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Looking for recommendations for a hotel near the airport in Manila. Clean, safe and not expensive. Thanks

The Philippines 🇵🇭 and the lack of seasons

As my stay in the USA winds down… I'm reminded (every day) of the joy of 'seasons'…'chapters'…

The Midwest calendar is clearly divided:
Spring: baseball starts…gardens come alive, Easter….warmer days.
Summer: baseball, cookouts, beaches, long evenings, vacations.
Fall: football (college and NFL)..leaves changing..baseball playoffs…Halloween
Winter: NFL playoffs, snow, indoor life, basketball, Christmas

The USA has four distinct lifestyle seasons.
The Philippines 🇵🇭 has three psychological seasons: Hot…Rainy/typhoon….BER/Christmas.

I prefer the USA 'calendar.'
I appreciate the Philippine one too.

The Philippines 🇵🇭 has two chapters.

Delicious down to the very last lick

If you're looking for a traditional, conservative woman, you probably won't find one in the Philippines, and here's why

Before I get into it, I already know most of the guys replying will talk about how great their Filipina girlfriend/wife is. From what I've seen, they're the MINORITY!

Here's the reality in 2026:

There's a reason the passport bro crowd flocks to the Philippines as its number one destination: in all of Asia, Filipinas are known as by far the easiest to hook up with casually. Am I saying all Filipinas are easy? Of course not. But generally, everyone knows what I'm saying is true. I'm not trying to shame anyone either. It's just a fact. Go to Vietnam and try to casually hook up with Vietnamese women. It's much harder. Vietnamese women are probably the most traditional and conservative in Asia, and certainly far more conservative than Filipinas.

Here's the deal: foreigners WANT EASY, not traditional or conservative. That's why they skip Vietnam and head straight to the Philippines. But if you're genuinely looking for a traditional, conservative woman, I think you'll definitely have better luck in Vietnam, maybe even Thailand. From what I see, the Philippines is just a meat market. If that's what you want in a wife, it's your place.

Again, obviously this doesn't apply to all Filipinas, but in general there's a far larger pool of Filipinas willing to hook up short-term with any foreigner. In Vietnam that pool is much smaller, so what I'm talking about is a numbers game. I'm not saying there are no easy Vietnamese women, there are, but the pool is much smaller than in the Philippines. Passport bros know this and flock to the Philippines for that reason. Do you want a Filipina wife who's already been passed around by tons of passport bros? 😏

Hi, I'm planning a trip to the Philippines. Which YouTubers or content creators should I watch to get the most solid, all-round info and insights on the Philippines (visas, cost of living, dating, culture, etc.)? Thanks in advance!

My neighbor has a plastic goose they dress up every now and then

Paying for tolls

Hi,

Sometimes I take Grab. It's already expensive, but I take it because I don't feel like waiting for a jeepney, or for other reasons. Grab is more than 10 times the price of a jeepney. It's still cheap, but I find it's the small expenses that are dangerous, because unlike big purchases they creep up on you.

Also, a lot of the time I just want to see the scenery, which you skip when you take the toll road.

Sometimes the driver asks, or insists, or just takes the toll road without my consent. Is taking the toll road standard or expected?

Sometimes I feel a bit guilty saying I don't want to take it.

My question is: am I wrong to say I don't want to pay the toll?

What my 13A actually cost, both stages, item by item

Cost questions come up here all the time and the answers are all over the place. I've seen ₱7,380, ₱11,010, ₱12,000, and even '₱20,000 to 50,000' quoted for the same thing. So here's exactly what I paid, with the receipts in front of me.

I filed both stages myself at a provincial district office. No agency, no fixer, no lawyer.

The conversion filing, December 2024

Main receipt, ₱7,153:
Application fee ₱1,000
Implementation fee ₱500
Passport visa fee ₱200
Documentary stamp tax ₱30
Form ₱50
Legal research fee ₱60
Immigrant Certificate of Residence (ICR) ₱1,400
Amendment fee ₱500
Certificate fee ₱500
ACR I-Card ₱2,913

Then a second receipt, printed the same minute, ₱2,500:
Express fee, implementation ₱1,000
Express fee, I-Card processing ₱500
Express fee, filing ₱500
Express fee, certification ₱500

₱9,653 in cash at the window, before anything was approved.

I never asked for express service. There's simply no regular lane on offer. It's charged automatically, and it doesn't appear on any published fee schedule I've found.

Two things about those numbers

The ACR I-Card fee isn't a round number (₱2,913) because it's set at US$50 and collected in pesos at that day's rate. Yours will differ.

