trip starts May 10th

[crashfirepm53]

I get off work Monday at 7 am, get a few hours sleep then off to the airport for a 3pm flight. I'll finally reach Cebu about 2pm on the 12th. Hopefully I can sleep on the flight.

I'm packing lite with little clothes. Sheena will do my laundry daily if needed.We are staying just one night in Cebu before heading to San Miguel. I heard about a restaurant in Lapu I think called "triple A".
Anyone have any info like address and prices so I know what to expect?

[evoltnvii]

I get off work Monday at 7 am, get a few hours sleep then off to the airport for a 3pm flight. I'll finally reach Cebu about 2pm on the 12th. Hopefully I can sleep on the flight.

I'm packing lite with little clothes. Sheena will do my laundry daily if needed.We are staying just one night in Cebu before heading to San Miguel. I heard about a restaurant in Lapu I think called "triple A".
Anyone have any info like address and prices so I know what to expect?

Awesome man have a great trip you will love it. One item i can recommend is baby powder its mega hot there now and when i was there in may its the only thing that saved my skin. as far as san miguel i only drink it 

[thekfc]

Great!!!!!
Another trip report to look forward to.
I too am a lite traveler but I did go "heavy" on my 1st trip - mainly with gifts, chocolates, etc,. My return trip back to the USA was lite, only 1 checked luggage.

This time I will send some of the "stuff" ahead of time via Balikbayan Boxes, I already have the boxes packed & they will be picked up this Sunday to be shipped.

I cannot help you with prices for "down south" - all the prices/info that I have are for Manila & the surrounding areas.

Enjoy your trip - we will be looking forward to your reports.

[robert angel]

Hey Crash--A lot has changed in Cebu C and Lapu Lapu since I was there about 5 years ago and I haven't heard of a triple A restaurant in Lapu Lapu, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

 I have heard of "Mr A's" up on the mountain overlooking the city, and it's very nice and romantic, with a beautiful view, especially as sunset goes into night and the lights below all begin to twinkle.. They had an international expo there a few years back in C.C. and I hear the park in Lapu Lapu, where the great statue is was spiffed up quite a bit. I recall they had a couple restaurants, including one where you picked your own whole, fresh fish and they cook it for you right there. They also had some souvenir shops

Yea,  10-15 mg of melatonin and Tylenol PM for the longest leg of the flight might help 'flip flop' your sleep patterns coming and going, but you'll be so geeked up that the real jet lag probably won't really faze you going over, it'll likely not hit you until you're back in Kansas..

Enjoys Tony Montana says: "The world is yours"!

[Dave H]

Hey crashfire,

Have a great trip. It is good that you will arrive just after the elections...hopefully things will start to cool down!

Monday are the elections...I will probably stay close to home and only wear a "white" (color of the French flag)   T-shirt when I do go out. I don't want to look like I am supporting any particular candidate. Besides, this isn't like the US, a non-citizen can't vote here! No point in creating problems for oneself! I saw one dumb Kano walking around town  wearing a candidate's T-shirt (not a particularly popular one here I might add   ) Somehow the thought crossed my mind that his young wife was trying to get him "salvaged!" (assassinated) I was getting stopped everyday at police and military gun checkpoints. It has gotten so they know me now and wave me through. It doesn't hurt that I am related (through marriage) to their bosses.  

Dave

[jm21-2]

Sounds fun. This is your first time over there, right? Should be a blast, though maybe on the hot side for me, heh.

[crashfirepm53]

The heat won't be anything new to me. I was born in Miami Beach and spent my whole life in East Central Florida. A little heat and humidity I won't like but it will remind me why I moved to Kansas. The weather is awesome now.
Mr. A's is the place I was talking about. Sheena said she would like to go there our first night since I offered to take her there a month. Somehow I knew that when she said triple A's that it wasn't right.Lol.
Baby powder is a life saver! I remember checking out our fire engines in the July morning sun. I would be soaked in sweat by 8AM. Baby powder was a lifesaver. I sent Sheena a big bottle and she couldn't believe the size.

I'm ready to get going. I'm a little concerned over China Airlines plane crash issues in the last 10 years though. Hopefully, I'll arrive alive both ways.
I'll keep you guys updated on my trip. Trip reports have been slow lately on here and I really enjoy reading them..

