Dave Hounddriver

Urine tests are required in Bais, Negros Oriental for all classes of license but this is Philippines, your mileage will vary depending what LTO offfice or region you are in.

If you have not been in the Philippines for 6 months or more then no one will ask to see your ACR card when you exit.

Unfortunately, you are correct. Robbery is a skill in the Philippines and many learn it well. All the foreigners I have know to be robbed in their own house, (and I include myself in this), had a false sense of security thinking they were safe when they were not. You must have learned to think like a burglar in your locksmith days, Snowy. That helps in crime prevention.

Oh I hear that. No building sandcastles but the stray dogs are allowed to wander onto the sand for a shit. Hmmmm. Maybe that's why they don't want the kids playing in the sand? On the other hand, casinos will be banned from the island. I have been wondering about that. Perhaps its one of those things where the dust has to settle before the Chinese Casinos can be built.

You are not listing this option https://www.lbcexpress.com/us/rate-calculator/ Is that not available to you? They ARE the Philippine courier.

First house I rented I signed a lease sitting in the living room of the rented house. The landlady went to an attorney to have it "notarized" and brought me back a "notarized" copy. I ended up breaking the lease due to break-ins at the house and I had to move while I still had stuff left that was not stolen. The landlady said she understood and even gave me the deposit back. (Not all horror stories here.) A bachelor pad I rented 4 years back was owned by an attorney who drew up the lease. I signed it, read it, and left after one month without paying the power bill. The lease said the deposit was to be used first on any unpaid utilities and then on any damage and the remainder returned to me. I made sure the power bill was about equal to the security deposit. No harm, no foul. I have even recommended other expats to stay there and the caretake smiles and says hello when I stop by. Again, no horror story here.

I thought perhaps the employees had misinterpreted the English when I got my fan. There is a big difference between a "free standing" fan and a FREE "standing fan". I think it was supposed to be the former but:

Funny. That is how I got my free standing fan. It was a deal with a washer/spin dryer that I bought 3 years ago. Both are still working. But the stand fan gets in the way when you live in a Tiny House.

Yes, I have. Here is what my experience is from visiting friends who have ceiling or wall fans. Often the temp at the ceiling is much hotter than at floor level and the ceiling fans circulate that hot air. A wall fan can be placed lower on the wall so as not to disturb the hotter air above. A floor stand fan is fine but it takes up floor space and is always in the way. These are just my personal observations and everyone is different. Your house may not have hot air at ceiling level. In any case, I see how it would be fine for some people but not suitable for my purposes. But thanks for the suggestion.

Good point. I will be in Cebu for a day at the end of the month. If I stay sober I ma remember to check that out

Yep. Its crazy they will not let the customer pick the shipper. Some smaller outfits in Manila will ship C.O.D. (for the shipping only) to Dumaguete and I have had 200 kg in 4 boxes shipped door to door for 1,3,50 pesos. I was so happy I gave them a tip. So a tiny box with a wall fan in it will not cost 600 pesos to ship. It is gouging by the seller. They have found a wait to get in a sneaky price increase and the word has spread so many are getting in on it.

The answer used to be yes, but I vaguely remember that was discontinued a while back. If you are techie minded you can read about it here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_television_in_the_Philippines But I think it means you cannot use the old-fashioned TV antenna to get TV. You may be able to use the UHF antenna if they are broadcasting in UHF. IF (and that's a big if) I am right then the antenna you are looking for looks something like this

10 to 12 years ago, a decent fan (floor stand or wall mount) fan would cost 1,000 pesos while a 32-inch tv would cost 30,000 pesos. Fast forward to today and the decent, wall mount, remote control fans are closing in on 3,000 pesos while a 32-inch tv has come down almost to 10,000 pesos. Why would fans go up to triple the price while TVs came down to a third? Strange if you ask me. So the question is: Where is the best deal on a decent, wall mount, remote control fan like the one in this Lazada link? Why don't I buy that one? I think they are asking quite a bit at 2500 pesos for a fan PLUS Lazada has started gouging me on delivery. I used to get things delivered by Lazada for free or for one or two hundred pesos and I don't see that any more. This fan would be 600 pesos to deliver to Dumaguete. https://www.lazada.com.ph/products/asahi-wall-fan-with-remote-control-i231948344-s356225837.html?search=1

So tell them you are sick the day you want to travel and you want to delay a month. They get sniffy about that too but then they feel justified telling you to suck rocks rather than you telling them to suck rocks.