A Few Days Back In The Philippines From Aussie

[Adventurer]

hey there, I wanted to post up how my trip here has gone while everything is still fresh in my mind. I do plan to contribute to others threads as well soon but just been a little rushed lately.

 

Anyway, so as some of you might recall I had to go back to Australia at the end of last year as my income had dropped off and my savings had gone so I needed to sort things out. I had the option of finding a normal job back in OZ or to try to pick up the scraps of my online business and make it work. As I'm not a 50 year old although a very young 50 year old lol and I had not had a normal job since 2005 when I worked as a webdesigner in Sydney I was really not looking forward to job hunting. Since 2005 I have made all my income online and supported my self digitally. I have had ups and downs, in 2008-2010 I was making over 100k profit then the next few years until late last year it went down to just a dribble and not enough to live on.

 

The problem now is that I have a fiancée and plans for marriage so it's not just about me anymore either although my fiancée is independent now and is happily working at her job here in Cebu. So anyway to cut a long story short I decided to carry on with my online business and find new ways to bring in income. I also rented out a cheap and not very nice place to stay while I saved.

 

So after spending many late nights and long days researching, testing and developing I found some methods to bring in some regular income online. I had a large cc debt and other bills which are all now cleared. But the best thing is I have a steady income again and it's growing each day with many opportunities to get even better. I still have to watch my pennies though until I can get a sold savings in my bank but I'm pleased that I managed to turn around a dying business to now be doing quite well and with lots of potential for growth,,,,. It was all done living in a hole with cockroaches and not the nicest living conditions but sometimes when you are in the worst conditions it's when you can be highly motivated and can get the best results. Mission completed!

 

So anyway if you might remember I wanted to get CNI as there was some conflicting info about how one should go about it. I was not comfortable with sending it in the mail along with a check and waiting the 3 weeks or so. So I planned to stop in Manila first and go to the Embassy and get it in person. So I planned my trip to get there early in Manila so I had plenty of time and fly out to Cebu later that day.

 

I arrived just after 5am on my $250 jetstar flight from Sydney via Darwin. Now here is some info that some might find helpful too... I decided to ask the immigration officer when I went though customs if I could extend my visa there and she said sure and told me to go to the room on the side and ask the woman there. So I did and she told me it would cost 2600 pesos. I told her I had to go to ATM machine so I did that just out though the main area, Anyway it was only a 15 minute wait and I had my 59 day visa, Much easier than going to Mandaue.,

 

After that and since it was still early I decided to get the 20 peso shuttle to Terminal 3 and hang out there for awhile. I got on the bus which was all pimped out 70's style and with the SOUNDZ and great Filipino music,  nice trip to the other terminal and a good way to be welcomed back into the Philippines. I also had to leave from T3 when I would fly out to Cebu around 2pm.

 

So I get to the terminal 3 and find a baggage storage area that was only 150 pesos for 3 hours. So I left my main bag there even though it was all carry on luggage and locked it up. I took my laptop bag with me.

 

I had breakfast upstairs at the food court and was back in familiar territory of eating the not so healthy Filipino mall food which is all loaded with sugar etc. The yogurt Strawberry smoothie sounded great at Rodgers but I was soon disappointed when I got a just a large cup of ice and sugar, "Welcome to the Philippines" I chuckled to myself. :) This is the attitude one must have here otherwise you can get annoyed easy especially someone  who is fussy with food.

 

Anyway it was also nice to have younger females flirt and laugh again each time I went to a info desk etc and ask for directions. It certainly does your confidence good but all that was on my mind was getting to Cebu and to be with my beautiful fiancée.

 

So after 8.30am I decided to go to the Yellow taxis this time as I had read on forums that you are better off to pay a little extra for them in Manila. I went out to the waiting area for the yellow cabs and was shocked to see hundreds of people in huge lines waiting there. There was no way I was going to wait in that queue so I immediately went upstairs to the white taxis and it was unbelievable as there was like 2 people waiting lol and about 5 taxis. I jumped in the newest looking taxi and asked him if he knew where the Embassy in Ayala Drive is in Makati and he said sure and we drove off, 10 seconds later he said "so where in Makati did I want to go?" hehe,,, Anyway, he was OK once I showed him the address on my cell phone and it was only 150 pesos or so along the Skyline to get there and even less when I came back.

 

I got the Embassy and asked the guy at the counter on the ground floor about the CNI. I told him I want my CNI and I showed him the forms I had already filled out and had an Aussie JP sign (thanks to Jolly here in the forum for that idea)., Unfortunately he told me that you must book and make an appointment. I said "Oh, I never realized I needed to make an appointment" and told him that I had a flight out to Cebu later that day. He told me that he would see what he could do and hope to get someone to see me. After a few minutes he gave me the thumbs up to my relief and told me I could go up and see someone and he gave me a pass. I offered him 100 pesos discreetly as a tip for helping me but he declined as I expected and said it's OK sir and smiled.

