Are The Airports And Taxis Etc Safe

[i am bob]

''Philippines is safe everywhere, not only airports!!! the one who looks for trouble he finds it, then again is also the unlucky ones which happens all over and everywhere in the world.'' 1/ No it isn't! (Feral gangs of children do not descend on you when walking home at 2am in the West End of London, Customs do not jokily suggest you give them pasubulong, when entering the country at Heathrow, Guards outside 7-11 in Rome, do not carry shot guns and wave them around randomly at passerbys, Drinkers in Brussels back street bars do not sidle up to you and suggest a small investment will result in finding hidden gold in them thar mountains, beautiful women do not find you really attractive and interesting on first meeting in Paris outside the Champ Elysee, taxis in Munich do not have threadbare tires and no working brakes, air pollution is not so bad that you develop a 40 a day cough on arrival in Dublin, terrorist insurgence and kidnappings do not take place in the South of England regularly to tourists and locals, local media are not shot dead in Reykavik..... etc 2/ But then a pint of premium lager is 280 peso plus plus anywhere in central london, new york, hong kong, cigs are 420 peso a pack, 5 star hotels are 28000 peso a night, a good meal at a restaurant for two is minimum 7000 peso with drinks........ Phils is great, but lets be realistic, anyone getting off the plane for the first time, is going to have a major shock if they ve only ever been used to 1st world nations. Its both is downfall and strength.

Ah, Genius! Don't know what parts of the world you've been to but I have seen just about all those things! Maybe not the same locations you mention. Feral children in Zwiebrucken rather than West London, Customs at Gatwick wanted 50 pounds to look the other way at my legal bottle of rum... Wait for it... 7-11 in Rome did have the guards with shotguns!!! Drinkers in Brussels will come up to you in their wonderful attempt to sell you a little cocaine - you have to go to Amsterdam for the "diamond mines' being sold in bars... I could go on but these are truly things that I have seen...Bottom Line? At least in the Philippines, we'll be warm and there's a beach, San Migs, Luchon, air conditioned malls and pretty women who will approach you - just like the women in Fort Lauderdale!

[Genius]

I am impressed that Germany is home too to packs of feral children. I could say the same about parts of London and Liverpool but not, not to the same qualitive degree as in the Phils were whole swathes Manila are like that. I suppose it is rather like saying there are poor people in America, undeniably true, but really without getting technical it would not take much for an independant observer to decide which was the poorer country, had greater levels of poverty etc ad infinitum. So I deny and strongly refute your claim and about Germany as being a fair comparator.I do not believe customs wanted £50 from you at Gatwick, in the sense of stealing from you,(I would understand if they wanted duty of £50 and gave you a receipt for it for bottle of rum without UK duty, though it must of been a big bottle. You may say what is the difference ? They still wanted money from me. The difference is something quite singular in its simplicity. Once demand comes through capricious exercise of authority, with no certainty of application, the other through the application of rule of law, which is there for you to either abide by or not, but which is not brought to bear upon you at random. So no, your illegal bottle of rum, without UK duty, is not the same as a bribe, I m afraid. The effect may be the same but the causation is not. That is the difference. Again, I do not believe you saw guards outside a 7-11 with shotguns in Rome. Why do I not believe it ? Well simply, because in Rome a 7-11 does not have anything of sufficient value to necessitate arming them, a 7-11 is not an attractive target to your average gangster in Italy. Again, poverty factor. Cocaine in Brussels I can believe, but thats not the same as gold is it, drugs unfortunately are a lingua franca the world over. Diamond mines, I m open to being convinced on and bow to having been bettered with my gold story. I will not argue that, their are people keen to part you from your money the world over, it must be agreed. However, I ve heard a ridicolously high percentage of these approaches in the Phils. Again, because, racial factors mark us out as being quite possibly a rich picking, the way one would not be marked as such in Europe. So, on balance, I say you weave deceit in your words in your attempt to parry my statements of fact. Deceit, in that coming to defend the Phils by your response, I do not believe you actually believe your statements that the rest of the world, the same in safety terms. I may be wrong there, in which case, you may need to prepare yourself for a rude shock upon arrival, (I m thinking you have not been yet, I might be wrong on that too). Bottom line, I am in full agreement with you about the san migs, lechon and pritty ladies, hate the malls mostly though.However, I repeat for nothing more than effect that I still stick 100% to my assertion that it is fanciful, misconceived, mendacious, wrong footed to claim the Phils is as safe everywhere, just like the rest of the world. If you had certain, the Germans were intimidating because they are all 6ft 5 tall, the English annoying by being anal about rules, the Italians completely chaotic, the Belgiums far too rich and the Dutch druggies, I d not of disagreed. I do love a good stereotype.

