I guess you could go but it will be hell getting from niaa to palawan. Good luck though.

If its Puerta Galera (mindoro) then you might have a chance. Bankas have been running from Batangas-Puerta Galera the last few days. The sea will be crazy rough and be prepared for a nasty ride. I know of people who got out of Manila yesterday to go to Angeles so Manila-Batangas should be possible.

Even with the horrible weather its pretty much buisness as usual over here. So if you do manage to get here you should still have a good time.

I go lots of places, you don't need a bodyguard. In most cases the only scam you will run into is people trying to overcharge you for stuff that you're actually willing to buy. As long as you don't take some random stranger's offer to be your tour guide, or park in a seedy place like Tondo with a brand new car at night, you should be fine. Regarding scams, if you are somewhat careful they are really not that big a deal. I can list a few of the biggest scams I've encountered here in my 6 months here, so that you can see how they're not that big a deal and don't warrant having a bodyguard. All other scams I have encountered have been significantly smaller in terms of the amounts than this, and for 6 months these being the largest scams I've encountered are really not that big a deal or worthy of a bodyguard.

-I hired a driver for the day to go to Tagaytay. We agreed on 3000 pesos for the day, a rate which is a bit more than it should be but not a huge ripoff. We did a 10 min detour to Talisay, and once we got there he told us the detour would cost an extra 1k pesos (about $20). I didn't end up giving it to him but did end up cutting the day short.
-In Talisay, we took a boat to the Taal volcano at an agreed upon price. Once we were there we realized he had taken us to a compound where the only way to exit was by horse, instead of by foot as they had promised us. I think they were asking something like 1500 per person per horse, and as we hadn't brought enough cash we didn't do the whole Taal volcano tour and just wound up taking the boat back to Talisay.
-I went to a strip club on Roxas boulevard and instead of telling us there was a cover charge when we entered, it showed up on our bill at the very end, for php 300 a person. However, we encountered another group of tourists who had the same cover charge but at 1k/person.
-A "valet" who I see all the time tried to put me in an unlicensed beaten up taxi for 400 php when the normal rate is 100 php
-I met a girl from an online dating site thinking we could have a good time. I knew there was a risk but i bought her a ticket from the provinces and sent her about 1k. Due to plausible circumstances she lost the money so I just had the ticket refunded and didn't end up having a good time.

There supposed to be a new poker room that has opened in Mall of Asia. Anyone has any info about this?

Met someone last night who arrived in Manila on Sunday and managed to get to Puerta yesterday with out any problems. So you should be fine.

Wondering if anyone here plays poker from the Philippines. I got a couple questions. Should i make a new name, on FTP, if i move to the Philippines. Also when i withdrawal should i just transfer all my funds to banks there, or have them transferred to a US bank and then transferred to a bank in the Philippines. Do they tax 'online gambling' in the Philippines, or 'online poker winnings?' Also how's the internet connection, which internet provider is the best to stop disconnections, considering im living in makati. I also got a concern about how online poker might be illegal in the philippines. I came across this article online saying, Narcisco santiago proposed a bill of some sort to make online gambling illegal in the philippines. What's the update with that??

i would like to roll in a 300c with a driver, plus points for style! I don't think the Venza is available here, the other van is too much.

Sorry to hear that you got scammed. Why did you want to send her 1k? That's a lot of money to the people in the Provinces.

bodyguard dude, just stay in your country if you are so afraid of Filipinos. A bodyguard with gun will probably increase your risk of being hurt, since most of them cannot shot or handled a gun since it is to expensive to practice, this is the case amongst the police anyway. Buy a used Toyota Fortuner instead, there is a lot of them here, so you will not stand out. If you want to be cool, you can buy two so the kidnappers do not know which one you are in, LOL.

Anyone knows which internet-backup i should choose in Angeles City?

And which internet provider is best as primary line?

And nice apartment under 20K pesos?

I just came here yesterday for the second time and I'm planning to stay here for maybe 6 months.. Anyone else in Angeles?

For the terminal fee+to buy a travel bag. The sick thing is if she had just saved the terminal fee and shown up w/a crappy bag that obviously wasn't new I wouldn't have cared and she would've gotten a nice vacation courtesy of moi. She must really not have looked like her hot pics (webcam ftw before I ever send money/tickets again).

she probably had 4-5 other "BF" too..

The bar scene down here is getting a bit repetitive. I'm thinking of heading up to Manila in the next few weeks or so. To hit a club or two.

Not entirely sure of what to expect of a Manila club. Not looking to go totally crazy and splash out on the Champagne but I like to go out and have a good time. Any info on Cover charges, drink prices would be much appreciated.

Any recomendations of where to hit up?

I would've been cool w/that and in fact expected it, as long as she looked like her pics. Pretty sure she didn't though.

I do not know with what you mean with down here.. but if you are looking for gogo bars you should go to Angeles City instead, cheaper and more bars, and they are all pretty much clustered together. Bar fine is 1350 and 3000, drinks(beers) 85-95 pesos.

is it possible to get good internet connection in Palawan?

if so, how much does it cost to ship a motorcycle there?

Angeles is sick if you looking to hit up bars, having them all in the one spot makes it super easy to have a good time.

In in Sabang (puerta Galera).

I was actually thinking more in terms of nightclubs as it would be nice to have a night out that didn't involve me ending up in a go go bar. Read in lonely planet about embassay? Any good?

Gonna head to Angeles soon aswell. Heard they have quite a good live poker scene. Got told the Koreans go crazy. Any info on stakes would be much appreciated.

Those prices you quote sound quite expensive. Are you saying to bar fine a girl its costing you a total of 4350?

Most bars the bar fine is 1350+tip to the girl.. 4 clubs have a ranking system(2 tiers) where the most expensive is 3000+tip..

I think the bar fines are higher in Puerta Galera..

At the beginning of the year I am thinking of moving to a province for a month or two, but it has to be one where they speak tagalog. Anyone have any suggestions?

to play poker? I would think the internet stability would suck in the provinces.

anyway, San Juan in La Union is nice if you like beaches..

My gf came from Samar and said its nice there, didnt make it on my last trip but could be worth checking out.

they do not speak Tagalog there, just Cebuano.

The Rockwell area hasn't been affected by the flooding at all? What about the Fort?

Parts of the fort were affected, so if you were in some of the condos by megaworld I don't think you could get out.