The Philippines

[thalaw2]

I won't be active for about a week while I enjoy my vacation in the lovely Philippine Islands.  I've been here 2 days already and I'm lovin every minute of it!

[Uncle Yuan]

Enjoy!  One of my co-workers is from Manilla and he's been talking up the Philippines.  It's moved way up my list of places to go!

[thalaw2]

I just got back today...it's 3am here. It was a blast!  As vacations go this is #1.  My buddy took me all over in 8 days with almost no rest and I loved it.  We took buses, trains (the light rail), and Jeepney's (my fav's).  I went to Villa Escudaro, 100 Islands, a Volcano, the Rice Terraces, and more.  I can't recommend it enough, Dr. Uncle Yuan.

[BentonGrey]

Have a safe trip!

[lugaru]

I would love to go there, I've had some friends from the Philipines and everything they told me about it sounded great. I love the food too and I hear english is pretty common so I might actually be able to order it.

[detourne_me]

I just came back on Friday morning too.  I spent a week on Boracay,  which is i guess one of the more touristy islands. 
Which was cool, because I met many people and made friends from all over the world.
I had an excellent time, and i'm a little tanned too so that's good. Tanduay tastes pretty sweet  
English is spoken very well there, i didn't have to adjust my speech patterns for anyone really.

I wasn't too fond of the food,  but maybe because most of the Filipino food i ate was buffet style. it was a little too sweet, but a little bland at the same time.
Also coming from a fiscally conservative country, i wasn't sure about all of the tipping and side fees. but thats a minor thing. in all, it was an amazing vacation

[zuludelta]

I haven't been to the Philippines since... 2001, I guess. It's funny, I still catch myself referring to it as "home" every now and then in casual conversation with friends. By the thalaw2, which rice terraces did you go to? The more famous ones are the ones located in Ifugao province (the Banawe Rice Terraces), but they were in a state of neglect and disrepair last time I was there and the ones pictured on most postcards (and even some encyclopedias) for the past couple of decades are actually the smaller ones located in Mountain Province. You should have gone spelunking, I've got fond memories of cave-exploring and cave-swimming in Sagada when I was in high school (swimming/wading in underground rivers... an exhilirating and horrifying experience at the same time, combining the adrenaline/endorphin rush from the threat of drowning and getting stuck in a remote, cramped, enclosed, and dark space).

Hopefully, I'll be able to afford a visit to the islands sometime later this year (not really banking on it, though).   

I just came back on Friday morning too.  I spent a week on Boracay,  which is i guess one of the more touristy islands.

Boracay's cool, but it's turning into a sex tourism haven from what I've been hearing from friends from the area. Although I guess it's almost inevitable <sigh>. Nothing against the idea of a sex industry... in fact, I'm all for the government taking an active hand in regulating it (since it seems there's nothing they can realistically do to stop it), if that means sex trade workers and their families will have easier access to medical, legal, and social services and it will be easier to rescue underaged workers.
 

Tanduay tastes pretty sweet

Ha ha, my old landlady actually used Tanduay to unclog stopped-up drains  You should have tried some Red Horse Beer as well... it's a minor legend in the international beer community, apparently. Really skunky-smelling and the only way it's tolerable is ice-cold, but I dare you to find any other mass-produced, legally-formulated beer that'll get you drunk faster (my personal record is 4 bottles in an hour before passing out). 

[thalaw2]

I haven't been to the Philippines since... 2001, I guess. It's funny, I still catch myself referring to it as "home" every now and then in casual conversation with friends. By the thalaw2, which rice terraces did you go to? The more famous ones are the ones located in Ifugao province (the Banawe Rice Terraces), but they were in a state of neglect and disrepair last time I was there and the ones pictured on most postcards (and even some encyclopedias) for the past couple of decades are actually the smaller ones located in Mountain Province. You should have gone spelunking, I've got fond memories of cave-exploring and cave-swimming in Sagada when I was in high school (swimming/wading in underground rivers... an exhilirating and horrifying experience at the same time, combining the adrenaline/endorphin rush from the threat of drowning and getting stuck in a remote, cramped, enclosed, and dark space).

I went to the Rice Terraces in Sagada and we also went to see the Hanging coffins and did some spelunking in a cave with water up to past my waist.  It was the first time I had ever been in a cave with live bats...it was scary not because of the bats but because of all the slippery rocks and moments when I felt I would fall to my death in those caves.  Every adventurous bone in my body is satisfied to the core.  The rice terraces seem to be in good condition, maybe they have decided to take better care of them in recent times.  The next day we went off to 100 islands.  That was much easier on me.  I swam at the beach and even went swimming in a cave, with more bats.   

My buddy really went all out taking me around the Philippines.  We used every mode of transportation available...Jeepneys were my favorite, I even got a picture of myself pretending to drive one.  I was too chicken to sit on top of one though, especially when coming down the mountain from Sagada.   

The food was excellent everywhere.  I never had such sweet mangoes.  I'm absolutely addicted now and the Jolibee makes a decent hamburger for 50 cents. 

Next time I go I'm going to do more R&R.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I actually grew up there (although I am not a native)  Glad you enjoyed it. Just about everyone does speak English, so that makes things easier for tourists.  Of course they also get overcharge and ripped off like crazy, but they never actually realize that.  I believe there was a joke that if an American walks into a store the price is doubled, if a Japanese, tripled.

But the prices are so low that the deals still aren't that bad to most foreigners.

[detourne_me]

hah,  cat thats soo true...   i actually bought a "Rolex" one day, justifying the cost of bringing home something agaisnt parasailing for 15 minutes.
i got it for p1500, then it was like i was a marked man... so many vendors came by offering to my friends...i think the final offer for the same watch was about p850.
oh well--- bling bling and all that.

the sex tourism stuff really weirded me out... but moreso when i saw the "couples" at the airports.

and yeah, red horse is pretty good, but i didn't drink much,  mainly san miguel light. the pilsen delivery was delayed for a few days,  it was like the island was drying up! hahah.

[S.A.M.]

Holy Cow!

I've been lurking the boards for a while now, then this topic pops up. 

You gotta be careful when buying them Rolexes... some of them are either counterfeit or stolen.

There are better places to go to than Boracay. Don't get me wrong, it IS beautiful there, but it's just too commercialized now, IMHO. Try Bohol or Palawan.

I live here, but I haven't been to the rice terraces. lol. lame!  But the beer is awesome!

[thalaw2]

The beer is strong in the Philippines.  It was hard to find anything under 5% alcohol (not that i was looking).  At the end of each day I made it a point to break out a few cold bottles of Pale Pilsen, Red Horse, or (and I should be ashamed to admit it) Colt 45.

[detourne_me]

You gotta be careful when buying them Rolexes... some of them are either counterfeit or stolen.

Are you questioning the legitimacy of the fine piece of swiss timing precision that I bought off a man who took it out of his coat pocket? For Shame!

[The Phantom Eyebrow]

It sounds like a fun place and a beautiful country all right. 

I think though that 5% is the safe threshold for beers.  In my experience, when they're stronger than that you're playing with fire!