Bellacissa

You might be surprised. I lived in Pattaya for a year and very much prefer Angeles City. I find the infrastructure to be about the same except for the cellular coverage. My phone is all but useless for data if I'm not on wifi. Other than that, I've had no trouble with electricty, water, or sewage. Granted, I haven't lived through a rainy season yet.

Just in case anyone searches and finds this post, the total for the two month extension including the ACR card was 7794 pesos. It will vary a little based on the current exchange rate for the ACR, but take about 8000 pesos with you and that should cover it.

I think I missed something. Was something illegal talked about here? I just got here in January, so I'm still learning. If something is illegal, I definitely want to stay away from it.

Bella, I don't think getting a license here is "impossible". I have managed to convince one of the LTO directors I've spoken to, to issue me a license if I get a new Balikbayan visa and see him within 2-3 days of getting off the plane. That's my current plan. Don't know if you're Balikbayan. But that might be an option. Also, others have posted in this thread about having luck with a lease. So at least give it a try. You never know. Answer to #1: Yes, I have purchased and successfully registered a motorcycle without a PI license. It was bought new though and registered through the dealer. Not sure about a used one, doing it yourself. Answer to #2: Who knows? Could be anything from "Give me P100 and I'll let you go" to impounding you trike. Thus is the PI. Ron No, I'm not Balikbayan. I'm an American married to an American. I'm going to try to get the license with my lease and see what happens. I've still got a month before I apply, so maybe a better option will present itself in the mean time.

Its not the fine that will hurt. If you are driving a vehicle while not being in possession a valid license they may confiscate the vehicle. They confiscated mine and I know of two others that happened to. Fortunately, I was able to trot home on foot and get my license and run back to get my motorcycle before they packed it up and left for the day. You will have to pay a fine and show a valid license to get it back. Well, that's less than desirable. Especially if I have my son with me at the time. Ok, then. I'll take my lease with me and hope for the best. Or hope that they realize this rule isn't working out so great before I hit 90 days.

:hystery: Bella I will be quiet as all I can offer is Silly :rolleyes: Pffft. I thrive on silly. I live in PI, don't I? You can't possibly live here without a sense of humor.

So, lets just say that the rule stands long term and I drive on my US license while playing the role of dumb blonde American woman at checkpoints. Hey... You use what you've got, right? :hystery: 1) Can I purchase and insure a trike without a PI license and successfully register it? 2) What is the fine if my acting skills aren't up to par and they cite me for not having the PI license that is now seemingly impossible to obtain?

Unfortunately I haven't heard of any work around at this time .... just don't try the fixers hanging around the LTO offices .... there have been quite a few horror stories about those that have and found out later that when stopped .... had an accident or license taken for getting a ticket .... they were caught with a fake license .... even if never caught when you renew each time you will have to get another fake license from another fixer as it definitely won't go through the system ..... remember you are a foreigner and it will deffinately not go well for you .... Now I know you didn't hint at this but just thought I would warn you in advance .... JMHO .... :tiphat: :cheersty: Thanks for the heads up. I've never even heard of a fixer. Lol. I do everything on my own. I don't trust any kind of service when it comes to official documentation. I do hope we can find a way to do this, though. Riding overpriced taxi trikes is getting old quickly and I like being able to go where I want, when I want.

Has anyone come up with a workaround for this? I'll be hitting 90 days next month and I really want to buy myself a private trike. I have a valid US car and motorcycle license, but that's clearly not going to do me much good here. Should I just take a copy of my lease and hope for the best?

It's just so odd that it is the only thing listed in USD. My only guess is that it's to make a few more pesos when there is a decent exchange rate on their end.

It's time for me to do my first post-59 day extension. I went to the immigration website to get the total amount of cash that I need to bring. But, the ACR card is listed in USD instead of pesos like all of the other prices on the page. I feel stupid even asking this question, but they don't actually want me to pay it in USD do they? Assuming they don't, what exchange rate do they use to pay in pesos? I just want to be sure that I pull enough from the atm.

I'd clean up and renovate the "playground" between Fields Ave and SM Clark here in Angeles. It's basically a fenced in strip of land filled with the homeless, a few scary looking guys that I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, and a couple of kids playing on swings that might have been new in 1958. I know it's not much, but some of these kids have so little that I'd love to give them a place to just be a kid for a little while. I don't care about the noise or the corruption or the pollution nearly as much as I thought I might. But, walking by that delapidated playground every day makes me sad.

After using the borax solution, I have been ant free for over a week. That's a win in my book. On a separate but related note, I heard the neighbor spraying bug spray on his porch last night. Maybe my colony just relocated. :hystery:

Besides calling sausage and potatoes "bangers and mash" and driving on the wrong side of the road, tipping is probably one of the largest cultural difference us Yanks have from our British cousins. We tip if the service is good, we tip (but not so much) if the service is bad, we even tip if there is a tip already included in the bill.It might come from our ingrained need to be liked by everyone, or we might all be egomaniacs suffering from a sense of inferiority or we just like to show off. I have tipped my whole life and most likely continue to do so. (unless I am in Japan where I believe if you leave a tip its an insult, but that might just be an urban myth) :cheersty: It's not an urban myth. My father in law found that out the hard way. He tried to hand the waitress a tip and she shied away in horror. So, he left it on the table. As he left and looked back through the window, she cleaned all around it, but never picked up the cash. According to the men he was with, it's bad luck for them to accept a tip.In the end, I've decided to give the maid 100 pesos a week. One, as you said, I'm a yank and it's what we do. And two, if my $2.50 USD a week can brighten someone's life a little, well... that makes me happy as well.

My lease says that anything that is under 7k pesos and a minor repair should be taken care of by me. That seems reasonable.