Been there done that.

1) If on vacation, I HAVE NOTHING BUT TIME so waiting at Taft Av to get on the EDSA line is tough, hot and sweaty but not a big deal. I make a game of making wide eye faces at those who stare at me in passing on the line to the guard station for the EDSA line. When waiting on the ticket line I try to smile at hotties to pass the time. I gleefully give my change to the can people (whatever charity they rep, I support ) at the ticket window.

2) Wrestle for position is my middle name. Love that sh*t, frustrating when you have somewhere to be but I look at it all as adventure. I take the bus and jeepney system in Manila too. I take the bus from five star and phil rabbit to Dau when going to Angeles. Its all an adventure to me...

Hummm... no matter how much of it you might have, I can think of several better ways to spend ones time in Manila then this

Good for you, I wish you nothing but enjoyment while doing them...

Oh. I see you hit the jackpot

The jackpot ?????

I won the biggest rollover jackpot in history

ps. just call me 2

I would be glad to bridge some of your cultural divide.

thank you . i am sure myself and others can learn from your input here .

If you're not in a hurry, buses are better.

Make sure its an aircon bus though, the open air ones are for veterans only.

Veterans of 3rd world living in general, doesn't have to be specifically the Phills.

Andrew Zimmern: Filipino food is the 'next big thing'

"So what’s the next fad food? Andrew Zimmern, host of “Bizarre Foods” on the Travel Channel, has a theory: “I predict, two years from now, Filipino food will be what we will have been talking about for six months … I think that’s going to be the next big thing,” he told TODAY.com."

http://bites.today.msnbc.msn.com/_ne...next-big-thing

I've been in Manila for a few days and on 2 separate occasions I've been in a taxi at a red light listening to headphones and I hear some faint cursing, take off my headphones and there's some little kid standing outside the window screaming fu!! Wat the h lol the second time he actually hit the window and woke me up lol, taxi driver was pissed and these kids are like 5 years old lol is this standard in Manila or something?
Has anyone else had this happen to them?

Yes, this happened to me too everyday when I was in Malate district of Manila except I wasn't in a taxi I was trying to walk to 7-11.

Yes a few years back I had a desperate man trying to sell my a box of viagra. Followed me for a few blocks and just wouldn't go away. I even went into a department store for about 10 minutes thinking that he wouldn't be waiting for me when I left the store. But I was wrong he was still there. He following and harrassed me for another few blocks. I saw a vacant taxi at a set of traffic lights and quickly jumped in the front seat and told the driver to go. The man jumped onto the bonnet of the taxi and started banging on the window still tryin to sell me the box of viagra. I told the taxi driver to drive off. The driver shook his head and said this is too much trouble and to get out. I handed him 500 peso and said just drive. So off we went through the manila traffic with the crazy man on the bonnet still banging on the window. At this stage I was becoming a bit worried as he had a crazy look in his eyes. So I took out 500 peso from my wallet showed it to him through the window. I then wound down the window and threw it out onto the road, whilst the taxi was travelling about 15km/h.
He quickly jumped of the taxi and I looked behind to see him scrambling on the road for the 500 peso.
Moral of the story - there are alot of desperate starving people in Manila especially in certain parts like Malate/Ermita where this occurred. Be careful in this area especially at night.

wow IronJake, can't believe you gave him 500p. You must look like a real fish target to put it nicely.

I never got anything like that in the 8 months or so I was in PH. In traffic I'd get mostly kids knocking on the window begging and after shaking my head the worst that happened was one kid made a shooting a gun mime motion lol. The viagra guys asked me every time I passed but I ignored/scowled and never had a problem.

Btw, when taxis try to scam or refuse to turn on the meter as they're wont to do with foreigners in Manila, always just get out and leave the door open for him to get out and close himself while you go find another one. It's the perfect little revenge that always left me satisfied

Haha, I would take so much action that Filipino food will not be the next big thing. It hasn't caught on in the west like chinese/mex/thai etc for a reason, and that reason is it's terrible. Adobo is ok and they have good bbq, but I mean...it's bbq. It's pretty safe to put this argument to rest.

+1

+1
And I hope we all do this.

First question, where do you eat Filipino food? And how much does it usually cost you?
Second question, did you read the article?

"It hasn't caught on in the west ..." Do you mean to say that all the other countries that does not have a presence in a western market has a terrible cuisine?

I have to admit that if I randomly eat food anywhere in the PH it would likely be below average. So the key here is to do a bit of research. But at the end of the day, everyone have different taste so Filipino food will not be able to please everyone.

I also have to admit that it would take "much action" (using a poker term) for Filipino food to be the next big thing. But what he was trying to say is that the cuisine is fairly deep because of the different influences so it gives it a lot of range and potential. Plus a critical mass of Filipinos are building in San Diego so it could create a launch pad for the cuisine in the US market.

"It hasn't caught on in the west ..." Do you mean to say that all the other countries that does not have a presence in a western market has a terrible cuisine?"

All the countries which have a lot of immigrants in the west such as Mexico, Thailand, China, Japan, and of course the Philippines, yes.

Why are busses better? Except maybe getting you closer to a destination?

The train offers you a speedy ride to your destination for the same/negligible cost and during rush hour a train to the same destination is much more efficient. Busses stop to darn much too...

I like the railroad personally so I choose it over any other form of transportation. I also am used to jostling for position in the different major cities I have grown up in when it comes to public transportation, all second nature for me, its fun. But thats just me and not saying its for anyone else...

omg rediculous, definately 500pesos well spent. I was gonna go to Malate tonight but I might just watch a movie instead now lol

perhaps they're saying that 100 pesos would have done the trick just as well. i mean, how much was the viagra in the first place?

Prob 100 better ways to handle that situation, worst thing is he probably will keep acting like that from now on caus you just cemented in his mind the best way to make money is to act crazy to foreigners.

Its probably more that every other cuisine has been done to death, leaving the only new fad to be filipino dishes.

Adobo is one of the most bland boring dishes i have ever had. lol if that's the national dish.

Not a fish target as such, but i think he saw me earlier in the day walking with 2 ladies (my girlfriend and her cousin) - so a good target for him as he thought i probably needed the viagra!
As i said he was starting to freak me out as he was staring at me through the windscreen with crazy huge diluted pupils whilst the taxi was moving along through the traffic. 500 peso is like $12USD so it was a small price to pay to get him out of my life.
After that day I went back to Angeles City and dont really go to Manila unless i have to. Yes you get hassalled a bit there but nothing to the point where you feel unsafe like Manila Ermita/Malate.

Yeah like what? - enlighten me. Money was the only way to get rid of him.
On the street I pushed him away from me which made him angrier and more intent on not leaving me alone. I think at one point the taxi was travelling over 40km/h - he didnt care and still had his eyes fixed on me through the windscreen.
I dont care what is cemented in his mind cause I will never go back to the ****hole of Ermita/Malate.

im also interested in hearing some of these 100 better ways