New here, my experience so far

[Marvin Boggs]

Hi all.  Am fortunate enough to have met a fantastic Filipina elsewhere in Asia, and to be happily married and living here for some time.  I can relate a few thoughts and observations for those who may be new, or wondering if the Philippines is for them.  

Weather -- if you are of reasonable fitness level, the climate here is manageable.  At times during the first year, and when we didn't have a car, I thought I would sweat to death.  Fortunately I came to SE Asia a few years before that.  These days, it is my Filipina wife complaining when are we going to get the air-con fixed in the car.

Travel -- Moving around the Philippines seems excruciatingly difficult, to someone who likes to drive and go places.  Yes the traffic is slow and screwed up most of the time.  Yes the signal lights are either nonexistent or not working.  Drivers are bad, signage is bad, the pump boats and ro-ro's are "an experience".  Understand that there is no sense complaining about it or hoping for change, this is an area where YOU have to change your expectation, or at least your tolerance level.  I can now drive to the office and back without blowing a gasket, but it took me a year to adjust.  

Service -- There are a lot of really great, really affordable services here that Westerners are not used to.  Laundry, same day or next-day for about 200 pesos.  People will stand in line for you and process your registrations and tickets for 20 pesos at the port.  On the other hand, there are professional services that I fear I will NEVER be able to find.  If you want car repairs done "right" with the proper tools, forget it.  Wiring repairs are scary as hell.  Visited a local machine shop today -- holy crap I can't even describe it.  Painting, carpentry, plumbing, etc, there are very few professionals here that you may be happy with. 

Hotels -- Outside of the metro areas, there are very few hotels that you could call 'international' standard.  But that is part of the charm.  We try new places, especially the little 'resorts' that are everywhere.  This has partly been an exercise in adjusting expectations, but also partly an adventure.  One tip I can pass along is, you better make sure you have your snacks or drinks that you'll need WITH YOU after the daytime activities shut down.  Unless you are in a city, there won't be a drink machine or even a little sari-sari booth after hours.  You're on your own until breakfast, or unless you want to drive to the nearest village.

Families -- Have heard a lot of stories and warnings.  Like with any extended family, you have to take the good with the bad.  Our approach has been to get involved as much as we need to, but live on a neighboring island.  Its just a few hours journey when we want to get together, which is about once per month.  There are 'needs' in the family for sure, but wife and I had a frank discussion about money and budgets before we ever got married, so as to limit the cash expenditures to a fixed amount every month.  Within that amount, she can decide how it is spent.  Its enough to afford new shoes for little sister, or new tires for dad's tricycle.  Family has not pressured us at all about things, and seem very cool with having a "Puti" for an in-law.

Dogs -- I still cannot get used to the dogs running around, barking at everything, with no behavioral training at all.  It must really bother me on some deeper level.  In China, by contrast, dogs are well behaved to the extreme.  Here, dogs are not really treated as loving pets, and that bothers me too.  You see a lot of them with diseases and whatnot.  IDK.  To me a dog is not the same as a pig, goat, or chicken.

Govt. Services -- They have a huge affinity for paper.  Always something stamped, signed, validated, etc.  Rather than be continually frustrated, just take the time to ask questions and list out every different office or agency you need to visit, to accomplish your particular objective.  Having a native speaking wife is a huge bonus.  It's like the US in the '70s.  They have computers here, but they like their paper.  They won't be fast, just get used to it.

Customer Service -- It will always be polite, and most always be slow.  For the life of me I don't know why restaurant people have to be called over to the table.  I don't know why ordering McNuggets and fries takes so long for each customer.  I like to think it is because they have not grown up in a 'hurry up' culture, so maybe there is something I can learn about slowing down.  

Taxis -- a good rule of thumb I follow is the worst drivers seem to have the worst cars.  It's not always true, but usually.  I'm picky about driving and I get pissed off when drivers are jerky on the clutch or have other uncomfortable habits like lugging the damn engine in third gear while crawling up a hill.  Whatever the safety standards are for taxis where you came from, I can almost guarantee those are not the standards here. Have been in some downright scary taxis, and some super-nice ones.  Choose wisely.

Business -- you may quickly find that most businesses do no have their own websites, or even domain names.  Most will get by with Facebook accounts and a yahoo address.  There is no yellow pages, and no way to look up what you want, so the networking system revolves around Facebook.  We were able to process needed papers, find a good tax accountant, and navigate the various surprises.  But there are a lot of under-the-radar businesses; a lot of employers paying under the table or not following the pay scales.  A lot of things run by family members of whoever is the local official, etc.  So yeah...if you plan to be in the Philippines running a business, you need to rethink some of the ways you may have done things before.  

 

That's it for now.  I may think of some more observations to add.

 

    

[Jollygoodfellow]

Glad you like it here.

What is your country of birth? 

[Arizona Kid]

1 hour ago, Marvin Boggs said:

Hi all.  Am fortunate enough to have met a fantastic Filipina elsewhere in Asia, and to be happily married and living here for some time.  I can relate a few thoughts and observations for those who may be new, or wondering if the Philippines is for them.  

Weather -- if you are of reasonable fitness level, the climate here is manageable.  At times during the first year, and when we didn't have a car, I thought I would sweat to death.  Fortunately I came to SE Asia a few years before that.  These days, it is my Filipina wife complaining when are we going to get the air-con fixed in the car.

Travel -- Moving around the Philippines seems excruciatingly difficult, to someone who likes to drive and go places.  Yes the traffic is slow and screwed up most of the time.  Yes the signal lights are either nonexistent or not working.  Drivers are bad, signage is bad, the pump boats and ro-ro's are "an experience".  Understand that there is no sense complaining about it or hoping for change, this is an area where YOU have to change your expectation, or at least your tolerance level.  I can now drive to the office and back without blowing a gasket, but it took me a year to adjust.  

Service -- There are a lot of really great, really affordable services here that Westerners are not used to.  Laundry, same day or next-day for about 200 pesos.  People will stand in line for you and process your registrations and tickets for 20 pesos at the port.  On the other hand, there are professional services that I fear I will NEVER be able to find.  If you want car repairs done "right" with the proper tools, forget it.  Wiring repairs are scary as hell.  Visited a local machine shop today -- holy crap I can't even describe it.  Painting, carpentry, plumbing, etc, there are very few professionals here that you may be happy with. 

Hotels -- Outside of the metro areas, there are very few hotels that you could call 'international' standard.  But that is part of the charm.  We try new places, especially the little 'resorts' that are everywhere.  This has partly been an exercise in adjusting expectations, but also partly an adventure.  One tip I can pass along is, you better make sure you have your snacks or drinks that you'll need WITH YOU after the daytime activities shut down.  Unless you are in a city, there won't be a drink machine or even a little sari-sari booth after hours.  You're on your own until breakfast, or unless you want to drive to the nearest village.

Families -- Have heard a lot of stories and warnings.  Like with any extended family, you have to take the good with the bad.  Our approach has been to get involved as much as we need to, but live on a neighboring island.  Its just a few hours journey when we want to get together, which is about once per month.  There are 'needs' in the family for sure, but wife and I had a frank discussion about money and budgets before we ever got married, so as to limit the cash expenditures to a fixed amount every month.  Within that amount, she can decide how it is spent.  Its enough to afford new shoes for little sister, or new tires for dad's tricycle.  Family has not pressured us at all about things, and seem very cool with having a "Puti" for an in-law.

Dogs -- I still cannot get used to the dogs running around, barking at everything, with no behavioral training at all.  It must really bother me on some deeper level.  In China, by contrast, dogs are well behaved to the extreme.  Here, dogs are not really treated as loving pets, and that bothers me too.  You see a lot of them with diseases and whatnot.  IDK.  To me a dog is not the same as a pig, goat, or chicken.

Govt. Services -- They have a huge affinity for paper.  Always something stamped, signed, validated, etc.  Rather than be continually frustrated, just take the time to ask questions and list out every different office or agency you need to visit, to accomplish your particular objective.  Having a native speaking wife is a huge bonus.  It's like the US in the '70s.  They have computers here, but they like their paper.  They won't be fast, just get used to it.

Customer Service -- It will always be polite, and most always be slow.  For the life of me I don't know why restaurant people have to be called over to the table.  I don't know why ordering McNuggets and fries takes so long for each customer.  I like to think it is because they have not grown up in a 'hurry up' culture, so maybe there is something I can learn about slowing down.  

Taxis -- a good rule of thumb I follow is the worst drivers seem to have the worst cars.  It's not always true, but usually.  I'm picky about driving and I get pissed off when drivers are jerky on the clutch or have other uncomfortable habits like lugging the damn engine in third gear while crawling up a hill.  Whatever the safety standards are for taxis where you came from, I can almost guarantee those are not the standards here. Have been in some downright scary taxis, and some super-nice ones.  Choose wisely.

Business -- you may quickly find that most businesses do no have their own websites, or even domain names.  Most will get by with Facebook accounts and a yahoo address.  There is no yellow pages, and no way to look up what you want, so the networking system revolves around Facebook.  We were able to process needed papers, find a good tax accountant, and navigate the various surprises.  But there are a lot of under-the-radar businesses; a lot of employers paying under the table or not following the pay scales.  A lot of things run by family members of whoever is the local official, etc.  So yeah...if you plan to be in the Philippines running a business, you need to rethink some of the ways you may have done things before.  

 

That's it for now.  I may think of some more observations to add.

 

    

Well said. Much better than I could ever do!

[Marvin Boggs]

2 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Glad you like it here.

What is your country of birth? 

Citizen of the world, haha.  But if you want to change the little flag there, then USA.

To continue from before:

Meals -- As you are probably aware, Filipinos like rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Any kind of prepared meat to go with it will do, but they are particularly fond of pork and fish.  Pork is often prepared 'lechon' style, which is like roasted.  This can be very delicious, but depending on what part of the pig we are talking about, it can be mostly fat.  Sometimes there is no clear delineation where the meat ended and the fat began, so I end up picking at things more than I'd like.  I only eat rice a few times per week, mainly because I try to cut out starches in general.  Restaurant meals will usually be available with extra bowls of rice, which most people partake.

Fruits -- PH has an awesome selection!  Native bananas are called Saging, which are smaller and way tastier than anything we have in the West.  Mangos here are like....well lets just say after you've tried one, you may not want any other variety.  Coconut, papaya, rambutan, lychee, and many more.   

Beef -- I have been craving good beef since arriving in SE Asia some years back.  The closest thing that satisfies is 'Aussie Beef' and 'Montana Beef' when you can find them in a high-end shop.  Somehow its never as good as my memory.

Ukay Ukay -- This is the common name for clothing thrift shops, which are here in abundance.  Your Filipina wife will love you if let her do Ukai once per week or so.  I won't complain.

Toilets -- Thankfully, Philippines is not China.  Squat toilets are very rare here.  Then again, so is a fully functional toilet.  Many homes will just have the toilet bowl and not a tank, which you flush by dumping water into it.  Many establishments will have a full toilet, but its broken, meaning you still flush it by dumping water in.  There will be a big dipper thing in the sink or a bucket nearby for your convenience.  As with other places in Asia, plan to have your own tissues or wipes if you go out.

Jeepny -- Common mode of public transport here, you can go anywhere on the route for under 10 pesos.  These were originally extended-body Jeeps, which have morphed over the years into extended-body trucks.  There are two long parallel benches, you enter at the back, and the windows have roll up curtains.  Many jeepny owners gleefully rap their loud exhausts, while dodging traffic and cutting off each other to pick up passengers.  They seem to enjoy blocking traffic, just for giggles.  They can cram 18 people in with ease, so get used to sitting close to your neighbor while suffering the exhaust fumes, and wondering how he manages to steer this rig with such a large dead spot in his steering wheel...no wonder he kind of drifts half way in and out of the lane.  Just don't think about it, you'll have less stress that way!  Jeepny's are an experience not to be missed, haha, which is why I bought a car as soon as possible. 

Doctors / Dentists -- Have not visited the doctor yet, but can give some insights based on our visits to the dentist.  There are dentists and there are Dentists.  Some are locally trained, maybe or maybe not certified, and may want to pull your tooth rather than repair it.  Others came from Manila or abroad, use the latest techniques and equipment, and charge a lot more.  I expect it to be the same with doctors.  Even though I will choose the 'big D' kind of dentist...that is one thing I love about Philippines.  In the West there is almost no choice anymore.  

Construction -- Most home construction is poured concrete and rebar.  This will usually start with evenly spaced posts, which are then filled in-between with wall sections.  The same method is used for the exterior wall / fence at the edge of the property.  Personally I don't understand why they like everything to be walled-in, but it could be a holdover from Spanish colonialism.  The other common method is native bamboo-and-wood Nipa hut style.  Build-it-yourself seems to be the thing here in PH, which I wholeheartedly approve of.  It's like 1920's USA, just build what you want the best way you can.  

Malls -- As you may be aware, malls are THE big thing for shopping.  My belief is because its the one place you can go that will have protection from the rain, plus air conditioning, plus nice bathrooms all in one place.  Not to mention, most people get around by Jeepny's which always have a mall stop.  In heavier urban areas, traffic can be so choked that you really don't want to contemplate going to more than one location, so a mall fits the bill.  I'm about as 'over' with malls in the West as I can be, but in PH I find myself visiting the local SM at least twice per week.  Invariably all the stores will be better stocked than the local family shops, plus you can get Dunkin Donuts 2+2 for 120 pesos.  Insanity! 

Music -- Everyone here sings karaoke, and most families have a karaoke player with unusually powerful amp and speakers.  So when they want to sing, the neighborhood will all enjoy it!  Seriously though, I love the passion for singing here.  There is a mixture of classic rock, modern k-pop, and traditional filipino pop.  I remember a day after I first got here, a Jeepny drove by blasting REO Speedwagon, and I thought "I'm gonna like it here."  

'Ber Months -- September 1 the wife wakes up and yells "Ber months!  Ber months!  Santa's coming!!"  As noted by other posters, filipinos love the whole 'fall' season.  Yes we've been playing Christmas songs, and I keep hearing about when we will get a Christmas tree :)          

 

 

[GeoffH]

 

Welcome to the forum Marvin.

September is a ber month... our tree (and some decorations) are already up.

Edited September 17, 2019 by GeoffH

[Guy F.]

Most construction is hollow blocks. Poured concrete and rebar is upscale and rather rare.

My wife won't go with me when I visit an ukay ukay store. It's beneath her.

Welcome to the forum. You have chosen well.

[usa32]

I just got back from my first visit.

The part you said about restaurant servers always having to be called over, I didn't really get it until the end of my month trip.

I would go to somewhere in a mall and sit down and wait for someone to come(like in america)  I figured they didn't like the white foreigner in their restaurant so they were purposely ignoring me.

Then  I found out its normal. But in some nicer places, to do come to you as expected.  I don't get it either. I sat down in your section in your restaurant. No I don't want to eat or drink, I am just here for fun.

[nor cal mike]

Welcome Marvin, thanks for sharing, I’m enjoying your post.

[jimeve]

On 9/18/2019 at 1:51 AM, usa32 said:

No I don't want to eat or drink, I am just here for fun

Just bring your own food and drinks, they'll  soon be over lol

[hk blues]

3 hours ago, jimeve said:

Just bring your own food and drinks, they'll  soon be over lol

Joking apart, not only here but also in Hong Kong I would see people in fast food joints eating food from another fast food joint!