788 replies to this topic

[thailover57]

Your "Back in the day..." comment reminds me of the Toby Keith tune - I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was. Good reading, glad you're having a positive time. BTW, are you using glow in the dark golf balls? 4:00 AM?

[jayarr]

pancakes maybe not but I enjoyed seeing the little shops in the neighborhood and things

[Macman]

No, thank God, I get up at 4:00, but we tee off around 5:15, TL. We play that early because of the heat. The guys I play with only play 9 holes. I'd like to play 18, but I still can't get a car, so I have to depend on others until I get my ACR card in 3 weeks. Once a month, there's a club tournament, and that'll be 18 holes. The heat then should be a lot of fun.

Yeah, jayarr, I spared you the pancake pics. I'll start taking some more pics soon. Some of the local stuff won't be interesting to the BMs who live in Southeast Asia, and I know that Australia has some pretty varied and strange (to Americans) wildlife, but for instance, this morning as I walked over the bridge across the small river here, there were some carabau grazing there. I didn't have my camera because I was only out for The Great Frying Pan Quest.

Macman

[Macman]

Well, I went to the finals of the beauty pageant last night. It was a happy occasion because Angel's friend was first runner-up, trailing the winner by only 2 tenths of a point, but I'm so glad it's over. First of all, there are so many political speeches during it that I was stunned. It's boring enough as it is without adding that to the mix. Also, we were sitting near the speakers, which were huge. Between that and the constant yelling for the contestants, I thought I'd have permanent ear damage. I was happy for her friend, though. We're having her and her boyfriend over for dinner tonight.

A couple of comeuppances for me yesterday. First, on the way to the golf course. my friend apologized profusely for some misinformation he'd given me. It turns out that the 7,500 PHP ($175 US) annual fee for playing rights was for locals only. Foreigners pay 20,000 PHP, or about $470 US. It's still relatively inexpensive, but it stung a little. I'm an ALIEN. The second thing persists today. During the pageant, my throat started killing me. I very seldom get sick, and I can't even remember the last time my throat hurt this much. I keep checking my tongue for strawberry-like growths, since scarlet fever has been in the news so much of late. I usually pay no attention to any signs of illness, but being so far from home and the familiar health care options puts a whole new light on the subject. I usually avoid going to doctors like the plague and seldom worry about my health, but now ...

Well, sick or not, we have to get out for food shopping.

Macman

[Legend]

id like to start a business in the uk, and charge foreignors more than brits for the same thing.

[Macman]

Yeah, I know what you mean, Anthony. I understand the concept of charging more for municipal services. For instance, I play the Westchester County golf courses in New York for about half what non-residents pay. That's because I pay taxes in the county that pay for the courses themselves, while an outsider does not. In this case, however, it's a private course. I was angry, and at first blush I wasn't going to do it, but the savings (even at the foreign fee) are big. I was going to not join on principle, but decided I'd be cutting off my nose to spite my face. I enjoy golf, and they are the only game in town. Incidentally, my friend told me that they checked a course in Cebu, and found that they charge 60,000 PHP for a foreigner. It's outrageous I know, but ...

[thailover57]

The throat issue might be the smog. My first visit to BKK, I ended up with a sore throat that worked its way to a lung infection. All the motorbikes and tuk tuks just spewing smog (jitneys in Phils?). And it happened in Pattaya again my first month here this year. I've since adapted - was afraid I'd have to wear one of those swine flu masks. You should have it checked out. They gave me Claritin to help with the problem.

As for the farang pricing - happened to me here with electricity. Put AirCon on at 27 first month - 80 degrees -seemed reasonable. Electric bill 6,000 baht ($200 US). A Thai would have been charged less. Only use it sporadically now - maybe just before bed on an oppressive night. Last month !,300 baht - liveable.

Keep reporting - it's a great read.

[Macman]

It seems to be just a cold, TL, but I'll be careful with it Yes, they have jitneys here, but it's mostly tricycles. Wow, that's a pretty high electric bill. We run the AC in the bedroom all night long, and anytime we nap (which is just about every day), and our bill is usually around 2,500 PHP (about $60 US) per month.

