Moving to Bukidnon to Retire

Today’s Guest Column is from our friend, Jim Cunningham.  Jim and his wife, Marilou are soon to embark on a trip to a new life.  In just a day or two they will move permanently to Talakag, Bukidnon.  Jim retired just a couple of months ago, and this trip is something that he has been anticipating for quite some time now.  All the best of luck to Jim and Marilou as they embark on their journey toward retirement.

The last two months have been a blur in so much that there has been so much to do pending our imminent move to come and retire in Bukidnon.

Since leaving our respective jobs at the end of September  Marilou and I have hardly had a minute to call our own. From arranging our container to be shipped and visiting the Philippine Embassy in London to obtain my visa as well as travelling to Germany at the invitation of my former employer.

For me the travelling started the week before I officially retired. I had arranged to attend a meeting in Budapest, Hungry as part of a European Union joint venture between my company in the UK and companies in Hungry, Lithuania and Germany. This joint initive is to foster  relations between European companies in order to solve workplace problems using multicultural thinking. Although this venture started last year and I knew I would not see it to its conclusion I could not give up my interest just because I was due to retire. If I’m still in the UK next year when the project concludes I will attend the last seminar in Frankfurt as the whole process has been so interesting.

The following and last week of working I travelled with a colleague to Hemel Hempstead on the outskirts of London with me driving I may add, almost 600 miles there and back in the same day. Enough of the boasting it was all in the name of work and nothing out of the ordinary for me at least. That week culminated in a presentation in our company premises on the Friday and a fine dinner organised by my colleagues where I was given lots of farewell gifts too numerous to mention. However one gift I must mention was from the brother of my sales manager and good friend David Mackenzie. David’s brother Murdo a fellow Scot wrote a Bagpipe tune especially for me called “Jim’s Farwell to Peterlee” he even recorded it on a CD so I could play it every New Year and cry into my whiskey.

Not to be outdone Marilou was being given the royal treatment by her colleagues at Durham University Business School where she has been the Editor for the MBA and MA Distance Learning Faculty or almost 18 years. Her farewell concluded with a lunch with all her colleagues and I’m lead to believe lots of tears were spilt.

Having worked in Peterlee in the region of East Durham for almost 18 years you can begin to imagine I have met a lot of people as Works Director of BHK(UK)Ltd as well as Chairman of East Durham Development Agency, Chairman of the Joint Executive of East Durham Business Services, Member of the Board of Governors of East Durham College and latterly Chairman of the East Durham Engineering Forum. You guessed it, yes they all wanted to say their farewells with a dinner and presentation. To be honest this has played havoc with my normally average waistline and not wishing to offend anyone I will have to get stuck into my gardening duties when I get to Talakag in order to get back to something like normal otherwise none of the clothes I currently have will fit me.

As I previously mentioned Marilou and I have had our share of travelling over the last few weeks. My former boss and joint owner of the BHK Group of Companies Peter Kottmann invited Marilou and myself over to Buren Germany for yet another farewell dinner. As usual we took the ferry from Hull to Rotterdam as this has always been my preferred method of travelling when visiting our HQ or customers on the continent. The drive from Rotterdam to Buren was uneventful apart from my customary clearing of the carbon from my engine as soon as we crossed the Dutch border and I was able to let my Mercedes hit 130MPH at least for a few miles. Marilou’s eyes were firmly fixed on the rubber mat at her feet I might add during this part of the journey.

The dinner that evening was superb with all the Kottmann family whom I have the greatest respect for in attendance along with all my good friends and colleagues within the company. During the course of the evening after the numerous speeches and presentations the Kottmann family sprung a surprise on Marilou and I by giving us a three day break in Berlin in a 5* hotel and a chauffeur driven tour of the city. Berlin was till then the only large German city I had not visited and the visit was superb as the Chauffeur was very knowledgeable and took us everywhere of any significance a truly wonderful city to visit. We could have done with spending a whole week there especially to see the museums which are magnificent.

Whilst driving back to Buren we decided to  pass through Potsdam and now we know where all the German tax payer’s money is going as everywhere we drove building works were going on. Continuing our journey back to Buren Marilou informed me that since we had already de-coked the engine previously there would be no need for a repeat performance as she wished to reach Talakag in one piece to retire.

Following our household effects being packed and the container being loaded for shipment to the Philippines the next day we were off to London this time by Coach (Bus) Marilou had still not forgiven me for the autobahn episode. We left Peterlee at 11.30pm and arrived in London like a bag of rags at 6.30am. I just hate buses they are like aircraft only slower with the same legroom. The weather in London was nice to compensate for the journey so we had breakfast then strolled along Buckingham Palace Road and took the customary pictures outside the big house on the corner, you know the one with the fancy railings and personal security guards in red tunics and hairy hats. Then it was up the Mall to Trafalgar Square and more sightseeing and picture taking. The Philippine Embassy is just off Trafalgar Square so it was easy to find and I must add a much more imposing dwelling for the Ambassador that the former one. The visa processing went very smoothly as we had to book an appointment previously with the Consul so no waiting. The consulate staff could not have been more helpful so just after lunchtime we were once again tourists wandering around the Smoke as it was once called. We took the chance to visit the Portrait Gallery and rub shoulders with Van Gogh, Rubens and Picasso to mention a few.

After walking around aimlessly and finding, yes you’ve guessed a Filipino Cafe we enjoyed coffee and cake, it was still too early for dinner. The bus did not leave London till 11.30 that evening by that time both of us has sore feet and even the bus was appealing by then. (Never again).