[thekfc]

Baby powder is a life saver! I remember checking out our fire engines in the July morning sun. I would be soaked in sweat by 8AM. Baby powder was a lifesaver. I sent Sheena a big bottle and she couldn't believe the size.

I felt the heat my last day in Manila. Ahya had a small bottle (1.5oz) & I didn't want to use all her powder.  About a week or two ago, I went to BJ's & bought a couple of the 22oz bottles of Johnson Baby Powder & they will be going in this upcoming Balikbayan Box.

I'll keep you guys updated on my trip. Trip reports have been slow lately on here and I really enjoy reading them./quote] We are due for a trip report -the last one was was from Capstone almost - 2 months ago.
I am eagerly waiting for your trip report as well as piglett's when he goes.

[piglett]

KFC as soon as the check arrives for demo job i just finished I am buying a plane ticket!!! I get to work till 11:30 pm on May 22ND & I'll just head home clean up & at 3:30am head to the airport. I am sure that I'll get some sleep while on one of those planes. I intend to fly to Detroit & then after my layover (about 4 hours) take a 19 hour flight straight to manila.

Hey has anyone ever heard of the airlines giving a handfull of deals starting one minute after midnight ?? I think I mite check it out just to see if it's so.


piglett

[thekfc]

P, what airline are you planning to on flying on?

[piglett]

P, what airline are you planning to on flying on?

not sure yet, as long as I don't have to crawl out on the wing to work on the engine in mid flight I don't really care.

piglett

[robert angel]

Yea Piglett--I have heard that after midnight, they sometimes have real deals on a few seats, but not always--it's hit or miss and maybe it depends on if it's midnight where the billing center is. A buddy of mine always books Bangkok from the USA east coast, calling between 12 and 2:00 AM.

On the exams and prep for your fiance to work as a nurse, it probably seems a bit overwhelming regarding time, money and stress, but yes, you do need to get good info on all of that, but as long as you have the info, a lot of it can be done over an extended period of time and there, if you can take some time, don't sweat it. Do pay attention to things that she really ought to do in the RP either because she HAS to do it there first, or because it's a whole lot cheaper to do it there.

It's a lot different a situation with driving, but me --- "El Cheapo" --I decided I'd save a bundle by paying for drivers training in Davao. THAT was a total waste. I ended up showing her how to drive myself and I had several memorable near heart attacks doing so and I had to yell some  (HONEY--TRUCK COMING HEAD ON!!!!), but we look back now and laugh.

If you, like most people don't have eye glass/optical or dental insurance and you have two quarters left to rub together by now, getting cavities filled and eye glasses if needed over there will save you $$$ in the long run.

[Dave H]

Hey Rob,

I agree, why waste the money on driving lessons. Most Filipinos are self taught (still in the process of teaching themselves) or taught by some one else who is self taught!

Dave's quick rules for foreigners driving in the Philippines:

1. Stay calm and avoid getting upset! "Pisut" and "stupido" are merely friendly greetings for Kanos.

2. Be flexable! If necessary, do whatever it takes to avoid a collision! Drive on the opposite side of the street or through a nipa hut is necessary...

3, Never leave an injured pedestrian! It is much cheaper to pay several hundred dollars for funeral services, than a large medical bill! Foreigners can't embalm bodies here or become funeral directors here. But your wife can! (after taking appropriate schooling and passing licensing  requirements) I hear that there is BIG money in it!

4. Buy the biggest DAMN horn money can buy! If it doesn't peel the paint off of other vehicles and the skin off of pedestrians, it is not a real horn!

5. Have the biggest set of balls in town! If necessary, have a 3rd testicle installed or your ballsack enlarged with an injection of an unknown substance. If your balls are approaching the size of coconuts, you are very close!

6. Government vehicles (red letters and numbers on license plates) are allowed to do whatever they want, whenever they want!

7. Mitsubishi Strada pickups, Toyota Fortuner SUV's, Toyota Hiace vans or Hyundai Starex vans belong to the Gods!

8. Old Kia Sportage SUV's belong to people who think they are Gods!

9. People with the above mentioned vehicles and large trucks are also allowed to use more than one traffic lane, including oncoming lanes, run through intersections without slowing down (red light or no traffic light or stop signs), pass on blind curves, or up hills.

