Pretty sure that there's no more death penalty here, but it doesn't really matter since Philippine prison is worse than death.

Also pretty sure that kick2dante, given his intelligence level, will very likely end up in prison, if not broke/dead/both.

Thanks for the advice guys. Probably do drugs once every three months or so in UK. Gonna give it a complete miss for the time im in manila now.

Not necessarily, just make sure you are not in a public place. And only with your trusted friends/family. As to acquiring it, also make sure your info comes from trusted friends/family.

im in makati until monday morning. if anyone wants to meet up let me know. especially hitting up the casino/ I'm staying in central makati in like tourist area. berjaya inn and citadel, .

email me at jonathan_yueh@hotmail.com

will have a phone number by tmr

wow when i read it the first time i thought it said 12 years for 300 grams, not less than 300 grams

so if u get caught with a joint u get 12 years in prison? ugh

and thanks for the support paulB its cool u can tell how someones life will play out based on a few posts on a message board

i am as paranoid and cautious of a stoner as u will find which is why i keep asking all these questions about it

Yeah, he understands that, as do we all. And we were all trying to be helpful originally, but it started to seem like you just kept asking the same question over and over even when we answered it for you again and again, just because you didn't like what we had to say.

Anyway, it seems like you now, finally, understand, that's good.

i just find it really hard to believe that if you get caught with a tiny amount u get locked up for 12 years which means i would kill myself, seems a bit harsh

At least in Thailand, official rules are very strict, but corruption is so rampant you will almost certainly get away with it if you float enough cash quickly enough. For a little bit of weed, you are looking at $150-$2000 bribe (depending on location, timing, and circumstances) and they don't take credit cards. My guess is that 99% of foreigners who end up serving any time in Thai jail are hardheaded, brain dead, or simply poor... or they let things got along way too far into the process to the point where the payoff ceased to be an option. (or they were legitimate criminals with lots of drugs)

If you miss your chance to pay cops off, you will be heading to court and judges tend to be lenient in the sense that instead of 12 years, they will give you 2-3 years or whatever. If the judge doesn't like you, it could be full sentence. (if for example, you are black or something.) The educated, upper class that will be judging you are not really keen on having foreigner drug users come to their countries to do drugs.

And when they give you 2-3 years - they ARE being lenient. In the early 2000, an unofficial mandate came down in Thailand where the cops basically executed _thousands_ of Thai drug dealers and users. No trial, no investigations, no nothing. The dead bodies just started appearing.

Also, in Thailand you go to jail first, and then you wait for your trial which could be months and sometimes 1 year+ from the date of your arrest.

The problem with this common sense advice is that new comers do not have 'trusted friends/family' in a foreign country they have never visited. You don't make trusted friends over night...

In general, if you are not living somewhere permanently, know people, know the rules, repercussions, outcomes, solutions, options - you should live your life as straight-arrow as you can. Otherwise, things will catch up to you as you relax and drop the ball at the wrong place at the wrong time.

I think your missing the point what everyone is saying here. Your not actually going to go to court.

Whats going to happen if your busted with a tiny amount is the Police Office is going to take you to your hotel room/apartment/jail and he will tell you that you have to pay a "fine". The longer you delay or the stupider you are the "fine" keeps on rising and rising and rising.

Well if you have 0 street smarts you will be ****ed very hard in a very short time in Manila

Nothing goes by any system or procedure, because the system doesn't work

Just common sense

If it wasn't understood, what ever the police catch you with or doing, will go off record. Whether it's a girl setting up an assault/rape scheme, drugs in your pocket - or them dropping drugs in your pocket, or whatever they invent you being guilty off,- because those things happen - will be dealt with in private. If police are gonna fine you, there won't be a report or a prosecution, they'll deal with u in private and chop it up with acquaintances.
When you know of the possibility of these things happening, you can anticipate such situations. Stay low key, trust no-one, protect yourself and you'll be fine...

Plenty smoke weed and even it's unlikely you'll be patted down, it's just common sense you do not carry anything of high value or risk at any time when something like that is plausible to occur. Whether it be bundles of money, pills, joints or creditcards/passport. When you go out to random places just have a little bit of cash and 0 id.

Do you have a link to this? I think a lot of the drug dealers were also terrorists/muslim insurgents in South Thailand..

