Lots of good seafood in Cebu. Actually the food court in Ayala Mall has lots of good seafood. Also I have eaten at Rasky's also in the mall. If it is your first visit be sure and visit the Taoist Temple over looking the city. Be careful always but expecially if traveling at night. We used Southwind Tours to travel around Cebu and the south and found them to be trustworthy and safe.

The new moon was sighted in Saudi Arabia last night (Wednesday) marking the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the holiday called Eid Al Fitr. As the Philippines is further west than us here in Saudi, Ramadan will probably end tonight (Thursday). Does anyone know for certain that Friday 6th December has been declared a National Holiday in the Philippines for Christians and Muslims?

Again, new friends, welcome to the Living in the Philippines. I hope it provides you information, and even dear friends, as it has me. I know it can make your life happier here or where ever you are. The ""Official List Description"" is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LivingInThePhilippines1/ .

In Japan, the vernal exquinox and the atumnal exquinox are very big holidays, second only to 'Golden Week' in the summer, and more important to many that golden week, because the equinoxese, equini.. (whatever) are the days when you visit your ancestor's graves. The Emporer's Birthday is always a national holiday in Japan. After an emporewr dies, his birthday is kept as a holiday, but given another name. There are I think three holidays like that now.. if they get a run of short-lived emporers, in a hundred years or so, they may never have a workday on the calendar ;) Filipinos have many stalwart characteristics, but when it comes to excuses for time off, they're just babes in the woods LoL

My wife and I spent 10 days on Bantayan two years ago. You'll not find a resort with class and attentiveness. It's not that kind of place. The resorts are inexpensive and low key. The beaches at Sta. Fe were excellent and practically deserted. The village was very friendly and felt safe. If you're looking for a peaceful, unspoiled backwater you may like Bantayan.

Next week, Asawa and I are heading to Malapascua for the first time. Yours is the first negative report I read about the island. Hopefully, we won't encounter the same problems. I always dread the thought of swimming with little brown boats. Anyway, my wife and I have been all over the Phillipines and Subic area is certainly one of my favorites. If you checkout our website www.geocities.com/cletusmavel and click on the ""Luzon"" button, you'll find quite a bit of information about Baloy Beach and other resorts further north (eg. Iba). But if you really want to get away from it all, you may want to try Guimaras Island, just outside of Iloilo City. Close to the city of Nueva Valencia there is a group of resorts on a beautiful beach without any discos or karaoke bars. I'd recommend Raymen Beach Cottages ... very nice accomodations and cheap prices. Have you been to Moalboal? This is my favorite resort area on Cebu Island. This place has got just about everything you need for a resort area. There's not much of a beach here, but there's a place called ""white beach"" just a few kilometers away. I recommend Quo Vadis for hotel accomodations. You can also read about this place on our website. Just click the ""Cebu"" button.

I have only been to Malapascua twice - October 2001. We stayed at Blue Water Beach Resort since we knew the owners Nigel & Janet through Cebu Hash House Harriers that organised an 'Away Run' there back the first time we went. Nigel told us the locals and the Resort owners make an effort to keep Malapascua tidy. Everything that gets brought onto the island gets taken off again (in terms of bottles, cartons cans, newspapers, plastic bags etc). They also have 'Clean-up' drives every now and again. If you saw garbage on the beach, it was most probably left by a 'tourist' and not spotted by these local clean up campaigners. I have heard from Mike & Mary Rossiter who visited just a week ago that there were a lot of dogs there! Perhaps they left some 'deposits' behind? There was some loud music coming from Blue Coral Beach Resort or 'The Rock' but this was NOT a Disco. The Disco (the only one on the Island as far as I know?)- called Maldito (or something similar?), is located on the South West coast of Malapascua and is only open on Friday and Saturday night I think. We went during the weekdays so no noise from there. I did not explore the whole island looking for noisy Karaoke bars, so can't comment about that. All I can say is if you didn't like Malapascua for these reasons - stay away from Boracay!

