Lancer: Tell me about Philippines

[FrostyBoy]

I live in Singapore (as I think you know), and I am considering going to Philippines for a short holiday.

I know two young girls here who are from Philippines (Chinese), they tell me about it, they tell me its not safe for travellers.

I want to go there to see terraces, the perfect volcano rim, beaches etc.

What city are you in? Manila? Can you advise me what to do as a traveller?

I want to go, but am nervous about being kidnapped, robbed, overcharged, etc

[Ben Kenobi]

Well, I'm not Lancer, but I can answer some of your questions.

Lancer, when he is in the Philippines, resides in Bohol, one of the central islands of the archipelago.

He'd prolly advise you to go there rather than Manila, but I don't believe he'll be going to the Phils for awhile.

[Japher]

I think Lancer was going about the time CIV4 is released (whenever that is).

[FrostyBoy]

ohh.. ok.. well if I do go, it will be in Jan.

Bohol is on the same island as iloilo?

[Zkribbler]

Lancer is heading to the Phils on Dec. 4th. IIRC, he'll be staying until about May.

Bohol is east of Cebu & northeast of Mindinao (sp?) It's the south side of Mindinao where the trouble is. Bohol is very safe.

Manila is on Lancer's grumble list. He says, "You can't see the Phillipines from Manila," a slam at the pollution.

You won't find Lancer much on OT anymore. He's ticked at Ming for banning him. He hangs around the Civ4 forum a lot. My suggestion is that you PM him.

I want to go, but am nervous about being kidnapped, robbed, overcharged, etc

If you're in Bohol and Cebu -- as I was last year -- there's little chance of being kidnapped or robbed. If you're a white foreigner, I can pretty much guarantee you'll be overcharged, but the prices there are so low, they could charge you five times their normal prices, and you'll still be doing fine. If you're with Dolores (Mrs. Lance), she'll do the bargaining.

[FrostyBoy]

thanks for the info!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Manila's a dump. I say that as a resident. It's also different from the rest of the Phils, which is a good thing. The Phils major tourist destinations -- Bohol, Boracay, Palawan -- are all relatively safe. Terrorists can strike anywhere, of course, but seem to focus on their own bases in the far south; kidnapping for ransom is making a comeback, but seems to be concentrating on Chinese-Filipinos. My one piece of advice to an outsider would be to not travel alone on public transportation, which seems to be where most petty crime takes place.

[Theben]

See if you can hook up with Lance or some of his relations. That way you shouldn't be overcharged as much.

[phoenixcager]

I actually visited Iloilo (it's on the island of Panay, btw, which is also where Boracay is) some time back (actually 8-9 years ago), and my parents visit it on a regular basis (as recent as last week, I think). So far it's been pretty safe.

[Lancer]

Re: Lancer: Tell me about Philippines

Originally posted by Sn00py
I live in Singapore (as I think you know), and I am considering going to Philippines for a short holiday.

I know two young girls here who are from Philippines (Chinese), they tell me about it, they tell me its not safe for travellers.

I want to go there to see terraces, the perfect volcano rim, beaches etc.

What city are you in? Manila? Can you advise me what to do as a traveller?

I want to go, but am nervous about being kidnapped, robbed, overcharged, etc

Hey Snoopy!

Philippines is actually fairly safe if you avoid a couple places. Manila, as Rufus mentioned, is a dump. There are kidnap for ransom gangs there so avoid it if you can. The other place is southern Mindanao and the small islands around southern Mindanao. That's the Moslem area. Otherwise it's safe imo, safer than most places in the world. Bohol Island I feel really safe on, and there are a few things to see. The Chocolate Hills, and then some little island near Tagbilaran City, the capitol of Bohol, that is connected by a causeway. Damn, I'm drawing a blank on the name. We took Zkribbler there to see the white sand beaches...cleaner and less touristy than Boracay and has a reef and diving if you're into that. Bohol also has the smallest monkey in the world, the Tarsus monkey, about the size of your hand.

Definately visit us if you can. I'll pm you some contact info when I have more time.

[FrostyBoy]

Thanks Lancer.

I really want to go now. Chocolate Hills? Monkeys the size of your hand?

Sounds like Willy Wonka's country!

[Dis]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
Lancer is heading to the Phils on Dec. 4th. IIRC, he'll be staying until about May.

Bohol is east of Cebu & northeast of Mindinao (sp?) It's the south side of Mindinao where the trouble is. Bohol is very safe.

Manila is on Lancer's grumble list. He says, "You can't see the Phillipines from Manila," a slam at the pollution.

You won't find Lancer much on OT anymore. He's ticked at Ming for banning him. He hangs around the Civ4 forum a lot. My suggestion is that you PM him.



If you're in Bohol and Cebu -- as I was last year -- there's little chance of being kidnapped or robbed. If you're a white foreigner, I can pretty much guarantee you'll be overcharged, but the prices there are so low, they could charge you five times their normal prices, and you'll still be doing fine. If you're with Dolores (Mrs. Lance), she'll do the bargaining.

lol, why did Ming ban Lancer?

[Dis]

hey Lancer, I'm curious. What kind of meat do you guys eat over there.

http://www.mb.com.ph/PROV2005082042443.html

It's not people is it? .

Sorry, I couldn't resist. But out of curiousity, what part of the philappines is this in?

[Theben]

The article mentioned Mindanao, which we've already noted as an area to avoid.

[Zkribbler]

There's pork, Theben and other local delicacies.