Last night Thursday 20th November saw the last formal dinner in our honour which was held in the old college premises of Howletch in Peterlee. The reason why I say old is pre the farewell dinner we had a tour around the new college facility that has newly been completed as part of a 35Million£ rejuvenation project for education facilities in East Durham. How proud I was to see this project completed during my tenure as a governor of the college. Incidentally the dinner, company and the gifts were superb and Marilou and I retreated home once again knowing my waist was nearing danger level.

Tomorrow sees the last of our dinning out experiences as we will go out with someone I have known since his birth as his father is a long time colleague and friend from my days in Scotland where it all began for me in the panel/furniture industry. Unfortunately his father cannot be with us due to work commitments in Birmingham, Alabama but I will be thinking of him as he eventually gets the bill from his son.

So as you can see moving to the Philippines has not an easy task in fact it’s been damn hard work but when I reflect back early planning was a god send its only a pity that the GB Pound took a dive recently but being the eternal optimist I’m sure it will come full circle again and like the canny Scotsman I am, I made contingency plans to cover shall we say the longer term future. So here’s to an England past and a Philippine future god and friends willing.

Life From an OFW’s Perspective

Today’s Guest Column is from Louis Tamasi, and American who lives in Davao.  Louis has lived in Davao for a couple of years now, and is going to explain to us how he has now become an “American OFW.”  Thank you, Louis.

When I first came to the Philippines I never dreamed that I was going to end up being an OFW.  For those of you who don’t know, an OFW is an Overseas Foreign Worker.  Unfortunately the Philippines exports manpower to other countries, this leads to a certain amount of “brain drain” back home as only the best and brightest are chosen for overseas work.  A contract for a worker is generally one year but can last longer.  It is an opportunity for those chosen to make a better life for themselves and their families as they can mak far more money being an OFW than they can working back home in the Philippines.  The bad side of it is that many do not see their wives and families for long periods of time.

I had the opportunity through the reccomendation of a friend to work as night security guard at the Peter Pan Seafoods facility in Dillingham, Alaska for salmon season 2008.  It was mostly a monotonous job entailing 12 hour days with no days off for 3 months but I couldn’t argue with the money.  I had always wanted to visit Alaska since I was a teenager and now the opportunity was laid out in front of me for the taking.  The company pays for you plane ticket from Seattle to Dillingham and back again, as well as your room and board while working at the cannery.

The best thing about working at the cannery was meeting the broad range of people from places all around the world.  It was especially a piece of home to work with so many Filipinos, although few came from Mindano.  The largest group came from the Bicol area and I count each and every one of them as friends.  During the course of the season I got to hear the personal stories of how they had come to work in Alaska.  Most follow the seasons around the calender, taking off 2-3 months to visit home each year.  It was indeed the experience of a lifetime, and it helped me learn even more about my adopted home, the Philippines.

I shall never forget

Today’s Guest Column is again from Jason Dance.  This is Jason’s second guest article on the LiP site.  Thanks again, Jason for your effort!

This article is more about remembering than to forget. For those of you in the Philippines, June 22nd 2008 probably means something to you; if it doesn’t ring any bells than you probably did not know that a passenger class ship sank on that bleak day. I will describe to you my feelings of this happening and that I saw the ship 2 days before it sank!

My wife and I were going to Samar for our honeymoon; unfortunately, it was cut short by a typhoon. I know what a typhoon is and I know first hand the amount of damage it can do. Usual damages mostly occur on land infrastructures or agricultural lands. However, now and then life is lost to mother-nature. We left our house on Mactan Island towards the port of Cebu. While we were on the shuttle bus we saw an enormous ship ready to leave. I had noticed the name and told my wife, “Princess of the Stars, who names these ships?” She gave a small laugh and told me the ship was leaving for Manila. When I thought about it I didn’t think much of it as it was just another ship. I already had some weird feelings embarking on a ship. Anna assured me that the chances a ship would sink are minimal. I shrugged it off and off we were. We were well aware that there might be a typhoon, but we took our chances to leave Cebu for some much need time together.

Once we reached Ormoc Leyte, we knew rain was coming. We didn’t mind as much because we were together and newlywed from June 5th 2008. We did our things and travelled a bit. After returning from Sto.Nino, we went to an internet café to check our emails. As soon as we reached the café Anna was flooded by text messages, but that wasn’t new. I opened my email account and I was seeing over 20+ emails of “Are you ok? Are you alive? ” It hit me that something happened in the Philippines and we didn’t know about it. It must have been big for my family to call Anna’s house. We quickly learned that a ship had sunk 2 days after we left Cebu. We were more surprised to hear that it was the ship we previously saw in Cebu Princess of the Stars! After talking about a bit with her, I never really thought that we could have been on that ship. Family and friends were relieved to know that we were still kicking and coming back home.

Once we were back in Cebu from another passenger ship (I wasn’t too happy taking the ship) we listened to the news and got much more information on the situation. We couldn’t believe that the coast guard and even more the Captain of the ship departed from port knowing full well a Typhoon was on its way! My tatay and I talked about it while we drank and came to the conclusion that it’s always about money. If the boat is late, it cannot take other passengers to go somewhere else. This was only our opinion because the owner of the ship liner has loads of money, but has been on the deep end of the stick many times. The end result in pure insanity was the loss of over 700 lives and only a miniscule 32 peoples. I know that the total is more than 700 because they gradually found more and more bodies washing up to shore. Relief efforts were there but the in my opinion did not seem enough. However, many people including myself understand that the weather had a huge impact on rescue efforts. As I saw family members grieve on television; others were infuriated at the lack of respect and compensation they would receive for lives that irreplaceable.

