Travel Guide to the Philippines: Gearing Up

The Philippines is a great place to visit- whether it’s your first time and just looking for a place to vacay, or you’re a Pinoy looking forward to come back home for a nostalgic trip after years of being away.

First off, let me say this: the Philippines is technologically advanced enough to provide you with most everything you might possibly need for an enjoyable and stress-free stay. Heck, you got malls that have just about anything, some of the best hospitals in Asia, and a whole lot of fun stuff to do. It’s really all about knowing where to find what you need, or at least knowing somebody who can hook you up.

That being said, you still need to prep quite a bit for your Philippine visit. You want to be as comfortable and as stress-free as possible for your entire stay. So as a public service of sorts, I’m here to give you some advice.

Getting Ready for Your Trip to the Philippines.

Let’s assume you’ve done your regular prep-work: made provisions for paying your bills back home + having the means to monitor all your banking activity online, clearing out your credit cards, securing your travel documents, securing your home and pets, having a medical exam + getting the necessary vaccinations if you need it, putting your memberships on hold, dealing with all your mail for the duration of your vacay, etc.

Pay special attention to:

• Appropriate Clothing. The Philippines only has two kinds of weather, really: hot weather, and rainy weather. It’s a tropical country, which means you can get away with a single layer of clothing for the most part- a simple t-shirt and jeans, for example. You might still want to keep a coat with you if you feel cold. Or if you want to pack light, you can go ahead and just buy clothes when you get there.

• Adaptors. Most appliances run on 220v rather than 110v. So be careful when plugging anything in- make sure it won’t be blowing up in your face. Also, you might want to bring Kensington adaptors just in case, so you can plug things into different kinds of outlets. Make provisions beforehand, or you can ask your hotel or host to provide you a safe means of using your gear. Otherwise, you can hop on over to a nearby Ace Hardware or electronics shop and get yourself a few extra adaptors.

• Mobile Phone. Virtually everyone has a mobile phone in the Philippines, so you might want to bring your own and just buy a prepaid sim card and credits to use while you’re in the country. It’s great for keeping track of everybody for your peace of mind.

• Entertainment. If you’re bringing with you your digital camera, laptop, mp3 player, camcorder, handheld console, etc. don’t forget to bring the appropriate charger (and data cables if you need them). Most have chargers that are good whether its a 110v or 220v outlet, but check just to be sure anyway. Nevertheless, you might want to bring yourself a couple of magazines or books instead, which you could read leisurely by the beach, or while waiting it out at a coffee shop.

• Shades + Sunscreen. Lots of sun, remember? The Philippines is a warm, humid country, so you’re gonna need some protection. For sunscreen, you’ll need at least something with SPF15 which you’ll need to reapply if you plan on staying out in the sun for long. Bring a good pair of shades so you wouldn’t have to squint in the sun. Again, if you didn’t bring any, you could always head out to a mall and grab some from there.

• Off Lotion. Particularly when you’re headed out to more rural destinations- you’d want some insect repellent to keep clear of bugs landing on your skin.

Packing It All Up

Go ahead and pack your usual personal care products and effects. More importantly, you’ll want to have a smaller bag with you to take along only the essential stuff. So you have:

1. Your main luggage: which carries the bulk of your clothes and other stuff,
2. Your handcarry, which has most of the things you’d like to keep with you at all times, or at least locked and securely stowed away while you’re out.
3. And your smaller travel bag- which you’ll just be putting together, which will contain some of the things you’ll be bringing with you wherever you go- your shades and sunscreen, some bottled water, your passport, mp3 player, camera, mobile phone and just enough cash for the day.

More on traveling around the Philippines in coming posts.

Cheers, everyone!

A Man Walks Into An Immigration Lawyer’s Office…

Ever since my friends have heard me make plans to move here to Los Angeles, I’ve been bombarded with all kinds of questions- from getting a US visa, to living conditions here in California, etc.

Let’s get this out of the way: if you do have plans of coming over to the United States and starting a new life here- which is a plan worth pursuing, btw- do things the right way.  I will also go as far as saying that I do not support any move that requires you to sidestep laws or even bend them to your liking- you don’t have to do those things at all.

Laws exist for a reason, and if you want to fully enjoy a shot of making it big here, then by Bob, do things the right way.

That being said, I now know first hand why so many people want to move here: even in a recession, there’s just so much business going on- much more so compared to our lousy Philippine economy.  More on that later.

Better business means so much more opportunities for professionals and entrepreneurs.  You don’t have to be a caregiver.  Or a nurse.  Don’t get me wrong, I think they’re noble pursuits- but just about EVERYONE wants to be a caregiver or a nurse.  Supply and demand, man.  Plus it ain’t my calling.  Not a field I know I could excel in.