10. Headlights and tail light useage is optional. In an attempt to save fuel and help stop global warming, many "green" Filipinos choose not to use vehicle lights, although built in, inside DVD players are Al Gore approved. 

I hope this helps!

Dave

[Dave H]

The heat won't be anything new to me. I was born in Miami Beach and spent my whole life in East Central Florida. A little heat and humidity I won't like but it will remind me why I moved to Kansas. The weather is awesome now.

I remember checking out our fire engines in the July morning sun. I would be soaked in sweat by 8AM.

Hey crashfire,

On lazy, hot, slow Saturday morning in South Florida, after completing equipment check,  I was wiping down the undercarriage of a ladder truck, sliding around on my back using a creeper. I decided to tie my hand to the frame with the rag, so that the Captain (station commander) would think that I was still wiping down the truck when he peeped out the door of the air conditioned watch office, drinking his 5th cup of morning coffee. I fell asleep, when the unimaginable happened, they got a call!   I wasn't assigned to the ladder truck and the driver forgot that I was under it! I got my hand untied and turned parallel to the truck, just in the nick of time! I watched the twin rear axles and eight tires zoom past my head as I popped out from the back. It had always worked before and was recommended by an "ol' timer." I decided to look for another hiding place after that close call! (fire pole in second floor classroom - located inside a closet.) The classroom was locked on the weekends, so it was perfect. I climbed up the pole, my weight opened the flaps, which closed after I had let go of the pole and stepped onto the floor. If I got a call, it was secluded and let me drop down next to my bunk room, behind a wall, undetected. I could keep an eye on the officers from my dark hiding spot.

Dave

[thekfc]

Hey Rob,

I agree, why waste the money on driving lessons. Most Filipinos are self taught (still in the process of teaching themselves) or taught by some one else who is self taught!

Just about all of Ahya's nieces & nephews are self taught or taught each other how to drive. They wanted to take me out for a ride on one of their motorbikes, seeing how the traffic & driving in Manila was -I had to pass.
 

4. Buy the biggest DAMN horn money can buy! If it doesn't peel the paint off of other vehicles and the skin off of pedestrians, it is not a real horn!

Something that surprise me was, I would hear "sirens" going off but the vehicle we were on wasn't pulling over - then I notice that it was ordinary drivers with sirens built in, even some of the jeepneys had a siren. Later I noticed that "emergency" vehicles use a different sound.
 

6. Government vehicles (red letters and numbers on license plates) are allowed to do whatever they want, whenever they want!

I notice that a lot.

7. Mitsubishi Strada pickups, Toyota Fortuner SUV's, Toyota Hiace vans or Hyundai Starex vans belong to the Gods!

8. Old Kia Sportage SUV's belong to people who think they are Gods!

What would someone with a Porsche, BMW or a Benzs SUV be?   
 

10. Headlights and tail light useage is optional. In an attempt to save fuel and help stop global warming, many "green" Filipinos choose not to use vehicle lights, although built in, inside DVD players are Al Gore approved. 

I notice the use of tail light only in Makati & Pasay. On all the taxis I rode in - none of them use turn signals.

[robert angel]

Re;

>>Mitsubishi Strada pickups, Toyota Fortuner SUV's, Toyota Hiace vans or Hyundai Starex vans belong to the Gods<<

Yes--and Ford Expeditions and the Pacheros(sp?) seemed to to be favs, espec. w/ the rich Chinese mercahants I saw, blacked out windows and all...

The relative abcence of road rage, as we know it anyway, still amazes me. I mean they protest over everything even though it rarely makes any difference and murder each other over elections, but hey--almost kill me on the road? Nothing personal....

[evoltnvii]

If you, like most people don't have eye glass/optical or dental insurance and you have two quarters left to rub together by now, getting cavities filled and eye glasses if needed over there will save you $$$ in the long run.

Isn't it the truth though. It costs less than a co pay here to have work done in the PI.

[Dave H]

Yes--and Ford Expeditions and the Pacheros(sp?) seemed to to be favs, espec. w/ the rich Chinese mercahants I saw, blacked out windows and all...