I was thinking about this incident recently and I wanted to express it in my own words. It also got me thinking that our lives are so very fragile. We spend our lives acquiring materials only to see them given away once were gone and most probably sold away. We squabble about everything we dislike or people we hate. Learn to love your family, friends and others around you. You never know what might happen to people you know you love.

As for me, all I have left to say is…I love you Anna Lou and my prayers will always go to those left behind by the storm!

A jewel for the eyes

Today’s Guest Blog is from Jason Dance.  Jason intends to write a few guest blogs in the future for the site, and I’m sure we’ll enjoy them all.  Welcome aboard, Jason!

Most people coming to the Philippines usually visit some of the well known places such as: Manila, Cebu, Boracay and Davao among other big names. What about the lesser known places where Filipinos hardly see any foreigners? Well, for all the expats in the Philippines or for the undecided minds wondering where to go; let me describe to you a small island in Samar called Santo Nino!

The first three words that come to my mind are “Peace and quiet”. I have never been to a place that gave me such a clear mind. It is located in Samar and 1 hour by boat from Calbayog. The only way to go there is by boat! The boat leaves once in the morning and departs once from Santo-Nino back to Calbayog. If the sea seems wild or a storm is brewing, the captain of the small boat will not set sail. On a side note, Calbayog is a very small cozy city with charming surroundings!

On the island there are no hotels, hostels or anything like that! My wife and I stayed at her aunt & uncles place. Everyone on the island knows each other…well almost. If you thought Filipinos are warm loving people the people there are 10 fold! They don’t really rely on electricity during the day because there is no electricity. The only time it comes up is from 5h30pm until 11pm. It’s usually during that time that people are at their homes doing their things together as a family. My wife’s Lola from mamas side and Lolo from tatay’s side are some the eldest people living in Sto.Nino as well. If you thought Filipinos sometimes stare at you well let me tell you that most of them have never seen a young white person before especially one as young as me. I am only 26 years old for those of you who are wondering.

We only spent two days there but it was such an amazing time! We went to the beach that was crawling with young one’s playing around and just being plain kids. Something that’s hard to see in the western world now. The beach is a long stretch and it’s a real eye gazer when you look out to the sea and you can see Calbayog but vaguely. The sand is not as nice as per say Boracay but it’s the sense of being at home that makes it look as white. The ocean water is clear as the sky unlike the port at Cebu where we live. At the Sto.Nino port, kids are in the water with bamboo guns that shoot water. I jumped in and the kids started to shoot at me until Anna my wife threw me one, so I could join in the action.

It was actually fiesta time…PERFECT TIMING! A fiesta is in simple terms a really good party that you will never forget! My wife’s uncle killed a pig for the occasion, which is extremely painful to hear especially when you’re sleeping and its 5am. There were groups of teenagers playing music and dancing in a circle at the beach. People were bringing there belongings by boat with family members of course. There was lechon for everyone, people gathering to drink beer or Tanduay, gossip and dipping our warm bodies into the ocean wondering if there where any sharks?!? There are but so tiny that they would never do anything. The weirdest thing you can encounter are people staring at you much of the time. It takes some getting used to especially if you’re travelling in less travelled areas such as Samar.

We explored the surroundings with Anna’s two childhood friends. Once we left the small city, there were lots of coconut trees and well mostly just good old nature! Many of the people that do live there are poor, but that never stopped them from being happy and to live their lives to the fullest. Most of the land has not been exploited, so you will mostly see trees everywhere. On several occasions, we saw children in some of the tallest trees I have ever seen. They were playing around but also getting some coconuts. We had the occasion to visit my tatay`s mothers grave site. His father built a shrine to commemorate his love to his wife. It is gated but anyone wishing to visit need only to open the gate as it is not locked. I was amazed of how white it was but mostly where it was built. The shrine overlooked Sto.Nino and the ocean itself!

I cannot say how fortunate I felt to have been there with my wife. I will always remember those 2 days in relative peace. For the record, I am the youngest foreigner to ever visit Sto.Nino! How can you forget such a place even more so when you’re in the books!

We’re moving to the Philippines!

Today’s guestblog is from Alan Cole.  Alan is from the UK, and he and his wife have decided to pull up roots and live in the Philippines!  Alan and his wife, Sofia, are in for quite an adventure - lots of thrills, challenges and changes in their lives!  Can they handle it?  Only time can tell, and Alan readily admits that change is coming!  Let’s see what he has to say!

Well as I write this it’s October 2008. I am sitting in my home office and looking out at a typical cold wet English day.

Let me introduce myself.

My name is Alan, I am 47 and Married to Sofia and we have three children 18, 17 and 12 and our intention is to leave the UK and move to the Philippines before the end of November.

What brought this on and why the Philippines?

That is a really difficult couple of questions, for a long time I have wanted to leave the UK, without going on a major rant, it is no longer the country I grew up in.

I also hate the cold dark winters and want to be somewhere warm, my wife also has health issues and suffers in the cold damp English weather.

My Brother in Law moved out to the Phils a couple of years ago with his Philippine girlfriend after many years of living in Singapore and we sent my Mother in Law out to join them last year.

So why the Philippines? I really don’t know, I think, to be honest I would prefer Thailand, but it seems to want to make things so difficult for people to stay without regular visa runs, and most importantly the internet is not as well established as in the Philippines, I will need contact with the outside world if I am to attempt to run any kind of business. there is also a  bigger language barrier and of course finally, we will at least have some family members near by.

So the Philippines it is.

We have made a few visits and I like some things and dislike many others, but I am aware that I have to grow to accept these things as they wont change just because I dislike them.

