The lesson to be learned here is that the US solution should be assumed to be the best. Asian countries have been using air conditioning as long as the US and Europe and there are Asian solutions to ensure greatest efficiency.

Forget the traveller's check. You'll have very little use for them. Money changers don't accept them anymore. Hotels give you a lower exchange rate when you pay with TCs. Bring crisp US$100 bills. The malls are the best place to change your money. After you leave the booth, don't exit the mall right away. Linger around and look very carefully around you. Window shop and take note if there is anyone suspiciously eyeballing and/or following you. Should you notice one, report immediately to a security guard. If the person is a stick-up artist, he will vasnish the minute you approach a ""siky=FB"". Usually, there's a guard assigned next to the booth but if there is none, there is always one at the exit.

When reading this I wonder why one would like to bring cash money. Just use an ATM card and you will be OK. For example this is withdrawn at 27-11-2002 and I was charged Eur 377,17 for Php 20.000,00 with an exchange rate of eur = 53,02649 php. If anyone knows how to make money by changing EUR to USD and then to PHP just let me know. Please take into account charges at all banks involved. I would use and ATM card in the Netherlands and still do the same here in the Philippines and yes I can also use the ATM card from a peso account to withdraw Euro's or any other currency when I am abroad.

I found it much easier to change £'s with the Money Changers than to change Travellers Cheques at the banks, you get a higher rate for large clean notes (£20's and £50's) and you can find a Money changer just about anywhere, although Cebu City had a slightly better rates than the provinces. Don't forget to have some Peso's in your pocket when arrive though for initial expenses.

We are intending to recruit Nurses for New York Hospital, since my niece is a doctor there. Her parents are the one putting up the company. While in the Seattle area, Nurses are in demand in Elderly Homes.

To look around is good advice at any time but you will not see any suspicious looking person. When changing or withdrawing money try to see who is around you, then walk away and check again. If you spot the same person 3 times in a row than that is suspicious. No need for security as your behavior will show that you are aware of your environment and any criminal type would rather select somebody else as his victim because they are looking for an easy target.

Does any of the list members have any experience with English language tutors? If you do, how do you find one and what is a reasonable fee for a tutor?

I would have some cash for convenience. Carry some Peso - change in UK before you travel or in HKG. In HKG there is building 'World Wide' that I am sure you know is where many Filipinas go to shop for RP products, etc. We used to use the Money Changers here as they offered good rates. I am sure you know that but other LinP members might not. Best bet is use your UK ATM card. For cash (other than Peso) US$ is better than UK£ (many Money Exchange in RP dont deal with UK£ although in Cebu there are some in Ayala Mall etc that do).

I sure hope these events haven't become the norm around Lapu-Lapu in the last 7 months. I've been going there since '96 with only the occasional trike or taxi fare being hiked. The meters have always been used. Even when the girlfriend and I would rent a taxi for the day, the meter was on; to protect the driver from being fined. I've never had extra ""cooking charges"" or pushy servers at eating and drinking establishments. I will admit Mactan was cleaner the first time I arrived there. This last visit, I did notice they were trying to clean it up again. As for thugs...they're everywhere in the world. Glad you and Pretzel had a great time on the whole. I'll have to wait a little longer yet, before I return. I've had these cravings for a Batangas coffee and a sandwich from O Georg's lately and shopping with my girlfriend again. It's cold enough to freeze a Naugthy Bear tonight...-16C(3F) and we won't discuss the wind chill factor.

Actually, from all sources I have researched, space air conditioners may be more cost-efficient than central air conditioning, and you might want to consider that direction. For upscale homes in the US, space air conditioners have never been the norm in the US because of the variables involved with separate units for each room, etc., but in Japan the other extreme is found with new residential construction (space air conditioners).... I will heartily second that, Ray. I've lived in Japan for several years, and believe me, _there_ is where you are talking high electric costs ~90sft 2 bedroom home typically $300/350USD. Japanese '2-part' aircons (the compressor outside on a slab or bracket and the evaporator in a thru-wall unit hounted high on the wall at the ceiling) are the most effcient and most silent in the world. I would not dream of sealing up a house in the Philippines and continuously air conditioning all of it, but a good brand like Hitachi is readily available in the Philippines and will be just the ticket for say one in a bedroom and one for a computer room/family room 'refuge' on scorching days. I started to post some links but there are more than 700 dealers/service centers just in the Manila Post classified site, so suffice to say there will be no problem in finding quality aircons and people to install them. Two-piece Hitachi 'inverse' aircons (have a heat pump cycle where they run in reverse for winter warmth) are in the $600USD range in Japan, so I'm sure straight aircons could be found for much less in the Philippines. One could, of course, install as many as were wanted (subject to how many amps of electric service you can get from Meralco) but it can never be as efficient to cool a whole house with a typical US-style forced air furnace/aircon.. how many rooms can you occupy (and thus need to have cooled) at once?