You'll have a great time on Malapascua. Here's some free advice: 1) Take the public banka from Maya. The pinoy price is P20, the ex-pat price is P50, the tourist/foreigner price is P100. Pat whichever you feel comfortable with. 2) On arrival, drop your bags at the Blue Water Resort. Have a nice relaxing lunch, and afterwards spend an hour or so looking at the different accomodations. The Blue Water should offer its beach side Nipa Hut for P500/night, and if they don't just tell them that you have friends who've stayed with them and that's what they pay. Also look at the Blue Coral, which is the large, new hotel built on the western edge of the white beach. We stayed in an end room fpr P600/night, and loved it. 3) Malditos is open 7 nights a week and offers nice music on weekends. make sure you pay close attention to their happy hour prices for local drinks. Took me too long to figure it out. 4) The best restaurant on the Island is La Isla Bonita. Must stop in. Wonderful family run place, though a few pisos more than Malditos or the Hotel restaurants. 5) If you have time & the budget hire a banka to take you up to Carnessa for a full day. If you see Osmena say hi to him for me. Try to set aside a whole day, and leave by 9am. That'll give you pleanty of time to get there, bbq on the beach, and hike the island. Look for the cave used by the Japanese during WWII. Its even better if you can hire the boat for an overnight trip, and camp on the Island. 6) Leave time to hike Malapascua (1/2 day) at your leisure. 7) On the way to La Isla Bonita, you'll pass a small bar at the east side of the whie beach that has the most stunning waitresses I've ever seen in the PR. What was truly amazing to me was that they were pushing 30, and didn't look a day over 18. After 4 days of happy hours, my asawa got wise to me and told me no more. 8) If you ask the Hotel, they can find a massuse for you. We paid P200, for 2 massages, each of which was 1 hour. Anita then joined us on the boat ride up to Carnessa the next day. Since this advice is offered for free, do with it as you see fit. Please let us know how your trip goes.

Mady and I are still 12-15 years from retirement, still we stop by to scan the topics to see what relates to our interests. We plan to vist Cebu/Visayas, tour around, and take notes during vacations...so 12 years is probably just what we need to finish our homework. YOU live in a place that sounds exactly like what interests Mady and me. I am not looking to retire to a mansion for $500+ per month. Mady doesn't want to live in a fancy home or in other ways materially far different from her family (I agree). But we do want a safe, reasonably clean, comfortable, smaller home neighborhood...slightly multicultural would be nice (all expats would not). Being curious, we search the web occassionally to see what ""Cebu real estate"" will pop up. But mostly we see very expensive cosmopolitan properties on glossy websites...almost as expensive as similar properties in northern VA. (where we live now). Again, retirement is still far off for us, but I'd be interested in any comments you might have. Can we find what I've described in Cebu for $100/mon. or less? Also, Mady doesn't mind renting for time enough to ""test drive"" neighborhoods, but she would prefer to buy eventally. We want a modest and comfortable place of good quality. We're both teachers from families of teachers and would feel uncomfortable in anything too upscale.

We just came Atlanta->SFO->Honolulu->Manila->Cebu on PAL, leaving Dec 3. Total trip time end to end was 32 hours (a new record!). Part of the extra time was due to a passenger dying (!) on the SFO->Honolulu segment, requiring about 2.5 hours on the ground in Honolulu for the coroner's office to check things out. There was another long delay in Manila due to faulty equipment (two 747's) for the leg to Cebu. The flight scheduled for 7:30 finally left at 11:30 (our original flight, scheduled for 9:30 was still on the ground when we left on that flight - hopefully they finally got to Cebu as well). BTW - there were 17 wheelchairs during loading in SFO (a new record near as I can tell). I suspect the departed was an occupant of one of these, simply having had his/her time come, rather than the first thought, the PAL in-flight food..... Regarding getting through NAIA (the Manila airport) specifically, it was not too bad. We had been told we'd have to get our luggage in Manila and clear customs there, which we had to do last time. Of course, the luggage went straight to Cebu, where we cleared customs. Seems you have to know when customs is operating in Cebu to know whether or not to clear your stuff in Manila! We finally realized our luggage was never going to show up in Manila and asked a PAL employee in the baggage claim area, who told us the truth. You come in at an International gate, clear immigration, then walk a short distance (15 min?) to the domestic departure area (out front door, up a long stairway, then over to the adjoining building). Assuming the PAL planes are functioning, it all goes quite smoothly. This procedure beats the heck out of the old 2 hour taxi ride from the International terminal to the domestic one (made even worse by knowing that the two terminals were really back to back - just really, really, really bad traffic and roads between them!) Overall, the new NAIA is well designed, clean, and quite simple to get through. No worries mate.

unless you already have a dive shop, why not try Dive Link? I dive with them and they have very new gear, all Italian and well maintained. February is very busy, so if you want me to book you in somewhere, let me know. Sunsplash and Kuan Bar should have their aircon rooms open and there are other places that are very nice and reasonable too. The kids can swim safely, as well as play with other kids, roam the island on foot or hubble hubble motor bike taxi's, comb the low tide mark for shells and so on. If you need a Yaya then we can easily find one for you for P100 or so. Kuan Bar has a swimming pool and is the unofficial British Embassy and Sunsplash owner Mathias has kids about the same age. You can also hop over to Bogo for shopping and so on. 3 or 4 days is enough unless you really want to unwind. If you need help getting there or want to hire a car, again I can give you some numbers or simply do a deal with a cab for about P2000 to Maya. Any list members who are interested in Malapascua and need help, let me know. We formed the Malapascua Business Association yesterday and are getting serious about promoting and looking after visitors (See separate news release) Cheers, Perry It does not look like the dive trip to the Sprattley Islands is coming off. We will be coming up to Malapascua for a week during February regardless and hope to do some diving up at your neck of the woods. Is there much for Neng and the daughters to do whilst I am blowing bubbles? The girls are 4 and 7 years old.