Makati City in Manila has all the schools, shopping, restaurants and cinemas we could need but we don’t want to live in the city.

My ideal would be a nice seaside town with decent facilities, we want to be able to go snorkling and enjoying a more laid back life.

My son is at the moment doing a 4 month diving internship in Thailand after spending 6 weeks diving at Anilao last year. So he should be able to support himself and travel around the world diving.

Our Daughter is 17 and we fear may be staying in Manila with her Uncle to go to college as the course she wants to do is probably not going to be found in the provinces.

And our youngest is 12 and so will need access to an International school.

My wife Sofia has been through the mill health wise and will need access to a decent hospital as she has to have regular check-ups.

So the reality is we are moving and wont actually know where we will be living!

We will make camp in Makati and travel around trying to find our version of paradise.

The countdown begins and the clock is well and truly ticking.

If Bob and you, his readers would like, I am happy to keep you updated with our travels and travails.

It promises to be a rocky road!

Tyleen’s Adventure - Part 3

Today’s guestblog is the final installment from Tyleen Reynders about her recent adventure in the Philippines.

Hi All of you readers
I thought I would send just 1 more article to finish off my trip to PI.
But I could write a lot more. My experience in the Philippines was so profound that it makes my decision as to where I will retire quite easy.

Some of the things that made my trip interesting or memorable ……

1. Finding out that there is NO toilet paper in washrooms or CR’s ….THANK GOD my friend Jocelyn was with me when I discovered this.(she apologized profusely for not remembering to tell me!!!!) BUT …. I had to wait for 10mins for her to come in to the CR to find out why I was taking so long….. I was not amused!!!! I quickly learned to travel everywhere with a full roll of TP in my hand bag!!! Now that I look at it …..it was a good excuse to buy a new large bag!!!
2. I was asked to be godmother at Jocelyn’s daughter’s wedding. To me it was a big deal. It was at a non Catholic church called Iglesia Ni Cristo. It was a new church/religion to me. It was very interesting service even though it was in Tagalog.  I found it curious that they are springing up all over, a beautiful expensive church in the middle of such desperate poverty. Yes …one could argue the Catholic Church has churches in poverty stricken areas. BUT according to the web there has not been a new Catholic church built in the Philippines in 20years. So the poverty grew up around the Catholic Church not the other way around. Like I said I am not criticizing just curious.
3. Getting my Nokia cell phone fixed for $3.00US at a authorized Nokia dealer..when my cell phone company  here in Vancouver  wanted $200.00 to fix it or I could get a new phone for free if I signed up for     another 3 years.
4. Having so many wonderful people start me off learning Tagalog.
5. Not having to drive!!!!! I have been driving since I was 16…..I am used to driving myself anywhere I wanted to go. I have driven back and forth from Vancouver to LA  about 20-25 times so I could visit a favourite auntie living there. But I have to tell you relaxing and reading in the back seat or being able to really enjoy the scenery was the best !!!!
6. Leaving at 4am to beat the traffic (MY GOD!!! And I thought rush hour here in Vancouver was bad!!!!) I went to Manila for the day and did some tours of Manila Bay and spent some of the time at the Asia Pacific Mall. I was on a mission to find something specific for my brother. I loved the mall. I wandered around for awhile just loving the variety of different stores. I especially loved the wonderful customer service. Noticing the time (my friend was picking me up at a certain time) I realized I needed to get serious about finding the Callaway Golf store. I asked a couple of people for directions and wandered around in circles for about 30 mins. Then I remembered the article Bob wrote on Filipino face. ……The people I had asked directions probably had no clue as to where the Callaway Golf store was located but kept pointing in some direction and didn’t want to lose face by telling me they didn’t know. I promptly asked a security guard (I still can’t get used to armed security guards) and he walked me to the right section and I found the store. My brother loves what I bought him very much so I think I am good re: presents for him at least until next year. I owe my brothers happiness to Bob. Without that article on ‘face’ I would not have found the store before it was time to be at the pickup point to go back to Cabanatuan City. My brother and I both thank you Bob !!!!
7. Discovering Buchi Buchi….it is the best treat ever!!!!
8. Now that I am back to the everyday grind I find myself becoming Ate (elder sister) to many of the new Filipino ladies that work at my Dental practice. We talk a lot about food,life,people and their homesickness. They are so envious of me being able to retire in RP in the next 1-2 years. (Little do they know I envy their youth!!!) We laugh and chat like we have known each other forever.  It is a joy to go to work to see them every day. I hooked up one of my new Filipino staff with my Filipina friend Jocelyn and they have become great friends. Rosemarie and her family have only been here 1 year and were very lonely for friends…. Well they have a whole bunch of new friends now. Every time I see Rosemarie she hugs me and says thanks. She doesn’t understand yet… that  I AM THE ONE BLESSED WITH NEW FAMILY
9. Seeing the gas prices skyrocketing in PI the same as back home. I will never complain about the gas prices in Vancouver again. I gasp out loud wondering how the average family survives having to pay those prices.

I am getting regular emails from the people I met while in the Philippines and getting news about their lives and Cabanatuan City. I live for the emails and long to go back.
I have just been informed by Jocelyn my Filipina friend that we hopefully might be going back in Feb or March of 2009. I kind of go when she goes.
Damn I can hardly wait!!!!!
This time it will be for 4 weeks. I will have the extra time to fly down to Davao and see Bob and Feyma and anyone else they can round up for a party!!!!!

Thank you for reading my Visitors Blog and I will let you know when I am coming to Davao so I can meet as many of you as I can.

