Back in Manila again

jay helfert said:
When returning home yesterday, I became glaringly aware of a big difference between Western and Eastern culture. At the Hong Kong airport, I was waiting for my connecting flight to Los Angeles, when a large group of American women sat down near me. They proceeded to talk loudly about their "seminar" in Hong Kong, repeating the mantras they had learned and describing for all to hear what foods they liked and basically everything that happened to them. If you were within 20 feet or so, you couldn't help but hear everything. They all spoke so loud, with frequent loud laughs and yells. Often they had two or three loud conversations going on at once.
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Sorta' gives meaning to the term "loud obnoxious American":p :p
 
As always, it's been great reading your day to day diary about your trip Jay!
 
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jay helfert said:
Someone reminded me here about Southern hospitality. And I have to agree. From Texas to Georgia and North to Kentucky and Virginia are the friendliest people in the USA. This is a huge generality, but I do believe in Southern hospitality. It truly exists for me. New Orleans has always been my favorite big city to visit.

When returning home yesterday, I became glaringly aware of a big difference between Western and Eastern culture. At the Hong Kong airport, I was waiting for my connecting flight to Los Angeles, when a large group of American women sat down near me. They proceeded to talk loudly about their "seminar" in Hong Kong, repeating the mantras they had learned and describing for all to hear what foods they liked and basically everything that happened to them. If you were within 20 feet or so, you couldn't help but hear everything. They all spoke so loud, with frequent loud laughs and yells. Often they had two or three loud conversations going on at once.

I was trying to read a book and found myself mildly annoyed by their behavior. To me, it was rude and disrespectful of the other people around them. I don't really care how much they enjoyed their trip or what they did. I had zero interest in any of it.

Contrasting this I remember what it was like in hotel lobbies and restaurants in the Philippines (and in China also). There is relative quiet, conversations are shared with only those next to you. I cannot hear (nor want to) what is being said on the next table over. Asian people know how to modulate their voices so only those who they want to communicate with can hear them.

After a while, I moved a few rows away from the loud women, where I could only hear their infrequent yelps. Directly behind and across from me were an Asian couple and three Asian men. The couple behind me were talking quietly and I could barely hear their soft voices from only a few feet away. Across from me, the men also spoke with each other. I could tell because their lips were moving. I heard nothing.

Maybe I am being too sensitive, but it's just something I notice now. Even while in the nightclub the other night in Manila, I didn't hear any voices yelling out. Everyone spoke in tones that the music drowned out. Only those around them could hear what they were saying. The only voice I heard clearly was Michaela's and the waitress. Somehow, there is a civility to this that I appreciate.
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same thing in Europe
 
MitchDAZB said:
I wonder what their State Department says about traveling to the US?! :)

Here's State's Travel Warning and Country Information.

If this thread is any indication, it sounds like it's well worth the risk!
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I was in the South of Philippines 3 times last year.
I feel safer there than parking then walking 3 blocks to Hollywood Billiards. :eek:
Washington, DC? :eek:
 
jay helfert said:
. . .Then Edwin and Perry and I went out clubbing for a while. These guys know all the best spots. Yum yum is my only comment. :)
. . .:D
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Jay next time you're with Ed & Perry, asked them if you can swing by a couple of places on Quezon Blvd. to do a 'looky loo' at the Executive & Maalikaya. Go to the Presidential Ste. at Maalikaya. The Executive is almost just accross Side Pocket which is one of the big action rooms of the area. You're guaranteed action as soon as early as dusk. Let me know or PM me of what you think. The area of Quezon Blvd and T. Morato is the primo spot for good local nightlife and away from the red light districts of Roxas Blvd. A lot more upscale and trendy and takes away the 'seedy' feel.
 
fanthom said:
Jay next time you're with Ed & Perry, asked them if you can swing by a couple of places on Quezon Blvd. to do a 'looky loo' at the Executive & Maalikaya. Go to the Presidential Ste. at Maalikaya. The Executive is almost just accross Side Pocket which is one of the big action rooms of the area. You're guaranteed action as soon as early as dusk. Let me know or PM me of what you think. The area of Quezon Blvd and T. Morato is the primo spot for good local nightlife and away from the red light districts of Roxas Blvd. A lot more upscale and trendy and takes away the 'seedy' feel.
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if you want know more about the nightlife in Manila go HERE You have to register though but its free anyway. ;) For starters I recommend Air Force 1, Classmates, Wilderness, Le Legende, Sylvanus :o
 
MitchDAZB said:
I wonder what their State Department says about traveling to the US?! :)

Here's State's Travel Warning and Country Information.

