there can't be as many closet fatties with internet disease over there though.. somehow there is always that 1 pic/pose that makes a fatty look reasonable

I rented a studio in south tower for 3 months and was very happy with the general standard and staff. I never saw other units than my own tho and I'm indifferent about gym/pool. I dunno where you can find better value in "downtown" Fort other than 5th ave perhaps

Note I obviously know there are nicer buildings in fort. Price comes with it tho.

I strained my lower back pretty bad on the flight to Philippines, I'm in a lot of pain but have to travel out of Manila today. What is the easiest/fastest way to get some strong pain killers? Do I need a script?

No need for any script unless you need Morphine or similar. Buy some 120mg Etoricoxib or whichever pain killer you prefer at any drugstore.
Etoricoxib is very effective and approved in over 70 countries but not the US. Take one each day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etoricoxib

how did you go, did you end up meeting up with any chicks from online? and are you flying to somewhere else in ph or back home?

Gprs settings for Iphone
Go to settings, general networks' cellular data network
APN: internet
Username: leave it blank
Password: leave it blank
Then turn off the WIFI.
Go to settings, WIFI, then WIFI off

MMS settings
Settings> General > network>cellular data network then enter the *
following settings:
Access Point: mms
MMSC: _http://10.102.61.238:8002
MMS Proxy: 10.102.61.46:8080
MMS Max Message Size: 61440
MMS UA Prof URL: _http://www.apple.com/mms/uaprof.rdf

It's 10 pesos for half an hour and will keep charging you unless you deactivate, the way I deactivate is just by going in to settings and putting "interne" instead of "Internet". On your iPhone it should say 3G or edge next to your signal bar to be able to access the Internet.

Right now I am staying at Forbeswood heights which is an area comparable to Serendra, Clean, lots of restaurant and small bars, and I currently pay 32k pesos for a one bedroom without utilities and it's really nice. There are a bunch Starbucks and coffee beans so there is lots of free wifi. One thing that is really interesting about the area is there are a bunch of call centers around that are on US time so it's not uncommon to see 18-24 cute girls running around in the middle of the night at 24 hour restaurant and bars all throughout the week. Remember they are just getting off of working or lunch break and want to relax. I highly recommend the place.... There is also a new highend casino that just opened up about 20 mins away without traffic. It looked like someone took a bunch of picture at bellagio casino and copied the place, i was surprised to see high end shops like cartier and Armani,there are also lots of resteaurants and live poker.

When I was in USA my cell phone provider had their call support based in Philippines. I got one girls email address when I called in for support on my cell phone. We went out last night.


DIA: I am meeting a girl in a few hours.

And ugh! why does everyone require that I be god fearing! zomg life tilt.

I left Manila and went to Los Banos in Laguna. I got accepted as a student here at UPLB University Philippines @ Los Banos.

Awesome, I'll do this later today.

Also does everyone know about chikka.com? free texting in PI, and you can get an app for your iPhone hmm..

There is a chikka app that works on the iPhone, its great if you are on a wifi connection, but not worth it on 3G. Its free for you to text but it cost 2.5x for someone to reply to you.

Or Simple!!! It's a bit of a minefield but some gems on there!

How much are your fees per semester and what are you studying?

Looking to buy an average digital Photo Camera.
I am quite clueless about technical specs and looking for something cheapish/good value, as it's for casual use.
Looking to take basic pictures of scenery and people, simple stuff.
Any pinoy brands with good value? Looking in the price range of 3k-10k firsthand.
Camera on my mobile is bad.

Hope someone with knowledge either reply or pm thanks

im planning to come back at the end of the year and will probably stay a month... how much does it cost to extend my visa? even if its only being extended for 1-2 weeks. thanks!

Your first extension will cost you 3k nowadays. Its getting expensive.

Note that the immigration office in Makati on Jupiter has closed so head to Peza building on Roxas Blvd in Pasay if you live in Makati, it goes very smooth there. Avoid the HQ in Intramuros like the plague.

Any poker communities here is the Philippines, similar to thailand?

Thanks for info

My experience from Intramuros, coming there 15mins after they were closed on the day of my expiry:
"Sir we can not help you now, you will have to come back tomorrow 8AM"
Had been in taxi for 1h+ and stopped outside for a cig where a bunch of kids were trying to hail me a cab.
One of the head officers joins me for a chat and a cig.
He then says
-You know you'll have to pay a fine tomorrow right? You know what that's gonna cost you?
-Yeah it'll be a little extra
-3500 total actually. Look here's my number...I might be able to fix this for you if you give me 3k. Send me a text tomorrow morning
-wat


I'm overstaying atm, haven't renewed in a while because I can't let myself risk being deported due to sensitive personal matters. I know that's low risk, but still. Need an office where they won't shoot me down or attempt some bs shady stuff when I want to clear it up. The one in Pasay good u think L4F?

I came to the Pasay office in around lunchtime and there were only 2 other customers there. The guard at the entrance greeted me and gave me the application form, I filled it in and gave it to the clerk, got the bill and payed it at the cashier and they told me to come back tomorrow to pick up my passport which I did. No waiting time what so ever.
My first time tho since normally go to Makati so I might have been lucky but I deffo go there next time as well.
The only thing about the pasay office is that they don't have a copy service so you either need to bring your own copies: passport (foto page+latest stamp page), ACR-I card (back + front) or go around the corner (about 150m) to a copy place, which I did, copies were P6 total.

I've let my GF extend my visa a couple of time so that could be an option if you're afraid of your overstay. The only extra requirement is a notarised copy of your passport.

I overstayed for a few months and just paid the regular extension fees for those months plus a little extra (no bribes needed, all straight forward mandatory charges only).

Seriously go fix that sh*t and stop being paranoid, the longer you overstay the more likely its going to get serious. A few months was no big deal for me and most others here. Regardless if it's a longer overstay, I f**king doubt you will get deported if you are willing to pay for the months you missed.

You have to f*ck up pretty hard to get deported here. The most they're gonna do is ask you to pay the fine and as long as you're not a wanted criminal or something than I seriously doubt they would arrest you on the spot unless you somehow pissed them off hardcore.

If you overstay it is no big deal at all!! The fine is 1000 piso per month + whatever the cost of renewal is.

is it possible to play on ipoker in Manila? or is the fillipino ips banned???

Ipoker no work

Hiya chaps, great thread.

I've basically read the last 20 or so pages so apologies if any of my (future) questions have been done before. Anything before the previous 20 pages or so date back to last year and beyond so things might've changed anyway.

From what I've gathered, there seems to be quite a few long time stayers in Phils but everyone seems to be renting? Have any of you thought about buying property? I understand it's not so simple because foreigners cannot own land etc and for the mostpart, Condos are overpriced. Are there actually advantages to renting rather than buying, maybe not having to deal with expensive utility bills is a big factor?. I ask as I am considering a few options at the moment and moving to Phils is high up there.

Renting is pretty much always preferable to buying without taking into account capital appreciation. There is so much **** that you don't have to deal with as a renter that you would have to if you were the owner.

Don't forget that the money you spend buying could be sitting in a term deposit earning 3-4% per annum.

This is a country full of risk and complex laws. Renting is affordable and you can get decent value for money.

Yes and buying a condo in a established area here is bloody expensive and it will take around 15-20 years before you paid the condo from successful letting.
So you're better off investing your money in properties somewhere else.

However, if I ever would get married here I would research into acquire plenty of land. You get land between 100-300 pesos per square meter in the province.