Regards to all,
An expat in the making
Tyleen Reynders

My trip to the Philippines - Part 2

Again today, we have a guest post from Tyleen, about her recent trip to the Philippines.  Thank you, Tyleen for sharing your adventure, and you are always welcome to contribute as many additional columns as you like!

Well here I am again hoping to convey my love yet again for this fabulous country called the Philippines.

Jocelyn(my filipina friend)  has friends that are brother and sister lawyers. Their family has a large farm near Dingalan Beach. (2 hours ?? north of Manila) Not far from where we were staying. They invited us to come and enjoy their hospitality. They even came and picked us up!!! I was continually surprised at the genuine kindness of people I had just met.

We went to beautiful Dingalan Beach… the sand was white white and powdery like baby powder. Wow !!! We were the only ones there at the beach on a beautiful sunny day.  I couldn;t believe that such a place was devoid of people for miles and miles.

We all sat in a open air Nipa Hut for shade and talked about life and kids and cultures. A lady came by and asked if we wanted her to cook us some lunch. The conversation swirled about me in Tagalog and in a blink of an eye she was gone to make lunch for us ….  40 minutes later she came back and unfolded some newspapers on the table and dumped about 3 kilos of cooked prawns on the paper with lemon slices and lobster tails on wooden skewers,rice and vegetables and of course a lot of cold ice tea!!!! The best spread I have ever eaten !!!!! It seems they steam the prawns in 7up???? Wow I am going to have to try that at home when I have some friends over for a BBQ.

I am realizing that food is a very big part of the Filipino culture…..everywhere I am invited food is always being offered to me…it doesn;t matter what time of day.

I have lost weight (about 10lbs or 4.5 kilos) since my arrival in Cabanatuan City…..it has to be the heat and the humidity….it definitely is not because I am eating less, trust me on this one !!!!!

So we all were in a great mood after a great lunch and got to talking about the surrounding area and their family history. It seems that the Japanese used their family land as an R&R place for the senior officers.
It was visited often by a General Yamashita. And when it looked like the Japanese were going to lose the war, he supposedly hid some of the gold he had collected (read stolen) on their property. The brother and sister said that as kids they tried to find the gold for years with no luck. They have had many fortune hunters wanting to dig on their land for “General Yamashita’s Gold” (see www.rense.com/general13/treasure.htm )

They both told my friend and I some stories about the Japanese on their land during the war. Their father was part of the US army in the Philippines right from the beginning of the war.Many of the families friend’s fought as guerillas with US forces until the end of the war.

During my visit I talked to many people who had stories about the Philippines during the war. It seems that everyone in the Philippines is related to or friends with someone who had an active role in the war with the US in some way. In fact some of the old soldiers and some families are still waiting for the US to pay them. I gather the situation is before the courts and will be resolved soon. I hope so. I listened to all of the stories and marvelled at the resourcefulness of the people.

We left the beach and went to the family compound and saw the 2 huge ponds of Talapia almost ready for market. There must have been close to 5000 fish in each huge pond. Wow I haven;t seen that much fish in 1 place since I was at the Aquarium in Vancouver.

We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying their stream fed fresh water pool. It was the only time in the Philippines that I swam in cold,cold water. The water in the pools at the resort is warm and so is the water from our taps, even the ocean is warm. (Don;t get me wrong I love the warm water….just an observation)
It was a very interesting day I can tell you!!!!!!

We finally made it home around 8pm…my behind was dragging and I said hello to everyone and headed for bed. I was bushed. Laying in bed reflecting on the day I realized because there was so much laughter and food,stories and new friends…. it was another great day in Paradise!!!!

I seemed to spend a bit of my days looking at prices so I could decide whether or not I could buy things in the PI’s or ship the stuff over.  I am so glad I did. The availablity of most things was surprising for me. I was happy to know I would not need to refit a ceiling fan to 220v ….I could get a lovely one at a very good price at the Handyman store.

That brings up another point about the people in the PI.  Every where I went from Asia Pacific Mall in Manila to the smallest store in Cabanatuan City, I was greeted warmly by staff and had someone to help me find the things I wanted to buy. They were very helpful and NOT pushy.  I am so used to being in North America where the staff are hard to find(companies cutting back staff) and not very friendly or helpful (staff not giving a wit for you or the customer service they were hired to provide!!!!)  It was wonderful!!!!

Yes things were cheap for me to buy…..but I would have to be careful when I move…not to go crazy in the Malls. Believe me, as dedicated shopper it would be SOOOO easy to do!!!!!  I have a PhD in shopping and I can tell you that I would buy 1 of everything!!!!!  I when to the Mall here at home yesterday….I had to hold my tongue to keep from saying…..”This sure isn’t the Philippines……they actually care about customer service there!!!!”  I drove home from the Mall frustrated that we have allowed our young people to let our customer service standards drop so low as to be almost non existent. Such a shame really!!!!

Oh yeah …driving in the Philippines…WOW!!!!  I came to realize quickly that I should not look at where we were going as I would only scare myself.  Our driver was very skilled but some of the situations we were in scared the heck out of me until I decided NOT to watch and just talk to my friend in the back seat or read. The city of Cabanatuan is fairly small but they had traffic like crazy all day long.  When we had to go to Manila we left at 3AM to get to where we were going for 10AM. My friend had business there and they dropped me off at the Asia Pacific Mall. I hit the sidewalk in front of the Mall at 9:20AM.  That is how bad traffic is in Manila. OH my GOD!!!! I will never complain about our rush hour traffic in Vancouver ever again!!!!

I love the people,place and the wonderful food!!!! I am seriously thinking about retiring in Cabanatuan City !!!!!

