Annoyances in the Philippines

Annoying things in the Philippines - I really enjoy this country but these few things can be annoying Filipino time. One thing that foreigners can find aggravating is the concept of "Filipino time". That means that everyone will always show up late - for meetings, work, school, events of any sort and inefficiency starts even before the meeting begins. I pointed that out to a few college students that are in a set pattern of always being late. It is almost rude to show up on time. I suggested that they would not last a week overseas, if they were always 15 to 30 minutes late for work everyday. --------------- Screaming kids in internet cafes Another thing that can put of a visitor to an internet cafe is the screaming kids playing video games, ofter 3 or 4 to a terminal. There isn't enough room so you will be leaned on from both sides as you are trying to write an email or whatever. A young child is almost encouraged to scream at the top of their lungs because it is a sign of strength. It can be very distracting. I was in an internet cafe a few days ago where kids wer actually playing badminton inside. --------------- Getting Airline tickets It is quite difficult to book tickets on line in the Philippines. The Airline either will not accept your card, not be online or any other reason not to issue you a ticket. Ticket agents can spend an hour or so working on getting you a reservation by calling directly and just waiting until they get to an airline representative. I often just go to the Cebu Pacific office in the mall in either Cebu or Manila. It stoll requirese getting a number and waiting half the day to get served. Some people just get their number and go shopping for a while and come back. It is risky, though, because if they pass up your number you have to go through the whole process again. --------------- Cold Food Most of the roadside restaurants sell food cold. The fish are cold. The rice is cold. The squid is cold. The spaghetti is cold. I have not yet gotten used to that. --------------- Sugar in Everything There is a healthy dose of sugar in almost every food that you eat in the Philippines. The sugar sauce that they put on spaghetti is particularly unsavory. --------------- Beggars As you walk along in the big cities it is not uncommon for a kid to run alongside tapping the inside of your elbow saying "Give me money". I find this highly annoying and will not under any circumstances give them anything. I am usually generous and help people out but not in this case. --------------- Hey Joe! Give me 10 pesos. Self explanitory -------------- Airport Taxis in Manila This used to be a nigtmare but is not so bad anymore now that there is a line of yellow colored cabs outside the exit. They are professional and low in cost. Many international flights arrive late at night. --------------- Visas There is an erratic schedule for getting visa extensions. It is basically pain free but it takes a lot of time and costs about 75 dollars per extension. to be continued 2008  www.dutchpickle.com

 

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