Philippines

[Guest JTS98]

Just now, Alex_14 said:

Cheers, I'm going to avoid doing any work and have a look at these places and logistics now. I'll just go alone and my bird and friends can die in the Philippines

Let me know if you have any more specific questions about them. Malaysia is pretty well organised in terms of plans, trains and buses. Depends what you're into, but I'd happily recommend all of the ones I listed. Hassle free, not too pricey and quite varied.

If you end up in KL I can even point you in the direction of Malaysia's number one Hearts pub...

[Alex_14]

13 minutes ago, JTS98 said:

Let me know if you have any more specific questions about them. Malaysia is pretty well organised in terms of plans, trains and buses. Depends what you're into, but I'd happily recommend all of the ones I listed. Hassle free, not too pricey and quite varied.

If you end up in KL I can even point you in the direction of Malaysia's number one Hearts pub...

Thanks. I mean on the face of it, places like Langkawi and Penang look decent and flights from KL are cheaper than I anticipated - circa £9 one way.  Flights to KL are also much cheaper for both us UK lot and the NZ lot. Pretty much makes perfect sense. I've sent a speech into whatsapp to convince them but the NZ lot will be asleep . I'll keep you posted and if we do book the KL flights, i'll be back to pick your brain. We like to keep busy, but also want some R&R and I reckon these places look ideal.

 

Will they be showing the Aberdeen European games in July?

[Tight minge]

El Nido does seem to be the place to go. I have heard some decent reports on Palawan although it's generally boring unless your specifically looking for beach/idleness. Had a look at the UK advice map and yeah, avoid Mindanao and definately don't go there and go down a illegal gold mine :-). I'd add avoid Manila except Greenbelt (unless you want a higher class hooker), avoid Quezon City (unless you want to buy drugs from a policeman), avoid Cavite, Batangas, Naga and pretty much all of southern Luzon island. In fact just avoid Luzon. Avoid polling stations. Avoid Terminal 1, etc, etc.

If you can get to Palawan you can get to Phu Quoc. Actually Phu Quoc has an international airport now and you can fly seasonally from Sweden. Locally you can get there from Hanoi, HCMC (obviously) Siem Reap, Singapore, Shanghai, Guangzhou and I'm sure a few other places.

Scamming: Indonesian's - amateur, Filipinos - Grand masters. As I said this is the country that brought you the bullet scam (by officials), police kidnappings and invented mass sextortion.

Just type into Google 'Philippines & shooting' and enjoy. Plenty of video clips. Life is cheap there.

[Alex_14]

5 minutes ago, Tight John McVeigh is a tit said:

El Nido does seem to be the place to go. I have heard some decent reports on Palawan although it's generally boring unless your specifically looking for beach/idleness. Had a look at the UK advice map and yeah, avoid Mindanao and definately don't go there and go down a illegal gold mine :-). I'd add avoid Manila except Greenbelt (unless you want a higher class hooker), avoid Quezon City (unless you want to buy drugs from a policeman), avoid Cavite, Batangas, Naga and pretty much all of southern Luzon island. In fact just avoid Luzon. Avoid polling stations. Avoid Terminal 1, etc, etc.

If you can get to Palawan you can get to Phu Quoc. Actually Phu Quoc has an international airport now and you can fly seasonally from Sweden. Locally you can get there from Hanoi, HCMC (obviously) Siem Reap, Singapore, Shanghai, Guangzhou and I'm sure a few other places.

Scamming: Indonesian's - amateur, Filipinos - Grand masters. As I said this is the country that brought you the bullet scam (by officials), police kidnappings and invented mass sextortion.

Just type into Google 'Philippines & shooting' and enjoy. Plenty of video clips. Life is cheap there.

So, don't go then. 

My mates are saying things like "oh but you get negative reviews about everywhere!" Aye, cockroaches in the bathroom, not a kidnapping! Like I said in a post above yours, i'm going to try and get us to go down the Langkawi route or something of that ilk. Thanks for your help, you may have saved 4 lives...

