The Philippines is such an interesting place and as a forienger I've got a lot of tales to tell!
I'm sure that a lot of people have great questions to ask, if you have any please feel free to comment, i'll do my best to answer all the comments that I can and I'll include these in the website and blog too!!
My first question is what would all of the people who are coming to the Philippines for the first time like to know??
One question I get often is about the safety of the Philippines, more so recently after the news of the HK hostage bus situation.
So, Is the Philippines safe for tourists?
In a word I'd say it is, since being a tourist myself in the past I never experienced any major problems. Relating to the Hijacking incident and the police response to it. In some ways I agree that this incident does show that the police can make mistakes, although this has happened before in other countries where the police were unable to protect hostages in a similar situation.
Anyway, bearing in mind, this is not a regular occurance and this one incident does not threaten all the foreigners visiting the Philippines.
To sum up, kidnapping/hostage situations are unlikely and rare, more so if you avoid the more dangerous areas (such as the southern parts of the Philippines), the Manila incident was isolated.
Street crime is also not as common as you might think, if you take care of your belongings as you would do in any country. If possible, don't high priced belongings or cash around when walking down the street or in unfamiliar areas. Usually a theif or criminal will not strike unless they know what you have.
Anyway, in conclusion, act streetwise and avoid obviously dangerous places and 99% of the time you won't have a problem on your trip!
For me safe places for foreigners include:
- Makati (especially around the tourist belt/ hotel areas)
- Ortigas
- Alabang
- Las Pinas
- Paranaque (BF Homes area)
Riskier places:
- Tondo
- Binondo
- Malate (at night)
I can't really comment on so many of the beaches, as usually they are relatively safe places, but attracting so many tourists means watch out for pickpockets/snatchers too.
Do you have any concerns about Philippine safety??
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Shopping in the Philippines
Malling
A common hobby of a lot of Filipinos is malling (not sure if this is the official term or not), this involves wondering around the malls for a few hours shopping, window shopping or doing other things for entertainment!The main reason for this, is not only that malls are a fun place, but they all have one thing in common... really good air-conditioning!! Since most people want to get out of the hot weather during the day, the perfect place to do this is the mall.
What do people do there?
Eating/Drinking
In most malls you have places to eat and drink, a few common ones are:- Jolibee (Filipino version of McDonalds.. but with a few nice variations, such as hotdogs and filipino dishes)
- KFC
- Pizza Hut
- McDonalds
- Chow King (chinese style fast food)
- Toyko Toyko (Japanese food)
- Mang Inasal (Filipino bbq and other foods)
- Jerrys Grill (Drink and grill bar, good place for hanging out)
- Kenny Rogers Roasters
I could go on.. there is a large list though, all depends on your tastes and what your craving for.. just this weekend I went to a place called the Pancake House.. although they have a lot more than pancakes!!!
other than eating...
Other things you will commonly find in the malls are arcades (such as Timezone and Toms world), where you can play video games, shoot on basketball hoops (there are a lot of these) and win prizes by collecting tickets. You can also sing karaoke in private rooms here, where you can either use tokens or pay by the hour.Internet Cafes
Another thing thats very common in the malls are internet cafes such as netopia and lots of others too.Singing
I've noticed a lot of singing rooms opening up too.. usually about 1 or 2 per mall, these operate in a similar way to the arcades, where you can pay per hour or per song.Opening times
Most malls here in the Philippines are open around 10am to 10pm.. although some stores or restaurants may open later. depending on the location of the mall and the type of restaurant (usually bar/ grills are the ones that open until later).Common Malls
A few malls that you will see often are:SM malls
Robinsons Malls
Ayala Malls (such as glorietta, Greenbelt etc)
SM is probably the most popular, in Manila at least there seems to be 1 SM mall per area!
Recommendations
With plenty of malls around, theres no excuse not to visit, at least to check it out.. a few big ones I recommend are:SM Mall Of Asia (commonly abbreviated as MOA) - very very big mall, with a ton of great restaurants at the back.. right beside the sea, this complex has enough stores to satisfy even the most demanding shopper!! There is enough to do here that you'll need a lot more than one visit to experience it all! This mall is located in Manila, beside Manila bay (at the end of EDSA road and near to Roxas Boulevard. Buses and Jeeps often go here, so its an easy location to get to.
