Travelers Checks
Before leaving I had purchased Travelers Checks, another mistake. The banks do not cash travelers checks, all over Manila you will find currency changers. I could not use my travelers checks or my American currency to purchase anything. The hotel does not even change any money. All currencies must be changed at a currency changer. I went to the bank the next morning, I was then sent to a currency changer, they did not want to change my travelers checks unless I had the receipt. I told the gentleman that the receipt was at the hotel, that I do not carry the receipt with me. If I would have been mugged or robbed then the robber would have the checks and the receipt. To make this story short he changed only $ 200.00 with a 2% penalty because I did not have the receipt. I have found out that it is easier to get cash with the Visa Check Card, and this is what I did for the remainder of the trip. I still have my travelers checks. I did call my Master Card before leaving to advise them that I would be in the Philippines, they also advised me that they charge 16.8% fees for every trans-action. My Visa Check Card was only 1% for every transaction. What a rip off.
Other Information
Before continuing this journey I would like to explain a little of the value of some of the things that I have purchased. 1 peso (P1) is worth $0.0207 US. 1 Coke (P15) $0.30, 1 Beer (P40) $0.80, 1 Margarita (P30) $0.60 a Taxi from Hotel to airport (P350) $7.00,. Breakfast (1 cup rice, chicken, pork and coffee) (P125) $2.50. Hotels from (P1750) to (P2100) per night $35.00 to $42.00. I did stay in a real Four Star hotel in Butuan City for $42.00 per night but not in Manila. The flight from Manila to Butuan City (P2750) or $55.00 on a brand new plane the flight was a little over 1 hour. Ride from Butuan City to the town of Cabadbaran in the county of Agusan del Norte in the province and island of Mindanao (pronounces Mindanow) it is a 1 1/2 hour drive. I was very lucky to have stayed with a family in Cabadbaran, it was an ultimate experience. I have never been proposed for marriage so many times on this trip, Tito was the head of the household I was staying for a few days in Cabadbaran, found it very funny to see my expression when I was proposed for marriage by local young ladies. Tito knew that I was not visiting the Philippines for that purpose, most of the time he chatted with the ladies to brush them away. A 4 hour bus ride and by the way I had a lot of those it cost (P500) $ 10.00 for the air conditioned bus or (P350) $7.00 for the non air conditioned, guess which one I opted for. The hotel that I stayed in Beautiful Camiguin Island was a little over priced for the area, the cost $ 42.00 per night. An ordinary room with a little hotter water then the hotel in Manila. I purchased souvenir during my stay, T-shirts P200, you make the conversation. This is one thing that you always have to think about is the conversion. This hotel was not far from the volcano Hibok - Hibok. You will see this volcano on the Camiguin page. Don't forget to click on Viewer to view all of the photos for that page. Also tell your friends to visit this site, they are welcome. I hope you will enjoy the web site as much as I enjoyed the trip. I plan to return
My trip to the Philippines
My trip started on April 12th 2007 at 3 am. The first flight was on time leaving Plattsburgh at 4:40 am, bound for Boston with one stop in Burlington VT. Airlines always play games with flight numbers, my flight number from Boston to Tokyo was United 881. When I read my itinerary I was happy that I only had to change plane in Tokyo. I was wrong, I had to change plane in Chicago even if the flight number was the same. For those of you that never flew Transpacific or Transatlantic like I, it was an experience. I was lucky to have two seats all to myself, so I did sleep well on the plane. Don’t forget that it is a 13 hour flight to Tokyo. Every seat does have a small TV screen in front of you. Every passenger can follow the flight and the path that the plane takes. To my surprise the plane left Chicago and flew up to the Northwest Territories, over the Yukon and Alaska going around to land in Tokyo. I would have thought that they would have flown directly over California, and Hawaii then to Tokyo. I learned that it is shorter the other route. When arriving in Japan it was nice to see all of the rice fields. I did not have a visa to visit Tokyo so I stayed in the airport. At the airport I did notice that the Japanese men are smaller then the Japanese women, I had heard about it but never took notice.
Minor problems
Arriving in Manila 29 hours later Friday April 13th at 10:30 p.m., I was shocked when all of the passengers where gone and my luggage had not come out of the plane. The airline misplaced my luggage can you imagine. I was a not happy camper, specially when I was told that I would receive my luggage in two days. I did purchase insurance for lost or late luggage, did you ever try to call them from overseas. Now that was a joke. Stepping outside in Manila at midnight I was struck by the humidity and the heat, I realized then that this will be a very hot trip. The hotel that I had chosen was to be a Four Star hotel, it is a Four Star Hotel in Manila but a Two Star in this country. Hot water is to make tea or coffee not to take showers I was told by the attendant when I complained that the water was only warm, mostly cold. Fresh brewed coffee is also a luxury and available in few restaurant only. Then again it is so strong that it was not a luxury at all. The most popular coffee in the Philippines is the Nestlé's 3 and 1 it is called. It is an instant coffee with the cream and sugar already in the packet, you can see advertising of this coffee all over the Philippines. Since the hotel did not supply the coffee I had to purchase it, the cost 6 pesos (P6) for the coffee and 7 pesos (P7) for a foam cup for a total of 13 pesos (P23) or $0.26. All of the native's staying at the hotel had their own cups.
When I arrived at the mall to purchase a few clothing I noticed armed guards with machine guns at every entrance. They also have special entrances for men and for women with metal detectors, after entering you must hop on a wooden box to be frisked patted, you then can enter the mall. In the mall I also noticed armed guards with machine guns and dogs, this is in every mall that I have visited on this trip. The hotels also have armed guards, even the remote hotel that I have stayed in had 24 hour armed guards. I could not find any Levis jeans so I opted for the Jag jeans, to my surprise they where made in the US. Even more surprising I noticed the cost P800 or $ 16.00, the shirt that I purchased was P400 or $ 8.00. Now I could live with these prices. I took a tricycle back to the hotel the cost P50, yes $1.00.
Here are a Few Images
I hope you will enjoy the web site.
Please tell a friend
I had lots of FUN