If I have the opportunity from Bob I will write about the rest of my trip and the honour at being asked to be a Ninang at my friend’s daughter’s wedding. It was thrilling !!!

My trip to the Philippines

Today’s guest blog is from Tyleen Reynders, a regular LiP reader.  Tyleen recently made her first adventure to the Philippines, and from what she writes, I think she enjoyed her vacation!  Tyleen is from Canada, and started reading this site shortly before her trip to visit the area.  Thank you, Tyleen for your willingness to share your trip with the rest of us!

I spent the most wonderful time in the Philippines. I am so thankful I found this site before I went. It helped me prepare for the culture shock and gave me the perspective I needed.

I went with my best friend a Filipina named Jocelyn who had a small resort in Cabanatuan City about 1.5 hours north of Manila.  We arrived late at night at Manila airport and I was subjected to the most pollution filled hour I have ever experienced waiting for our van to be allowed into the arrivals area. I can tell you I was NOT impressed with my first glimpse of the Philippines.

Finally ‘our van’ arrived with kisses and hugs from my Filipina friend’s family and friends. I got kissed alot…  1.5 hour ride to Jocelyn’s small resort and at last we were there. So much family was waiting and the dancing and sing began. Some kind of party I can tell you!!!! I was tired but could not help but enjoy the party.

The next morning I awoke at 6am ready for my first day in the PI’s.  I went outside and there were so many people with friendly faces ready to show me around the property that Jocelyn had bought the previous year and hoped to turn into a western style subdivision.

I swam in 1 of the 2 pools and then was called for breakfast.

I was ready for the day and we left with a driver and a bodyguard for the nearest mall.  I got to see some examples of absolute crushing poverty on the way to the mall. I was so surprised that even though the people did not have much they had smiles on their faces and every one was clean and as well turned out as possible.

There seemed to be so many different uniforms on children…my friend said there are many different kinds of schools here…. public, private, college and university. Beautiful children and young adults all hustling to get to school.

The mall was the biggest culture shock for me……  clothes and shoes and everything so cheap by our western standards. And as you have said in your previous blogs lots of fast food joints. My friend told me to cool it and spend the day just looking as we could come back any time. I wanted to spend, spend, spend
but understood the wisdom of her advice. I did however have the best massage of my life for about $7.00
I wound up going back to Jane the masseuse many times before I left and asked if I could adopt her.

Everywhere there were friendly faces and….no screaming kids…  Where were all the young children I asked myself….  They were there alright but they were the best mannered children I have ever seen in my life.  No overindulged,catered to,spoiled,gimme gimme kids anywhere…..I was stunned.  AND ….Well mannered young people people …my God I thought I had died and gone to heaven!!!!!

I spent alot of pleasureable time in the malls while I was there I can tell you!!

The things that I found a little disconcerting were the presence of weapons everywhere out in the open. Security guards with guns at their side at every mall entrance and out in the parking lot. Great way to deter gangs and disturbances in the malls…..but as a Canadian it was a big surprise. We do NOT allow our security guards to have guns. The only people who have guns in out country are the police forces and people who carry 1 for their work  ie diamond sales people,body guards for high profile people etc etc and unfortunately the bad guys have weapons. They are smuggled in from other countries…our country does not allow most of the weapons confiscated ie M1 assault rifles etc etc

I was surprised at the attitude of the people re dogs as pets…..they mostly do not regard dogs as pets like we do in the west. Which may or maynot be a good idea….I personally coddle my pets!!!!

When I visited a vet ( the family puppy got hurt and it cost me only 11 bucks to have her put right including xray and shots and take home meds!!!! (Nuts…it would have cost $300-to $600 here in Vancouver..that’s why I have pet insurance!!!!)

Gathering information…. I asked about living here with my little dog and asked about some meds he needed for his scratching. He replied does he have mange or bad fleas. I laughed and said NOT AS CHANCE THEY WOULDN’T DARE Roberto the vet and I laughed. He said he would be thrilled to treat my little dog as he was obviously cared for so well. I liked the guy!!!!!

I spent many hours on my trip taking pictures of people planting rice and children and places etc etc. I even got a picture with me and a Carabao (he was a little reluctant to let me too close to him).  On our way back and forth from the city to the resort I stopped many times to check out the craftsmen making beautiful chairs and beds and tables. We would pay 100’s to 1000’s of dollars for comparable stuff in North America.

I will never complain again about our gas prices here in Vancouver BC…..we pay a little less here than people do in the Philippines. My god !!!!! how do they manage?????

The food was wonderul…I had rice everyday and was in 7th heaven.

I had brought over a gross (144) of toothbrushes ( I am in the dental field) and gave them to a village of indigenous people. They were so thrilled.

I came away with that experience wanting to do more for them so now that I am back I am in the prelim stages of setting up a dental team to go back and help the villagers. I now have a great contact in PI to help me with the politics of the area so no toes are stepped etc etc

I am so awed by the gentleness and the grace of the filipinos I met …..I am now seriously thinking of retiring there as soon as I can get my affairs in order and fufill my obligation to manage the Dental Clinic for the atheletes at our 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

Suffice it to say I love the Philippines and I was both thrilled and humbled by my experiences !!!!!

There are soooooo many things I wish to tell you about my time in PI but they will have to wait and see if Bob wants another column about me raving about the Philippines

Salamat Bob and all of you who have commented in any of the blogs with information that helped to form a terrific introduction to the Philippines.

p.s. I bought myself a Tagalog-English-Tagalog dictionary…..I will be prepared for my next visit!!!!