 

The woman at the counter was also very helpful and she took my form and a signed JP copy of my Birth Cert. I paid about 3760 pesos which was less than the actual exchange rate for the 90 AU that day which was interesting and I was not going to argue with that.  It was all done in less than 15 minutes. She gave me 3 copies and I walked out a happy man.

 

I got the taxi back to T3 and spent most of the time catching up on some sleep while I waited for my flight.

 

My fiancée finished work in the evening and came back to my hotel to be back with me. It was so nice to see her and I realized how lucky I was and how beautiful she is, I can't believe I nearly forget how gorgeous she is but more importantly she is just a sweet and lovely person.

 

Anyway, I'm going looking at apartments over the next few days and just looking forward to spending time with my girl and planning our future.

 

Thanks to the forum members who gave me advice and info on getting my CNI and all other things I had enquired about over the last 6 months....

 

[bootleultras]

Glad you got there & managed to get everything sorted in Manila, seemingly with little problems encountered! So many talk about the hustle and bustle of Manila with everyone out to rip you off which can be true to a point. Im glad you got a decent taxi driver to and from the airport as theyre usually the worst for it! :)

Anyway, good luck with everything & enjoy your time here with your beautiful lady.

All the best mate!

[ozepete]

Good on ya mate... another Aussie that has found the path to happiness.. :thumbsup:

[i am bob]

Great post!

 

I was wondering...  I am researching Internet Marketing as a semi-planned income once I am there.  Would not your business be portable as well?  

 

Anyway, glad to hear all went well and you are back where you were meant to be!

 

:thumbsup:

[Adventurer]

Glad you got there & managed to get everything sorted in Manila, seemingly with little problems encountered! So many talk about the hustle and bustle of Manila with everyone out to rip you off which can be true to a point. Im glad you got a decent taxi driver to and from the airport as theyre usually the worst for it! :)

Anyway, good luck with everything & enjoy your time here with your beautiful lady.

All the best mate!

 

yeah I was surprised as my past experiences in Manila were not as easy. I actually found the people in Manila very cheerful that day.

Good on ya mate... another Aussie that has found the path to happiness.. :thumbsup:

thanks mate :)

 

Great post!

 

I was wondering...  I am researching Internet Marketing as a semi-planned income once I am there.  Would not your business be portable as well?  

 

Anyway, glad to hear all went well and you are back where you were meant to be!

 

:thumbsup:

 

Yeah Bob, my business is portable, it can be run on my laptop like a lot of travelers do these days. That was why I preferred to work on my online business instead of looking for a 9-5 job back in Aussie when I went back last December as once I would finish the 9-5 job I might have more savings but I would have no income once I traveled again. So it was a choice I had to make and I'm glad It worked out as it was risky to put it all on the line as I was getting close to maxing out my credit card. Now I have the freedom to travel here and be with my fiancée while I can still work. but it doesn't stop here, in this business one must find opportunities and make a number of income streams as often one will stop without notice due to number of factors including Google changing things, your advertiser or merchant stops or changes or competitors take you out.....

 

If you have any questions or would like some help then I would be happy to offer any advice if it is something I know about. Just post here if you do.....

[Paul_QLD]

For the uninitiated ... what is a CNI ?

[Adventurer]

For the uninitiated ... what is a CNI ?

Paul, a CNI is a document one must get if they plan to marry in the Philippines. 

 

"CERTIFICATE OF NO IMPEDIMENT (CNI) also known as Certificate of Legal Capacity"

more details here: http://www.australia.com.ph/mnla/marriage.html

 

I think it's basically a document to declare that either party is not currently married.

[i am bob]

 

For the uninitiated ... what is a CNI ?

Paul, a CNI is a document one must get if they plan to marry in the Philippines. 

 

"CERTIFICATE OF NO IMPEDIMENT (CNI) also known as Certificate of Legal Capacity"

more details here: http://www.australia.com.ph/mnla/marriage.html

 

I think it's basically a document to declare that either party is not currently married.

 

 

I'm not so sure about both terms for the CNI.

 

I can get a "Certificate of No Impediment" easily enough but "Legal Capacity" - doesn't that have to do with a person's mental state?  As in "legally, he has no clue how to look after himself so we got him committed."

 

:mocking:

[Steve & Myrlita]

 

 

For the uninitiated ... what is a CNI ?

Paul, a CNI is a document one must get if they plan to marry in the Philippines. 

 

"CERTIFICATE OF NO IMPEDIMENT (CNI) also known as Certificate of Legal Capacity"

more details here: http://www.australia.com.ph/mnla/marriage.html

 

I think it's basically a document to declare that either party is not currently married.

 

 

I'm not so sure about both terms for the CNI.

 

I can get a "Certificate of No Impediment" easily enough but "Legal Capacity" - doesn't that have to do with a person's mental state?  As in "legally, he has no clue how to look after himself so we got him committed."

 

:mocking:

 

Bob, the American Embassy version is indeed called the "Legal Capacity To Marry". The CNI is Canadian & Austrailian I believe.

[Paul_QLD]

Thanks for the info guys :)