Remember The First Time You Stepped Off The Plane

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Call me bubba
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The Smell. oh the (outside air) Smell :mocking:

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KanoJoe
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I remember the first time arriving into MNL... The heat, humidty, hustle & bustle of people, the traffic and the smell... It reminded me of my first time arriving in Mexico City or Sao Paulo... The one thing I was not prepared for was the pervasive poverty, number of beggars on the street and the fact that everyone I came into contact with tried to scam me... Once out of Manila I found the country to be absolutely gorgeous and the people friendly... Then there was the "kano" effect, where people watch you where ever you go...

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Old55
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I remember the first time arriving into MNL... The heat, humidty, hustle & bustle of people, the traffic and the smell... It reminded me of my first time arriving in Mexico City or Sao Paulo... The one thing I was not prepared for was the pervasive poverty, number of beggars on the street and the fact that everyone I came into contact with tried to scam me... Once out of Manila I found the country to be absolutely gorgeous and the people friendly... Then there was the "kano" effect, where people watch you where ever you go...
"The Kano Effect" I like that! So true and unexpected.
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volstateguy
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My first trip there I landed in the middle of the day, something like 3 pm if I remember right. I was stationed in Germany at the time and as it was January, it was very cold there. So the first thing that hit me was the heat, which actually hit me before I even stepped off the plane. The heat rolled through the plane as soon as the door was opened and I was sweating before I even got of the plane. Next was all the smiling friendly people, all through the airport was nothing but smiling friendly faces and "Hello Sirs". During the taxi ride to my hotel I was on sensory overload with the sights, the smells....and the CHAOTIC traffic. I was never so happy to get that first taxi ride over with.

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Jim Sibbick
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The first time I stepped off the plane, I was there with 4 others. My friend Joe, his wife Imelda, his daughter and my friend Ian who was coming to meet Imeldas sister. They had been writing to each other for a year. It was snail mail in those days and this was the big moment. Then............ Nothing! No kiss no hug, I suddenly realised no present either.I thought it odd that all the families were kept behind a fence and could not come into the airport to meet us. Afterwards I realised that if they did that, the airport would be full of squatters.We had arranged for a van to pick us up but the van was mostly full already. We were squeezed in like sardines in a can. As we left the airport, there was a beggar still hanging off the back of the van. He managed to stay holding on for about 10 minutes but we gave him nothing.The traffic was back to front for me. I was very used to everthing being the other way around. I didn't notice poverty. I just noticed many interesting sights.The van was supposed to cost P1000 to take us to our accommodation near Sta Ana Race track. When we arrived, the driver wanted an extra P500 because he had to wait so long. I had been 30 minutes in the Philippines and I was already being ripped off. Of course I didn't know it at the time because the cost seemed reasonable compared to western prices. The next day I knew we were ripped off because we hired a similar van for the whole day for P500.The house was a shock to me. It was 5 actual bedrooms above a garage work shop. People everywhere. They had split the bathroom in 2 and made that into a bedroom as well. Showering was with a bucket and ladle and there was no toilet paper. They had made space under the stairs into a type of bedroom. I was staying in a bedroom with Ian. Imeldas sister stayed in the same room as Imelda and Joe. The next morning, Joe tells me he is in lust with his sister in law. There was about 10 girls between 16 and 26 staying there, all cousins of Imelda. The next day, one of Imeldas aunts comes up to me and says her neice is interested in me. I said which one. She said....All of them!Regards: Jim

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Bruce
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The first time I stepped off the plane, I was there with 4 others. My friend Joe, his wife Imelda, his daughter and my friend Ian who was coming to meet Imeldas sister. They had been writing to each other for a year. It was snail mail in those days and this was the big moment. Then............ Nothing! No kiss no hug, I suddenly realised no present either.I thought it odd that all the families were kept behind a fence and could not come into the airport to meet us. Afterwards I realised that if they did that, the airport would be full of squatters.We had arranged for a van to pick us up but the van was mostly full already. We were squeezed in like sardines in a can. As we left the airport, there was a beggar still hanging off the back of the van. He managed to stay holding on for about 10 minutes but we gave him nothing.The traffic was back to front for me. I was very used to everthing being the other way around. I didn't notice poverty. I just noticed many interesting sights.The van was supposed to cost P1000 to take us to our accommodation near Sta Ana Race track. When we arrived, the driver wanted an extra P500 because he had to wait so long. I had been 30 minutes in the Philippines and I was already being ripped off. Of course I didn't know it at the time because the cost seemed reasonable compared to western prices. The next day I knew we were ripped off because we hired a similar van for the whole day for P500.The house was a shock to me. It was 5 actual bedrooms above a garage work shop. People everywhere. They had split the bathroom in 2 and made that into a bedroom as well. Showering was with a bucket and ladle and there was no toilet paper. They had made space under the stairs into a type of bedroom. I was staying in a bedroom with Ian. Imeldas sister stayed in the same room as Imelda and Joe. The next morning, Joe tells me he is in lust with his sister in law. There was about 10 girls between 16 and 26 staying there, all cousins of Imelda. The next day, one of Imeldas aunts comes up to me and says her neice is interested in me. I said which one. She said....All of them!Regards: Jim
I think you should contact Chevy Chase about making a National Lampoon's PHILIPPINE VACATION! What year was this and how long until you bailed out to find a real hotel room?
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Bundy
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Pretty much the same as others have posted. For me it was April 1986 i arrived at Manila in the evening after a Philippine Airlines flight from Sydney.It was cold when i left Sydney so i guess the first thing i noticed when i arrived was the heat, and then that dreadful smell, something which i can't describe but it's nowhere near as bad these days. After clearing customs and exiting into the arrival area of terminal 1 ( that was the only terminal then ) i was immediately set upon by masses of people all trying to rip my baggage away from me, grabbing me and trying to pull me with them to their waiting transport.Just surviving the treatment at the airport without losing your temper was a major achievement back then. I can vividly remember travelling up Roxas Boulevarde in the taxi to my prebooked hotel (Tropicana, on L.M. Guerrero St Malate) and thinking OMG i had never ever seen so many people in one place before in my life. All the little shanties which used to line Manila Bay, the beggars at every traffic light intersection and just the darkness of the place. Wasn't in my room at the hotel very long when the phone rang, it was a Filipino gentleman who knew my name and told me that he was to be my guide while i was in the country and he was waiting for me in the lobby! I told him to bugger off quick smart. The cunning buggers at the immigration counters at the airport used to use all the information you supplied them and pass it on to cousin so and so or brother so and so. Everyone you would meet would give you the same set of questions........Is this the first time you've been in the Philippines? Where are you staying? How long will you be here? How do you support yourself? etc etc. I learned quickly but sometimes the hard way and was taken advantage of a few times but managed to stay out of any serious trouble. I was told many times before i arrived, "Never go walking in Rizal Park after dark" so what did i do? Yep i went for a walk and it was one of the funniest things that i can remember about my first trip. I had already been in the country for about 7 weeks at this stage so was used to most of what goes on. Minding my own business walking along and this young Filipino appears at my side and starts walking with me.He went through the usual set of questions which i politely answered for him (incorrectly). Just when i thought he was getting bored he says "You want girl sir?", i said no sorry not interested.He tried again and again, " You want girl sir? take my sister" until i got angry and i said " Look, i'm not interested now piss off ok" Well there was quiet for a while but he still kept walking with me. So, bugger me dead the next thing he says is "You want boy sir?". Honestly, you coulda floored me with a feather, i gathered my thoughts and said to him " look, read my lips........XXXX off!" So many memories from that initial trip but the one thing that always stood out was when i returned to Australia i was able to tell my mates that i had just been to an absolutely "magical" place called The Philippines. :hystery:

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Bruce
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Several have mentioned the 'smell'. I remember no smell. But I do remember smog. And that is some what perplexing in that the part of Luzon where greater Manila is is flat. I do not understand why the ocean winds do not simply sweep the smog away every day before it builds up.

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Jim Sibbick
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The first time I stepped off the plane, I was there with 4 others. My friend Joe, his wife Imelda, his daughter and my friend Ian who was coming to meet Imeldas sister. They had been writing to each other for a year. It was snail mail in those days and this was the big moment. Then............ Nothing! No kiss no hug, I suddenly realised no present either.I thought it odd that all the families were kept behind a fence and could not come into the airport to meet us. Afterwards I realised that if they did that, the airport would be full of squatters.We had arranged for a van to pick us up but the van was mostly full already. We were squeezed in like sardines in a can. As we left the airport, there was a beggar still hanging off the back of the van. He managed to stay holding on for about 10 minutes but we gave him nothing.The traffic was back to front for me. I was very used to everthing being the other way around. I didn't notice poverty. I just noticed many interesting sights.The van was supposed to cost P1000 to take us to our accommodation near Sta Ana Race track. When we arrived, the driver wanted an extra P500 because he had to wait so long. I had been 30 minutes in the Philippines and I was already being ripped off. Of course I didn't know it at the time because the cost seemed reasonable compared to western prices. The next day I knew we were ripped off because we hired a similar van for the whole day for P500.The house was a shock to me. It was 5 actual bedrooms above a garage work shop. People everywhere. They had split the bathroom in 2 and made that into a bedroom as well. Showering was with a bucket and ladle and there was no toilet paper. They had made space under the stairs into a type of bedroom. I was staying in a bedroom with Ian. Imeldas sister stayed in the same room as Imelda and Joe. The next morning, Joe tells me he is in lust with his sister in law. There was about 10 girls between 16 and 26 staying there, all cousins of Imelda. The next day, one of Imeldas aunts comes up to me and says her neice is interested in me. I said which one. She said....All of them!Regards: Jim
I think you should contact Chevy Chase about making a National Lampoon's PHILIPPINE VACATION! What year was this and how long until you bailed out to find a real hotel room?
1994.I did not use a hotel in the Philippines until I returned the following year to get married and even then it was only when we went on a shopping trip to Cebu City to by stuff for the wedding. Otherwise, I stayed with family on Leyte.Regards: Jim
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Dzighnman
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First time was 1999, here on business as part of a team starting up the Lexmark plant on Mactan. We got in late to Manila and had to leave early for Cebu. OPPRESSIVE heat, having left Chicago in January, this was the most noticable, then the throng of people waiting to meet/greet outside and being held back by barricades, I recall thinking there must be a superstar arriving or something.... then off to the Shangri-la in Makati for our 5 hour stay.... the team decided to grab a drink when we got to the hotel, so while waiting for the rest, a couple of us were at the entrance drive and traffic was whizzing by... a van screeched up and stopped right at our feet... before we had time to react, this guy hops out, swings open the side door and reveals a bunch of girls in skimpy clothes and says, "here you like?", " two for 30 dollar", "They good girls, they work in mall".... uh, welcome to the Philippines. As some of our team was female, we decided against adding to our team for the night and let the meat wagon take off. Completely oblivious to all the nuances of expat life in the Phils, our couple of weeks was filled with so many more odd experiences, like getting hit on in the mall coffee shops, feeling like a carcass as you see the same females? circling you and giving "the look", at Starbucks. First impressions were this place is like no other and I could not wait to see what more surprises lay ahead of me. Seems like so long ago now.

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