Any living in the Philippines members in the Negros/Bacolod? I will be in Bacoold area in February and would like to know if any members are living there for a possible get together. You can e-mail if you like.

you must live a pretty flash kinda life. US$50K not go far? Even in Makati it is a nice little earner, say P250K a month or so, not bad! I wouldn't complain. As an ""ex-pat"" you would indeed get a housing/education package, probably car and driver and maids and so on, and better money, depends on the job and the company. As for the daily kidnapping, it has died down to twice weekly I believe. I would rather live here than in the US, and I love visiting the US but it is much safer here. If I had to live in Manila I would want that kinda dough, too. I would probably get a place in Ortigas or Bel Air rather than Makati, or down in Alabang and let the driver worry about the traffic. Peter, I suppose like anything it is what you are used to. I am living comfortably on P25000 a month and would spend more if I had it. Life can get expensive here if you try and replicate everything so it is just like back home. But then why come? As for the kids, well mine live here (one does and one on the way), so do several million more. Of course there are exclusive international schools and so on you can cloister them in and they get to meet lots of kids from the same background, but very few Filipino's. Be grateful you have worked yourself into a position where you will enjoy the benefits of an ex-pat job. Take every opportunity to fully experience living outside of the US and don't worry about the money, you are not going to go hungry. Cheers, Perry, living in Bogo, the Sugar Cane Truck Capital of the World. PS Maybe I can send the Anonymous Bear up to stay with you for a while, he's eating me out of house and home!

Mmm, to start with the last one I think it does matter and despite other reactions I think the lying is to protect herself and not you. You have to know that most Filipino's do not like second hand wives so it could very well be that she is afraid to loose you. If you think all sexy Filipina's work in bars then I have to disappoint you there are not that many bars in the Philippines. I tried to hire a secretary and ended up getting married. My wife could very well have been working in the mall, nothing strange with that but I am working here in the Philippines. If the guy was here that long then what was he doing here? For the rest this does sound like a typical Filipina to me. I would suggest that you visit the Philippines and visit her family and friends. That way you have a change to find out for yourself.

I'm not sure I would want to take 2 young children to the philippines especially since it seems you are unaware of the pitfalls , kidnapping is a daily occurence for people who are perceived as well to do, Makati City is very upscale ... a nice 4 bedroom apartment will cost you 1000 a month maybe with an indoor pool, a maid will cost you 30 a month or so, a driver about 60-80 a month if you supply the wheels. Food and transportation are very cheap for the most part, pollution is terrible smog etc.. A nice restaraunt in Makati it will cost you only 30-40 bucks for 4 people. You can buy a nice 4 bedroom apartment for about 80 - 120k with maintenence at about 250 per month ... 50 Grand won't go far unless you are ""mr frugal"", twice that would work nicely ...however in the provinces it is twice what you need... I would definitely consider a walled community with security or a condo in Makati. The philippines are a great place...enjoy...seriously.... but not as cheap as some might thing.

It's been my experience that over-analyzing things long in advance of the event may be a sure sign that the event will not occur. Deciding the type of toilet facilities one will have several years hence does not take into account any of the following things which may render even owning the toilet a remote possibility: poor health, divorce, reduction of retirement income, more advantageous retirement locations in the US or Europe, etc. You can't make specific plans about where and how you will live 8000 miles away 6 years in advance of the retirement. I work with people who have been planning to build houses on lots they own in Oregon 10 years before they will start building. In the interim 10 years, they need money and sell the lots or get divorced. On the other hand, the first step towards achieving a goal is to set a goal (but not necessarily the style of toilet).

Someone has finally made a real comparison: rent for $500 in rural Virginia vs $500 in Cebu What is the difference? 1. local labor (maid, handyman, driver) are a little cheaper in Cebu 2. raw food costs about the same, but quality will vary. Beef will not be as good or safe. Some vegetables won't be available as frequently or at all. 3. In Virginia you will be a target for serial killers. In Cebu you will be a target for poor folks wanting assistance. 4. lots of pretty southern gals in Virginia. lots of pretty (and available) exotic Asian gals in Cebu. 5. beer and cigarettes (I quit smoking 6 months ago) are A LOT cheaper in Cebu. 6. Your wife cannot take unwanted purchases back to the stores for refunds in Cebu.