[Tight minge]

Honestly, my experience of the place is nothing but surreal and everyone I know that lived / lives there have/had similar tales. The common denominator is virtually no good stories. However these are people living there and not tourists. At the same time, every person I have spoken to who has been there on holiday (not too many to be fair) have said the same thing. They wouldn't go back. Right now the country is going through a transition with Duterte which could have it spin any way but the possibility of martial law is quite high. Duterte, I believe, is trying to do the right thing, but for me he is a mayor of a second tier city trying to run a country. Outside the Philippines he is getting highlighted for the extra-judicial killings. But there is more to it than that. He is negotiating a high speed rail link from Manila to Clark when he has a no other transport links to support such a venture and a country in dire poverty. He has pissed off the US and Japan, his two biggest employers in the country, he is a nut case that has built his presidential career on solving a drug problem which wasn't even the countries major problem in the first place (you know I feel like I'm describing Trump!). He has more than enough enemies and as people who voted him in don't see the improvement in life they expected under him, they'll turn against him and the place will end up much worse than it was before. I do have a gut feeling he'll either be assassinated or caught up in a scandal that removes him from office or kills him.

I just keep thinking there are so many better places to go than the Philippines in the region.

Places like Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand you can really go about more freely without having to think so much about the risk and there is plenty to be discovered.

If you think of it this way, English is a national language, it has (had), close ties to the US, it does have beautiful spots, etc, etc. Same as Thailand, was an R&R place during the Vietnam war. So why is it's tourist industry so far behind other countries in the region? By rights it should be as commercialised if not more than Thailand? Most likely the people that do go, don't go back and don't recommend it to other people. Because it's shit.

[Alex_14]

1 hour ago, Tight John McVeigh is a tit said:

Honestly, my experience of the place is nothing but surreal and everyone I know that lived / lives there have/had similar tales. The common denominator is virtually no good stories. However these are people living there and not tourists. At the same time, every person I have spoken to who has been there on holiday (not too many to be fair) have said the same thing. They wouldn't go back. Right now the country is going through a transition with Duterte which could have it spin any way but the possibility of martial law is quite high. Duterte, I believe, is trying to do the right thing, but for me he is a mayor of a second tier city trying to run a country. Outside the Philippines he is getting highlighted for the extra-judicial killings. But there is more to it than that. He is negotiating a high speed rail link from Manila to Clark when he has a no other transport links to support such a venture and a country in dire poverty. He has pissed off the US and Japan, his two biggest employers in the country, he is a nut case that has built his presidential career on solving a drug problem which wasn't even the countries major problem in the first place (you know I feel like I'm describing Trump!). He has more than enough enemies and as people who voted him in don't see the improvement in life they expected under him, they'll turn against him and the place will end up much worse than it was before. I do have a gut feeling he'll either be assassinated or caught up in a scandal that removes him from office or kills him.

I just keep thinking there are so many better places to go than the Philippines in the region.

Places like Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand you can really go about more freely without having to think so much about the risk and there is plenty to be discovered.

If you think of it this way, English is a national language, it has (had), close ties to the US, it does have beautiful spots, etc, etc. Same as Thailand, was an R&R place during the Vietnam war. So why is it's tourist industry so far behind other countries in the region? By rights it should be as commercialised if not more than Thailand? Most likely the people that do go, don't go back and don't recommend it to other people. Because it's shit.

Good post and I will be trying to repeat this word for word. Thanks. It does sound like he's Trump-lite right enough, except even more extreme (who knew that was possible). I was aware of Duterte's antics but not the story behind it all.

 

My girlfriend has taken my side on the Malaysia idea, so here's hoping my NZ friends back me up. On that note, do you also suggest places like Langkawi, Penang etc? If you've been, that is.

[hk blues]

Everything that's been said so far by other posters is pretty much spot on.

Yes, it's corrupt, yes a fair proportion of people you need to interact with are difficult and yes, it's generally problematic. Same is true for many SE Asian places but no question the Philippines ticks every box.

As I've discussed many times with Tight John McVeigh is a tit though, if you're not working and able to keep your head down under the radar and away from troublesome situations and people, you can get by with no issues other than you'll find anywhere. I've been here just 2 years but have encountered zero trouble and none of my acquaintances have either. But we are all living in one of the 'safe' cities and within that a very safe sub-division with a relatively good structure and governance.

