Quote: (11-19-2013 03:45 PM)gamma_male Wrote:
I'm thinking of 2 options 10 days in Manila and 20 days in Cebu or 30 days just in Manila. Being just in Manila saves some money I think, other than the flight to Cebu, there are some airbnb options in Manila which you don't get in Cebu and you just have to stay in Hotels (also no cooking so you'll get stuck with the local food). What do you think?
Is this your first trip to the Phils? From your profile, it appears that you are in the land of Oz, so therefore, you may be o.k. (because you are closer) if you wait to book your flight as compared with me, when likely, I would be flying on a RT out of Los Angeles.
Who knows, whether there could be some last minute flight “deals?” But shoring up a sure thing and booking the ticket(s) may be better, if a guy really wants to plan to go and has dates in mind and even various specifics.
I may be going through some similar deliberations, as you, concerning how to spend my time, exactly, and what locations may provide for the better set of experiences, because this would be my first trip to the Phils… yet I am also considering having follow up trips (likely to the Phils) later in 2014, as well…. So for me, my first trip that is planned for late January through late March 2014 (about 60 days) would be a sort of reconnaissance to serve for anticipated near-term follow-up trips in late 2014 and possibly other trips thereafter in 2015 and maybe for the next 20-30 years of traveling (that is my current planning). The follow-up trips in late 2014 and thereafter would be for 5-7 month periods at a time (BTW I am currently in my 40s)
I have a disposition that I prefer to get decent bang for the buck, so I am inclined to maul over various scenarios several times in contemplating how to get good deals. It is NOT that I cannot make up my mind or that I am poor or that I could NOT splurge, here and there, but I like to save a few hundred in order that I am better able to invest those savings in the stock market – or whatever other long-term investment opportunities I run across. My target is to have all monthly expenses to be under $3000 a month, including travel costs (though I know if the trips are shorter than the monthly average is likely to be higher).
So my trip would be 60 days and yours is only 30 days, right? As you suggested, there can be a little advantage to booking longer-term housing in terms of costs and also some conveniences of what you get. I am also disinclined to be relegated to eating restaurant food – even though a few times a week for restaurant food would probably be o.k. with me. I also do NOT want to spend very much time cooking (but I want to have good quality food)… so I will probably seek out “assistance” for helping me to cook…. I would prefer spending NOT too much of my time cooking and/or cleaning.
I am a little inclined to think that there are going to be lodging problem issues in the Cebu area in the coming months due to various fall out issues of the recent typhoon and earthquake. In that regard, I have some hesitation about Cebu, and maybe we need to receive some on the ground feedback from some RVF guys, but no RVF guys seem to be reporting from Cebu in recent months.
I get the sense that a guy may be able to look around enough in the Manila area to keep busy for 30 days. Personally, I was thinking about 30 days in Manila and 30 days in Davao, on my first trip… but even that may cause some difficulties in getting 30 day lodging rates in each location in that I would have some transitional issues… well, I would have a two-way flight from USA to Manila, then another RT ticket to whatever destination within the Phils (meaning that I would have to go back to Manila to fly out).
Quote: (11-19-2013 03:45 PM)gamma_male Wrote:
Is it gonna get too boring to be in Manila for 30 days? is there anything to do there, well other than pussies?
Personally, I believe that I would NOT get bored chasing pussy for 30 days straight (maybe on average of about 4-5 hours each day, give or take). But I may be a different kind of person. I don’t really like to hang out in bars, unless there is salsa dancing involved, and I mean, I can easily spend my spare time in a gym (30-60 minutes a day and then time is needed recovering from that) and figuring out food scenarios – which probably I would continue to eat about two main meals per day.
Also, I can easily entertain myself by going to a couple of different neighborhoods once or twice a week – for example going to Chinatown or going to some mall or to some college campus or even hospital or hotels in other areas of the town. I think one of the advantages in being a tourist is that a guy can walk around a little dumb appearing and meet local people and ask questions that he may NOT ask in his own country….and also to get phone numbers in the process. And, from my understanding people in the Phils are more than willing to be helpful to wandering tourists. I would NOT get bored with those kinds of activities for 30 days (and even I would be o.k. with 60 days wandering around. That’s me. One thing with the wandering around, though is the fricken heat.. For you, probably January is NOT so bad for heat. It seems that Manila has a lot of areas of town and my understanding is that there are a lot of areas of town and different malls that have air conditioning.. but maybe it may NOT be so practical to plan to wander outside in the heat... that will zap a guy’s energy.
Actually, for me, I expect to have to continue to engage in various online work, which I would do from my air conditioned room or maybe I would be able to go to an internet café in the area? I have to do my online work because of various work-related obligations that I seem unable to shake in the short term. Maybe several years from now, I will be freed from these kind of ongoing obligations.. but for the near future, I remain obligated to spend about 5 to 10 hours per week in various kinds of online work activities. Of course, I could spend more time in these kinds of work-related activities, and accordingly, up to 20 hours a week could end up taking quite a bit of my time (in the event that I was bored with other available activities in the neighborhoods).
In sum, I expect my time would be filled with two destinations in 60 days, and with that I am expecting that you could probably find ways to fill your 30 days with one destination, whether you like to go out and drink or NOT. Actually, if you like to go out and drink, maybe that kind of going out / drinking activity could get boring in 30 days, yet I have met people who could spend quite a bit of time exploring drinking-related activities.