Around here, services are huge.  If you know how to fix stuff (cars, electronics, computers, houses, etc.), or good at manual labor (carpentry, massage, gardening, etc.), or have just about any talent worth making money with (cooking, tutoring, pet-handling, etc.), then you might actually have a good chance to make some cash around here.

Even better: professionals.  If you know how to wire up a network for a home business, or rig up power cables, or neuter dogs, or run a forensics lab, or create programs from scratch, then you can really make yourself a more-than-decent living.

Same can be said for people who can run a business- if you got enough savvy, then you’re aware of what people are looking for and can therefore, address a specific need.  Keep in mind that in order for you to run a successful business here, you’re going to have to build your network from the ground up.  Even if you have a massive network of suppliers and resources from, say, the Philippines, it doesn’t mean that you’d be able to bring all those into play here in the United States.

Anyway, I did consult with an Immigration Lawyer- who also turns out to be from the Philippines, and handles a lot of Pinoy cases- and after a nice chat, he gave me my options.

1.  I can have an employer sponsor me for a particular job-role, but it assumes that he’s tried to find other suitable candidates but couldn’t.  This means that it wouldn’t be a simple matter of getting some relative or family friend to hire you- because the employer will eventually have to show proof that he tried to get others, but found you the most qualified for the job offer.

2.  I can set up a business, or even better, buy out an existing business.  With market conditions swaying unfavorably for all kinds of ventures, there are actually a lot of SME’s around that are closing down (but it happens in the Philippines too, so no biggie, really).  Doing so means you’re providing others with a means of employment as well, which would make you look good when the Immigration Board reviews you for a change of status.

3.  Marry someone with a green card, or even better, marry a US citizen.  Strangely enough, there are a lot of shady dealings involving women marrying themselves to some dude with a citizenship in exchange for cash- so they too can get a green card.  That’s just so wrong on so many levels.  If you choose to do marry someone, do so for the right reasons, please.

At this point for me, I could pursue all three options.  But option 2 appeals to me the most.  Option 3 will eventually happen, but why wait when I can have my green card sooner?

If you do have plans of moving to the United States, I advise you to consult with an immigration lawyer, and get your facts straight.  Never completely rely on hearsay, or stories from families and friends.  Options vary from case to case, and you might actually have more feasible courses of action available to you.

More later on as the story continues.  Cheers, everyone.

Check Out FilipinoVillage.com

In a few weeks, I’m supposed to play host and tour guide to a whole slew of relatives coming over to the Philippines. We’re talking about aunts, uncles and cousins- some of whom have never been to the country, others who have been around fairly recently, and then you have a few others who haven’t been around for 10 or more years.

So naturally, I get asked all sorts of questions about the Philippines- what’s there to do, what’s going on, anything new worth checking out, how much are such-and-such things, etc. I realized one time that, even if I’ve been living in Metro Manila for the past 30+ years, I still need to get my facts straight somehow- which means going online to various sites just to validate my information and maybe pick up something new.

There are quite a few websites and blogs on the Philippines already as it is. Some more useful than others, others completely in need of some updating. One of the more useful sites I ran across was FilipinoVillage.com. The site has announcements of all kinds, just like a billboard, on pretty much all things Filipino. It also has some articles and links to other resources on the Philippines.

You can even buy a few things off the website, learn to send money back to the Philippines, and even pick up a tip or two off their various sections. If you have your own company and you’d like to promote your products, services or events, you could add your Filipino event and have it posted on FilipinoVillage.com.

So when you’re doing your research on your trip to the Philippines, you might want to drop by FilipinoVillage.com- you might find something you like.

Cheers, everyone.

What I Miss About The Philippines Right Now

OK, first off- Los Angeles isn’t such a bad place.  In fact, I’d say it’s a great place.  It’s just that you do have to make some adjustments, even more so if you have plans of moving here.

Still, I’ll tell you this now- I miss the fact that you could head off to a spa every other week, or at least every month and enjoy a nice long leisurely massage.

Aw yeah.  Thinking about it now makes me realize how stiff my neck and left shoulder feels right now.  I could sure go for one of those Swedishes in either Suriya or Blue Mountain right now.

It’s one of those things I haven’t appreciated so much until now- as the Philippines is still a developing country (third world, man!), the cost of labor is still relatively cheap.  Definitely way cheaper than here in the United States.

Which means you can get away with great massage packages for under US$30.  It also means you can take cabs just about every day, have laundry done by just dropping them off and picking em up when they’re done, and have a haircut (or your hair done) whenever you want.  All under US$10.

I also miss the fact that you don’t have to wait in line at restaurants- I mean, you might, but definitely not have to wait for half an hour to get seated.

I miss my kitties.

I miss my moldy old bed.

I miss the fact that I can hook up with my friends any time I’d want to.  I mean, I’d be able to do that here in LA eventually- but in order for me to do that, I need gainful employment, my own car, and a working knowledge of the LA streets and highways.  I’ll have to work on that next.

