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I have now become one with the leaves

Tiles, concrete, or foot huggers!

…It may sound like nothing to you, but it really matters to me, so let me tell you a bit more.

The older I get, the more the little pleasures count. One of mine is having warm feet — especially during this stretch we jokingly call the 'Philippine winter.'

I'm told it's in remission now that I've lost 56 kg, but I've had type 2 diabetes for a long time, and because of that my feet can get really cold and uncomfortable — especially on Philippine floors.

I honestly can't decide what's better. The white tiles laid in every room of our home in Southern Cebu, concrete floors, or 'foot huggers' — meaning a warm, cushy pair of indoor slippers.

Until recently it was so hot that going barefoot was no problem at all — more than no problem, it was cool and lovely. Then the rain started, kept coming, and the temperature dropped sharply.

Suddenly my feet were cold, so I retreated into the fleecy slippers I brought from the UK.

But there's a problem!

I like the white tiles, but I think my wife made one small mistake: she should have picked something less slippery. Over the years I've fallen not once but several times, getting far closer to the floor than I ever wanted.

Luckily, thanks to a misspent youth doing competitive judo several times a week, I think I know how to fall without breaking a wrist or a hip — but I'd better not speak too soon.

Tiled floors can be dangerous, especially when something's been spilled. So far only my pride has been bruised, so I count myself lucky — lying there staring up at the ceiling, feeling pretty foolish.

I'm also considering concrete floors. Our second home, a humble farmhouse in Bohol, already has a nicely finished concrete floor. It's definitely less slippery — but colder, and nowhere near as cosy. So why not just wear slippers in both houses, you ask?

The trouble is, these slippers seem made for a near-arctic climate — places like Siberia or Finland where the Northern Lights are an everyday sight.

A few seconds after I put them on, my feet get so hot I have to take them off again!

I'd love to hear what you think. Flooring, keeping warm, and staying steady on your feet as you age — what works for you?

I'm sure a few trolls will spot this too — the ones with no party of their own, so they come and rain on someone else's. But a few grumpy comments never hurt anyone, so even if you're a troll, feel free to say your piece.

I write on my blog almost every day, and I'm always hoping to gain more followers and friends.

Thanks for reading,

Kevin

Makati or BGC?

I've narrowed it down to these two. Where would you want to live, and in which residences? I'm looking at a fully furnished stay of 6 months to a year. My budget range is wide. Thanks a lot!

It's always delicious, but I prefer to eat in the restaurant if possible at Chowking. Take-out is not great because the box size makes the contents shrink a bit.

Of course, when there's no parking lot, I just get take-out.

Today I ordered the Sweet and Sour Chicken, but it's tougher than the 300-won dakgangjeong I used to eat as a kid, and it's not chicken, it's more like... Anyway, there isn't much meat inside. Mostly just fried batter, so I guess I'm out of luck today. Sometimes there's a lot of meat, though.

Perfect weather for a ride

Things I Wish I'd Known Before Living in Manila (Based on My Own Experience)

Hi all. I'm a 30-year-old European man (I know 'European' is a generalization, but it's for context), married to a Filipina my age. We dated for six years and have been married for one. To be clear, we met naturally while traveling and genuinely fell in love. It has nothing to do with the usual 'old white guy meets young Filipina' stereotype. Please don't take this as moral superiority; I mention it because it's relevant to my overall message. Also, this is an edited version of a post from a few months ago. I'm reposting to add more, and because a mod deleted it. I asked why and never got an answer, so I hope it stays up this time.

Again, this is entirely based on my own experience. It isn't an absolute opinion or a generalization about the people usually called 'expats.' These are truths I wish I'd known before coming to Manila and living here as a foreigner. You may disagree, but this is my conclusion after years of real contact with Filipino society.

Manila Isn't a Good Place to Live

I don't want to be too hard on the city that took me in, but Manila/Metro Manila (many expats and foreigners don't know the difference) is a chaotic concrete jungle where nothing seems to work. Just the basics: services are bad, public transport is awful, pollution is insane, it's hot all year, traffic is absurd, and healthcare has plenty of gaps. In short, Manila is a machine that somehow keeps rolling forward despite everything.

International Filipinos and Local Filipinos

I always separate what I call international Filipinos and local Filipinos. International Filipinos have usually traveled, seen the world, and often went to one of Manila's four main universities. That seems to make them more open to meeting and connecting with foreigners. Still, really getting into their circles takes time and effort, since they're usually closed groups from the same socioeconomic level. But if you get past that first wall, they can open new doors for you in business and leisure.

Local Filipinos, on the other hand, have usually never been abroad, so the only reality they know is the Filipino way. I don't want to be harsh, but I think the Filipino way has lost much of its identity over the last few decades and clung more to its negative side. That's not just me. Many lolos, lolas, ninongs, and ninangs (grandfathers, grandmothers, godfathers, godmothers) I've met at various gatherings and events reached the same conclusion.

Both groups have good and bad sides, but as a foreigner looking for real friends, you'll generally do much better with the first.