Undesirable Floating Objects. We encountered some in Matabungkay. Before Boracay became popular, Matabungkay (in Lian Batangas) used to be the Easter holiday refuge of the elite Manileños. I used to bring my family to that nice white sand beach in the 70's. On a recent balikbayan trip, we decided to trek down Matabungkay expecting to reminisce those beach holidays of yore. It was a big shocker. Little did we expect what havoc a couple decades of uncontrolled growth would bring. Bancas crowded the beach with overlapping outriggers, bumper to bumper rafts and those unnerving ""UFOs"". The only consolation we had was the sight of the beautiful red caballero trees, at the height its of bloom in May - just one of the few bright legacies of Imelda Marcos.

The tropical sun has done in some friends of mine. They were over 70, fair skined and tan freaks when they were young. Had it not been for skin cancer, they would probably still be around. I do not have a financial interest in the company below. And I do not use their products. I use zinc oxide instead, a brand made locally, the cheapest, by United Labs. But some are alergic to zinc oxide. From what I read, zinc oxide is better than the expensive stuff I have bought here and in the States and even the stuff they are selling that also contains green tea. I eat two bags of green tea every day, like drinking 10 glasses, but a lot easier. I don't like green tea, but it is easy to swallow with water and I do believe in its health benefits, well documented. It is also a good idea to also wear a hat here, a local straw with brim is probably best. The ones with bills, like baseball caps are better than nothing, but not nearly as effective, I understand. Some local straws are very nice and inexpensive. A hat, I often wear, will get you more smiles from the Filipinos, especially if you have a wild band. The foreigners will kid you. But it will not only help protect you from skin cancer, maybe, but will protect your head from Filipino structures that are at about 5'11"", important if you are over that height. A full brimmed straw can be a life saver in more ways than one. Some good information from my OCR not without errors, because of my bad editing, below: SUNLIGHT is considered as of the essential elements for a healthy life. It can also Cause plenty of skin troubles. Careless exposure to sunlight cause about 90 percent of premature skin aging, age spots spider veins and sagging skin. Over time, high doses of sunlight can raise your risk of skin cancer. Your skin, designed to be shield for your body, needs protection for itself against the sun. Unfortu­nately, many are misinformed about the truths about sun protection. Most people would use sunblock only when they go to the beach. The truth is, you need to wear sunblock everyday, whether you arc out in the un or under the shade. whether it's sunny or cloudy. Many still think that the higher the SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of a product is, the better sun protection they will get. They better think again. ***My last reading of this, when I was in the cosmetics business, was there were no standards and if there were they could not be enforced for the SPF ratings. So the ratings have little value. *** (My, me Don, italics.) It is necessary that we understand what we ex­actly we want to be pro­tected froth. The invisible ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun is the culprit. It is categorized into three: UVA, UVB, and UVC rays. There is at easy way to remember the kind of damage the UV rays inflict. The A rays cause ageing, the 3 rays are responsible for burning, and the C rays, Cancer. Most of the UV rays that reach the earth is UVA. And it causes the most damage. You do not see the effect at once but unfortunately, it accumulates over tissue. After age 30. tell tale signs of skin ageing begin to show. Since it has the longest wave length, UVA rays penetrate the deepest, through clouds, shades, even indoors. That is why it is important that we ap­ply sunblock everyday. The problem is most sunblock a chemical sunscreens, which provide only limited protection against UVA rays, and most none against UVC rays. Worse, the chemicals break down rapidly in the still, thus they required frequent application. The SPF rating refers only to UVB protection. A higher SPF rating therefore does not guarantee protec­tion against the more harmful UVA rays. An SPF rating of 15 is sufficient for daily use, and you have to look for zinc oxide on the label to ensure that the products shields against UVA to UVC rays as well. Zinc oxide is the only Sunscreen, ingredient that protects against the entire UV range, from UVA to UVC. It is non -photo-re­active, meaning it maintains its effectiveness for a long period of time even with still exposure. Godiva, which uses only the best available ingredients in ht's products offers a daily use sunblock creams with tint oxide in an ultrafine front called sunblock. lt gives a matter, transparent finish. You will look like you are not wearing anything unlike the other greasy sunscreens in the market. Its especially suited for application on the face, neck, and other exposed body parts. Godiva calls its unblock cream ""Green Tea'' because it also con­tains a super anti oxidant from green tea extract. Anti oxidants are needed to neutralize free radicals and repair sun damaged skin cells. The super-anti oxidant in green tea is called EGCG. Ill a recent re­search day Dr. Lester Mitccher of University of Kansas, EGCG was found to be 100 times more effective than Vitamin C and 25 times bet­ter than Vitamin E at protecting cells. Godiva skin care avail­able at leading health and beauty stores, drugstores, and supermarket .