I have tried changing travellers cheques and cash at banks and money changers and withdrawing cash using ATM's. For me, ATM's are definitely the most convenient and because I am drawing from an Australian account, I believe ATM cards offer the best exchange rate.

I've changed Subject to better reflect this message. Hi Perry. I've got an idea to bring down your phone bill. It might work, it might not. I'm thinking - that you can call anywhere on the island of Cebu with no long distance charge when you use a Globelines landline phone service. You would definitely need to confirm availability and cost. If you have a PLDT phone you might want to find out how much it cost to call Cebu City. Anyway if you can call Cebu City at no cost (say with Globelines) you could then use Prepaid internet cards, or a more cost effective ISP - and this might help you with your phone/internet bill.

When I wanted to install A/C for my little house, I needed to consider 'Split Type' since no provision for 'Window type' had been made, and did not want to block off half a window to install. The price was the big factor here since Split Types are more expensive than Window Type units. Here in Cebu, over on Mactan, I found a place called 'Cheap & Cool' and as the name suggests they specialise in discounted Aircon units. Some are recon surplus units, but others are brand new. When I enquired the price of 1HP Split Unit (Carrier), it was much lower than I expected. There had to be a catch and there was. The units were Taiwan manufacture and all instructions in Chinese! 'Cheap & Cool' gave me translated insructions and made up the copper piping with flanged ends,dual pipe insulation, drain hose & clips, mounting bracket plugs & screws. All parts for DIY assembly. The only problem with the installation was drilling the large hole through the concrete wall for the copper pipes, drain hole, and electric cable. The trade secret is to use special diamond tipped drill apperently. This cost me Php21,000 for everything if I recall. I find we only use it for couple of hours a day if really hot and humid and no breeze and fans alone not good enough to keep cool. Many days we dont use at all!

After spending 11,000 pesos on a kitchen appliance at the weekend at Truevalue in Alabang towncentre, I noticed it was 110 volts. As I was told the round plugs in my house are the 110. So happily I put in to the round plug and ""bang"". Had the electrician check the sockets to-day and for some unknown reason while all the round sockets are 110, this particular one I used had been change to 220. Took the appliance back to the shop telling them what happened, and I was willing to pay for its repair, as it was not their thought. The nice lady at the customer service desk insisted it was their thought as they should not have been selling 110v appliances, and are quiet happily going to fix it without extra cost. They would have replaced it but they did not have another one.

Since 1997 I have always taken Aussie dollars as I would lose too much converting to US$ then Peso's, but kept most of my money still in my bank or credit card. ATM's are everywhere in the places you are visiting. Preferably have one with Maestro or Cirrus on it and you won't go wrong. You can get a cash advance over the counter on a Visa or Mastercard at the bigger branches, like EquitablePCI across from SM Mall in Cebu. Be aware a lot of places add up to 10% when you pay with a credit card as they claim high bank fees. SOmetimes it is worth the convenience, sometimes not. Major hotels usually don't do it but many resorts do. Most ATMs willlet you take out P4000 a time up to P20-25,000 a day, HSBC lets you take out more per hit but there is only one branch in Cebu, and a few in Ortigas, Makati etc in Manila, none in ANgeles. Metrobank ATM's work well also and are in all the places you will visit. Otherwise Sterling travellers cheques are ok, change them in SM's. All cash notes must be pristing or else SM won't change them. Many small money lenders will though, but bigger notes get a better rate. Hi Can I ask any of you what currency best to take with us in PI. Last time traveller's check worked just as well as US dollar or cash. But, then I am taking years ago.

I've now been advised that my 13A visa has been approved and I have to go to Manila to have it stamped on my passport. It seems from the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) letter that I shall also receive my ACR (Alien Certificate of Registration) at the same time since they quote the cost. Can anyone advise whether I need to take any more documents, photos etc. to get the ACR? Secondly I'll need to leave the Philippines occasionally and note from the BoI website the existence of the following: Multiple Re-entry Permit (MRP) Emigration Clearance Certificate (ECC) Certificate of Exemption (CE) I think I understand that the MRP allows me to return from trips abroad. Is this valid for one year from date of issue or does it last ""forever""? How do I apply for it? Do I need anything other than my 13A visa in my passport (+ money!) and is it something that I can obtain from the BoI on the same day I get my 13A stamped? I don't know what the ECC and CE certificates are for. Can anyone enlighten me please? Many thanks.