SM Megamall - Located on EDSA near to Quezon city, this mall is also quite large, and houses an outdoor market too, perfect for bargain hunters and mallers alike.
SM southmall - Located in Las Pinas, this mall is frequented by a lot of foreign residents living near by.. because of this it caters for a wide range of international foods and stores.
Greenbelt complex - Makati, great place for a day out.. its a mall that surrounds a green park like area. Nature in the middle of the city! This mall has a lot of fashion boutiques and very large selection of restaurants, coffee houses, bars and nightclubs. You can hang around here for 24 hours if you wanted to.. since was the bars/restaurants are closing early morning, the stores are beginning to open up again. Coffee houses here tend to be 24 hours! A lot of the places cater specifically for foreign tourists, so be prepared to pay higher prices than usual!
for more info on shopping click here....
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Living in the Philippines
Living in the Philippines
Well what can I say about Philippine life, I came here for a 2 week vacation.... 2 and half years ago! I've been here ever since, people may ask me what my reasons are! I get regularly told to go back to my home country and earn good money!What are my reasons?
I don't know exactly to be honest, thats not because i'm a crazy guy who decided to live in another country just to be random, its more to do with the fact that there are so many positive reasons, that I can't put my finger on one!
Things that I love about the Phillippines:
The people & culture
There is something different about the people here, in a good way. I can't decide on the exact reason however, but its a fusion! The kindness, the feeling of welcoming. Even though foreigners are mocked on occasion (expect a few "Hey man, whatsup"'s on the street followed by the occasional "Hey Joe") which could be classed as racism, but it is in fact more of a lack of understanding.All that most people know, especially those who are poorer and uneducated are that foreigners are American. Becuase thats what they know. I don't look down on them for that and I take their comments are less of an insult and more of an attempt to show that they understand me!
I love that people are so interested that your a foreigner, they'll ask you questions and usually ask you what you think of their country. As your opinion means a lot to them. I think this comes mainly from the colonial mentality of the past, when Filipinos were treated as second class citizens by the Spanish and the US, but its still facinating to be treated in this way!
Culture wise the Philippines has a lot of positives, such as family first. Something that seems to have been lost long ago in the West, where a lot of people just put elderly or sick relatives straight into a retirement home. In the Philippines this would be looked down upon, children are expected to take care of their elders once they are old enough to take care of themselves.
One contrast compared to England, is that people are so transparent and will be willing to tell you all thier personal information at the drop of a hat. Coming from the UK where privacy is like gold, this makes an interesting change.
The final thing I have to say is that the country is so laid back, no one seems in a rush.
The Sun
I don't know what it is but having so much sun seems to have both a positive and slightly negetive effect on people.The positive is the fact that people seem brighter and more friendlier and the days feel generally great! You can take a trip down to the beach if you've got the time, or you can sunbath in your garden! Feels a massive difference compared to the gloomy UK!
The disadvantage is that when it comes to work some people get a little lazy due to the heat. I myself can be affected by this, when its too hot, its just too hot to do anything, whether thats working, exercising or whatever your into.
Beaches
It has to be said that the beaches here are absolutely amazing, wherever you find them, you'll discover paradises that you'd have never thought existed before! Combine that with the great sun that I've mentioned above and you'll understand why its so amazing.Imagine this.. instead of saving up all year for that 2 week spot in the Sun, you could literally go this weekend on a 1 or 2 hour trip, be in complete paradise for the next 2 days then go back to work on Monday all for a cheap price!
Find out more about the Philippines beaches here.....
Generally
A few other things are that the prices of items are so cheap here! I mean when you can get fresh lobster for a couple of hundred pesos compared to 3 times that in other countries, you can see the price difference.This is one of the many reasons that people retire here, you could really live like a king/queen for just a few hundred dollars a month! In my estimation that would get you a nice rented, fully furnished house in a safe neighbourhood with enough money left to splash out from time to time as well as enough money to cover your general living costs! It does vary depending on where you want to live, but you get the picture!
Well i'll be writing more info as time goes by, I'd love to see some comments or replys about what you love in the Philippines (if your living here) or why you'd love to live here (if you don't).
P.S. Sorry for the lack of updates recently, i've been a little busy, but I've penned down a few articles which i'll be uploading as soon as I can!
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