Anyway, as a tourist you'll likely not encounter much trouble - even visiting here from Hong Kong as tourists we had no issues. You won't get kidnapped if you stick to Palawan, Cebu or Boracay and suchlike. I've been to these places and they are not much different to what you'll find in places like Thailand or Indonesia.

I'd just reiterate what's been said before by me and others - it's ok to visit for a holiday and you'll have a good time and be perfectly safe assuming the usual precautions (including not visiting Manila) but there are better options all things being equal. As i said way back in this thread, it's not Bali but at the same time it's not the Democratic Republic of Congo either.

I wouldn't recommend you go it alone and go elsewhere while your companions come to the Philippines honestly speaking because it's not that bad you'd need to.

My caveat as always is that I've not experienced the things many others here have thus far but my situation is different as I'm retired - and if you were asking advice about living and working here I'd certainly say listen to those people before me.

If you choose to come and are going to Boracay give me a shout as you will be passing close by where I am.

[Tight minge]

The issues really goes back to Marcos and martial law in the 70's and early 80's and the dominance of 6 families that have controlled the Philippines since then right to today. Everything passes through these families and they have milked the country dry. Each president is part of the families or controlled by the families coming in on a promise of ending corruption, but never doing so (not even trying). That is a very simplified explanation.

Duterte has come from left field and got in on huge expectation of change. He has no affiliation to any of the families. However, he is out his depth (imo) and already some of the killings look iffy (more than normal). There have been a couple of bombings recently, allegedly targeting him, which had brought things closer to martial law and a few others blamed on separatists. He looks totally inept in foreign policy (or he is trying to play one major power off another to get a better deal, but I'm not buying that). He has sat silent on China and the Saltlry sprays and there is now clear evidence China has an military airport and missile launchers in place. He has pissed off America, ended the military association and without consideration that APC, Artesyn and Del Monte (all American companies) are major investors/employers in the country. He has made enough enemies and he sold the electorate on an improved life and day to day is not happening. Politically its hugely unstable and I dont think a quarter of it is getting picked up by the overseas press (as a lot of its is boring and not newsworthy overseas).

The thing is, for such an insignificant country, it could play major part in the future order of things due to Duterte's irrational behaviour globally.

I can't say to much about Malaysia, but it's nice and I think a lot more to it. Socially I have only been to KL, all other times I've been working. I drove from JB to Penang in November and it was a long drive, but a lot of places seemed worth coming back to for tourism. Whilst in Penang, I stayed in Batu Feringghi so the wife could hit the beach while I was working . The place wasn't great, but the beach was fine. I never managed into Penang old town, but I think it would be good and the general area was nice. One thing about KL though is its the major hub for Air Asia so you could just about get anywhere and South East Asia is generally fantastic. So, many options.

For me, I will always be blinkered by Vietnam, it's fantastic. I loved the quirkiness when I stayed there (7 years ago), but the development when I was over the other month is impressive. Ho Chi Minh is developing into a spectacular, modern city. Hire motorbikes and go from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh via Hue and Danang? Beaches generally are brilliant in Vietnam.

Cambodia is also a fantastic country and worry exploring.

Laos is well, not so good. Thailand, you can't really go wrong and of course Myanmar is cool.

Indonesia looks like you know it will enough. It's great (just in case the missus reads this ;-)).

Another strange thing about the Philippines that kind of sums the place up. You can't rent a self hire van in the Philippines. Pretty much a requirement of any sort of distribution business. The reason is suggested that its not viable business as they would all get nicked.

[Tight minge]

Everything that's been said so far by other posters is pretty much spot on.

Yes, it's corrupt, yes a fair proportion of people you need to interact with are difficult and yes, it's generally problematic. Same is true for many SE Asian places but no question the Philippines ticks every box.

As I've discussed many times with Tight John McVeigh is a tit though, if you're not working and able to keep your head down under the radar and away from troublesome situations and people, you can get by with no issues other than you'll find anywhere. I've been here just 2 years but have encountered zero trouble and none of my acquaintances have either. But we are all living in one of the 'safe' cities and within that a very safe sub-division with a relatively good structure and governance.