I have Globelines and was thinking of doing just as you suggest. However, anything technical, including the Red Terror, is the responsibility of the Anonymous Bear and he is a lazy bugger! If he thinks about it and does some research he could probably find the server to subscribe to but he takes the easy way out. I will have a word with him when I come back from Cebu, if the Red Terror makes it there and back! Lately the smaller than required radiator has required filling at least once per return trip and when that needs to be done the Anonymous Bear simply mooches off to chat up the Filipina's, leaving me to struggle with the radiator cap! I have a Mozcom account I started for a friend to use last month while he was here, maybe I should try that and their Cebu phone number? Now where did that Bear put the paperwork? Cheers, Perry yahoo@warrenrh.com wrote:Perry wrote: phone easy P5000 with heavy internet use at P33 an hour.

I have a Carrier window type, allegedly a 1HP. I bought this one as it fit the window of choice. Of course it is at the bottom of the window not the top so not as efficient as I would like. It does cool the place after an hour or so, but not icy cold. As soon as you step outside you feel the big difference, of course. After three hours or so the whole house is cool, two bedrooms at 2.5mx2.5m each and a living room/kitchen at 5mx2.5m. Yeah it is a small house! It cost about P14000, surplus units not being available here in Bogo and the Red Terror was on one of its frequent vacations so lugging one back on the bus did not appeal. I had to take out the jalousy window slats and get a shorter set, but we can take the unit with us when we move. I had to install it for the two installers as they had zip tools and less idea what they were doing! When I wanted to install A/C for my little house, I needed to consider 'Split Type' since no provision for 'Window type' had been made, and did not want to block off half a window to install. The price was the big factor here since Split Types are more expensive than Window Type units. Here in Cebu, over on Mactan, I found a place called 'Cheap & Cool' and as the name suggests they specialise in discounted Aircon units. Some are recon surplus units, but others are brand new. When I enquired the price of 1HP Split Unit (Carrier), it was much lower than I expected. There had to be a catch and there was. The units were Taiwan manufacture and all instructions in Chinese! 'Cheap & Cool' gave me translated insructions and made up the copper piping with flanged ends,dual pipe insulation, drain hose & clips, mounting bracket plugs & screws. All parts for DIY assembly. The only problem with the installation was drilling the large hole through the concrete wall for the copper pipes, drain hole, and electric cable. The trade secret is to use special diamond tipped drill apperently. This cost me Php21,000 for everything if I recall. I find we only use it for couple of hours a day if really hot and humid and no breeze and fans alone not good enough to keep cool. Many days we dont use at all!

I can imagine as the transaction limit is at most php 20000. Must have been a credit card because a normal debit card needs to be present at the time of the transactions. When using a credit card keep the receipts. In over 3 years my number was copied once and the card was blocked before the number could be used. My normal debit card by the way ha the Maestro logo on it and it works fine at all BPI atm's. I use HSBC for larger amounts since there atm can dispense 20000 peso in 1000 peso bills.

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. : Mar is still being detained at the ""Kings pleasure"". He is OK and being visited regularly, but he has now had his head shaven. My wife, Neng and her friend Lorna (one of the other Filipinos who live on the compound) has sent cooked food and drink to him. He would otherwise have to pay for his food whilst in prison. This is a little difficult as he is not receiving any salary from his employer because he is not at work! More information has come out about the arrest. The police were accompanied by officers from the Immigration office when making their ""sweep"". The Saudi Immigration are holding his passport at this time. As far as we can tell is going have an ""Exit Only"" visa in his passport and be deported. We anticipate that this will take place in the next day or so as Ramadan is scheduled to finish tomorrow!

I am traveling back and forth on the MRP and it is good one year from the issue date. This date is different from your visa date. Also your 13A must be reregistered during Jan or Feb of each year. You will need an ECC inaddition to your MRP to leave. The MRP allows you to leave multiply times without always obtaining an ECC. However it only relieves you of the paperwork when leaving not the fees. I obtained and ECC and a MRP at the same time costed about 4500 at the time I think. To get the ECC I had to surrender my ACR and ICR. In a normal situation you would get your ACR and ICR back once you returned. However if you are there for a short period of time it is easier to just use the MRP to come and go. I don't get another ECC but I have to pay the travel tax which is based on the class of your ticket, 1620 for economy and 2700 for first class. Also you must pay immigrations fee and this is where it gets fuzzy. I have paid as high as 2240 and as low as 2070 and do not know why.!! But it is all good and i have not had any trouble leaving or returning. To get the MRP requires your passport only to get ECC requires your ACR and ICR documents you got when your 13a was registered. Whew hope this helped, ha ha.

