Best Posts in Forum: Tourist Information

Seems that guy has not traveled and visited many places in the world..... EVERY country has problems and annoyances but as others have said it depends on your attitude. I don't deny there are some serious annoyances here but after spending over 4 years in China I am happy to be here and am doing my best to deal with them and live with the people here. I too am very fortunate in having a fantastic Filipina wife that is the joy of my life. Some of these things frustrate her as much as me but we are happy and learn to laugh and get over it. Live and Learn!

 

Interesting that there is such a huge difference in first-hand experience between @mrossbach and @DavyL200 for the same resort.

So I looked at tripadvisor and found the same disparity: Excellent 24%, Very Good 23%, Average 17%, Poor 15%, Terrible 21%. A few of the 'Excellents' were more recent but many were 2016 and before, which is where most of the 'Terrible' comments are from.

One 'Terrible' comment was based solely on dining there and I found it very off-putting to read how him and his wife were treated.

I suppose if a resort has 53% average or below ratings then it is best to avoid until it proves itself with significantly better ratings. A pity, as its location looks very good.

 

A handshake would be the best way to show friendship to someone you meet for the first time. It should go with the "hi" and "hello" greetings and the rule says it should be the woman who extends her hand first. However, as women in the Philippines are a bit modest (in general), you may need to extend your hand first. Between gentlemen, any of the two can both show the willingness for friendship with a handshake.

Go ahead. Shake hands with everyone. It is a gesture of friendship.

 

Apparently a young boy drowned there this afternoon, please look after your kids when going swimming anywhere.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=volunteer+work+tourist

If you were to go to the park and rake the leaves, nobody is going to boot you out of the country. However, they might have a case that you are "undesirable" because you must have a screw loose.

To get busted for anything here, you have to either get caught up in a crackdown, p*ss off the wrong person or generally attract the wrong attention.

Jamrock Cafe usually has some sort of project in the works for kids in the region. They do school feeding events and small school improvement projects. Something like that would be a good way to dip your toes into someone which pools together resources and has someone actively working on organizing. Maybe go talk to the owner there.

 

my ex always wanted me to teach her to drive so she could do the driving for us and i told her; no way, i've seen u drive a shopping cart.

but as far as your question goes, i've been driving here for about 7 years, both 2 wheeled and 4 wheeled vehicles and i hardly know what's along the road cuz i keep my eyes on the road so i don't squish someone who trusts in god. so, if i was to make your island exploration trip, i'd take ceres so i could look out the window. likewise, i learn alot about businesses and business locations when i take a tryke in duma.

 

I think Wrye nailed it, "a cheap 3rd world country", I would add the word poor as well. Most people who have been to places like Jamaica would quickly choose to retire here than there. Perhaps people who b*tch about living here are actually unhappy with themselves for not planning for and being capable of retiring on a golf course or beach home in Florida or the Gold Coast. Many of the guys here have a pretty and young partner, think they could have that in their home country? Those that sit all day drinking beer on the blvd look pretty content - maybe because they don't have to worry about getting stopped driving while over the limit. Life is not perfect anywhere but maybe those of us who have or are surviving medical problems appreciate it more.

 

I have seen or experienced much of what this fellow has seen also. I admire the ingenuity of the Filipinos at times to get around with very economical methods of transportation. I enjoy watching the school children walk home from school, as the wait for a large dump truck or some other means of transportation to go by. The drivers that stop for kids and are are always happy and the kids have smiles on their faces as the climb up on what ever huge truck that stops.... I am not sure this is that bad, as I do not hear of many kidnapping or injuries to kids from the activity. In the US this would never be "allowed" to happen but then again the kids would have walk all the way home, or huge expenses would be occurred for transportation. The ability to travel at low cost is one of the "dumb" techniques the kid (and adults) have mastered here. There is not money available to be spent on transportation here many times by the locals. They have to walk around, like being on a treadmill here, same things my friends do in American after driving to the gym and fighting for the closest parking space.
Secondly, I think you can find bad in any city, anywhere. Although it does take some mental adaptation to accept everything that goes on in Dumaguete, some say a lifetime to totally adjust, , You can adjust your immediate environment almost immediately if you have legs to walk a couple of hundred meters. When you are on a street with pollution get on another street. When I ride behind a truck belting out smog, I stop the motorcycle sometimes and give the truck a little distance rather than try to anxiously ride closely behind the truck with my face up the exhaust pipe as I cough. It only takes minor adjustments in your location in most places here to find a much better spot to be.
Dumaguete is not perfect,and it is not hell. You can find the perfect city when your attitude allows you to find it, just as you can find your hell city when your attitude allows you to find it. Dumaguete is neither. Just move around, and adjust and there are some great things about the city to enjoy, just as there are some horrible things to avoid here. It just takes a little time to find the perfect and hellish experiences of this city. Maybe two weeks is too short, and a lifetime is too long to learn the necessary living adjustments for a great life here.