But not as much as getting that massage.  Man, that’s gonna be the first thing I’m going for once I recover from my flight back.

Cheers, everyone.

To Live and Die in L.A.

Everybody Have Fun Tonight?

Yes, it is a title of a song from the marginally successful 80′s pop group Wang Chung (of “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” infamy), but for today’s purposes, it is also the title of this blog post.

I’ve been in Los Angeles for a little over two weeks now. Last time I was in town, here in L.A., I never had the chance to appreciate what this place had to offer- was only here for a few days, we all had to take care of Dad, and it was really spending as much time as possible with family, rather than going around to do your own thing, you know?

Fast forward to five-and-a-half months later (today), this feels more like a vacation of sorts. Well, it is, since I haven’t had any for over a year. Compared to my life in Manila, this is all pretty laid back, and I’m all for that. I could do all my work-at-home endeavors here, and it’s a great place to raise a family, and make some money. Truly a land of opportunity.

I’ve done quite a bit since I got here.

1. I’ve been able to get me a brand new DSLR- a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, as well as a brand new PC.

2. I’ve been able to try out some good restaurants in the area, thanks to my Mom and my sister. But there’s a whole lot more food places worth visiting, and it seems like every day is a new chance to try out something new.

In fact, the whole Los Angeles experience had been inspiring enough to start a stand-alone food blog.  I love eating and dining out anyway, and armed with a brand new digital single-lens reflex camera, I’d say this would be a great time to practice digital photography while writing about food and travel all at the same time.

A Breakfast Burrito Meal from Pat & Lorraine's down at Eagle Rock- don't that look good? Yum!

3. I’ve been able to do me some cooking. Got the chance to check out Whole Foods (been wanting to check it out since we’ve been watching Top Chef), but there’s lots of great stuff in Fresh & Easy, Ralph’s, and even some neighborhood Asian Specialty stores and Farmers’ Markets.

I love Whole Foods! Lots of great organic ingredients and fresh local produce!

It’s a big deal for me because you have not only lots of fresh ingredients to play around with here, you also get introduced to a whole new set of herbs, cooking components and other great food items not usually available back at home in the Philippines. Great for anyone who’d like to work on their kitchen-craft.

Mom and Me, at the Mann Theaters in Glendale, June 2008

4. I’ve been able to make me some cash.  Gotta give credit to Mom for hooking me up with a few projects.  It’s a start- not much, but just enough to have some money in my pocket while I’m here.  Mostly freelancing stuff- writing jobs, setting up basic websites, a little buzz marketing- imagine how much more I could make if I actually took on real work?

5. Opened a bank account.  I love the guys over at Wells Fargo.  I have to say, the level of customer service was far more than I expected.  So I opened up my very first savings/checking account in the US with them.  And then linked it to PayPal.  I say we’re all set to get some business done.

6. Did more work-at-home stuff. With my trusty new PC, and a rather quiet home by day, I’ve started setting up my new home office. Still needs some work, but we’re getting there. Did quite a bit of job hunting online, and got a fairly good idea on how business goes down around here.

7.  Also did a fair bit of traveling.  More of Mom’s idea, actually. Was able to spend a weekend in Las Vegas, and then another weekend at the Hilton checking out nearby Pasadena.

The rooms at The Hilton Pasadena ain't so bad. Adequate- enough for us to check out more of the surrounding spots in town.

Over the course of a few more weeks, my Mom and sister took me around to some really great spots in and around Los Angeles, among them a place called Silver Saddle Ranch- which is a two-hour drive away from where we live- right through the Mojave, but is way worth the trip and definitely worth a longer visit next time.

The Silver Saddle Ranch in Cali City, two hours away from Eagle Rock. Great for camping, fishing, archery and other fun family stuff.

8.  Consulted with an immigration lawyer. Gave me my options on how to get myself a social security number. As well as a green card. Plan B is that I continue being my girlfriend’s bitch until she drags my ass to get married in Vegas- which really isn’t a bad idea

The milkshake I had at Islands was awesome.

There’s still so much to do and so much to see around here.  Even if I do have less than two weeks before I go back home to the Philippines, I know that I’ll be back here soon anyway, so there’s no rush, really. That just means a lot more things lined up the next time around.

Los Angeles is a great place for Pinoys who would like to try out living in the United States: great weather, proximity to a lot of other Filipinos and Pinoy-friendly establishments, a a whole lot of opportunities to make money, travel, and live a much more fulfilling life.

You would do well to consider moving to Los Angeles, if you’re planning to move out of the country at all.

As for this blog entry, I suppose it needs some expanding. As I write more about all what I’ve been doing here in LA, I’ll link them all up to this entry.  So more about it if you’d like to know more about what I’ve been up to in Los Angeles.

Cheers, everyone!