It would seem to have been an inside job since as you said there is a normal daily withdrawal limit. This has put the bank where the money was withdrawn from in question as well. However it was an ATM card.

We send our vacation money bank to bank via remmitance -£5 for any amount- We send when the rates are high and draw while we are on holiday in Cebu, this way we have more pesos.Oh,Happy days!

I own a recruitment agency in Bacolod City and Manila. You can not recruit direct, and you also would either need to have a licensed recruitment agency (POEA licensed) do the processing for your, or you will have to start one up (which is not very easy, and next to impossible if you do not have any government contacts or know officials in POEA after they changed the rules and regulations last march/2002). Your best option is to find an agency that is licensed, and has no outstanding or past problems with POEA and have them process for you. The fees involved will come from the worker who will pay the agency usually, unless you work out another deal with the respective agency. You can go here and see who is licensed and in good standing, and who is been delisted:

simple. most Filipinos worry too much about what to bring as ""pasalubong"" to relatives, friends and whoever they want to...mostly chocolates and imported brands of soap, toothpaste, "" mga bilin"" (requests) etc that's cheaper than your Marks and Spencer as long as it will fit in a typical ""balikbayan"" box...cost is the primary consideration not weight particularly the balikbayan box is only by volume and not weight limit. that's why Filipinos are very easy to spot in airports when they go home... lots of (excess) baggage! prolific shoppers and bargain hunters they are!

I have a job offer (an American Company) but I will have to move to Makati, central Manila. I have a family with 2 small kids. I want to know about the cost of living there. I'm making 50K a year in the USA and we are ok, I'm the only one working in my family and we are homeschooling the kids. How much money should I make if I move there? How much should I accept in order to be in same or better situation? How much are the 3-4 BR, 2BTH houses or apartments there? Where can I get this info or detail info about Makati, Manaila... I need help and soon. I'd appreciate it.

I do hope this is suitable here. I was unable to find any reference in the archives. And, I hope any replies here, may help others in the future. I am trying to decide the best way to ship my *full* tower to the Philippines. What I am looking for is advice from you folks, if you will. Please let me know either by a choice here, or an option that you may feel is the best way to ship it. I have decided to leave all other hardware here, except the tower itself. I will buy a new monitor, scanner, printer, etc. in the PI. Anyway, here are the options I'm thinking of presently: 1. I can ship it by balakbayan box, surrounded by clothes for proper packing and support. 2. I can ship my clothes by balakbayan box, and take the computer in one of my pieces of checked luggage, on the plane. 3. I can just remove the HDD and take it with me. Then, just purchase a new machine in the Philippines. I guess I'm mainly concerned with safe handling, humidity, and heat.

It was a breadmaking machine, my one got damaged in the shipment and it was very difficult to find here so I had an insurance claim. I also cannot seem to find decent bread especially once use to eating home made bread.

Makati is the most expensive urban area in the Philippines. Most professionals who work there may live elsewhere and commute.

Having Just came back from PI I had no Problems at all entering Manila thru Customs. As a Matter of Fact they didnt even Look into any of My Luggage after arriving at the international Airport. NOW Leaving was a Different Apple as They Searched every Piece of Luggage I had, Emptied all the contents of My Carry on bag. Then Made me take off about 1/2 of the clother I had on. Now they did this to everyone not just me. So I believe that You wouldn't have a Problem at all Just Packing your Tower in a balakbayan box and carring it with you as you Came over. By the Way My K-1 Was shipped out to Texas Today so My Journey is Just starting. I am Hoping to Have Maricel here with me in Tennessee in March or at the latest April. Hope all goes well for You on your Move to PI Let me Know If I can Help in anyway Ok.

Don't waste your baggage space with that big box. Take out the components and carry them with you, at least the harddrive.

Expats can expect free housing, maids, car and driver. If you will be living in the Makati area you have a choice of living in a high- rise condo unit or a large house in an exclusive village also in the vicinity of Makati. Even for Filipino executives in other parts of Asia, it was standard for companies to provide all these benefits so I suggest you insist on it. Maids and drivers will be convenient for your family when you first arrive and it won't cost the company all that much. You can also ask for much more with the terror situation the way it is in Southeast Asia plus the fact that you would relocate your family. Here's a link to the best high rise apartments in Makati for your info: http://www.oakwoodmanila.com/manila_loc.htm You can also check out asiatravel.com for more service apartments in the Makati area.

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...