Anyway, as a tourist you'll likely not encounter much trouble - even visiting here from Hong Kong as tourists we had no issues. You won't get kidnapped if you stick to Palawan, Cebu or Boracay and suchlike. I've been to these places and they are not much different to what you'll find in places like Thailand or Indonesia.

I'd just reiterate what's been said before by me and others - it's ok to visit for a holiday and you'll have a good time and be perfectly safe assuming the usual precautions (including not visiting Manila) but there are better options all things being equal. As i said way back in this thread, it's not Bali but at the same time it's not the Democratic Republic of Congo either.

I wouldn't recommend you go it alone and go elsewhere while your companions come to the Philippines honestly speaking because it's not that bad you'd need to.

My caveat as always is that I've not experienced the things many others here have thus far but my situation is different as I'm retired - and if you were asking advice about living and working here I'd certainly say listen to those people before me.

If you choose to come and are going to Boracay give me a shout as you will be passing close by where I am.

Knew you would say that ;-)

It's a fair balance and as we've discussed before your situation is stable and your in a better part of the country. Your also not working and seem a sensible guy (out with team preference).

The day you have a problem, I'll be all over it like a rash with the 'I told you so' patter. :-)

Nearly everyone I know is 'getting out of Dodge' right now, but all are working and living in Luzon. You live in the equivalent of the Shetlands! :-p

[Alex_14]

4 minutes ago, Tight John McVeigh is a tit said:

The issues really goes back to Marcos and martial law in the 70's and early 80's and the dominance of 6 families that have controlled the Philippines since then right to today. Everything passes through these families and they have milked the country dry. Each president is part of the families or controlled by the families coming in on a promise of ending corruption, but never doing so (not even trying). That is a very simplified explanation.

Duterte has come from left field and got in on huge expectation of change. He has no affiliation to any of the families. However, he is out his depth (imo) and already some of the killings look iffy (more than normal). There have been a couple of bombings recently, allegedly targeting him, which had brought things closer to martial law and a few others blamed on separatists. He looks totally inept in foreign policy (or he is trying to play one major power off another to get a better deal, but I'm not buying that). He has sat silent on China and the Saltlry sprays and there is now clear evidence China has an military airport and missile launchers in place. He has pissed off America, ended the military association and without consideration that APC, Artesyn and Del Monte (all American companies) are major investors/employers in the country. He has made enough enemies and he sold the electorate on an improved life and day to day is not happening. Politically its hugely unstable and I dont think a quarter of it is getting picked up by the overseas press (as a lot of its is boring and not newsworthy overseas).

The thing is, for such an insignificant country, it could play major part in the future order of things due to Duterte's irrational behaviour globally.

I can't say to much about Malaysia, but it's nice and I think a lot more to it. Socially I have only been to KL, all other times I've been working. I drove from JB to Penang in November and it was a long drive, but a lot of places seemed worth coming back to for tourism. Whilst in Penang, I stayed in Batu Feringghi so the wife could hit the beach while I was working . The place wasn't great, but the beach was fine. I never managed into Penang old town, but I think it would be good and the general area was nice. One thing about KL though is its the major hub for Air Asia so you could just about get anywhere and South East Asia is generally fantastic. So, many options.

For me, I will always be blinkered by Vietnam, it's fantastic. I loved the quirkiness when I stayed there (7 years ago), but the development when I was over the other month is impressive. Ho Chi Minh is developing into a spectacular, modern city. Hire motorbikes and go from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh via Hue and Danang? Beaches generally are brilliant in Vietnam.

Cambodia is also a fantastic country and worry exploring.

Laos is well, not so good. Thailand, you can't really go wrong and of course Myanmar is cool.

Indonesia looks like you know it will enough. It's great (just in case the missus reads this ;-)).

Another strange thing about the Philippines that kind of sums the place up. You can't rent a self hire van in the Philippines. Pretty much a requirement of any sort of distribution business. The reason is suggested that its not viable business as they would all get nicked.

