My Taguig City trip report

[Ray]

Hey kfc,

Are you thinking fiancée visa or are you going to plan a wedding over there?

If a K-1, there is some paperwork and stuff you will need to bring back with you.

Ray

[thekfc]

Hey kfc,

Are you thinking fiancée visa or are you going to plan a wedding over there?

If a K-1, there is some paperwork and stuff you will need to bring back with you.

Ray

I am planning a wedding over there. I plan to return to the Philippines in either late June or early July & will get married then.

[Dave H]

I am planning a wedding over there. I plan to return to the Philippines in either late June or early July & will get married then.

Hey the kfc,

I think you will be happy with that decision, I am sure your lady is! Things are also much cheaper in the Philippines and your lady probably has connections that can get an even better deal.  Good luck!

Dave

[thekfc]

Hey the kfc,

I think you will be happy with that decision, I am sure your lady is! Things are also much cheaper in the Philippines and your lady probably has connections that can get an even better deal.  Good luck!

Dave

I think so too. I have notice that the prices are way cheaper. While in the mall yesterday, I notice a diamond ring in one of the stores (I have seen the exact same one in NYC) - I went in to price it. The difference in price - almost $1000 here in The Philippines. Two of her sisters have connections - one with a church & the other with City Hall.

[thekfc]

Here begin my report on my views of the Philippines - it will take a few days to complete.

Transportation.

Tri-cycle (motorbike w/ modified cab):
Most people get around that way. There is a predetermined route/fare but some tricycles will take you to some locations not on the route.
I have rode it a few times - the bad thing about it is the fumes from the vehicles infront you will get in your face.

Jeepney:
I rode it twice. It is not as bad as the pics you see. The ones that I have seen there are no people riding on top or hanging on the side/back. There are also redetermined routes/fares.

I think that there are some place that both the Tri-cycle & jeepney are not allow to go.

Taxi:
There are meter cabs & not meter ones.The one I rode are mostly metered. For the non-metered ones, the fare is determined before you enter the cab. Most are air conditioned.

Buses/Trains:
I haven't taken a ride on either so I cannot comment. I will be taking a bus later this week when we travel to Pangasinan.

There are also a good amount of people who go around by motor bike.

For anyone who plan on driving in Manila - Don't - Leave it to the Local "professionals".
Driving looks crazy - Most places do not have traffic lights, vehicles making a left turn from the far right lane & vice versa, People crossing/walking in traffic (and highway) without being hit, vehicles making turns without having the right-of-way. but everything goes in sequence - traffic flow smoothly.

For most of the short distance places we go there by tri-cycle & the longer ones by taxi.

[Dave H]

Jeepney:
It is not as bad as the pics you see. The ones that I have seen there are no people riding on top or hanging on the side/back.

Hi thekfc,

We do things a bit differently in down in Mindanao! Two of my favorite things are logging motorcycles and Skylab.



Skylab


Jeepney




Logging truck speeding down the mountain

For anyone who plan on driving in Manila - Don't - Leave it to the Local "professionals".

Very good advice!!!     

[piglett]

Dave what happens when one of the questionable vehicles stops quickly ? the people fall off ?
Also i am not so sure i could get used to seeing their feet hanging down in front of my windshield it mite make me think i was in one of those "Mad Max" type of situations 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmf-HCCZYOg&feature=related


piglett

[Ray]

I am planning a wedding over there. I plan to return to the Philippines in either late June or early July & will get married then.

Good choice!

If you will be married in the Catholic Church, advance planning is important. Having connections with City Hall won’t help you but having someone with connections at the local parish church where you want to marry could be a big help. They should contact the parish office early to start the process.

How long will you be there for the wedding trip? I recommend a minimum of two weeks before the ceremony and at least a couple of weeks after for a nice honeymoon.

Remember that you will need to get the Affidavit of Legal Capacity to Marry from the US Embassy and then apply for the marriage license. There is a mandatory 10-day wait for the license to be issued and probably some required classes to attend, which can usually be expedited with good planning.

If you will have a traditional Filipino kasalan (wedding) then I know you’ll have a great adventure with many positive memories.