We have a bunch of friends over tonight. It was supposed to be just another couple, but is turning out to be a handful. Angel cooked a whole pot of food, so we have plenty for all. I'll turn in early tonight, even if they're still here. I have golf in the morning,and we're heading to Tacloban with a couple of friends for their festival. We'll be leaving after lunch, so maybe I can squeeze in a nap before we go. We'll be staying over night, and I won't be bringing my laptop, so I'll post in a couple of days if anything interesting happens.

Macman

[Surin Nix]

id like to start a business in the uk, and charge foreignors more than brits for the same thing.

You can. It's called currency exchange.

I was in London last week, and with the freefall of our dollar, everything costs a lot more....

[Macman]

Well, we never made it to Tacloban for the fiesta. It was a combination of my having a terrible cold, the heavy rain, and the lack of decent hotel rooms available. Most were already booked. I would have gone despite my cold, but Angel thought I should rest. I played golf early as usual, and then pretty much spent the rest of the day in bed. At night, we went to a very nice restaurant for dinner with another couple.

One surprising bit of information. On the way to the golf course, my friend made some comments about his fellow Filipinos. He has a home in Chicago. He rarely goes there, but told me that one time his wife was a victim of a purse-snatching. She cried for help, and some passersby intervened and drove the thief off. He said, "I very much appreciate that about Americans. If you are in trouble, people will rush to your aid. In The Philippines, it's the opposite. If someone is attacking you, and you yell for help, everyone will turn away." I thought, "Well, he probably had a bad experience, and that's why he's saying that." When I got home, I mentioned it to Angel. She laughed, and said, "That's true. They're afraid." Well, so much for me feeling safe when there are a lot of people around. I haven't had any trouble, but now I'm a little more leery about walking around with large sums of money on me.

Angel and I made reservations in Hong Kong for early October. We are going to stay at the same hotel as we did in February, and would like to get to Macau this time. February is the worst month weather-wise for HK, and we didn't get to do a lot of the things we had planned. It was always overcast, so we didn't get a chance to go to Stanley or The Peak (too foggy to get a view that day). This time, I guess we have to keep our eyes out for news of scarlet fever. I understand there is a fairly heavy outbreak of it in Macau.

I keep forgetting to take my camera with me when I go out. I have to get some pictures of the golf course. There are some really nice views.

Macman

[Macman]

Despite my precautions, I wound up giving Angel my cold, so we've both been just cooling it. I played golf this morning, and finally remembered to bring my camera. This point-and-shoot really is not good for scenery, so I was disappointed in the photos. One thing that I've noticed is that the surroundings are very different from the States. I don't know how it is in LOS or even in other parts of the Philippines, but in the U.S., any homes near a country club are large and expensive. but here the homes around the course belong to very poor people. I'm not quite sure of the reason, but I think it may have something to do with the fact that there are many crops growing all around the course. I guess the land is better utilized for farming than some kind of real estate development, and the homes are those of field workers.

Macman

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[Macman]

While I hate the concept of "it's not what you know, but who you know," which is the prevailing truth in The Philippines (even more so than elsewhere), I must admit it makes life awfully easy if you're on the right side of it. My golf connections are paying off. It was a very productive day. This morning I played golf, came home, took a shower and chatted with Angel for a while, and then my buddies picked me up. With their connections, I was able to do a few things that usually require an Alien Certification Registration card, and was able to accomplish them with a minimum amount of red tape or waiting in lines. I opened a bank account in my name, which will allow me to transfer funds from my U.S account, and eliminate the constant ATM visits. I also was able to secure a Philippine driver's license, which supposedly I can pick up tomorrow morning. The visit to the eye doctor for the eye test (after my drug testing) was typical. I was sitting at the doctor's desk. There was an eye chart about 3 meters from us. He said, "Are your eyes okay." "Yes," I replied. "Do you need to wear glasses when you drive?" "Only at night." "Okay, sign here." It seems that everywhere we went, someone knew one of my 2 friends. Then later in the afternoon, they invited Angel and me to join them for coffee. I couldn't keep track of how many people stopped to give their regards to them. It's a terribly unfair system, but in my case, as Angel said, "It's also not fair that you have to pay a much higher annual playing rights fee at the golf club just because you're a foreigner." Ah, see, that's why I love her. BTW, they also invited her to come watch us play Saturday. They are surprisingly accepting of the whole situation.

Macman