Hey Rob,

Ford Expeditions?...Man you are talking "Manila politician class!" That is even higher than being a god! We are still living in the wild frontier! I don't think that the rich Chinese businessmen here want to stand out that much! How could I ever forget the Mitsubishi Pajeros? I guess I lumped them in with the Stradas in my mind. When you drive a Pajero, you have made it!

You just won a year's supply of “palagsing!” You'd better hurry up and get over here to help me out, because I have more of it than I can handle. The stuff is everywhere and the Palagsing Festival will be coming in a few months. It tastes great! But, like many Filipino foods, I really don't know what is in it...I only know what they told me!  




I have an idea to get rich from foreigners..."candy balut!" Sort of like a Cadbury Easter Egg, except realistic looking. When your lady or a Filipino challenges you to eat balut...you surprise them by pulling out your own "special stock" from your "balutan in Pateros."  Only the best will do! Then you happily wolf down two or three like Andrew Zimmern and watch their Asian eyes grow round!  

Dave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4XlQB0YlNk

[Dave H]

Isn't it the truth though. It costs less than a co pay here to have work done in the PI.

It sure is! I went to the ENT the other day and he charged me P250 (around $5). Next to the dentist...mine moved so I need to find another.

Dave

[evoltnvii]

my girl needed a tooth pulled and 12 cavities fixed over 3 weeks cost me about 1500php ($35)

[robert angel]

Re: 
>>my girl needed a tooth pulled and 12 cavities fixed over 3 weeks cost me about  1500php ($35)<<

For my USA dentist, cavity fillings START at $110 and run upwards of $160 APIECE.

I can only imagine what a tooth pulling costs--they probably consider it surgery here--I know they do for wisdom teeth and it's still usually not covered by most medical plans in the USA--IF you have one.

If she still has her wisdom teeth and they bother her in the least way, you might be able to save a couple grand right there, I guesstimate... Don't forget an eye exam and make sure the Dr. has a good rep. I bet over half the Filipinas there have are near sighted--when you're there, look at street signs, bill boards, objects in the distance etc that YOU can see and ask her when she can see the same. It's the cheapest eye test out there for near sightedness (myopia) the most common ailment requiring eyeglasses, one that pretty much always gets worse--not better, unless you can afford lasik surgery.....

[piglett]

my girl needed a tooth pulled and 12 cavities fixed over 3 weeks cost me about 1500php ($35)

can a dentist there be trusted to do a root canal & get ALL the root out ?



piglett

[evoltnvii]

can a dentist there be trusted to do a root canal & get ALL the root out ?

piglett

possibly but her tooth was not able to be saved I was told. over the years she has lost a few so she needs to get bridge work done and the dentist is quoting about 10,000php ($225) im going to pay the dentist and have it done before she leaves to save myself a lot of money.

[robert angel]

Just like here, you have to ask around and try and see who the better doctors are. And just because they specialize in tourists there doesn't mean they're really good--just more expensive. My buddy just had to have his Bangkok root canal completely redone in the USA less than a year after it was done over there. My wife's eye exam and the eye glasses they made were lousy, the glasses basically useless, as if they didn't look at any Rx.

Eventually, I'll need about five dental crowns and if I can find someone good over there (Philippines) and make the time to have them all done there, I'll probably save about $7000.

More and more people are having pretty major surgeries in Thailand--heart, hip and knee replacements, cosmetic plastic surgery and more. The care and nurse to patient ratio is often much better than here and the cost of airfare, lodging and some tourist stuff still costing less than a US operation alone.

[Dave H]

my girl needed a tooth pulled and 12 cavities fixed over 3 weeks cost me about 1500php ($35)

Hey evoltnvii,

How did you ever get her into the dentist? It took me many years to convince my wife to go! She was amazed at how painless the procedures were in the US and all of the high tech gadgets. I never had a problem with pain in the Philippines and the dental work was very good...even if they lacked the most modern equipment. Perhaps they give Filipinos the option of using injectable anesthetics. "What, P20 for lidocaine, forget it doc! It's only 6 teeth, just pull them! I am saving my kwarta for a snack after I leave here." 

Dave