[Dave Hounddriver]

Again, I do not believe you saw guards outside a 7-11 with shotguns in Rome. Why do I not believe it ? Well simply, because in Rome a 7-11 does not have anything of sufficient value to necessitate arming them, a 7-11 is not an attractive target to your average gangster in Italy. Again, poverty factor.

I have seen it in Canada. 7-11s often have ATMs in them and there are armed guards present when they are being filled.

[Jollygoodfellow]

''Philippines is safe everywhere, not only airports!!! the one who looks for trouble he finds it, then again is also the unlucky ones which happens all over and everywhere in the world.''1/ No it isn't! (Feral gangs of children do not descend on you when walking home at 2am in the West End of London, Customs do not jokily suggest you give them pasubulong, when entering the country at Heathrow, Guards outside 7-11 in Rome, do not carry shot guns and wave them around randomly at passerbys, Drinkers in Brussels back street bars do not sidle up to you and suggest a small investment will result in finding hidden gold in them thar mountains, beautiful women do not find you really attractive and interesting on first meeting in Paris outside the Champ Elysee, taxis in Munich do not have threadbare tires and no working brakes, air pollution is not so bad that you develop a 40 a day cough on arrival in Dublin, terrorist insurgence and kidnappings do not take place in the South of England regularly to tourists and locals, local media are not shot dead in Reykavik..... etc2/ But then a pint of premium lager is 280 peso plus plus anywhere in central london, new york, hong kong, cigs are 420 peso a pack, 5 star hotels are 28000 peso a night, a good meal at a restaurant for two is minimum 7000 peso with drinks........Phils is great, but lets be realistic, anyone getting off the plane for the first time, is going to have a major shock if they ve only ever been used to 1st world nations. Its both is downfall and strength.

I have to ask about you experiences that make the Philippines unsafe,street kids bother you that much it is considered unsafe? never bothered me but maybe you had a different experience.Customs asking or suggesting to give money, never happened to me but maybe I have been lucky over the years. Which airport was this?Gold in the mountains,hmm sounds like a scheme from a well known foreigner in Cebu and damn just deleted all those Emails that told me my uncle died and left me a fortune,none of them came from the Philippines.Bald tiers on taxi, third world country but if you choose to stay some where else probably not a concern but never been in an accident yet in a taxi in the Philippines.The average person is not in a known danger area so most likely the only kidnapping that take place is when the bar girls want you to stay longer. That's my experience but yours may differ.Anyway the topic was about taxis at the airport and looks like the poor guy has been waiting there since June 2010 so please, someone braver than me, go and pick him up,please. :lol:

[Genius]

