Stark Differences Between The Phl And Your Home Country, City, State

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Mr Lee
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I can only compare Makati to being very much like many parts of the US with real sidewalks, real traffic lights that work and are actually respected, and buildings that look well maintained. From getting off the airplane we arrive at a real airport that is organized and with good signage. Then walking outside we have choices of buses, shuttles, taxis or shared ride limos which leave the airport onto real roads leading to a highway where the speed limit is 70 mph and the lanes are at least 3 lanes wide with exit lanes all along the road. There are multilevel parking facilities where the person who is waiting for you can park for a reasonable fee. The nice thing is to see the real green grass along the side of the roads and overpasses instead of intersections, and upon coming to an exit there is good signage and upon getting off the highway there are real traffic lights or stop signs that people actually abide by. All along the road are usually a system of canals for drainage to prevent flooding and with pumps to pump the water out of the city if necessary, oh and there are real storm drains which prevents the roads or streets from flooding.Also the highways and streets have real signs and direction type signs as well.Then when getting off into main side roads, there is usually shopping centers all along most major areas and again green grass which is actually taken care of all over. I guess the stark differences are clean air, clean streets, and clean sidewalks along with beautiful roads that basically connect the whole US continent to make it possible to drive cross country, as my wife and I have done a couple of times. There are real amusement parks, bowling alleys and movie theaters all over along with restaurants and just about any type of shopping a person might need. Then there are open area parks for picnics and barbecues and trails to walk along and in some areas horse riding trails, and most cities have dog parks where a person can let their dogs run and get some real exercise. Hospitals everywhere and if a person should need blood, not a problem in the US no matter how rare a persons blood might be. I could go on and on but I wonder what other items or the same items others notice about where they came from compared to where they are now or wish to be? Every time my wife and I arrive back in the US it makes me wonder even more why would we ever wanted to live in the Philippines, yet it does have its charms, with a slower way of life being one of them but at a cost.

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Bruce
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Looks you have come full circle Oh Great One and now are just reminding yourself again and again that you have made the correct decision, for you. The Philippines has lost a great advocate for retiring in the Philippines........ It will be very hard.... but some how... we will try to move on.We need a volunteer in Cebu to 'hold court' in Ayala Mall every day late morning and again early evening.... You get the prized seat under the escalator going UP...... Job does not pay anything, but the views are great.....Volunteers???? Anyone???I would do it, until a permanent replacement can be found, but I am based out on Samar not Cebu........ Tom does not spend enough time in Cebu, so although the title of Grand Foreigner Poo Bah is rightfully his.....

Edited by Bruce
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Mr Lee
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Bruce and others, I am still an advocate for the Philippines, but with peoples eyes wide open and not wearing rose colored glasses. The Philippines can certainly be a great place to visit and which will surely make us appreciate more what we already have, and maybe it is even a great place to retire to for some but it will not be a great place to retire to for all, and as I suspect if it were not for the women, most non Filipino men would not give it a second look. The women are the big draw the Philippines has going for it and the possibility of living for less in some areas.

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Mr Lee
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One thing that strikes me is how busy the RP is. In the neighborhood that I live in in the US we only know the prople living on either side of us and across the street. Perhaps see a person or two walking on our street from time to time, boreing really. In the RP when I look out the window in Los Banos Laguna it is full of life, horns honking, people selling there goods, people walking everywhere, I like that.Doug
Well I was hopping more people would do as you did and post the good things such as the smiling faces when getting off the planes in the Philippines etc. Bruce and others, feel free to post the differences that you find to be refreshing when you arrive in the Philippines.
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FlyAway
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Makati is nice as you say Mr. Lee. But I was suprised to drive from Bacolor through the city of San Fernando in Pampanga. Reminded me of most cities you see in the US.Infrastructure is building in Philippines. My wifes home town in Northern Cotabato province had some big changes since our last visit. Some of the streets actually had sidewalks. Well, it was more like concrete blocks covering the drainage ditches. While not quite like ones we are used to, it is still an improvement to me.