So.....does anyone move to these countries to actually play poker, or just do drugs?

dont bring an ID with you fanapathy?

as far as the other is concerned i am really only afraid of the initial buying, since i wont know anyone its gonna be a really sketchy situation, but if i am able to get it back to my apt then everything should be fine from there

are there any mods in this thread? if so plz pm me

@Kai and everyone else who is concerned about tax: Check your goverment's website to see if there is a Tax exchange agreement between PH and your home country. If there is, be very careful; if there isn't, then you're fine for now (until there is one). Most countries dont have any TEA with PH since the tax system doesn't work here.
Dont worry anything about using the same bank here as in your home country. Its a crime for the banks to give account information to the authorities in another country. So people using HSBC etc in your home country and in PH are safe.

My question: I'm looking for a good Mongolian BBQ buffet in Manila, any recommendations?

There's a really good one, in the Mall of Asia. It's name escapes me atm unfortunately, but it's on the ground level floor, on the outside of the mall.

It's next to the area that has the open pit type area where they sometimes have the kids bouncy castles and such, and at other times have music/pagents and the like.

If you go there, try to get there a bit before standard meal time (especially if going for lunch.) When my ex and I went there there was no one else there, and I was a bit worried the food might suck, but by standard lunch time the place was totally packed.

Also, if you go there, try to sit facing the door, as that way you can have a nice view of the palm trees, and beach/water.

Good food and good prices! I strongly recommend!

Wish I could remember the name, perhaps somebody else could help me out there.

Google "drugs extrajudicial killings thailand" and you will have good hits. Most of these were North of Bangkok, particularly around the Golden Triangle and such. Someone powerful decided that too many Thai people were dealing or using too much drugs and the hammer came down to kill off a lot of them.

Muslim insurgency in South Thailand is a completely different issue and not drug related at all. That area of Thailand used to be self governing before it was annexed by Thailand 100 years ago. Thailand govt is trying very hard to change these people into standard Thais via what they teach them in school, etc. That's why the insurgents generally attack Thai govt institutions and occasionally cut off heads of school teachers they kidnap. BTW, I went to all these areas and it's safe for tourists - the insurgents do not target tourists.

This is in contrast to the PI from what I understand. The insurgents in South PI do see tourists as targets.

Sounds nice. Around how much for the buffet? And for you how does this compare with other famous buffets?

Yes. PH Terrorists target foreigners/tourists in Mindanao because they want publicity and ransom.

Hello everybody,

I am living in Cebu for the last 8 months in a poker house with 5 other players. Someone suggested in the 2+2 thread about our poker house that we should write a summary of living in Cebu, so here I am.

We are living in the most upscale part of the city - Maria Luisa Park. We've been travelling around the nearby islands/countries, partying and having guests from all over the world almost every month so far and everything is A+. I won't go into details because English is not my native language and I terrible in writing stories but I will be happy to answer all questions you have about Cebu/Philippines.

Cheers,
Ivan

how much are 1 bedroom apts in maria luisa (americna dollars if u could)

are there any casinos there?

so you're comparing hooker pinays and NON-hooker thai's lol?

the only reason I can think of is maybe, no EDUCATED/college pinays will for for your type? I dunno just an opinion

for what it's worth, I have a bangin thailand classmate but she has a german boyfriend.. I don;t know if she was a hooker but I wanna know how the **** that ugly ass guy got a girl that good lookin. I mean really good lookin, she said she was a model when she was younger and I believe her.

Her story was that she came from thailand 6 years ago and just been living with the dude. I dunno if they met in thailand.


what are the odds of her being a former hooker?

100%

maria luisa is more of a baller house neighbourhood and not really apartment territory. The waterfront casino is nearby, but I've never been.

Exactly, I doubt you can find a one bedroom place here in Maria Luisa, there are only houses here. There are several very nice condominium buildings in Cebu but I am not sure about the prices. My GF has a real estate agency so if you are really interested I can ask her for some listings.

Depends on your definition of hooker. Most likely she's like most good looking girls in Thai/PH that she simply had a foreign bf(s) sending her money while she was acting single while they were away. I have several "normal" filipina friends doing this.

Is this being a hooker? ya, maybe.