[randomA]

Thanks for the headsup. I guess I would have to focus on Cebu in that case...

(12-12-2018 02:12 AM)the-dream Wrote:  

You can also do "helmet diving" which is essentially snorkeling on steroids. You put on an astronaut like glass helmet, attached to a oxygen tank on a raft on the surface, and can just breathe normally. The weight of the helmet makes you sink to the seabed and you can walk around on the seabed as if it were the land, in and out of the schools of fish. It is a pretty cool experience.

That's hilarious. Sounds cool.

[Krabbypatty]

I second the suggestion for helmet diving. I did it years ago. The guides gave us bread too so we can feed the colorful fishes while they take pictures. And yes, it’s like you’re an astronaut walking at the bottom of the sea

[BaatumMania]

Yeah I heard they check to see if you have a hotel before letting come in. Thing is like your original post: it would be super easy to book a random place for 1 night. Or better yet: book a (legal) shithole but never show up to it and go straight to an AirBnB or a quality undocumented place

[BaatumMania]

(05-12-2015 12:31 AM)Paul999 Wrote:  

"Booze is cheap, but not dirt cheap. A beer might cost you 100 pesos ($2.30)."

I see a lot of vlogs of rust being on the beer bottles. It seems like there is likely a lot of fake beer moving around or they're reusing bottles without bothering to clean them (or 3rd theory: they've giving the 'special' expired beer that sat in the back for years to the white guy).

[the-dream]

Rusty beer bottles are quite a common thing in provincial Philippines which worried me at first but the locals are unfazed by it. It's definitely not a trick that they pull on the tourists. I imagine it is from them being stacked outside in the damp salty sea air. That's why most places will serve beer bottles with a tissue, to wipe it off before you drink it.

[purple18]

Don't go snorkeling or do that fakey Snuba (helmet) diving referenced earlier. Go real SCUBA diving. Assuming you aren't certified you are in a perfect place to do so. English speaking, perfect conditions, and cheap AF. Anything but real diving is a pale imitation. Walking on the seabed with a hose is like 10% of real diving. A lot of the fun is total weightlessness in water and going wherever you want in three dimensions. You will not find a better place to certify at. It opens up a whole globe-trotting lifestyle if you get into it.

I mostly came to the Phils to dive, not meet girls. It's the most wonderful hobby/sport out there, and super duper effective at building a personal brand around to meet women in the USA. You can do it when you are old and gray and with women and just for the damn personal enjoyment of it. Every dive I see something new. I won't date a girl back home who isn't a diver or eager to learn.

Girls, pickup, whatever aside -- go get your Scuba cert and thank me later.

[randomA]

I cant dive due to fucked up ears that dont just decompress using the usual maneuver, so have to stick to next best thing.