I was just in Manila last week, and after a few days was beginning to feel the same way. I had traveled around the city and had no problems.

Then I went to the airport to fly home. At security, I was careful not to trigger the metal detector, but the security guy decided to pat me down anyway (Caucasian). From there, the customs guy and the police shook me down for 2k Pesos because I had more than 10k on me. They wanted 5k at first, but I was able to "make an offer". Great place, Manila.

What? Shook you down for 2k pesos because you had more than 10k on you? You can't carry more than 10k pesos?

Nah just have to declare if you're carrying more than 10k$ when going through customs, same as in the US. The consequences are no doubt different in each country.


Being 2k pesos poorer seems like a very decent result, I don't think it should ruin the good feeling you had about the Philippines. It could have been a lot worse, e.g. being interrogated & missing your flight.

Great place Manila imo.

Meh, you broke a capital controls law and got shaken down. It may not be the most intuitive law for a tourist but getting shaken down for $50 for breaking a law in a third world country isn't all that surprising.

anybody tried this Lamorghini on 10mbps yet?

http://tattoo.globe.com.ph/product/i...rghini#details

looks like a much better option than the 2mbps stick sun and smart have.

.

I know globe recently has been imposing some strict bandwidth restrictions especially on their mobile connections, I would try and find that out first before committing.

Meh..... I looked at it but it's 10mb in certain areas!! Which is parts of metro manila and not much else. Rest of the time its just going to be like a globe tatoo....

yeah the bandwidth restrictions are capped at 1gb/day, but they are only capped for prepaid plans, i confirmed with globe support and some current globe users that the postpaid plans are not capped and have unlimited bandwidth.

the areas that are suppose to have 10mbps are

-Brgy 22, Caloocan City
-Kaunlaran Village, Caloocan City
- Llano Road, Caloocan City
- Brgy. Kaybiga, Caloocan City
- Grace Park West, Caloocan City
- Brgy. 174 North, Caloocan City
- 10th Ave., Caloocan City
- Baesa, Caloocan City
- East Rembo, Makati City
- Fabella St, Mandaluyong City
- Santa Ana, Manila
- Santa Cruz, Manila
- Santa Mesa, Manila
- Punta Santa Ana, Manila
- Tondo, Manila
- Sampaloc, Manila
- Ermita, Manila
- Roxas Boulevard, Manila
- Brgy. Concepcion, Marikina
- Tangos, Navotas
- Brgy. San Agustin, Novaliches
- San Bartolome, Novaliches
- Balara, Quezon City
- La Loma, Quezon City
- Project 8, Quezon City
- Brgy. Holy Spirit, Quezon City
- Bagong Bantay, Quezon City
- Brgy. Pasong Tamo, Quezon City
- Brgy. Don Antonio, Quezon City
- Brgy. Paltok 5, Quezon City
- Brgy. Bungad, Quezon City
- Brgy. San Antonio, Quezon City
- Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
- Brgy. Mabolo, Valenzuela City
- Fortune Village 5, Valenzuela City

but ive yet to find anyone getting these 10mbps speeds, fastest ive seen is 3.8mbps in the greenhills area. guess ill just get the 2mb sun or globe stick, they both seem to be better than the smart bro, as far as speed tests ive seen, smart is suppose to be releasing their 50mbps LTE 4g service nationwide later this year, i think they actually have it running in boracay already.

Please let us know how its like if you decide to try it.

I am moving to Cebu for 3 months in about 4 weeks time. I am a UK passport holder and will be flying in from Australia. How likely i'm i to be stopped at immigration because i have no outbound ticket and if i get stopped what happens?

you are more likely not to be allowed on your departing plane than stopped at immigration, if you don't have visa/return tickets.

I always Photoshop a return ticket to be safe. Print screen an old e-ticket and change the dates etc.
But they haven't asked for it since I got my ACR, I still bring one to be sure, takes me 5min to sort one.

You could always just book a one way from Manila to Kota Kinabalu for like 50 bucks to be safe...

Think loose has nailed it. So is there any immigration buildings in cebu where I can get a long stay tourist visa or will I have to leave every 21 days?

Pretty sure your going to have to do Visa runs every 3 weeks.

there arent any travel places that can do your visa stuff for you in cebu?

I had an agency do it for me, they only charged p500 per renewal and included all the official receipts. You just sign something allowing them to process travel documents for you and they will take it there and do everything for you. Beats waiting in line. It helps knowing on average what you should be paying if you want to be careful, every so often it will have additional registration fees on top of the 1 or 2 month extension. Rarely goes above p4k (usually p2-3k) for straight tourist extensions.

I was being a little pedantic. The fact someone has a ticket booked for a three month stay yet hasn't done basic Visa research....

I'll be landing in Manila Wednesday afternoon, does anyone know if i can buy a sim card in the airport? or where do I buy one?

Yeah am pretty sure you can!

Yup, definitely available at the airport. If you forget to buy one there, I've been told that you can find some at 7/11.

Havent booked anything yet just getting a general feel before booking, alright pedantic wanker?

Pooter brah, I think we're going to have to demand some Trip Reports when you can, Angeles City/Manila seems like your kinda place

Yeah I have been to AC about 3-4 times, but never Manila I am hoping it is better than AC.

Manila, lets av yaaa!!!