I fitted a 2HP (Window Type) Carrier unit in our old office in the Nautilus Building at Tabunok public market. We have moved now to a different location as the owner of the went bankrupt and the Nautilus Building became property of the bank. We would have liked a split ""Area"" AC in the office but there was nowhere to mount the outside compressor and condenser unit. As mentioned in David's earlier post the split systems are more expensive which was another reason to go for the window type. Fitting the unit meant cutting a hole in the wall. A days job with a 300mm long - 10mm masonry drill,cold chisel and hammer. Oh, I forgot to mention 2 Litres of sweat and a few choice words! The unit was new and included in the charge was (6 monthly) free servicing for one year. More damage was done by the service guys than just leaving it alone! Never again! We have ducted central AC in our Villa here in KSA. The filters are broken and the replacements are no longer available. The ducting is full of dirt and very difficult to clean. It spits out black crud on a regular bases. Goodness knows what ""wee beasties"" are living in there. I am surprised we do not get more colds and coughs! With the ""Area"" AC, the evaporator unit filter replacement and cleaning is easier. Our window unit is now five years old and looks like it is fifty years old inside! The condenser coils have become corroded due to the salty air being close to the public market as well as the damage caused by the servicing ""technicians"". The staff thought they were doing good by vacuum cleaning the unit but bent all the evaporator fins shut. Even though the unit was angled correctly in the wall so that the condensed water from the evaporator would drain, the unit had 25mm or so of dirty corrosive water laying in the bottom of the unit for a long time. This accounted for a lot of the corrosion damage. The water drain pipe had sprouted some ""plant life"" and blocked causing the water to collect! I do not let anyone touch the unit now as I carry out the cleaning and maintenance myself. Just a note for anyone buying an AC There are models available now which have a blue ""anti corrosion"" finish on the condenser and evaporator elements. These are supposed to last a lot longer. The AC unit which have a ""piston"" type of compressor is usually a bit cheaper to buy and a little more efficient in use. The AC unit with a ""rotary"" type of compressor are not so efficient but they do not vibrate so much and tend to be a lot quieter in use. Better than being woken up by what sounds like an old motorbike every time the AC compressor kicks in!

When I used to come home (USA) on leave and describe various things I had seen, I often thought of what Marco Polo is supposed to have said, as he neared death....' I have not told half of what I actually saw, because people would think that I am a liar '. There are exceptions I imagine, but in general the Filipino, Indian or Sri Lankan national who goes into KSA to work, is taking a risk that most people can not even fully imagine.....in order to simply have a job (which many of us just take for granted). I remember watching TFC (Filipino satillite TV) while in Dhahran, as someone from the government denied any and all wrongdoing, with such (apparent) sincerity...............and feeling sooooooo nauseated. With this web site, the 'word' is finally getting out, which is the important first step in helping the poor people who are already caught in the web. These conditions are generally known by anyone (offical or private) who has spent much time there, including the media of the world, and yet are almost never reported (why not???) Even though it is the end of Ramadan here in KSA Mar is still being detained. We will try again today, to find out some News on his situation. It looks almost certain that Mar will be deported. Neng and Lorna have managed to raise some money for Mar with a compound raffle and contributions. We will send on to him ""door to door"" once he is back in the PI. We are concerned that if we try and give him the money now whilst in the ""Nick"" it will ""mysteriously disappear"" and end up going to the wrong Princess. Oops sorry I meant charity ! :-o Several of Mar's colleagues are in the process of resigning and returning to the PI. As they have all ready done a couple of years working here their feeling is that it is better to be in the PI now than prison in KSA!

We lived in an apartment in the centre of Al-Khobar for 5 1/2 years. A Western guy living with a Filipina attracted a lot of attention as you can imagine. The local community of Filipino and Indian workers were great and looked after us (protective). Even keeping a low profile the attention would not have been welcome now, not with all that is going on over here at the moment. I do not think it will ever be the same again! My daughter Kimberly had to have an X-Ray last Wednesday. The Filipino nurses at the Al Mana hospital were only allowed out of their accommodation for a couple of hours a week to go shopping (under strict supervision) as well as a 9:00 PM curfew! Living down town we saw a lot, anything from ""Help messages"" squeezed between the door rubber of my car to assaults by the Police on TWNs. The apartment block next to where we lived was what I thought to be an empty building as the windows were all boarded up. I was wrong! It was accommodation and work shop for around two dozen mixed nationality seamstresses! I only found out by accident, even though we had been living there at that time for three years! Every Friday morning a mini bus would stop outside the single door entrance the girls would all come out in ""Abayas"" and be driven to the supermarket at the bottom of the street (400m away). An hour later the minibus returned where they all got out and returned to their ""prison"". Friday morning was the only time we ever saw these girls!

