Looking for input

[robert angel]

Kfc,

Did you actually wear shorts in the Philippines? I thought about it and it seems like it'd make sense given the climate, but my wife and ladies before her said it'd make me stand out even more as a 'tourist'. (maybe it's my 'screaming white, hairy legs and black socks, I dunno) but I'd recommend long jeans and casual pants--the frumpy look for the most part--nothing too flashy, maybe a nice polo shirt if you're 'stepping out' and going to a nice restaurant at night--again--like you say 'not too flashy'.

If you've got a nice watch and jewelry, leave it at home and when walking around, don't carry a big camera....

[thekfc]

Kfc,

Did you actually wear shorts in the Philippines? I thought about it and it seems like it'd make sense given the climate, but my wife and ladies before her said it'd make me stand out even more as a 'tourist'. (maybe it's my 'screaming white, hairy legs and black socks, I dunno) but I'd recommend long jeans and casual pants--the frumpy look for the most part--nothing too flashy, maybe a nice polo shirt if you're 'stepping out' and going to a nice restaurant at night--again--like you say 'not too flashy'.

If you've got a nice watch and jewelry, leave it at home and when walking around, don't carry a big camera....

First trip no shorts, second trip I did wear shorts (mainly around the house in Manila -I also wore shorts in Bohol, only around the resort - everyone was). It was Ahya"s recommendation that I bring shorts.

I did have some nice casual & linen pants that I wore when we went out. Beside the casual/linen pants, I also had Jeans, cargo pants & a pair of dress pants, but I didn't get to use the dress pants.

For shirts, I had t-shirts, polos & short sleeves casual & linen shirts, and I also had 1 dress shirt which I didn't get to use.
Almost all my tops were solid colors, the only "flashy" I had was a white Polo with a small USA flag on the left breast & the brand name (in very small prints) on the sleeve & back neck & also the color - that was part of the World Cup polos some of the designers were selling during the world cup. I wore that polo on the plane from JFK to HK , I change after I took a shower at the HK airport. I got a lot of compliment about that polo from people at the airport (both JFK & HKIA).

I carry my small digital camera in my pocket & left the DSLR at the house.

I wore almost no jewelry, including no watch - which I seldom do anyway (though I have plenty at home).

[KenC]

Great info guys! Thanks.  I got the dress code down now but still a little fuzzy on the cash requirements.  Apart from rentals or hotels, which I will know in advance, how much should I have available to have a decent time?  $1,000 or $2,000?  BTW, how much for the flight from Manila to Cebu?
KenC

[Ray]

Ken,

She sounds like a real nice lady and worth pursuing. Has she ever been married?

How much money should I budget for 2 weeks in PR?

As a general rule, I would budget about $100/day in addition to your lodging costs. Bring one credit card for hotels and the cash in only crisp, new $100 bills.

Should I plan to visit other islands, cities with her?  Do these plans need to be made in advance?

You don’t need advance plans at all. There is a lot to see in the Metro Manila area and in Luzon to keep you busy for a couple of weeks. I recommend side trips to the American Cemetery in Manila, Tagaytay, Corregidor, Luneta Park, and Baguio is nice. A couple of days in Subic is worth considering also. There are tons of nice beaches within an hour or two. Pick a few places with the advice of your lady.

Also try to meet some of her key family members if at all possible.

What is the standard of dress while in PR?

Casual and light. It’s hot! I recommend a few short-sleeved cotton barongs, which you can buy off the rack in the malls. They are comfortable for the weather and are acceptable dress almost anywhere. Wear them with light slacks, decent jeans, but not with shorts. I would follow kfc’s lead on where to wear shorts. Ask your lady when you arrive about purchasing some cotton barongs.

Is November a good time to visit?

November is a great time to visit. I prefer the Christmas season but air fares will go way up in December until around mid-January, so you can save some money by going in November when the weather is a little milder than most of the rest of the year.

