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Many times.
The first tricycle in line will not take less than 150 because he has been waiting to get to the front of the line of trikes and will not give up his position for less than that.
Further on down the line, if you start walking, someone will offer to do it for 100. He does not want to wait to get to the front of the line.
At the back of the line you will find someone who just arrived and will take a quick 50 pesos if you walk, with your luggage towards the exit.
If you get out to the street with no luggage you can get a trike for 10 pesos a head but if you have luggage and want a private ride he will still charge you 50.

Moral is, be prepared to haul your luggage 200 yards or so until someone offers to do it for 50.

 

I wonder how many are like me and didn’t know a thing about Dumaguete when I came here to go diving, met my fiance, found it was much cheaper rent than where I lived in Global City so we moved here 9 years ago.

 

Some of us have been here well over 10 years. As was stated earlier we have heard the complaints many times and some us also b*tched and moaned about the Philippines' shortcomings early on. However, over time we have focused on the many positives of living here. After all, we are guests in their country and thankful for being able to live here and raise families.

 

Bit late now - but just for info.....It was an artery down south - not the aorta....Supplies blood to the legs....and the lack of blood for a while meant my legs are about 80% of what they were. I'm not going to do a marathon but walking a k or 2 daily is ok....They did fix it up as best they could and I feel fine except for the leg weakness....Not a huge issue at my age - I would expect worse. Wife has retired.....from her nurse job at a local hospital....she will go to Negros soon to visit relatives (finally after Wuhan virus killed travel from and to Australia) and stay a while to evaluate things. We will see....I feel fine and working on the leg circulation daily.....currently 10 km a day on the exercise bike with moderate resistance. I think on current trend-line that Bacolod or Dumageute is likely. Pity my favourite relative there on Negros, an uncle who died from the Wuhan virus.....his wife almost died and is still suffering. I really feel the loss of such a great man and his wonderful dedication to helping the poor. Just because I want people to know - his name was Nestor Gabalda....an extremely successful businessman (owned sugar and electrical companies across the Visayas)....but also a very pious Catholic who sponsored probably hundreds of young students up to and thru university. Many of which he hired after they graduated. Many of which were the children of his very own employees! It is hard to imagine an employer who pays fairly - and pays for the entire education of your children...That was Nestor......He grew up poor....and remembered what a helping hand would have been worth.

I really miss Nestor he was a kind and yet lively friend - always with an opinion - and always so helpful. China killed him with their virus - and the Phillipines lost a very, very rare angel. But his good works will live on for generations - those graduates are moving forward in life and so are their children. An amazing fact - he actually lived in a house in downtown Bacolod.....a house he bought with his earnings in the early 1980's after he had a few taxis in his first successful company....That house was the same house he died living in. Of course he made it larger and more comfortable for his wife and kids....It was still the same house they always knew though - and the same house we enjoyed visiting and even staying. Minimal security....everyone knew - Nestor was special.

What is the point of writing this about Nestor? People like him do happen...even in the Philippines.....So rare...we should treasure them when we know them.....

 

Any vaccine is not 100% guaranteed to prevent a person becoming ill from some sort of virus, with sympathy for those who have losted love ones
As for my feeling safer, having had my two injections for the Covid, I am very aware that I might still get the virus.
January 2020 when news was breaking of this Pandemic and the UK Government kindly placed the very first suspected cases coming back from abroad in my local hospital, my wife and I didnt feel very safe, the country was put on emergency alerts told not go out etc etc. But every day I took my wife to work at the hospital not knowing if she would fall victim to the disease while tending to patients and also infecting me.
We broke contact with my children and relatives and friends for weeks/ months to prevent the risk if we caught the virus from spreading.
As for this atitude of "Freedom to choose" movement going round, well you know what you can do with it. Rant over.