Speaking as someone who recently retired from Dhahran, I think that Steve and this website are doing a great service in spreading the word about Mar's prediciment. From personal experience, I can tell you that Mar's situation is not unusual, and in fact is better than many. Myself, and my wife (who is from Cebu City) have observed the following, on a regular basis: (1) Filipino taxi drivers being recruited in PI, and arriving in Kingdom and being forced to sign a new contract, written only in Arabic, and then finding their salary has been reduced by half, their contract time period doubled, and that they have no recourse (2) Filipino maids being held (even locked in their room at night) without any outside contact, for years at a time (3) Filipino maids finally escaping, running into the street (I know of two such events myself) with clothes torn, after the men of the house tried to rape them (4) Filipino maids being cursed on a regular basis by young boys of about age eight, who they have raised from infancy the problems go on and on (women held in prison will have a much worse experience than Mar is .....), and anyone who is considering a job in KSA should know of these. personally, I also place some of the blame on the recruiters in the PI as these guys must know very well what is happening, yet they continue to send people over............finally, for those who may not be aware of the economics, it's not simply a 'lure for big money' that causes these folks to go to KSA, but rather the possibility of having any job at all. sad to say, many of the unlucky people we knew there had been to college, and were sometimes even college graduates. they simply could not get a job in the PI. on the positive side, and I really don't mean to get into politics here, we did feel the new Philippine Ambassador was being much more aggressive than his predecessor, in investigating and helping those who have been caught in the web. If anyone knows of someone considering a job in KSA, please advise them to take these considerations into account.

Will those of you with firsthand experience educate me with the ""pitfalls"" (potential or otherwise)of vehicle ownership in Cebu. *Other than the traffic and fellow drivers*. For example, when I lived in Honduras (Central America)I resided in a mining camp in the mountains with an Army detachment for security (because we stored explosives on-site) and my vehicle was secure there. However, in most other areas vehicle theft was/is rampant. For trips outside our camp, I had both a passive and an active alarm system, a ""club"" for the steering wheel, and would usually hire a local to watch it if I could not park it in a secure area. In spite of similar precautions many people I know had their vehicles stolen while I was there. Is vehicle theft a problem in Cebu? How about vehicle insurance? Is it readily available and reasonable?

Investment/Business Opportunity in the Philippines - $8,000.00 Franchise Operations As a Franchise, you will be on top of two major business operations in your assigned area A. Webcenter.net ""Internet Service Provider (ISP) B. ZDT R.U.B.I. Club ""Franchise Business Center Opera! tor (F)BCO"" If interested, please send me email.

you brought up a good point with the corrosion issue which I didn't address when I responded to the original thread. Anyone buying an air conditioning unit should make sure the coils are ""Harrasite"" coated to reduce corrosion. Uncoated coils are only good for a couple of years in the PI atmosphere. I spent over 20 years in the HVAC business here in the united states but never thought much of starting an outfit in the PI. Considering how poorly trained and tooled the HVAC workers are there around the Cebu area, maybe I should rethink this idea. Any comments?

While I haven't lived in Cebu (soon to be) I have purchased, owned and driven vehicles there. I can tell you from experience, second hand vehicles are mostly junk and not worth the money. The new ones are ok but pricey. The best bang for the buck I've found are the Suzuki multicab pick up trucks. You can buy a fully reconditioned Suzuki for about $2000US. They are sturdy, reliable and require little maintenance. They are also easy to manuvere and park in Cebu and at 6'/200lbs, I can drive them with a reasonable amount of comfort. With the exception of the battery location, theres not much to steal on them. My good friend Manuel Arcena @ Pasajero Motors (in Cebu) will take good car of you if you want to purchase one. They will also build the cost of insurance into the purchase price which is pretty cheap. There are three engine combinations available, a 550cc, a supercharged 550cc and a 660cc engine. The 550cc is really efficient but is a little short on power. The supercharged engine is cool but should be avoided because of reliability issues. The 660cc is the best engine with decent power. The best model year for the Multicabs are the early 90's models. They can be identified by the round headlights. Or you can check the seat belts where the mfgr date is stamped. There are other outfits that recondition the Suzukis for a little cheaper but Pasajero has the best. I've been to their plant in Talisay and they have skilled workers who are tooled correctly which shows in the finsished product. If you decide to buy one, make sure you get a 4x4. These vehicles are so light in the back, the 2wd's easily get stuck just climbing a slight incline like a driveway.

In those days, making love didn't mean anything at all, right? Making love could be another term for courting, or plain making goo- goo eyes. I've checked the lyrics of both songs you mentioned and Filipino Rose doesn't have a happy ending. That song in fact, has the American choosing not to stay or go back to the Philippines because he felt like a stranger there. Can we possibly put both songs in the file folder here and maybe conduct a polll?