Ray

[thekfc]

BTW, how much for the flight from Manila to Cebu?

http://www.cebupacificair.com/flights-and-fares/year-rounds-fares.html

For $ conversion:
http://coinmill.com/PHP_USD.html#PHP=

Do a search by/around the date you plan on traveling & you will get a general idea, remember taxes & airport fees 200 pesos per person for domestic flight are extra. Also most of the very cheap promo fares may be gone by then but you shouldn't be paying more than $30 each way per person.
Also you get to see those Cebu Pacific FA.

As Ray mention, there is a lot of places to visit in Manila, if (when) you go to the American Cemetery, do not go late in the afternoon (you will not have enough time to to enjoy your visit as you may be rushing as they close around 5pm). There is also the war museum in Manila (I do not remember the exact name at the moment).

[thekfc]

Also check out CCP (Cultural Center Of The Philippines) to see what events are going on around your stay. It is located in Pasay (Manila). When I went in January, they had some great events (free concerts, folk dance, etc).
Depending on the program, your lady friend would really appreciate it & there are good restaurants nearby. J
ust be advise that depending on the event(s), there may be a lot of High school & college students in attendance as they love these events.

Here is the link to CCP:
http://www.culturalcenter.gov.ph/index.php?page_id=15

I see that they have "Carmina Burana",  “Paquita” and Ronilo Jaynario’s “Beatles Revived” to name a few on the schedule for November. Oh wait these are ballet 

[KenC]

Thanks guys.  How about contact with the outside world?  Assuming hotels would have wifi, but what about cell phones?
KenC

[thekfc]

Thanks guys.  How about contact with the outside world?  Assuming hotels would have wifi, but what about cell phones?
KenC

Just about all the hotel do have wifi - some even have a computer they allow guest to use for free.

Cell phone - just make sure that you have an unlocked GSM quad band cell phone. The USA uses GSM 850/1900 while the Philippines use GSM 900/1800 - so it would be best to have a Quad Band cell phone. You can buy a SIM card there or an international SIM card here in the states.

[Ray]

You can purchase a cell phone or used cell phone over there for a reasonable cost.

You must purchase and load more minutes as you use them.

Be advised that overseas calls from over there are MUCH more expensive than from here to there.

Also, Internet cafes are nearly everywhere.

Ray

[robert angel]

If you don't have a GSM phone that you can COMPLETELY unlock so that you don't have unexpected 'roaming charges' beyond your wildest belief, buy something like a Nokia (they love them there) from a pawn shop, get a sim card (Buddy, Globe, etc) and buy 'loads' of minutes as you go.


I thought about getting my old Blackberry Storm unlocked by Verizon for my next trip to the Philippines and using a sim card purchased there, but I'd have to get Verizon to do that and I just don't trust them.

Maybe get a Filipino to dicker for a bargain phone at a pawn shop (any which way, they're still pretty cheap compared to using USA equipment and USA long distance rates), or you can try just buy yourself. Then before you leave, sell it back to the pawn shop, or leave it as a gift--it'll be much appreciated.

I was talking with a guy who was just talking on the phone at length to his now wife in Honduras, and they were so hot (and this was before the internet, skype and all that) that in ONE month, his phone bill was $23,000. Yes, TWENTY THREE GRAND.

That gave him some pause. The next month, his phone bill was only $7000!

Hell, I have a buddy who went sailing in the Florida Keys for a month with his teenage son, who spent most of the time yakking to his land locked girl friend on their cell phones.

They got back and their USA based cell phone service provider tried to say they weren't USA territory and their bill was close to three grand. Took him a while fighting it, but he got the bill knocked down to continental USA minutes rates.

You have to be cautious.

[Jeff S]

Those iPhone clones are unlocked quad-band GSM and have slots for two SIM cards slots, one for home and one for traveling, and they self detect which to use for which occasions. They take a micro SD card too, so you can use them as an mp3 player on the planes too. For $75 or so they're a great deal. I use them traveling to Asia - work perfect.

[thekfc]

I thought about getting my old Blackberry Storm unlocked by Verizon for my next trip to the Philippines and using a sim card purchased there, but I'd have to get Verizon to do that and I just don't trust them.