Living in the UK with my Filipino Wife, Annaliza

Today’s Guest Blog is from David Walker from the United Kingdom.  David wrote an article regarding the process of meeting his wife and bringing her to live in the UK.  It’s quite an ordeal!  Thank you very much for making the effort of writing the article, David, and all the best of luck to you and your family! -Bob

May I introduce myself, my name is David Walker, 40 years old white British male ex military (French foreign legion).

I only joined because of the French cuisine, frog legs and snails and not forgetting the white ice cream hat which was made famous in an old Laurel & Hardy film back in the 1930’s.

I have spent the past five years either in Iraq and Afghanistan working for security companies and recently return from Kabul where I have many Filipino friends working for a number of foreign companies out there.

I first met Annaliza in Dubai at the airport terminal 2 and within a few minutes on first meeting each other was in argument with Egyptian taxi driver why “he didn’t like Americans”. Don’t get me wrong Dubai a great place with fantastic hotels, restaurants and shopping for all and welcome western culture to a limit. But seem to have too many anti western taxi drivers.

Annaliza had been working in Dubai for 3 years and was paid well for a Filipino in Dubai she still had to rent and live with many Filipinos and her last room she shared was with 4 other girls. My view is that Filipinos are not paid well in Dubai and work long hours but are always smart and friendly and it’s a shame that employers in Dubai and elsewhere don’t give them more credit with better wages.

Even in Kabul Afghanistan many Filipino are working here some for good western companies and other not so good. Many working long hours and travelling in sub standard vehicles on very dangerous roads with little or no security. A Filipino female friend of mine was murdered in May 07, and her body was thrown down a well. She was murdered by the company driver and another both locals because they know she had been recently paid. She was due to return home to the Philippines. One of the main problems when recruiting locals in Kabul is they do not check them for pass history or security checks some companies turn a blind eye on this matter (cheap labour).

Annaliza was at the time working for a freight company in Dubai and she arranged the transportation off the coffin back to the Philippines. It turn out that the woman who was murdered was working for an Indian company and had no written contract with them.

Getting Annaliza to the UK was no easy matter first she’d applied for tourist visa and was refused on the grounds she wasn’t earning enough money in Dubai. I had to contact the UK Embassy in Dubai and informed that she is my Girlfriend. I would sponsor her whilst she was in the UK for the grand total of six days. I had to provide letter from my employer, six months bank statements and pay slips. I find it very strange that Annaliza was employed with employers letter to travel and had savings with return ticket on Emirates and was only visiting for six days but still refused her tourist visa, anyway the visa cost 142 USD.

Then we planned to get married in the UK that’s where the paperwork starts for both of us. You need to apply for fiancée visa which cost 1000 USD you cannot marry without this visa in the UK. The fiancée visa allows you to stay for six months in which time you must marry or leave the country. You cannot work or claim any public funds the sponsor must provide them with accommodation and funds whilst they are in the UK. Both of us need to provide proof of address in UK, bank details for six months, employer letter and Annaliza even needed letter from employer in Dubai allow her to leave the UAE.

Once we were both in UK, we had to contact our local register office and book interview for marriage. At the interview Annaliza had to provide proof of visa, proof we are both living together and date and place of marriage. And I had to provide proof that I was divorce it’s called final decree absolute in the UK. Then you are separately interview asking question about each other.

You need to pay a small fee about 30 pounds for the service and your details are displayed for 16 days the reason for this any person wishing to voice concern over the marriage may do so within the 16 days that’s the law in England and Wales.

Then the register office will post you the paperwork off marriage which is valid for one year from date posted.  And on the day of the wedding you will receive your marriage license signed by marriage officials, Bride and Groom and 2 witnesses.

Then you have to contact the home office immigration visa department and book interview for marriage visa and get them to send you the visa form. You can send the form back with the marriage license and both passports it will take up to 8 weeks and will cost about 390 pounds for the marriage visa. Or you can book interview and go to your nearest visa office and get your passport stamped the same day cost of marriage visa 595 pounds for the express service. Please note you both need to attend the interview providing proof off marriage, and again all the details you had to provide when we both applied for fiancée visa.

Annaliza was given limited resident permit until 2010 and after two years she will be granted permanent resident visa after passing the exam.

At the moment her visa will allow her to work but cannot claim any public funds and even if she wishes to travel to any European country Annaliza would need to apply for visa.

And if you wish to apply for British citizenship normally you will have to wait up to 8 years and now you must do a citizenship test. And the question are not easy most Brits wouldn’t pass today, like how many members are there in the welsh assembly and when was the dog license abolish.

And having gone through all of this, I still have Filipino friends still talking rubbish one claiming her (hubby) can get her UK passport even without her living in the UK and taking the citizenship test. Another claiming she can work on tourist visa and now she’s back in the Philippines.

We both now live in a small market town called Ramsey about 88 miles north of London in the part of the UK called the Fenlands. Ramsey dates back to the 6th century and the fenlands were drained in the 16th century by Dutch engineers reclaiming good farming land back from the marsh lands.

Annaliza now works for BUPA in a nursing home in Ramsey with other Filipinos and was told the other day by the Grand Aunty (big boss) filipino here in Ramsey. There’s 70 filipinos  living in Ramsey most work either in the nursing home or at the local turbine engineering company. It won’t be long before I see a Red Ribbon cake shop and Jollibee on the high street and a Jeepney. Annaliza likes the UK from experiencing blowing smoke from her mouth when it’s cold here and a recent trip to Morocco Atlas Mountings and see snow for the first time and not forgetting her favourite shop in the UK Marks & Spencers.