If this thread is any indication, it sounds like it's well worth the risk!
Click to expand...

I have been warned not to go to Mindanao, the Southernmost island in the chain. I am quite content to stay in the North on Luzon where Manila is.

I have also been told to be careful in the Ermita district where One Side is. I have stayed several blocks away in the City State Tower Hotel several times now. And I walk back and forth at all hours of the day and night. Always I encounter hustlers who want to sell me a knock off watch or Viagra/Cialis. I just shoo them away and keep walking. I have NEVER felt threatened or worried by anyone I met along the way.

The biggest problem for a tourist in Ermita is the money changers. The streets are dotted with shops that will exchange pesos for dollars. DO NOT go to a shop that has guys on the street hawking their great exchange rate. These are usually havens for some pretty slick short change artists. I have personally caught one older woman who tried to palm a 500p note when she was making change for me. Pretty clever and quick hands.

I grabbed ALL the money from her, including my $100 bill and all the pesos. She was in shock when I threatened to keep it all. She began screaming and yelling in Tagalog. A young man came in and was watching me. I didn't want a fight so I gave her back the pesos minus the 500p she still had tucked under her pinkie.

While I was there this trip, a newspaper story about this very scam appeared. It focused on the area of Ermita as the heart of this problem, specifically referring to the short change artists, or scammers as they called them.
 
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jay helfert said:
I have been warned not to go to Mindanao, the Southernmost island in the chain. I am quite content to stay in the North on Luzon where Manila is.

I have also been told to be careful in the Ermita district where One Side is. I have stayed several blocks away in the City State Tower Hotel several times now. And I walk back and forth at all hours of the day and night. Always I encounter hustlers who want to sell me a knock off watch or Viagra/Cialis. I just shoo them away and keep walking. I have NEVER felt threatened or worried by anyone I met along the way.

The biggest problem for a tourist in Ermita is the money changers. The streets are dotted with shops that will exchange pesos for dollars. DO NOT go to a shop that has guys on the street hawking their great exchange rate. These are usually havens for some pretty slick short change artists. I have personally caught one older woman who tried to palm a 500p note when she was making change for me. Pretty clever and quick hands.

I grabbed ALL the money from her, including my $100 bill and all the pesos. She was in shock when I threatened to keep it all. She began screaming and yelling in Tagalog. A young man came in and was watching me. I didn't want a fight so I gave her back the pesos minus the 500p she still had tucked under her pinkie.

While I was there this trip, a newspaper story about this very scam appeared. It focused on the area of Ermita as the heart of this problem, specifically referring to the short change artists, or scammers as they called them.
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If you ever decide to visit the south just let me know. I have a relative there that people always make room for wherever we go. And yes, even in a very crowded and scary pool room.
 
fanthom said:
Jay next time you're with Ed & Perry, asked them if you can swing by a couple of places on Quezon Blvd. to do a 'looky loo' at the Executive & Maalikaya. Go to the Presidential Ste. at Maalikaya. The Executive is almost just accross Side Pocket which is one of the big action rooms of the area. You're guaranteed action as soon as early as dusk. Let me know or PM me of what you think. The area of Quezon Blvd and T. Morato is the primo spot for good local nightlife and away from the red light districts of Roxas Blvd. A lot more upscale and trendy and takes away the 'seedy' feel.
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Haven't been to Maalikaya (formerly Maharlika) for 2 1/2 decades nor ever was in the Executive even though I need not have to spend a dime there. I guess my testosterone level is lower and my taste refined. I think Jay is more of the music, dancing and enjoying the environment and company kind of guy.......fringe benefits later....if we're lucky.

<<<<lucky:)
 
jay helfert said:
I have been warned not to go to Mindanao, the Southernmost island in the chain. I am quite content to stay in the North on Luzon where Manila is.

I have also been told to be careful in the Ermita district where One Side is. I have stayed several blocks away in the City State Tower Hotel several times now. And I walk back and forth at all hours of the day and night. Always I encounter hustlers who want to sell me a knock off watch or Viagra/Cialis. I just shoo them away and keep walking. I have NEVER felt threatened or worried by anyone I met along the way.