I find the extrajudicial killings utterly mental and incomprehensible, so your perspective is genuinely fascinating to read. And frankly yeah, you're right, barely any of this reported in the mainstream press. When I went travelling through Europe in summer 2015 my girlfriend went through Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia etc., so she's not keen on going back there yet, but she has settled we'll have to go one day or I'll be going on my tod - so we won't be going there this year anyway. 

But yeah, the options with Air Asia look great. I've had a quick check on skyscanner for prices; e.g. it's £9 one way from KL to Langkawi if I booked now. Do you know how much it would be if we were to a couple of days before. i.e., how flexible and last minute can we be booking through AirAsia?

13 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Everything that's been said so far by other posters is pretty much spot on.

Yes, it's corrupt, yes a fair proportion of people you need to interact with are difficult and yes, it's generally problematic. Same is true for many SE Asian places but no question the Philippines ticks every box.

As I've discussed many times with Tight John McVeigh is a tit though, if you're not working and able to keep your head down under the radar and away from troublesome situations and people, you can get by with no issues other than you'll find anywhere. I've been here just 2 years but have encountered zero trouble and none of my acquaintances have either. But we are all living in one of the 'safe' cities and within that a very safe sub-division with a relatively good structure and governance.

Anyway, as a tourist you'll likely not encounter much trouble - even visiting here from Hong Kong as tourists we had no issues. You won't get kidnapped if you stick to Palawan, Cebu or Boracay and suchlike. I've been to these places and they are not much different to what you'll find in places like Thailand or Indonesia.

I'd just reiterate what's been said before by me and others - it's ok to visit for a holiday and you'll have a good time and be perfectly safe assuming the usual precautions (including not visiting Manila) but there are better options all things being equal. As i said way back in this thread, it's not Bali but at the same time it's not the Democratic Republic of Congo either.

I wouldn't recommend you go it alone and go elsewhere while your companions come to the Philippines honestly speaking because it's not that bad you'd need to.

My caveat as always is that I've not experienced the things many others here have thus far but my situation is different as I'm retired - and if you were asking advice about living and working here I'd certainly say listen to those people before me.

If you choose to come and are going to Boracay give me a shout as you will be passing close by where I am.
 

Despite the areas we plan to go to being 'safe' (or safe enough), we do like to go off the beaten track and not having that option would be restrictive and a bit annoying more than anything. I'd never actually bail on them but i'm voicing my opinion so they're aware that i don't think it's a fantastic idea. 

We'd actually been put off of Boracay because of how 'touristy' it seems, but it seems touristy places are all that are safe!

[Tight minge]

Generally I've never had an issue booking a couple of weeks in advance and never paid ridiculous prices. The new airport on KL is massive with little in it, so it's not great. But it's huge, easy to get around and the coverage is fantastic and if you go downtown is a direct trainlink.

Your right on getting off the beaten track is not so easy to do in The Philippines. In many places too risky. There are lots of great 'spots' in the Philippines like where HK Blues is but not always easy to get to and not always tourist friendly.

I have heard a lot of the over commercialisation of Boracay so think your probably right. Palawan is the right spot, but soaking to people that have went it can get boring as there is little to do. You want to forget yourself for a while ideal.

Where else in the world could you have an elected president who made no secret of using extra-judicial killings, made a joke of the gang rape of a foreigner and such like. HK Blues is correct it's not the DRC, but as far as 'civilised' countries go, it's several lacking in mentality. The problem is, what's happening with the killings is not really different than what was going on before, just the president has legalised it.

[Tight minge]

An old mate of mine, lived in the Philippines and lost his house and life savings to his Filipina wife and had many horror stories, but then again he did marry a Filipina hooker thirty years his junior the daft b*****d - see sextourism, anyway he lived for many years in Malaysia and he always said one of the best trips was going to Sabah and going to see the orangutans. I think Borneo would be interesting with Brunei, Sabah and Kalimantan.

[hk blues]

Knew you would say that ;-)

It's a fair balance and as we've discussed before your situation is stable and your in a better part of the country. Your also not working and seem a sensible guy (out with team preference).

