BrettGC

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them." Lest we forget.

After seeing the way some expats behave and treat the locals I tend to make no more effort with them than I do with anyone anywhere in the world, other than people I already know of course. A good bloke is a good bloke no matter where they're from, and a wanker is a wanker. Sure, if I'm having a coffee etc and someone wants to sit near me that's fine, I'm a friendly enough bloke within normal limits. Different in a bar after a few drinks, I've made some great friends in bars over the years, people I'm still in contact with now, of all nationalities, Western and other, more other if I think about it. Given that I've spent more of my life in countries that are of a non-Western background than I have in Australia it's not surprising. Some guys just like their alone time as well. When SAO was here, my little one bedroom townhouse became a lot smaller, and we'd often go and do our own things for a while.

After living in the US a couple of times, for 2 years each stint and the second time working in the hospitality industry, I can see how and why you do what you do Scott. I tend to just follow the Short Angry One's lead on this front, and not matter how big the bill, it's never over 100PHP and that depends on the service provided. But each to their own

Figured as much... Walking ATMs.

Interesting. I wonder if they assume any given level for expats.

Ouch

What sized bottle Jack?

Same as Old55 I run them by the SAO first to see if they're known, if not I ignore 'em. We've run into a couple of issues and one is one of my best friends in the world; We joined the navy about six months apart but in the same job, when women were allowed into combat roles in the RAN we ended up on the same ships a couple of times, we served overseas together a couple of times as well. The biggest problem is that Naomi is an absolute glamour and a bit of a Salma Hyek lookalike but on the other side of the coin she's also a lesbian who is absolutely no threat to SAO whatsoever and she'd be more into SAO than me. We chat on FB a little bit and whenever we're in the same locale catch up and have a heap of fun. This always results in varying degrees of tampo. Naomi is coming to the wedding, it should be interesting. The others are two filipinas I met before SAO, we've remained really good friends to the point of I consider them little sisters now and I even went to one of their weddings when she married another Aussie. We exchange photos, chat on FB but these two more than Naomi illicit an extreme reaction from the Angry Midget. I just told her that I've known people for years, they're my friends, and that her insecurities are hers and not mine. Well you can imagine how this goes down but I stand by it I then tell her "you're cute when you're jealous". It's a sometimes cute but mainly annoying quirk in some women and seems more prevalent in filipinas but in my experience the rest of the package more than makes up for it.

I'd personally get the bus from Cebu to Dumaguete then the ferry across from there. It's a beautiful drive down the coast of Cebu. When Short Angry One and I went to Siquijor we stayed at the White Villas resort; highly recommended especially if you can score a bungalow. It's about 25mins in a trike from where where the ferry will drop you. As to having a look around there, just tee up a day trip with your hotel reception and you can see most of the sites in a day and a half or so depending on your pace; it's a small island. We fell in love with the place and didn't see a single witch - ask the locals about the varying superstitions regarding the island.

As an Aussie you can add to this the slowly but steadily tanking AUD against the USD and resultant flow-on to the PHP. As the USD rises world-wide, this places more inflationary pressure in PI pushing the AUD down against the PHP. This is further aggravated by the US/China "trade war" forcing the AUD against the USD due to China being Australia's biggest trading partner. In the last year the USD has gone from 51 to 54 PHP whereas the AUD has gone from 41 to 38. These are official rates of course, what you'll actually get can vary wildly as we all know but it's on the same curve. Just food for thought for those that receive their income in AUD.

As JGF said, what happened there could happen anywhere in PI.

Well bit late to the party on this one but why Dumaguete for me? Well the Angry Midget/Short Angry One is from Negros Oriental about 3 hours North of Dumaguete (Guihulngan City) but works in Dumaguete. Some of you may remember a few years back we renovated her family home with a view to living there one day, but as idyllic as the location is, beach front, quiet etc there's absolutely nothing there other than the basics. Whilst I'm not against a quiet provincial life, I do like a little modicum of convenience sometimes and Dumaguete ticks a lot of boxes with regards to this without being crazy busy like Manila, Cebu City and to a lesser extent Davao City. It's easier to get to than where I currently live in Australia. It also complies with the 2 hour rule. SAO is happy to live anywhere in The Bisayas so the fact I like Dumaguete is sort of a bonus. High on our list of alternatives were Tagbilaran, Tacloban and Puerto Princesa. Whilst not in the Bisayas, we fell in love with Puerto Princesa and Palawan in general last year - tourist trap issues aside of course. We toyed with the idea of Siquijor as well but ruled it out for the same reasons as her home town. Dumaguete has a good bunch of reprobates there that like to get together for a beer every now and then too. Funny thing is, once I discovered that dark ale, (Cerveza Negra) Kev was a little worried I'd drink the resto dry of it and leave none for him. I gave it a crack but didn't make it and by the time SAO came to pick me up she had to pour me into the trike

So even odds then

Long story but lets just say I've fallen afoul of the Australian Taxation Office, so a bit of debt to pay. On the upside once I realised what was happening I worked out I was in arrears and I handed myself in so no criminal prosecution for evasion but still have a debt to pay. I could've done a runner but not being able to ever enter Australia didn't appeal to me. Big boy pants are on, working it off. Lets just say I have a kill on sight order out on an accountant from a few years back and I manage my financial affairs myself now.

Westwho? Been watching this season closer than I have in years, it's gonna be interesting. Gunners.. But that's way off-topic :)