I just joined this group and from reading through the posts i can see that it has a lot of good information on the Philippines. There is another site that is for people living or traveling through the Eastern Visayas at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LeyteSamarBiliran/ Its got a lot of good info also (mostly on that region)

As I said to you before, Jim, these questions are for the List. You will get better answers from them than you can get from me and I explained how I can't answer messages from individual members because of volume. So I am taking the liberty of posting this to the list. I am sure you will get answers, from them. Since you are on the list, check it. And do search the archives for additional information. Dear friends, Please see Jim's letter below. He is 62 years old, has substantial savings to start a business, but no income. I advised him in the first letter to go to the list. And I also advised him to live here a year before investing in *anything,* and then only with great caution, and to start small time. He wants a ""paying,"" job, employment, like 99 percent who want to come here. Maybe I should start an employment agency. I explain on the website in detail the problems with employment here, but people still try. It may happen, but then pigs may fly. Nothing is impossible. I get a lot of these letter off list and send them ot post on th List. Usually they do. But Jim came back. I know he will appreciate your comments. But he better take the time to go through the archives. If he does not, he may regret it. And I know he will get some ""no lose, big money offers,' from the spammers, brilliantly written. What can you do?

Yes, Guam is getting pounded very hard by Typhoon Pongsona right now. We in Saipan are getting a lot of wind and rain already. The winds will increase to 90 mph gusts this evening according to our Emergency Management Office. Not that bad really compared to some other ones we have had. And I made sure it turns back East after us, so you guys in the Philippines don't have to worry about this one. I have been in the office all day and will stay until midnight at least. What a way to spend a weekend.

a lot of the garbage is in fact brought to the island by visitors, mostly Filipino. They turn up with a dozen in the group carrying everything they need in food and drink and leave all the packaging behind where they throw it. They board the boat for home considerably lighter. The onus of cleaning up their mess is left to the resort owners who have not made a cracker from them as many sleep on the beach out front of their resorts. This Filipino phenomenom for littering really gets me going. They shower two or three times a day, keep their homes immaculate and their clothes clean yet as soon as they step outside they spit and litter like it was a national pastime. When you mention it they look at you dumbfounded with no comprehension of having done anything wrong. Before the advent of plastic everything, most food items were transported in natural packaging like banana leaves, all bio degradable. Once they had eaten a mango or banana there was no problem simply throwing it out of the window. The trouble is that habit is no longer viable given the prolification of plastic in the country. I try to refuse a plastic bag wherever I can and dispose of everything properly. But the Filipino does not. Add to this the deplorable and disgusting habit of spitting and it is no wonder TB is still a worry here. I was at the meat market today and watched in horror as the woman behind the counter hawked and spat on the floor next to the meat. Of course I have seen it on a daily basis here but I never lose my revulsion at this act. The problem is exacerbated on Malapascua as it is a small island. We are currently trying to develop a garbage collection business for a local to operate but lazyness is getting in the way. Meanwhile our clean up initiatives are going well but constant reminders are the order of the day. What do I do to help? I try to work with my personal Filipino's, family and friends. At the moment they are aware I abhor their habit and try to avoid littering when around me. It is a start and something I encourage all members to look at with their own families. I have only been to Malapascua twice - October 2001 and June this year. WWwe stayed at Blue Water Beach Resort since we knew the owners Nigel & Janet through Cebu Hash House Harriers that organised an 'Away Run' there back the first time we went. Nigel told us the locals and the Resort owners make an effort to keep Malapascua tidy. Everything that gets brought onto the island gets taken off again (in terms of bottles, cartons cans, newspapers, plastic bags etc). They also have 'Clean-up' drives every now and again. If you saw garbage on the beach, it was most probably left by a 'tourist' and not spotted by these local clean up campaigners. I have heard from Mike & Mary Rossiter who visited just a week ago that there were a lot of dogs there! Perhaps they left some 'deposits' behind? There was some loud music coming from Blue Coral Beach Resort or 'The Rock' but this was NOT a Disco. The Disco (the only one on the Island as far as I know?)- called Maldito (or something similar?), is located on the South West coast of Malapascua and is only open on Friday and Saturday night I think. We went during the weekdays so no noise from there. I did not explore the whole island looking for noisy Karaoke bars, so can't comment about that.