 

That is quite the statement. I am sure my wife would love to discuss it with you. My wife is Thai. Educated, a career woman that is now retired. (early retirement). Never worked in a bar. We were both in our 30's when we got married. Been married 29 years. We met in the U.S. where she attended Dean College, Massachusetts.

 

We can debate this ad nauseum but never reached agreement as we are all individuals - my view is that I am not here primarily to travel and eat out everywhere. I have the income to do so, therefore it is a choice and not a necessity. I am here to avoid cold winters, which I totally detest, and to enjoy the sea views - I am happy to eat out at times but can become bored when doing so regularly. I think my desire is a spiritual one and my need therefore is for enough money to survive and enjoy some of those material things on offer to me. The smiling faces of many people here is a bonus!

I can inform anyone wishing to live here, but who reads of Php 150,000 as a monthly requirement, that it is possible to: rent a 2 bed furnished house with aircon for Php 8000; pay about Php 4000 for electricity and water; spend about Php 20,000 on eating in and very occasional eating out; get internet for about Php 2000; allocate Php 2000 for transport (relying on their own legs, trikes, jeepneys and buses); allow perhaps Php 2000 for clothes (less if bringing some clothes with them). This equals Php 38,000. The BIG unknown is medical costs, so two choices: 1) Buy medical insurance (costs are very different depending on age, so difficult to quote) 2) Have a fund available to return home if it is more cost effective.

So I think about Php 40 - 70,000 per month is survivable in The Philippines. Plus that essential reserve to get back home if necessary.

But if you want a big house on the coast, helpers, a car, a boat (yacht perhaps), fine dining (IF you can find it!), lots of travelling, full coverage of all medical needs, etc. then come if you are loaded or stay in your own country if you are not.

Even then, there are degrees of everything and a basic lifestyle can be combined with SOME of your desires - when you have reached your financial limit then stop desiring!

Although I would never suggest recklessness - it is actually the opposite of the way I live my own life - I would also not rust away in the harbour if you can go out to sea and have an adventure.

 

For some reason I keep reading this thread even though the spelling of "Disgusting" bothers me for some odd reason. It is spelt with 2 cc's in other forms of English and I'm off?

Obviously the guys' action to get so drunk is disturbing, but it seems no one knows the guy personally so assumptions are made that he is an alcoholic which most commenters (including myself) are not qualified to make that diagnosis. Perhaps the stress of his wife's hospital stay, accompanied with living 4 hours away led to a want to be around other expats, made the guy over indulge...maybe the guy hadn't had a drink in years. I can't say as well as most I'd be willing to guess.

Most troubling, why did someone not stand up and try to get him on a trike and back to where he needed to be earlier? Obviously we are not responsible for other peoples actions, but condemning someone while sitting back is pretty sad. A couple dollars worth of peso to get the guy out is a small price to pay. If an attempt was made and he told you to walk off, then you did what you could do.

Coming up in the military and the 10 years since I retired I have made sure folks have gotten home before they got themselves in trouble more times than I can count. Not so much in the Philippines as I do not hang out late around Dumaguete, but even coming back to Korea a few months ago I took it upon myself to get an US contractor out of a bar and into a taxi before he got his drunk a$$ beat down for being stupid, did not know the guy and from what I saw he was a complete f***head. I ended up drinking for free the rest of the night from both other customers and bar staff; and I was able to quietly walk myself to my hotel...

I do not know of any culture where it is acceptable to put your feet on a table at a restaurant...that is just wrong. How many times have folks been at a movie at Robinsons and found some locals feet up next to the seat you are sitting? A few more times than I've seen in other places and that has made me voice my "opinion" on that to them. Same with planes with pretty much every country, that one really gets me twisted.

We need to police ourselves when we are out and about, more so when living/working abroad. It is not my point in this reply to say that anyone needs to put themselves in a position where an idiot would want to cause you harm or be belligerent towards but maybe a bit of a talk and help can get someone where they are not going to make a fool of themselves and add to the impression all expats are drunks and looking for the shady side of the Philippines.

Shawn