The biggest problem for a tourist in Ermita is the money changers. The streets are dotted with shops that will exchange pesos for dollars. DO NOT go to a shop that has guys on the street hawking their great exchange rate. These are usually havens for some pretty slick short change artists. I
have personally caught one older woman who tried to palm a 500p note when she was making change for me. Pretty clever and quick hands.

I grabbed ALL the money from her, including my $100 bill and all the pesos. She was in shock when I threatened to keep it all. She began screaming and yelling in Tagalog. A young man came in and was watching me. I didn't want a fight so I gave her back the pesos minus the 500p she still had tucked under her pinkie.

While I was there this trip, a newspaper story about this very scam appeared. It focused on the area of Ermita as the heart of this problem, specifically referring to the short change artists, or scammers as they called them.
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That's how they reel you in Jay. These "Kotong" gang will offer you a great
dollar to peso exchange rate, and that sleight of hand with a bill or two
tucked underneath the pinkie is their MO, which reminds me, are your eyes
faster than their hands?
1184.gif
 
gopi-1 said:
That's how they reel you in Jay. These "Kotong" gang will offer you a great
dollar to peso exchange rate, and that sleight of hand with a bill or two
tucked underneath the pinkie is their MO, which reminds me, are your eyes
faster than their hands?
1184.gif
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They were that time, but I was paying CLOSE attention! The way she kept counting the money and holding on to it alerted me to possible shenanigans.
She refused to let me hold the pesos and count them until she got the $100 bill in her hands. Almost got away with it too.

I can imagine how lucrative this can be if you beat every customer out of 500p all day long. Once you walk out that door and count your money, it's too late!
 
jay helfert said:
Once you walk out that door and count your money, it's too late!
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you never know. A couple of my friends got into the same trouble during last year's WPC. And it was more than 500p to lose, talking about some thousands! As soon as they recognized they've been scammed they returned and got the rest of the money with a single magic word (after a short brawl): POLICE?
 
Vahmurka said:
you never know. A couple of my friends got into the same trouble during last year's WPC. And it was more than 500p to lose, talking about some thousands! As soon as they recognized they've been scammed they returned and got the rest of the money with a single magic word (after a short brawl): POLICE?
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lol! I'm not knocking on my fellow countrymen but the magic word was "police"?!?
Most of the time, they are in cahoots with the grifters...
 
One other thing if you're planning a trip over there. It is a LONNNG plane flight, fourteen and a half hours (and nine time zones) from the West Coast, over 7,000 miles! You will definitely experience jet lag for a couple of days. For some reason I have more trouble with jet lag on the return trip to the USA, which is "only" twelve and a half hours. I have been home over two days and still feel queasy.
 
jay helfert said:
One other thing if you're planning a trip over there. It is a LONNNG plane flight, fourteen and a half hours (and nine time zones) from the West Coast, over 7,000 miles! You will definitely experience jet lag for a couple of days. For some reason I have more trouble with jet lag on the return trip to the USA, which is "only" twelve and a half hours. I have been home over two days and still feel queasy.
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It's ALWAYS worse going to the States- I've made that trip a lot over the last 15 years, and it takes me twice as long to recover when I go to New York.
 
bandido said:
Haven't been to Maalikaya (formerly Maharlika) for 2 1/2 decades nor ever was in the Executive even though I need not have to spend a dime there. I guess my testosterone level is lower and my taste refined. I think Jay is more of the music, dancing and enjoying the environment and company kind of guy.......fringe benefits later....if we're lucky.

<<<<lucky:)
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IC. I didn't know that you guys love the chase. I thought I just mentioned it perhaps as plan B. Been to both and always had a great time.
 
jay helfert said:
One other thing if you're planning a trip over there. It is a LONNNG plane flight, fourteen and a half hours (and nine time zones) from the West Coast, over 7,000 miles! You will definitely experience jet lag for a couple of days. For some reason I have more trouble with jet lag on the return trip to the USA, which is "only" twelve and a half hours. I have been home over two days and still feel queasy.
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The problem is flying from Manila at 10 pm gets you here around 8 PM the same day.:eek:
I take melatonine the first 3-5 nights after coming back here to get acclimated to the time zone/sleeping time.
Going there is easy. You leave at 10-11 pm. Get some sleep. Get there around dawn. All day to play then go to sleep. The next day, you are rested.
Joey~Can hardly wait for August~
 
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