nice write up on the island but it must have been some time since you were there. Blue Water have upped their prices considerably and Nigel is no longer there as he has a job in Cebu. The family management is not up to his standard, sad to say. Massages are P200 a pop and a few of the girls have been run off the island for giving extra services, something which is still available but the baranguay are very keen to stamp out as they want the island to be a family destination with no reputation like Sabang or Angeles. The boat price hike is currently P20 for locals and P50 for foreigners. This is insulting and racist, not to say technically illegal. However, I feel if a sign was displayed saying Residents P20, Non-Residents P50 and explaining the residents are commuters and thus subsidised, then no foreigner will mind paying P30 more. However, in typical FIlipino style they refuse to do this and prefer to simply sting the tourist that is keeping the island afloat and bringing more prosperity to them then they have ever enjoyed. I had a major barney with one captain just yesterday who could not see how Foreigners get cheesed off always getting hit for more in such blatant ways. This is a major issue the new Business Association will tackle. Yes, non residents will pay more, but it will be explained in a more palatable manner than merely going by the colour of your skin. That small bar, would that be Sunsplash? They have an excellent menu and BIG drinks during Happy Hour 5-7pm, two for one deal. The Kuan Bar further along near Exotic Divers is also excellent, I had dinner there last night and can reccommend the chicken pie. Malapascua is not perfect and never will be but it is full of locals and ex-pats who really want to do the right thing by all. The toughest thing is getting there, but once on the island it is a slice of paradise. As for other locations, try Dumaguete on Negros, I have heard only goods things about it. Cheers, Perry You'll have a great time on Malapascua. Here's some free advice: 1) Take the public banka from Maya. The pinoy price is P20, the ex-pat price is P50, the tourist/foreigner price is P100. Pat whichever you feel comfortable with. 2) On arrival, drop your bags at the Blue Water Resort. Have a nice relaxing lunch, and afterwards spend an hour or so looking at the different accomodations. The Blue Water should offer its beach side Nipa Hut for P500/night, and if they don't just tell them that you have friends who've stayed with them and that's what they pay. Also look at the Blue Coral, which is the large, new hotel built on the western edge of the white beach. We stayed in an end room fpr P600/night, and loved it. 3) Malditos is open 7 nights a week and offers nice music on weekends. make sure you pay close attention to their happy hour prices for local drinks. Took me too long to figure it out. 4) The best restaurant on the Island is La Isla Bonita. Must stop in. Wonderful family run place, though a few pisos more than Malditos or the Hotel restaurants. 5) If you have time & the budget hire a banka to take you up to Carnessa for a full day. If you see Osmena say hi to him for me. Try to set aside a whole day, and leave by 9am. That'll give you pleanty of time to get there, bbq on the beach, and hike the island. Look for the cave used by the Japanese during WWII. Its even better if you can hire the boat for an overnight trip, and camp on the Island. 6) Leave time to hike Malapascua (1/2 day) at your leisure. 7) On the way to La Isla Bonita, you'll pass a small bar at the east side of the whie beach that has the most stunning waitresses I've ever seen in the PR. What was truly amazing to me was that they were pushing 30, and didn't look a day over 18. After 4 days of happy hours, my asawa got wise to me and told me no more. 8) If you ask the Hotel, they can find a massuse for you. We paid P200, for 2 massages, each of which was 1 hour. Anita then joined us on the boat ride up to Carnessa the next day. Since this advice is offered for free, do with it as you see fit.

Deciding the type of toilet facilities one will have several years hence does not take into account any of the following things which may render even owning the toilet a remote possibility: poor health, divorce, reduction of retirement income, more advantageous retirement locations in the US or Europe, etc. You can't make specific plans about where and how you will live 8000 miles away 6 years in advance of the retirement. I work with people who have been planning to build houses on lots they own in Oregon 10 years before they will start building. In the interim 10 years, they need money and sell the lots or get divorced. On the other hand, the first step towards achieving a goal is to set a goal (but not necessarily the style of toilet).

My friend's parents say I can expect to spend US$200- $300/month on the high side. I am looking to live fairly simple and unemcumbered - pretty much just the basics. With all due respect to your friends parents and this is my opinion only. Living on 200 to 300 USD a month would be the very low side not the high side as you've been lead to believe. But this is my opinion only, others I'm sure will respond.

In round numbers you can expect to pay about $3000USD to ship a 40 foot container from Seattle to Manila. A tremendous about of variables go into this though. Where and how will it be loaded at the departure end, will it be cleared through Philippine customs as a commercial shipment or with a Balikbayan exemption, who will clear it and trans-ship it, etc. Then of course how will it gte from Manila (or Cebu if you can ship it direct SEA-CEB), who willl unload it, how will the empty get back, etc. A big part of the cost on any shpment like this is the demurrage - the time the container sits waiting to be backed, waiting for trans- shipment, waiting to un;load, waiting to go back to the shipping line. You may want to explore an outfit like this (there are literally dozens of them listed on Google): and pric eout the option of buying a container and then getting ri dof it on your own at the Philippine end. I hear people mentioning this often, and whenever I see it, I often wonder why? A 40' container, professionally packed, will hold the complete contents of several US-style homes. I can't personally concieve of shipping that much to what I plan to be a simpler life in the Philippines. Also Philippine household items are often very cheap.. Mita and I furnished most of our home from a mall store in Manila, bought retail and shipped to Denver it cost less than anything its equal in the US. My thought is (and what Mita and I will do) is 2 or 3 vanpacks. That's a lot of space in itself. That free (and thus worthless) advice having bene dispensed, though, do a quick search in the archives and you'll be able to hook up with someone who just shipped a 40-footer from Hong Kong.. I believe he said more thna 280 cartos inside. Hope he has a _big_ house, like Don, but it certainly can be done.