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Jake
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My family use to live in Bel-Air area of Makati. Modern and clean for the most part. At night when Judyand I take a stroll to her sister's restaurant, we are greeted warmly. After awhile, they get used to thisdollar speaking Pinoy (me) and charge me the local price (beer, haircut and tricycles). Without Judy,I'm usually accompanied by my brother-in-law, who's reputation precedes him as rich and powerful. Yeah,he's packin' a Glock. Living out in the province, or secluded island near Puerto Galera, Mindoro, things gets more and morelaid back, island time. What else can you do when the power is out for hours. Dogs, carabao, goats,chickens and more dogs are everywhere. You can't walk a straight line unless you don't care aboutstepping on some fresh dog chit. Pot holes, mud, dust, horizontal rain and mosquitoes are my vividmemories living out in the boonies. And I loved it. Except for the weird unknown jungle noises whichbecame more chilling after hearing about the local mythical creatures, like the Aswang.Yeah, I miss the cold beer and the hot women. Afternoon drinking session, eating table food with yourhands and peeing at the nearest wall. Yeah, I miss it all.....he, he.Respectfully -- Jake

Edited by JAKE
spill chek
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Bruce
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Bruce and others, I am still an advocate for the Philippines, but with peoples eyes wide open and not wearing rose colored glasses. The Philippines can certainly be a great place to visit and which will surely make us appreciate more what we already have, and maybe it is even a great place to retire to for some but it will not be a great place to retire to for all, and as I suspect if it were not for the women, most non Filipino men would not give it a second look. The women are the big draw the Philippines has going for it and the possibility of living for less in some areas.
WOMEN! There are WOMEN available in the Philippines??? Available women??? Well DAMN! Sign me up. Is there a quota? A license needed? How much for a foreigner's license? How many can I shag, er, ah... I mean bed... no... bag, yes, how many am I allowed to bag a day? Per season? Wow I feel just like Bud Bundy...... I am gonna get me some....... (But please, keep this quiet, just between us. No need to tell the wife out on Samar and if this becomes public knowlege that there are available women in the Philippines, then the poachers will come in and it will ruin it for all of us...... )
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Jake
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Not having actually lived there (yet), but visit many many times and will again in two months, i echo SOFTAIL. For me maybe it is as close to the America that my father grew up in. If i need a toilet seat, i go to the local hardware store where the guy remembers me. (i know, hard not to being a Kano, but...) going out each morning to get the paper from the news stand, the pan de sal from the bakery, the mango from the wet market. Where i walk down the streets and "most" folks smile and wave. Where the old ladies of the neighbor hood come to our home once a week and pray at our shirne. The roads and traffic? Chaotic to the extreme, but to be honest i have never seen a wreck or a fender bender, the drivers all seem to know when to let someone in and when to cut them off, no road rage (that i have seen YET). Walking down the street past the florist, electronic repair shop, bakery, fruit stand, guy selling rice, the guy walking up and down selling tahot in the morning and balut in the evening. a little store front for a pedicure, getting a straight razor shave for a USD 1. etc etc etc. Bottom line the sense of people LIVING.Having said all that, if the "primitive life" becomes to hmmmm primitive, and I get bored with my highspeed internet, color cable TV, my CD's and my aircondidioned study and there is no one I can talk to on my cell phone or skype. We will go to Shoe Mart Sucat, and wander the marble floors of the Mall, eat at the food court, watch movies in english that are only a few months old, window shop at Ace Hardware, the National book store etc. etc. etc.And if things get really bad we will go to Sea Front, and window shop at the Mall of Asia, (now there is a Mall).Guess what i really mean to say in this rambling is that: Yes the Philippines is primitive in many many many ways, to those of us who were fortunate enough to be raised in the land of the big PX (with all the rules, regulations and homeowners assotiation rules etc). But the Philippines is not with out its comforts. As long as you possess one thing. MONEY. which thank goodness we have enough for our purposes.((((DEEP BREATH))). There, I am off my soap box :541:
Hey Scott, You have channel fever yet? Wow, two months from now you will be salivating into some freshly madeand warm pan de sal soaked in Cheese Whiz. I could remember reading one of your blogs about thelocal church there honoring you as a US soldier fighting for their freedom as well. It was a moving article.Please continue to tell us about your area, Paranaque City just south of Manila. We could spend thewhole day at the MOA, the famous Mall of Asia. Do you have any spare blinders? I need to focus aheadof me rather than busting my neck trying to catch the lovely ladies all around us.You and I will be in the dog house in no time flat....he, he. Respectfully -- Jake
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