The Class Gap

Some will disagree, but the gap between social classes is huge, especially in Manila, and it's widening with the recession the country is going through in 2026, which will probably last until at least Q1 2027.

Many Filipinos say Manila has a solid middle class, but I don't think they really understand what a middle class is. Owning a car and a phone doesn't automatically make you middle class. If you barely get through the month and save nothing, you're not middle class. Government data says only about 30% of Manila's population counts as poor. I strongly disagree with that, and when I dug deeper into the studies, I found nothing showing the data was independently verified by multiple non-government institutions.

As I see it, Manila's classes are roughly: millionaires (1%), rich (4%), a slowly vanishing middle class (20%), working poor (45%), and people below the poverty line (30%). These aren't official numbers, just my personal observations.

Safety and Fearmongering

This will be controversial and I'm ready for the backlash, but Manila is a fairly safe city. Let me explain. If you know where you are, where you're going, and what time it is, you'll be fine. When I see headlines like 'Two Americans robbed and stabbed at 5 AM in the middle of Poblacion,' I can't believe it. My reaction is always, 'Oh my, what a shock.' Trust me, if you'd been having dinner in Makati at 8 PM, it would have been far less likely.

This is the real world too. If you know you're a target, don't be dumb enough to make yourself an easy one. Watch your surroundings, research places before you go, mind your belongings, and ask local contacts for advice. What amazes me is that foreigners thousands of kilometers from home skip these basics. Get into dirty business and you'll get dirty. It's that simple.

Scams and Corruption

Once again, welcome to the real world. A lot of Pinoys struggle every month to get by, and marking up prices based on how you look or running fake 'buy one, get two' deals to earn a bit extra is part of daily life. Wake up and be careful where you buy things and what you see online. But trust me, one more check or a question to a friend lets you avoid 95% of scams very easily.

That said, I'm not excusing scams at all. Scams are actually a big reason Filipinos' quality of life is falling. If you're Filipino and reading this (I know there are a lot of Pinoys here), you should be the first to be angry about them.

Finally, yes, an underdeveloped economy in recession with a growing population is the perfect breeding ground for corruption. You'll think this is very pessimistic, but my dear expats, there's not much you can do about it, and most Pinoys seem to have given up too.

Filipinos Are Why You Stay in Manila

Manila isn't a great place to live, but Filipinos are amazing. They're a lot of fun to be around and very kind. But as anywhere, don't mistake kindness for real friendship. What shocks me is people saying, 'When I first came, everyone was so kind, but once I got past that stage, I met the real Filipinos.' Come on, you're a foreigner. If you want to call a Filipino a real friend, you have to put in effort. Real effort.

Never forget you'll always be a foreigner. So it's on you to do your best to become part of their lives, not the other way around. I really want to stress this: without real effort you'll never build true friendships with Filipinos, because they're very group-oriented. If you're not interested or not in the right headspace for that, it's much easier to socialize with other foreigners.

But the question I always ask is: if you don't want Filipino friends, why live in Manila?

Love

Oh... where do I start? Most foreigner-Filipina couples you see in Manila are an older, wealthier foreigner and a young Filipina from a poor family. And let me tell you, in most cases it's simply a transaction.

But if you're a young foreigner like me looking for real love, I think the only way to find it is to have real things in common.

This may sound harsh, but I think you need similar education, a similar class within Manila rather than in your home country, and similar interests and ambitions, like being career-driven, loving travel, or sharing the same curiosity about the world. If your salary makes you ri…

Delicious. The meat quality is great too, and the side dishes are good. It's almost a perfect score. However, the prices are Korean-style, so it's expensive. That's why I docked one star. Also, there are girls selling avocados at the entrance.

The emoji's cute. lol

At its October 7, 2026 session, the #SupremeCourtPH En Banc approved amendments to the Rules of Court (A.M. No. 25-03-14-SC) that make it easier for Filipino spouses to prove a foreign divorce when asking Philippine courts to recognize it.

Under the amendments, which take effect 15 days after they are posted on the Supreme Court website, Filipino spouses seeking recognition of a foreign divorce under Article 26(2) of the Family Code will no longer have to prove the applicable foreign law when filing. They will only need to prove that the foreign divorce took place.

The amendments create Section 48-A of Rule 39, which presumes that a foreign divorce between a Filipino and a foreign spouse allows the foreign spouse to remarry under foreign law, unless the divorce decree itself says it is only a limited divorce.

The party opposing the petition now carries the burden of proving that the divorce is not absolute.

The new rule also presumes that an English translation of a foreign divorce document is accurate if the translator certifies its accuracy under oath.

These presumptions are rebuttable and can be challenged with contrary evidence under Section 3 of Rule 131.

The amendments do not, however, change the existing legal framework. A petition for judicial recognition of a foreign divorce is still required, and the substantive requirements of Article 26(2) of the Family Code stay the same.

Recognition of a foreign divorce can still be opposed on grounds such as lack of jurisdiction, lack of notice, fraud, or a clear mistake of law or fact.