It will not work in Phil.
Verizon (& their phones) operates on the CDMA frequency, while as just about all of Asia (almost the entire world) uses the GSM frequency. The only country that I know of in Asia that uses the CDMA frequency are S. Korea, China & Japan.
There are also some countries (like China, Sweden & USA) that uses both frequency - CDMA & GSM.

[Capstone]

It will not work in Phil.
Verizon (& their phones) operates on the CDMA frequency, while as just about all of Asia (almost the entire world) uses the GSM frequency. The only country that I know of in Asia that uses the CDMA frequency are S. Korea, China & Japan.
There are also some countries (like China, Sweden & USA) that uses both frequency - CDMA & GSM.

Verizon actually offers several phones which are both dual band CDMA and quad band GSM, made specifically for world travelers. I know that Verizon's BB Storm 2 , the BB Bold and BB Tour all have this feature but I don't know if that is the case with the original BB Storm.

[thekfc]

Verizon actually offers several phones which are both dual band CDMA and quad band GSM, made specifically for world travelers. I know that Verizon's BB Storm 2 , the BB Bold and BB Tour all have this feature but I don't know if that is the case with the original BB Storm.

You are correct the Storm 2/ Bold/Tour will work. I forgot about the GSM & UMTS/HSPA features. A co-worker have a BB Tour 9630 & he is using it on T-Mobile instead of using it on Sprint.

I have had no problems having T-Mobile unlock a phone for me (My Nokias - I unlock myself) but I do not know how good Sprint or Verizon are about unlocking phones for their customers.

I also like these dual sim clone phones. A friend of mine have one & he have both a T-Mobile Sim (for calls) & ATT (for Data) Sim card in there & it works good.

I am still waiting on the new Droids toys so I can test them out.

[robert angel]

Still not quite positive. Seems that Verizon was saying the original BB Storm was (when unlocked) usable overseas. That's the only reason why I haven't gleefully taken a ball peen hammer and smashed it into a million little bits. That phone bricked on me so many times and was a nightmare to text on and I didn't even WANT to learn how to use all its features

My Droid X, especially now with the Froyo 2.2 upgrade is like manna from heaven in comparison--it even runs videos on flash that aren't 'dumbed down' for mobile phones. And you get excited (to an extent) about learning more and the never ending free applications available. Soon viruses will follow, I'm sure. About the only thing that's remotely sub par so far is (besides not working overseas) is it's lack of volume on all applications. They fixed the sub par battery life (after I paid $43 for a larger capacity battery) with the new upgrade.

Now Verizons getting a CDMA version of an Apple I phone (but not the 3 or 4 model--who knows?) that'll run on CDMA AND they're getting the I Pad too. That I pad is cool, but you really can't hook much of anything up to it with it's lack of ports--not even an SD card for pictures. Steve Jobs from Apple hates Flash video, so I don't know how they'll work out that and the I-Tunes versus V-Cast music down loads. Apple is fun, easy to play with and learn, but they really 'go their own way'...

Samsung's making some seriously good and fun 'smart phones' now and HTC is coming on strong too. Korea and Taiwan on the move....

If you think the new phones running at one gigahertz are fast, expect phones that run at TWO gigahertz within the next 8 to ten months.

Makes you really hate being locked into two year contracts.

With technology, everything's state of the art for about ten minutes.

[robert angel]

Speaking of Korea and technology, that new Hyundai  Equus is one serious car coming out of S Korea. It comes in two models--one more inclined for those who want to sit in the back and be driven around and one for those who like to drive themselves. Both offer NO options and instead of a boook like or CDROM/DVD users manual, come with an Apple I Pad loaded with the 'manual' instead. Seriously smart folks....

[Dave H]

 

Thanks guys.  How about contact with the outside world?  Assuming hotels would have wifi, but what about cell phones?
KenC

Hey Ken,

I just travel around with my laptop or netbook, MagicJack, and a headset. I make calls for free to the US from wifi hotspots in Asia.

Dave