I have been to Philippines twice and back in May 2008 had our honeymoon in Boracay.  It’s a very nice place and I love blue marlin fish. I have tried most of the supermarket in UK and do not sell it.  Then the penny dropped, it’s like asking a cod and chips in Boracay.  I remember my first trip to the Philippines and we stayed in Subic.  We planned to go to Baguio thru Victory Liner, Big mistake.  Never in my life that I have take the bus that stop for every cow and chicken on route.  We got as far as Tarlac before I got off.  We spend the night in a lovely hotel.  Even though I love seafood, I’m not too keen on eating “tuyo” in English too yuck to eat.

I hope that this will be an eye opener to anyone who wish to come to UK and thinking that it’s easy because they have a UK boyfriend but it’s not the case.  Late this year the government will change the rule again and making it much harder with all applicants outside the European Union will need a finger print and photo visa to enter the UK.

Climbing Mt Apo

Today’s Guest Blog is from Rick Bowden.  Rick is a resident of Davao, and has been living here for about 6 months now.  I have had the opportunity to visit Rick’s house and enjoy an evening with Rick, his wife and family, and had a wonderful time (don’t worry, Rick, we owe you a dinner at our house!).  Rick recently climbed Mt. Apo, the tallest mountain in the Philippines.  Rick wrote about his experiences in doing that.  Enjoy the article! Thank you, Rick for taking the time to share this with us.

I achieved one of my aims in April this year by climbing Mt Apo.

Since I came to Davao first time in the year 2000 and seeing Mt Apo appear from the clouds at random places from all over the city and then finding out first that Mt Apo was the highest peak in the Philippines and secondly that a climb was physically possible, I wanted to do it. Various times I have read about the Apo climb on Bob’s blog, for example Ichi’s story about getting lost and having to turn his shirt inside out and from Macky’s comments, he has climbed (from memory) several times, so, when I came to Davao in January this year I decided I had to do it.

I have a young and fit brother in law Arnel, who was keen to accompany me, it was his first time too, to climb Apo and we were both willing but we needed some assistance, we needed help. We consulted with “Edge” outdoor pursuit, climbing shop in Matina and met Dom, who we hired as our guide. Dom is a young and fit athlete who I am pleased to know now as a friend but at the time, we were looking for guidance and a mentor in our quest, Ann (my wife) said he looked like a boy, I saw a competent young man, sorry Ann, I was right, he was perfect for us, a friend and guide and someone to rely on.

We talked about equipment and when to climb, which route to take and decided on Kidapawan trail in April. There are many routes up Mt. Apo, Arnel and I decided as first time climbers that the easiest would be best for us (it wasn’t easy) and so a weekend for the end of April was set. Being advised by Dom, we decided to take a local porter from Kidapawan, to help carry food and for extra security in case of sprained ankles or other more serious accident. Setting off at 4:00 am Thursday April 24th 2008, we made our way through Kidapawan to Lake Agko hot spring resort where we registered for the climb and hired “Lito” (Joselito) our porter, and off we set at approx 7:30 am.

I had talked to some experienced people before attempting Apo, like Henny, owner of De-Bonte Ko, who has climbed Apo many times and received some great advice and tips, but my first idea was to get fit and I had spent three months in the gym at Matina getting fit and I felt prepared. Dom, our guide is 22 years old with legs like pistons I was about to find out, Arnel is a naturally athletic 26 years old and Lito our porter in his early 30’s, but the porters are legendary and Lito walked up in either bare feet or flip flops and hardly needed a rest. That left me at 51 years of age, the old man of the party and by the end I needed every one of the 3 months sessions I had been through in the gym, it was tough.

The initial climb was pretty much straight up, through forests, ravines, through and inside river beds, with short rests on the way it took us 5 hours to reach Lake Binado and our first camp site. It was great to relax chill out and enjoy the cool air, Apo peak was a 2hr walk away. Arnel brought a Frisbee, he had seen pictures on the TV from Lake Binado and he was right there was a great Frisbee area; we played for hours in the afternoon, others joining in from time to time for the fun, a great way to unwind after the tough climb.

Dom was our chef, we had an early night and at first light we were up, breakfasted, packed up and on our way to the peak. During the first days climb there were not fantastic views because of climbing up gullies, through trees, the views were restricted. But from then on-climbing from lake Binado and upwards views were unrestricted and fabulous, but nothing compared with what was to come at the top.

We were there at the top for 10AM and in the clouds, it was cold, the wind was biting and jackets and gloves were required. At the top, there are a series of peaks, 9 I think, all of which are Mt. Apo and we spent the rest of the day climbing the various peaks for different views. The highlight was the view back down to Davao, where, Samal, Talikud and the city of Davao were clear and spectacular to see. People were looking up at us and this time, we were looking down on them and beautiful it was to see. We could view our part of the city, Bangkal and imagine where about our house was, quite a site.

We had a spectacular sunset but then next day, cloudy for the sunrise and so, no more views. You need some luck in the mountains to get the views, I have heard of some people climbing and then not seeing anything at the top at all as it is in clouds for the whole time.

I had managed the climb ok, keeping up with everyone, but on the climb down, the others all seemed in a hurry, for the first time we had heavy rain and it made the downward slope very slippery and my energy levels dipped sharply. Anyway we arrived soggy, damp but elated after a 5 hour “bolt” down the mountain. My first beer didn’t touch the sides.

It was a fantastic trip and I would recommend anyone to do it, but a few tips, first take a guide, second a local porter, for local knowledge, then talk to people who have done it (thanks again Henny for some valuable advice) to make sure you have the right equipment and lastly to enjoy it more I would recommend some training, it is fairly strenuous and that should not be ignored.