The amendments were approved on the recommendation of Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, in consultation with Associate Justices Amy C. Lazaro-Javier and Jhosep Y. Lopez, and the Sub-Technical Working Group on the Concerns of Overseas Working Filipinos Regarding the Recognition of Foreign Divorce Decrees/Reports (Sub-TWG).

During consultations with the Sub-TWG, the Department of Foreign Affairs pointed out several difficulties. Foreign family laws are often spread across different jurisdictions, making them hard to obtain. Some countries have no designated official who can certify these laws, and foreign ministries generally do not provide official English translations.

With these amendments, the Supreme Court aims to remove unnecessary barriers and make it easier for Filipinos to exercise their rights under the law.

The full press briefer is available at https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/?p=174621.

The full text of Supreme Court En Banc Resolution A.M. No. 25-03-14-SC will be uploaded to the Supreme Court website once available.

Why are women on dating apps so flaky?

Why are so many Filipino women on dating apps like this? So often they go lukewarm, stop replying, and ask zero questions. Even when they're the ones who started the chat and told me about themselves. Some are nice and interesting, but at least half of them feel like talking to a wall. Why even be on a dating app if you're going to act like that? They're not even asking for money. What have your experiences been, and why do you think this happens?

Unwrapping an ice cream cone in public

Specialized training

Sharing a few of the newborn photos we got yesterday. We even caught Jude mid spit-up 😂😂

What did you guys do? 🙈😅

I know there's a lot of talk about needing an onward ticket to go to the Philippines and stay longer than the usual 30-day visa-free period, but my question is a bit different.
I'm going to the Philippines with my wife, who is Filipina, and I should qualify for the one-year Balikbayan privilege.

My question is: should I still buy an onward ticket just to make sure I'm allowed to board?

As I understand it, the Balikbayan privilege isn't officially granted until we arrive in the Philippines and go through immigration. So even though I'm eligible, couldn't the airline still ask for proof of onward travel before letting me board?

We're flying Philippine Airlines. I'd rather not buy a ticket I don't need, but I also don't want to risk being denied boarding.

Has anyone traveled with their Filipino spouse, gotten the Balikbayan privilege on arrival, and boarded without an onward ticket? I'd especially love to hear from anyone who's flown Philippine Airlines recently.

Thanks!

Cost of building a pickleball court

I'd like to build a dual-use pickleball/basketball court on a lot near my house. The area is about 100 m², and these are the build requirements:

Concrete strength: about 3500 PSI

Slab thickness: about 5 inches

Reinforcement: welded wire mesh, a rebar grid, or post-tensioned cables

Finish: medium broom or fine float, no steel trowel (the surface has to take an acrylic bond)

Has anyone done this? How much should it cost here in the Philippines? The reason I'm asking here before going to local builders is that I want to avoid getting the 'foreigner price'...

Visa run
Hello everyone. The more I look into visa runs, the more different details I keep running into. I'm planning a visa run in May, my 30th month here. I'm a 65-year-old retiree living on an SSA pension. And yes, sadly I can't afford an SRRV..lol. So my question is: has anyone had any trouble coming back in to stay another 36 months? Has anyone done this recently? Did it go smoothly? Thanks in advance..God bless

I need an activated US SIM card

Is there any way to get a permanent US number? (Not one that expires.)

Edit: I'm in the Philippines, and my grandfather needs it for his US pension account.

Angeles City Police Station, 2 Wanted Persons Arrested on October 10 — Including Charges of Qualified Theft

📌 The Angeles City Police Office (ACPO) announced that it arrested two wanted persons through two arrest warrant operations in the afternoon of Saturday, October 10. One is a 27-year-old man wanted on charges of qualified theft, and the other is a 43-year-old man residing in Barangay Cuayan, Angeles City.

■ Incident Details
· Around 4 p.m., intelligence personnel from ACPO 1st Police Precinct, together with the City Intelligence Unit (CIU) and the Regional Intelligence Unit 3 (RIU3), arrested a 27-year-old man, a resident of Barangay San Carlos, Mexico, Pampanga, in Barangay Maimpis, San Fernando City, Pampanga.
· The man was subject to an arrest warrant for qualified theft issued on October 9 by Branch 41 of the San Fernando Regional Trial Court, with a recommended bail of PHP 120,000.
· Around 6 p.m. the same day, ACPO 5th Police Precinct and a manhunt team arrested a 43-year-old man, a resident of Barangay Cuayan, through the execution of an arrest warrant. The charges against this man were not confirmed in the police station's post.

■ Investigation and Current Status
· The Angeles City Police Station stated that it is intensifying efforts to apprehend wanted persons under the command of Col. Robert C. Domingo (acting station chief). The charges against both men will be determined in court.

■ Notice for Residents and Travelers
· Angeles City Police have been carrying out a series of operations to arrest wanted persons. If you are a victim of a crime or see a suspicious person, report it to the nearest police precinct or dial 911.

■ Source
Angeles City Police Office (official Facebook, 10/11)