Paranoid notes from my last travel to the PH

[ladislav]

Now you need to fill out an arrival form online before you go there, and show your vaccination cert. or a Covid test. They issue you a QR code. A PITA!

If you are 60 plus, you are a senior in the Philippines and can go to a special lane at the immigration. Shorter. Good news.

New sim cards for tourists are now good for 30 days only. All SIMs now will have to be registered. Another PITA. I am still not sure how easy the process is.

It may be worth it to have a SOLIS WIFI ( Google it) I have one. Costs $99 a month for unlimited international use or you pay by the GB. A unit can be had for $50 used on ebay. This frees you from local SIMs and you can just use Whatsapp and FB for messaging and calling. Filipinos especially use FB. No more texting. And if you need to call, you can use Skype. It also connects when the hotel WIFI is down.

Get several debit and credit cards before you go, and get PINs on the credit cards. Hide one half of those in a separate place. Let the banks know you are leaving. I was robbed there twice, and half of my credit and debit cards were gone. But I had another half hidden. So, it saved me. If you need to withdraw money from your credit card, Barclays and Capital One cards will charge you only $10. No foreign transaction fees. It is cheaper to get money off of such a credit card than your debit card.

Bring cash, at least $1000. Better $1500-2000 but spread it around different places. Otherwise, withdrawal fees will add up. Cash is king.

When you get money out of ATMs in the PH, always try and get some in hundreds. For example, punch in P 4900 instead of P5000. Because Filipinos chronically have no change. And do the same at exchange booths. Ask for hundreds.

When getting into a tricycle or a taxi always ask them if they have change and show them the money you are going to give them. Otherwise, you get to your destination, and suddenly, they have no change. Leads to ill feelings.

"I am sorry, I have no change" is a chronical PITA in the PH.

On weekends up until Monday afternoon, many ATMs are out of cash. You will be running hungry around town. I went to five until I found one that had it. And usually, they do not tell you they are out of money, so you end up punching this and that number and another button, and yet another and then, they tell you they have no money. Get your money on Wednesday. This does not apply to exchanging cash dollars of course.

Get a portable security lock. Search on Ebay. Because the hotel staff can just let the thief into your room and steal your things. Big hotels have safety deposit boxes but smaller ones have only one in your room which is not reliable. It may not even open as the battery may go dead.

Get a diversion safe. Search on Ebay. Put the passport into some pouch and tape it with a masking tape to the bottom side of some big table or wardrobe. Actually, have several of smaller ones or envelopes and do the same with them. Hide your laptop under the bottom drawer of a chest of drawers in your hotel. Just pull the whole drawer out and then slide it under it.

Buy a Scottevest, a used one is ok on ebay, the only one that has many hidden inside pockets and when traveling, put your passport and valuables in it. Then, get a fanny pack for around town but use it a sling bag in front. Never on the side or in the back.

The PH now has a new pay app, called G cash similar to Apple pay. Many places accept it as a credit card. Easy to get but you need a local SIM card. Then, you can load it at a 7-11 or other outlets, and pay with a Q-R code. But in order to send money with it, you need to get it verified, which means taking picture of your passport, but often its interface cannot take a clear picture, it is a pain.

On Friday nights, in Manila, no intercity buses! All have left for the province. I had to take a taxi to go back to Angeles. Cost me over P3000.

Many hotels have noisy air conditioners as in very noisy. When looking for a room online, look at the photo and make sure it is one of those newer models. Otherwise,the rattle won't let you sleep. And if you paid upfront, they may or may not return your money. And always carry mouldable ear plugs. The PH is a country of unrestrained noises.

And very important! Your US phone number is now used for two step verification to get into your bank account, your FB and many other accounts. If you lose it or it is stolen, you wont be able to carry out many if not most online transactions. So, have one phone for your US sim and another phone for other SIMs or no SIM. Just use SOLIS WIFI. Keep your US SIM phone or just the SIM card in a diversion safe.

Another detail is that 1. Some US phone plans do not include international roaming. So, you wait for your code and it never arrives. Make sure yours does. It costs a bit more money per month, but it is worth it. Now,2. even if you have international roaming, SMS may not reach you because your company may lock into a weaker PH network. My T mobile got messages in Manila but when I went to Angeles, they would not go through. Fiddle with the manual selection of networks. They have Globe and Smart. Smart works better in Angeles, but Globe works better in Manila. I switched to Smart in Angeles and got SMSs from banks with no problem. Takes a few seconds longer than back home, though.

Turn off the suggestive dictionary on your phone. A pain in the butt if you have to type out Filipino words or names.

Have a VPN that makes it look like you are in the US and use it in the US for some time before you leave when you log into your banks,etc. This way, you will not have to go through headaches with extra verifications from various sites if they detect that you are in the Philippines. Some can just lock you out.

In Angeles, they have a store called Bretto where they sell imported foods. Local Filipino varieties are often inedible. Getting good food is a problem in the Philippines.

The Philippines is a country in which some 30 percent of things and deeds do not work or work in starts and stops. You have to be ready.

If it were not for the great social and romantic life in the PH, it would be otherwise a very inconvenient place to live.

[Jackfruits]

1 onehealthpass was with me approved within 5 minutes after pressing send button; no pita.
2 im even below 40 so cant do that
3 just go to 7-11 and get a sim there, no issues
4 never got robbed but yeah do the hiding and splitting as well
5 with solis i see its 20gb and unlimited slow. isnt it just easier to buy globe and use it as mobile hotspot to your laptop?
6 change is normal yes but if you use grab you can tip online
7 yes cash is king, had tried atms at mactan airport and no cash in it when i arrived so had to wait till next day and exchange money at sm mall before i could have cash, did eat a lot more at hotel breakfast
8 wow that diversion safe is a good idea. suitcases have this fabric inner lining and zipper; i used to put in a plastic bag and tape it on the inside of it as well, not too much, just the important cards
9 ive never taken a bus in PH ever
10 yes i also look at airco models with airbnb apartments
11 i put my home sim always with my tooth picks, habit

12 best advice when going to PH is to bring more ibuprofen and paracetamol then you think you might need as you will need it and its not cheapo in PH
vitamin pills arent cheap there either

also write in notepad or email to yourself where you hidden things cuz you might forget stuff