I have to ask about you experiences that make the Philippines unsafe,street kids bother you that much it is considered unsafe? never bothered me but maybe you had a different experience Street kids do not bother me either, but yes, their presence does make me moderate what watch I would wear, jewelery I would have, i.e. just cheap or none in the Phils. It would not occur to me to do the same in the Uk. Also I did have an experience where five descended on me, 3 distracting my attention, while two tried to pickpocket. So, made me more suspicious indeed. Customs asking or suggesting to give money, never happened to me but maybe I have been lucky over the years. Which airport was this? NAIA. Gold in the mountains,hmm sounds like a scheme from a well known foreigner in Cebu and damn just deleted all those Emails that told me my uncle died and left me a fortune,none of them came from the Philippines. Let's not get on to the topic of the well known foreigner, he seems to have a lot of internet imprint, as it is.Bald tiers on taxi, third world country but if you choose to stay some where else probably not a concern but never been in an accident yet in a taxi in the Philippines coNot been in an accident either, but health and safety is not a familiar concept, the accidents may not be much more pro rata but the consequences will be in the Phils, which clearly decreases safety. The average person is not in a known danger area so most likely the only kidnapping that take place is when the bar girls want you to stay longer. That's my experience but yours may different. I see, so the average person not being in those areas, makes those areas safer ? I disagree.Anyway the topic was about taxis at the airport and looks like the poor guy has been waiting there since June 2010 so please, someone braver than me, go and pick him up,please. Agreed, we went offtopic.

[joeatmanila]

LOL!!!!! I would go and pick up the guy, not with a taxi. I would show him the real Philippines and how "dangerous" it is.Go to the airport, pick him up on foot, go outside, get in the jeepney and his luggage on the front fender of the jeepney, get off somewhere at Roxas, get a tricycle, take him to his hotel. He will pay 100-150pesos max, his adrenaline will run high due to his fears and on the end he will appreciate the simplicity of a thrid world country where people, do help you, where people do smile at you, where people are people. Same as NY, Hamburg, London, Athens etc etc.....Hope he is not still waiting since June 2010 hahahahahahahah!!!!True though, coming to Philippines from a first world country a huge culture shock is awaiting you and most likely not a pleasurable one, until you get used to it, some never do.

[Jollygoodfellow]

LOL!!!!! I would go and pick up the guy, not with a taxi. I would show him the real Philippines and how "dangerous" it is.Go to the airport, pick him up on foot, go outside, get in the jeepney and his luggage on the front fender of the jeepney, get off somewhere at Roxas, get a tricycle, take him to his hotel. He will pay 100-150pesos max, his adrenaline will run high due to his fears and on the end he will appreciate the simplicity of a thrid world country where people, do help you, where people do smile at you, where people are people. Same as NY, Hamburg, London, Athens etc etc.....Hope he is not still waiting since June 2010 hahahahahahahah!!!!True though, coming to Philippines from a first world country a huge culture shock is awaiting you and most likely not a pleasurable one, until you get used to it, some never do.

I got him, no need to worry.Just bit upset at first but I took him down to the bar and he was OK after awhile.

[i am bob]

Ah, Genius, I sometimes wonder where you have been to compare or if you truly believe it's that bad in the Philippines... All those I mentioned in my post above are 100% true and I posted them because I wanted you and others to realize that the Philippines are not the only place that these things happen! No, it's true I have not been to the Philippines yet but I have been to places a lot worse - the majority of Africa stands out in my mind and opinion... I can remember sitting on the side of a hill while staring down the barrel of an assault rifle while the others rebels were in a village less than 200 meters away doing the bad things that rebels do to men and women. Another time I can remember being lied to by the leader of the local militia as to where the danger zones were so we would travel right through them... We learned how to tell when someone was lying to us very quickly... I have also spent time in other South Asian countries and some of them do not quite come up to the standards of the Philippines either - at least not during the time I was there. Laos and Cambodia in the 1980s and 90s were just wonderful places to be... You could never be sure you would wake up after going to sleep for the night... Luckily I did.... A few of my friends did not. Overall I guess I was lucky... After retiring from the service, I only had 2 dimples from "brass mosquitoes" and I got both of them in a supposedly tame country - Puerto Rico.Genius, I didn't post these to single you out in any way - you have many very great posts on here. But I want others to realize that, yes, there are issues in the Philippines but no worse than a lot of the world we already come from! Those from my previous post were examples of that... This post was to show that it could be a lot worse!Now... for that guy at the airport? I"ll give him a lift when I get there in September! What's that Tom? Oh, I can't look,,,,,

