Greetings to you all. Is bike theft prevalent in Dumaguete? I'm moving there in April and planning to get a motorbike/ scooter and a mountain bike. I have lived in China previously and bike theft was a bike problem there. So I'm wondering is it also a problem in Dumaguete? Appreciate your thoughts.
If it even appears that something has monetary value it has a very real possibility of growing legs and walking away if you leave it unsecured.
don't worry, this is the city of gentle people. nobody is stealing anything here, but someone might borrow your bike(s) for a while - or longer :-)
Lived in Dumaguete for nearly 20 years. Never heard of a bike being stolen from any of my friends or the wife's family being stolen. BUT, of course it does happen so park it carefully and securely. Simple. Same as anywhere else. My guess is it will never happen to you.
I was told that "recently" there was a foreigner up in Valencia that was sitting at the red chair that had a local come ask if the long-nose wanted his motorcycle washed for P20. Unable to turn down this great deal, the foriegner handed the stranger his keys and didn't realize what had happened until quite some time later. I was told the police did catch up with the thief and get the bike returned. No idea on if this chismis is true or not.
Thanks I wasn't planning to leave a mountain bike unchained or hand my keys to a stranger. I may be thick, but I'm not a complete eejit. In seven years in China I had 3 motorbikes stolen. In 5 years in other countries in Asia never had a problem. It seems, and I hope, Dumaguete falls into the latter category.
This is an island nation. People here are too lazy to ride a bike. They think you're nuts if you are using any transportation which doesn't have a motor (including walking.) The greatest deterrent against thieves is that they might actually have to ride the thing to their hideout. And on the way there they have to deal with people giving them a "WTF are you doing?" look. God forbid the thief's girlfriend sees him riding a bike. Imagine asking a chick for her number and then pulling out one of those Cherry Mobile phones with actual buttons. You would get the same reaction pulling up to her on your bike. If bikes were cool here, then pedicabs would still be actual pedicabs.
Tons of bicycles around, most are junk but you will see folks riding down the highway occasionally with what looks like decent bikes. If you have a good mountain bike I would be a bit nervous leaving it for any length of time. In a public area and chained up during the day would be a bit less stress, would keep it in the house/apartment at night. My wife has had numerous motorbikes for 10+ years and has yet to have one stolen; I've heard of motorbikes getting stolen but don't believe it is super common...I could be wrong though. Shawn
I'm pretty sure they are getting some exercise in or training for a ride. At least they are wearing helmets... But I understand what you are saying; the wife will not let our son ride his bike to school and I'd assume for many of us that was how we got to school most days when we were young. Shawn