The day you have a problem, I'll be all over it like a rash with the 'I told you so' patter. :-)

Nearly everyone I know is 'getting out of Dodge' right now, but all are working and living in Luzon. You live in the equivalent of the Shetlands! :-p

I'm nothing if not predictable!

Seriously though, I 100% accept that using my situation is hardly a fair balanced view of the place. And, now you say it it would be like comparing somewhere like Arbroath to somewhere like Glasgow. I'd draw the line at the Shetlands though, cheeky b*****d!

Obviously, you'll be the last to know the day the shit hits the fan!

I'm aware that Dutertes antics, and the resultant unrest, is influencing how foreigners inside and out view the place, but I'm not convinced it's so much different from before - it's just 'interesting' when the president sponsors such activities.

Ah well, i couldn't afford to leave even If i wanted to. I'll be like that one Japanese soldier still holding out in the jungle decades after the war finished.

[hk blues]

Despite the areas we plan to go to being 'safe' (or safe enough), we do like to go off the beaten track and not having that option would be restrictive and a bit annoying more than anything. I'd never actually bail on them but i'm voicing my opinion so they're aware that i don't think it's a fantastic idea. 
We'd actually been put off of Boracay because of how 'touristy' it seems, but it seems touristy places are all that are safe!

It would depend how far off the beaten track you mean but, in general, it's safe to say you might well encounter some challenges if you did this, including being robbed but i doubt anything more serious if you stick to the areas mentioned and don't wander too far off. But, why take the risk.

Boracay is touristy because tourists like it, you're coming as a tourist so you'll like it is my kinda theme for such places. Palawan is more rustic but still well enough serviced for tourists.

All that said, there are plenty of better choices in SE Asia.

[hk blues]

An old mate of mine, lived in the Philippines and lost his house and life savings to his Filipina wife and had many horror stories, but then again he did marry a Filipina hooker thirty years his junior the daft b*****d - see sextourism, anyway he lived for many years in Malaysia and he always said one of the best trips was going to Sabah and going to see the orangutans. I think Borneo would be interesting with Brunei, Sabah and Kalimantan.

I often wonder what these beautiful young Filipinas see in those rich old guys!

[Tight minge]

This boys story/situation was pitiful or a car crash whatever way you look at. He was an ex-British army officer turned investment banker in Malaysia. Pretty well off, a bit pompous but a decent guy. He finds out while living in Malaysia that his lungs are f**cked and he only has a few years to live. He gets a massive lump sum insurance pay out and pensioned off. For some unknown reason he then proposes to this Filipina prostitute in Malaysia, who must have thought it was all her Christmases and birthday rolled into one. A terminally ill, loaded foreigner with a couple of years to live. I'm sure the sex before marriage was amazing. They move to the Philippines, he buys multiple properties in her name, supports the family, gives her 40k php a week spending and treats her like a queen. Then she turns off the sex tap, and spends most of the time fighting with him as she needs more money, etc, etc. Then when he turns bad, has to go to Australia and is housebound on oxygen and needs her most, she stays in the Philippines and cleans him out.

She even took a bank loan out I'm his name guaranteed against the only property left in his name.

Mental and only himself to blame.

For all the my ranting and raving of the Philippines, I'm there every couple of months and is looking increasingly likely I'll be over for another prolonged stint either later this year or next and is always Cavite/Manila.

[Alex_14]

Keep posting your stories as i'm genuinely curious. Thankfully, i've convinced the group that Malaysia is the way forward. 

Looking at KL -> Langkawi -> Penang -> (somewhere on the east coast) -> Kuching -> KL to fly home.

I think there's a Malaysia thread on here that I can post in...

[hk blues]

This boys story/situation was pitiful or a car crash whatever way you look at. He was an ex-British army officer turned investment banker in Malaysia. Pretty well off, a bit pompous but a decent guy. He finds out while living in Malaysia that his lungs are f**cked and he only has a few years to live. He gets a massive lump sum insurance pay out and pensioned off. For some unknown reason he then proposes to this Filipina prostitute in Malaysia, who must have thought it was all her Christmases and birthday rolled into one. A terminally ill, loaded foreigner with a couple of years to live. I'm sure the sex before marriage was amazing. They move to the Philippines, he buys multiple properties in her name, supports the family, gives her 40k php a week spending and treats her like a queen. Then she turns off the sex tap, and spends most of the time fighting with him as she needs more money, etc, etc. Then when he turns bad, has to go to Australia and is housebound on oxygen and needs her most, she stays in the Philippines and cleans him out.