[Jake]

Ah, Genius, I sometimes wonder where you have been to compare or if you truly believe it's that bad in the Philippines... All those I mentioned in my post above are 100% true and I posted them because I wanted you and others to realize that the Philippines are not the only place that these things happen! No, it's true I have not been to the Philippines yet but I have been to places a lot worse - the majority of Africa stands out in my mind and opinion... I can remember sitting on the side of a hill while staring down the barrel of an assault rifle while the others rebels were in a village less than 200 meters away doing the bad things that rebels do to men and women. Another time I can remember being lied to by the leader of the local militia as to where the danger zones were so we would travel right through them... We learned how to tell when someone was lying to us very quickly... I have also spent time in other South Asian countries and some of them do not quite come up to the standards of the Philippines either - at least not during the time I was there. Laos and Cambodia in the 1980s and 90s were just wonderful places to be... You could never be sure you would wake up after going to sleep for the night... Luckily I did.... A few of my friends did not. Overall I guess I was lucky... After retiring from the service, I only had 2 dimples from "brass mosquitoes" and I got both of them in a supposedly tame country - Puerto Rico.Genius, I didn't post these to single you out in any way - you have many very great posts on here. But I want others to realize that, yes, there are issues in the Philippines but no worse than a lot of the world we already come from! Those from my previous post were examples of that... This post was to show that it could be a lot worse!Now... for that guy at the airport? I"ll give him a lift when I get there in September! What's that Tom? Oh, I can't look,,,,,

Two dimples from "brass mosquitoes"! I like that term.....fortunately you were able to recover from your wounds.I didn't realize how much you have covered the globe as a military guy. You should count your blessings bycelebrating when you finally arrive to your permanent home called the Philippines.When we get together (not if), the first case of San Magoo is on me. I'll even throw in a couple of non-violent Filipinobaklas for ya.....he, he.

[i am bob]

Ah, Genius, I sometimes wonder where you have been to compare or if you truly believe it's that bad in the Philippines... All those I mentioned in my post above are 100% true and I posted them because I wanted you and others to realize that the Philippines are not the only place that these things happen! No, it's true I have not been to the Philippines yet but I have been to places a lot worse - the majority of Africa stands out in my mind and opinion... I can remember sitting on the side of a hill while staring down the barrel of an assault rifle while the others rebels were in a village less than 200 meters away doing the bad things that rebels do to men and women. Another time I can remember being lied to by the leader of the local militia as to where the danger zones were so we would travel right through them... We learned how to tell when someone was lying to us very quickly... I have also spent time in other South Asian countries and some of them do not quite come up to the standards of the Philippines either - at least not during the time I was there. Laos and Cambodia in the 1980s and 90s were just wonderful places to be... You could never be sure you would wake up after going to sleep for the night... Luckily I did.... A few of my friends did not. Overall I guess I was lucky... After retiring from the service, I only had 2 dimples from "brass mosquitoes" and I got both of them in a supposedly tame country - Puerto Rico.Genius, I didn't post these to single you out in any way - you have many very great posts on here. But I want others to realize that, yes, there are issues in the Philippines but no worse than a lot of the world we already come from! Those from my previous post were examples of that... This post was to show that it could be a lot worse!Now... for that guy at the airport? I"ll give him a lift when I get there in September! What's that Tom? Oh, I can't look,,,,,

Two dimples from "brass mosquitoes"! I like that term.....fortunately you were able to recover from your wounds.I didn't realize how much you have covered the globe as a military guy. You should count your blessings bycelebrating when you finally arrive to your permanent home called the Philippines.When we get together (not if), the first case of San Magoo is on me. I'll even throw in a couple of non-violent Filipinobaklas for ya.....he, he.

I'll enjoy the San Magoo with you, not on you - that could hurt! As for the baklas? That's ok, I got me the real thing waiting! :mocking: