the school.

[robert angel]

Not knowing which school or where, it's hard to recommend a hotel nearby, but the Hotel Galleria is pretty close to most places and is clean and reasonable. I imagine you've heard from the locals how nice Jacks Ridge and it's various places to eat especially at night. It's kind of a bit too 'touristy' for my tastes, but I always treat special friends and family to a visit there and we (especially they) enjoy it. For a romantic nature outing, Eden Gardens is a nice day trip.

[Cigano]

I just left the RP after about three and a half weeks. The karate thing in Davao looked like it was going to go well, but the guy had a problem sticking to our simple 1-2 agreement about what he was going to teach me and for how much. We had a problem with "mission creep", where his agenda kept getting broader and more involved, in ways that meant using me as an ATM in the short term and setting things up for bigger self-serving paydays down the road, so since trust was breached I bailed and went to Cagayan de Oro for a few days and now am back in Singapore. I had several hours' layover in Cebu yesterday and spent it at one of the beachside resorts, which was really nice.

 There was a pedophile (a foreigner) staying at my hotel in CdO with what looked like a 12 y.o. boy. I talked to a police officer at the airport about it on the way out, but was surprised at how indifferent and hostile he was, like he thought it was none of my business. Fortunately I had enough time to take a taxi back downtown to the police station, where they were more receptive to hearing me. I had tried googling age-of-consent laws for the RP, and didn't find a definitive answer, but was surprised to find that in one interpretation (might be an old, obsolete law) the age of consent is 12, unless there are other factors involved that would suggest coercion or abuse of authority (e.g. a teacher). This dude was at *least* twice as big as the boy, so a physical-intimidation factor was a possibility; I had to say something and urge them to look into it to make sure the boy was of legal age and not in the situation against his will.

Anyway, my conclusion is, I can see why guys go to the RP, but it isn't for me at all. There isn't much about the culture that attracts me, the poverty is a bit too strong for my taste, and though I'm generally an open-minded and adventurous eater, overall I really don't care for Filipino food. There certainly are some nice, pretty women there, but I don't have the slightest desire to return once, let alone once a year or whatever, traveling 30 hours across 14 time zones to a country I'm not into. I'll even say I don't really even find Asian women all that appealing anymore since this trip began, something I never thought I'd say. I wanted to come to Asia at least once to see what it's like, and I'm more than ready to check that box and get the heck out of here. I've got a few days in Singapore until my scheduled flight, which I'll spend in my hotel room finishing up my French grammar book, then I'm off to South America, a continent I really do love, until Spring.

Thanks again to all of you for your input, and good luck to all in your search.

[Ray]

Good luck to you also!

And thanks for taking the time and trouble to notify the police. I think more people should get involved...

Ray