She even took a bank loan out I'm his name guaranteed against the only property left in his name.

Mental and only himself to blame.

For all the my ranting and raving of the Philippines, I'm there every couple of months and is looking increasingly likely I'll be over for another prolonged stint either later this year or next and is always Cavite/Manila.

Horrendous story - made worse by the fact it's undoubtedly true.

Since coming here I've isolated myself from the ex-pat community mainly because they are all old fucks and any one of them could be the guy in your story above.

Of course in Hong Kong there were plenty of opportunists but the main problem when you move to the Philippines is that you're on your own and up against not just her but her whole family and when push comes to shove the whole country or at least the system.

I have a neighbour, Norwegian guy, who is in similar situation as me except he's 10 years older. He spent a while in Bangkok before here and reckoned the Thai women were even worse than the Filipina He had more than one acquaintance who passed away in suspicious circumstances with a younger Thai wife the benefactor. I do agree that few Filipina women will go that far but wouldn't think twice about fleecing their partners.

Even inheritance rules here pretty much make it meaningless making a will as it's stipulated what % the kids and wife get and it adds up to 100. I've read online a few guys, mostly American, who have provided for their 'first family' in their wills only to discover such provisions are meaningless here. To be fair, I suspect this is not only the case in the Philippines.

Anyhow, I'm spending every last peso before I check out so they can argue over my Dundee FC programmes and shirts!

[Tight minge]

Yes, the guys story would be far from isolated. Had another friend, who happened to be Norwegian who had a horror story of a marriage go down the chute. It itself is a long story. When he had a baby with another Filipina the ex-wife flipped and as I've described before, paid people to have him deported and blacklisted. He is now back in Norway with the new Filipina gf and daughter but took him a year to get that arranged.

I can only go by hearsay, but I have heard the Thai women are worse in a lot of ways.

Funnily I was in Khon Kaen in Thailand in the heart of Isaan visiting a company and one of the guys was Norwegian and the only Westerner in the company. I asked him what brought him there and he said. 'The usual'. He went on to say there is a substantial expat community of Norwegians in Khon Kaen, mostly retirees. Seems Norwegians really love boom boom.

Your right to avoid the expat crowd in the Philippines. Mostly (not all) are inviting disaster and disaster is not difficult to find there. keep yourself to yourself and enjoy the simple life.

The law in Philippines (and most other SEA countries) are a huge nightmare and many foreigners don't even know that most of the wills and contracts they make mean nothing.

Dealing with family in the Philippines is horrendous and a chore. There is always at least one scumbag who causes trouble and the family will always close ranks in a dispute. Add to that the illogical thought process and understanding and you can have a few challenges.

I'm fortunate as my wifes' immediate family are really nice and only one sister speaks English. So generally its easy for me. However, I have the hassle of dealing with religion. The immediate family are decent, open Muslims. But a couple of the uncles are old school and some of the local council are pains in the arse and I have had many run ins with them. Actually the local imam is sound. Even had a major fight on my wedding day. I wore my kilt and that pissed off the high ranking religious guests who didn't like to be told if they were so offended they could f**k of from my wedding.

We could start a SEA page here and share horror stories and it would be endless, but funnily enough, deep down we all love it even with all the hassles. I'd find my day empty back in Scotland without SEA drama to challenge me.

Anyway, can you add me to your will for the Dundee programmes and shirts? I'm out of bog roll. ;-)

[Tight minge]

I have a neighbour, Norwegian guy, who is in similar situation as me except he's 10 years older. He spent a while in Bangkok before here and reckoned the Thai women were even worse than the Filipina He had more than one acquaintance who passed away in suspicious circumstances with a younger Thai wife the benefactor.

You were saying?

Allegedly a criminal himself, but married in November, dead By January. Mmmm