Ray

[Dave H]

Dave what happens when one of the questionable vehicles stops quickly ? the people fall off ?
Also i am not so sure i could get used to seeing their feet hanging down in front of my windshield it mite make me think i was in one of those "Mad Max" type of situations  

piglett

Hi piglett,

With the widespread bad driving, usual failure to obey traffic laws, lack of common sense when driving, lack of or failure to use safety devices, poor vehicle maintanence and repair, bad roads, lack of traffic signals or road sign (usually disobeyed anyway)...I am sure that many people are killed or seriously injured here all the time in traffic accidents. It usually doesn't seem to get much, if any news coverage unless it very gruesome, is a very slow news day (seldom), involves multiple casualties, or famous people. I usually only know about it when it involves someone we know or I see it when I am out. I am going to buy the loudest horn that I can find...probably the best safety device here! 

Dave

[Jeff S]

Hey Dave - how about a train horn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGYcnYLK_50

[Dave H]

Hey Jeff,

That's what I'm thinking of. Not to F' around with,  but to stop vehicles from running through the highway directly in front of my path. Train hornd were very common among Latinos in South Florida. Several of my ex-cousins (Cuban) had them on their SUV's. One had 9 air horns. That friggin' maricon loved to scare his elderly aunts and abuela at outdoor family parties at the park. I'm surprised one of them didn't have a heart attack!

In 2005 I put 2 very loud German electric horns on my little Suzuki truck here. Big buses and trucks used to stop in their tracks and not pull out in front of me when I blasted them. My brother-in-law said it was illegal and was embarrased to honk the horn whenever he drove the truck. I think he must have stuffed it with rags or something when I was away, because it is much quieter now. I will have to pull the horns out and check. I noticed that he added some kind of bizarre Euro siren...but has the damn speaker inside the cab.  I guess he doesn't want to offend anyone!  A big difference between Latinos and Filipinos!

Dave

[piglett]

Hey Dave - how about a train horn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGYcnYLK_50

HE HE HE  i like it , there guys have got it goin on


piglett

[piglett]

Hey Dave - how about a train horn:

Jeff i'll see your train horns & raise ya a couple of ship horns
are you in ??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiWNw0A1Ijg&feature=related



piglett

[thekfc]

Good choice!

If you will be married in the Catholic Church, advance planning is important. Having connections with City Hall won’t help you but having someone with connections at the local parish church where you want to marry could be a big help. They should contact the parish office early to start the process.

How long will you be there for the wedding trip? I recommend a minimum of two weeks before the ceremony and at least a couple of weeks after for a nice honeymoon.

Remember that you will need to get the Affidavit of Legal Capacity to Marry from the US Embassy and then apply for the marriage license. There is a mandatory 10-day wait for the license to be issued and probably some required classes to attend, which can usually be expedited with good planning.

If you will have a traditional Filipino kasalan (wedding) then I know you’ll have a great adventure with many positive memories.

Ray

Ray, I am not sure how long my second trip will be.
I already have the Affidavit Of Legal Capacity To Marry.  We went around town & stopped by the US Embassy, surprisingly there wasn't anyone in back area were they give out the Affidavit - so since I was already in the building I decided to get it. The other areas in the Embassy were packed. She also did the same on her end - she went to NSO to file for a Record of No Marriage. 
Since we have all the required documents, I was thinking of applying for the marriage license now so I will not have that much waiting time when I come back - but I notice that the marriage license is only good for 120 days & it will be longer than 120 days when I return - about 145 days. 

[thekfc]

I spent the past 3 days - Pangasinan (Umingan is Ahya home province) & Baguio City.
Her area in Pang is more of a farming area, very laid back - much much different from Manila. And the air is cleaner. I saw & visited the rice fields, corn fields & a few other plantations. While there we visited Hundred Islands park.

Then we went to Baguio City -  a beautiful city. There wee a few nice houses & areas. It is a place I would not mind living in - if it was NOT on a mountain. With all those winding narrow roads, the bus drivers drive like they are on low ground - I see a few bus drivers ahead o us overtake vehicles going around a curve  . One miscalculation & it is a few thousand feet to the bottom.
While in Baguio I visited the strawberry Fields - we picked some berries.
We had lunch at The Good Taste Cafe & Restaurant - very good food, the sweet & sour chicken is much better that what I am used to. We paid about 930 pesos ($30) for 5 hungry people - 3 different kind of chicken, rice, drinks, soup & deserts.