The probationary stage has the same structure. Published schedules put processing at around ₱8,620, plus the card.

What's missing from every quote you'll see

Notary, photocopies, folders, photos. And if your office is in another province, the trip. Mine is a three-hour drive, so it's fuel, a night's stay and food. About ₱4,000 each time.

That last item is roughly a quarter of the real cost, and it's on no fee schedule anywhere. If you live in Roxas, Kalibo, Tacloban or Dumaguete, budget an overnight for each filing.

Real total: around ₱14,000 per stage. Roughly ₱28,000 for the whole thing.

The ongoing costs

Annual report, ₱1,310 online. That's ₱300 for the report itself and a ₱1,000 express fee, for a process done entirely over video call.

Exit clearance when I travel was ₱3,690, but that included the annual report, because I filed them together and they shared one express fee. Worth doing if your trip falls around January.

Happy to answer anything specific!

My 8-year-old's creation

For those living in Cebu City, which food apps do you use to order delivery to a hotel? I have a flight coming up and I'm staying at a hotel near the airport, but my daughter is vegan. I'm looking for an app to buy vegan food and have it delivered. Also, is Uber available in Cebu City for getting a ride?? Thank you

Where's the safest place to live in the Philippines?

I'm moving to the Philippines in December with my girlfriend. She's Filipino. We've been dating and traveling around Southeast Asia for over a year. Because of taxes, next year we can't stay in Vietnam (one of our favorite places) for more than 180 days, so we're going to try living in the Philippines, where the visa and tax rules are easier.

My question is....

Where's the safest place to live? At first I was looking at lifestyle, weather, beaches and so on. But honestly, the more I've researched, the more safety has become my number one priority for our stay. I'll pay more if I have to, and I'll put up with city life, traffic, whatever. I just want to feel safe and comfortable.

Where would you recommend moving?

I'd appreciate any info or advice. Thanks.

Beni Oh Oh

Any green pea brands here that are fresh, bright, and not chewy and gross?

It seems crazy to me that they're frozen and still this low quality. Are there any good imported frozen brands?

I miss the peas I used to get back in Britain. Bright green, full of flavor, none of that cardboard taste and texture.

Kind of a silly post, but it was such a cheap, easy way to add nutrients to a meal, and I still haven't found a replacement.

Probably one of my biggest grid-export days ever! 58% and 47kWh. A really nice, healthy curve!

I don't care how childish it is. That's the whole point!

Thinking of quitting work for good soon and visiting. Are there any nice, quiet places with good beaches and maybe a little beach house to rent? Would I be better off in Thailand?

I'm not really into the party scene, nightlife or hooking up, or big cities with lots of people and traffic. I'd like to find a nice place on the beach to rent for maybe 3-6 months, somewhere quiet and peaceful with not too many people if possible. Nice beaches, maybe a few waves to surf, peace and quiet. Are there any places like that left?

Moving out of Clark with all my stuff. Is it hard to get an exit pass?

Until now, every time I needed an entry or exit pass for Clark it was for one or two items. This time, though, I'm moving a whole household: beds, TVs, a washing machine and so on.

I don't have receipts for all of it, and I don't know if they'll ask for a receipt for every single thing I own. I hope not. I hope I can get one exit pass that covers the whole move.

But honestly, I hate this entry/exit pass nonsense in Clark. I don't care if people say it makes the area safer. It doesn't. It's just a bureaucratic nightmare that makes living here a headache.

P.S. The local government in Clark is terrible. There's an illegal firing range only 600-700 meters from my house that's extremely loud, and my neighbors and I filed formal complaints with the mayor for months. Nothing changed. So I find it ironic that they have gates with entry/exit passes to keep the area safe while letting anyone set up an illegal firing range wherever they like.

My favorite Italian phrase: “bon appetit”

Hi, asking the experts here. About 12 years ago I worked a few years in the Philippines for a local company. I've still got some pesos sitting in an SSS account, and I'm back in Australia now.

Is there any way to get at that money and move it into my super (retirement) account in Australia? I can probably dig up my old SSS number, but when I looked into it before, it wasn't clear how to do what I want. Thanks in advance

Manila Terminal 3 lounge

Manila's Terminal 3 has been changing a lot since it was privatized. The new Meridian lounge is amazing. Excellent amenities, including showers, a buffet, drinks and more

For my fellow high rollers out there, the separate business class line through security and immigration was also amazing.

Manila has changed a lot in the 4 years since I first arrived.