Then we went on to Mansion House -  residence of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
Mines View Park - it gives you a magnificent view of the surrounding mountain ranges.
 
Before we left we visited Wright Park & Burnham Park. We decided not to ride the boat at Burnham Park - the lake was crowded.

Then we decided to cut our trip to Baguio short as it was getting dark & headed back to Manila.

[thekfc]

My take on the food.
I have been sampling a lot of the food. There are a lot of like & dislikes. I do not remember the names of most of the food but I would know a few of them by sight.

As for eating - There are times that I feel like I just ate a cow but to Ahya & her family, the meal is not over until we eat rice.

There are a lot of "western" restaurants here: Wendy's, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, KFC, Applebee's, etc,. But I didn't eat in most of the them but I notices that most of them served rice - including Wendy's & Mickey D's.

I do enjoy eating at Jollibee's - a good fast food restaurant.

That multi-colored looking snack called Halo-Halo is very good & tasty.

Taho - yuk.
Pancit - didn't care for it, maybe I had a bad batch.
Ginataan - good but too sweet for me.
Maruya,  Lumpia, Turron, Pinakbet, Tinola, Pork Sinigang, Milkfish, Tilapia, Kare-Kare, chicken adobo, pork adobo, pork dinuguan, bibingka - All MASARAP.

[thekfc]

A few pics.

[thekfc]

[thekfc]

In a Native costume in Mines View Park


 Lunch at The Good Taste Restaurant
   
 
Picking Strawberries in Strawberry Fields - Baguio City

[thekfc]

One of the many colorful jeepneys
 

The view from Baguio City
 

At the American Cemetery & Memorial

[thekfc]

Say cheeze

[thekfc]

Let me continue with my report. Uploading pics will take a little while as I have to resize them.

The Climate:
Manila is hot, dry & polluted. Whenever you come I would recommend investing in some Jojoba oil/lotion or any of you favorite lotion or moisturizer. You skin will get dry. Outside of Manila was nice & breezy - cool air from the sea or mountains. I would also advice to drink plenty of fluids as you will get dehydrated quick walking around in the hot air. Bottle water / Gatorade. Just about every store sells Gatorade or their version of it.

[thekfc]

Shopping:
Just about every "western" brand is available here in Manila. I even came across stores like Armani Exchange, Addidas, Nike, Tag Heuer, etc.

There are also "western food brands" - Coke, Pepsi, 7 UP, sprite, RC Cola, Tropicana, Corn Flakes, cocoa puffs, etc, I was happy to see different Florida Natural Juices. I got me a few of the Cranberry Juice cocktail & also Grapefruit Juice. As I do not drink regular soda, I looking for Ginger Ale but there is none to be found.

One thing that I notice in most of the "upper brand" stores which I didn't really care for is that most of the sales ladies are buried in make-up. Their natural beauty are all covered-up. Most of them are dressed the same way, same hair style - just the color of the clothing/uniform are different.  It is quite different in the other stores.

Also entering in most of the Malls or bigger shopping stores - people had to go thru security at the door to ensure that no one is bringing in any weapons, etc,.

Most of the store had a security guard as we do here in the USA, the difference - some of the guards in Manila are armed with a shotgun or hand gun.
 
I have yet to see one person "misbehave" or cause trouble in Manila. The only infraction I saw was a cop pulling a guy over & giving him a ticket for some sort of driving infraction.
 

[thekfc]

The people that I came across for the most part are very accommodating, smiling, waving or just going about their business. I had 2 or 3 Law Enforcement officials even ask me where was I from, if I am enjoying myself & if I have any problems do not hesitate to call on them.
 
I have a few young women stare & smile at me - especially in the malls.

I have had a few guys invite me over for a game of basketball.

A few of the older people did start a conversation with me.

[Dave H]

Hey thekfc,

Great report and pics. Thanks for sharing it with us...I look forward to more!

Dave


It looks like you discovered Datu Puti vinegar. 


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