THE FAMOUS PHILIPPINO JEEPNEY.
Here are some recommendations for boarding a Philippino Jeepney:
- 1- Don't board on a full stomach!
- 2- Don't board if you are expecting a comfortable ride!
- 3- Don't board if you don't want to listen to a 90 decibels music!
- 4- Don't board if you are expecting the jeepney to have shock absorbers!
- 5- Don't board if you don't have the ability to be a contortionist!
- 6- Don't board if you don't have a strong spine!
- 7- Don't board if you are disabled!
- 8- Don't board if you don't know where you are going, because if you ask the the answer will be "Sure Joe"!(Added by courtesy of a friend)
- 9- Don't board if you are 6 months pregnant or more!
- 10 - Don't board if you are in a hurry!
Having said all that, the jeepney is colourful and can be found everywhere and is used as a convenient and a cheap mode of transport all over the philippines.
This beautiful and diverse land has many things to offer to the tourist.
Sun, beautiful beaches, exotic and unusual sights, and for the avid divers it has got spectacular diving spots.
The enchanting and gentle smiles along with their legendary welcoming nature
of the Philippino's makes this country a "must" in your travel plans.
Due to the very favorable exchange rates the Philippino Peso makes your visit a very affordable trip as well.
An american expatriate bussinessman living in the Philippines for more than 24 years, says that Philippines " is the only place on earth where"1. Every street has a basketball court.
2. Even doctors, lawyers and engineers are unemployed.
3. Doctors study to become nurses for employment abroad.
4. Students pay more money than they will earn afterwards.
5. School is considered the second home and the mall considered the third.
6. Call-center employees earn more money than teachers and nurses.
7. Everyone has his personal ghost story and superstition.
8. Mountains like Makiling and Banahaw are considered holy places.
9. Everything can be forged.
10. All kinds of animals are edible.
11. Starbucks coffee is more expensive than gas.
12. Driving 4 kms can take as much as four hours.
13. Flyovers bring you from the freeway to the side streets.
14. Crossing the street involves running for your dear life.
15. The personal computer is mainly used for games and Friendster.
16. Where colonial mentality is dishonestly denied!
17. Where 4 a.m. is not even considered bedtime yet.
18. People can pay to defy the law.
19. Everything and everyone is spoofed.
20. Where even the poverty-stricken get to wear Ralph Lauren and TommyHilfiger (peke)!
21. The honking of car horns is a way of life.
22. Being called a bum is never offensive.
23. Floodwaters take up more than 90 percent of the streets during the rainy season.
24. Where everyone has a relative abroad who keeps them alive.
25. Where wearing your national colors make you a bad guy.
26. Where even the poverty-stricken have the latest cell phones. (GSM-galing sa magnanakaw)
27. Where insurance does not work.
28. Where water can only be classified as tap and dirty.
29. Clean water is for sale (35 pesos per gallon).
30. Where the government makes the people pray for miracles. (Amen to that!)
31. Where University of the Philippines is the place all the weird people go.
32. Ateneo is where all the nerds go.
33. La Salle is where all the Chinese go.
34. College of Saint Benilde is where all the ********** go and;
35. University of Asia and the Pacific is where all the irrelevantly rich people go.
36. Fast food is a diet meal.
37. Traffic signs are merely suggestions, not regulations.
38. Where being mugged is normal and It happens to everyone.
39. Rodents are normal house pets.
40. The definition of traffic is the 'non-movement' of vehicles.
41. Where the fighter planes of the 1940s are used for military engagements and;
42. The new fighter planes are displayed in museums.
43. Where cigarettes and alcohol are a necessity, and where the lottery is a commodity.
44. Where soap operas tell the realities of life and where the news
provides the drama.
45. Where actors make the rules and where politicians provide the
entertainment.
46. People can get away with stealing trillions of pesos but not a
thousand.
47. Where being an hour late is still considered punctual (Grabe
talaga 'to!)
48. Where the squatters have more to complain (even if they do not pay
their tax) - than those employed and have their tax automatically
deducted from their salaries.
49. Where everyone wants to leave the country!
50. Where if you only speak english, doing business over the phone will drive you
insane.(My own added)
51. And where trying to find a telephone number is the stuff of nightmares.
(My own added).
1.) Always carry small change in Pesos, Coins & 20, 50 &100 notes.
That saves you the annoyance from the very common reply, "sorry
no change".
2.) Ask someone, a local Filipino or foreigner about taxi or jeepney,
tricycle fares before you get in. Pay & walk away. NEVER ask "How
much?" because the price goes up the more you talk. A moving taxi is
too busy working so it tends to be a better, more honest
taxi versus parked taxis waiting for victims. Tip the taxi driver P10
to P20 reward him for not hassling you. Good Karma ALWAYS REWARDS you.
3. ) Never change money on the street nor inside a restaurant. You
will ALWAYS lose and usually almost half your money. These money
change scam artists are very good and show that the hand is always
quicker than the eye.
4. ) Never gamble with local Filipinos not pool, playing cards, chess
or any game for money & not even for drinks. It's safer not to
gamble. It's one example in life where when you win you lose & when
you lose you lose. This also applies to Filipinos outside their own
province, barrio without access to the support of their barkada(sp?) .
5. ) Never raise your voice at a Filipino away from your own
neighborhood. Never call a Filipino "STUPID". They are very sensitive
about it. If you do get angry & make the mistake. Please leave the
place as soon as possible .Go Away Fast because you are in more
DANGER than you realize. Filipinos are among the most peaceful easy
going, "happy go lucky" people in the world so do not like to fight
BUT "fair fights" are not the custom, "fight to kill" is.
6. ) Forget about the 2 words "WHY" & "SHOULD" or you get constant
headache trying to understand why things happen like they do in
places outside your own country, especially the Philippines.
Acceptance is the preferable attitude. There are too many things for
you to question, so it's better for you not to start. So just relax & enjoy
the positive aspects of living in the Philippines with a sense of
humor.
7. ) Expect everything to be late and slow. Life stops at LUNCH.
Schedules change & the weather is unpredictable. Telephones,
electricity, cable TV, internet access and water - sometimes they
work, sometimes they don't. Such is life so use these "down times" to
broaden your awareness of life around you without the modern
conveniences s most of us take for granted.
8.) Never accept drinks, candy, or fruit from strangers, especially,
younger women, most often appearing very straight, educated and
sophisticated like Filipinas working in offices in Manila. In the
past few years a few of our guests have been drugged, maybe one or
two guests per year, using the above methods after being met in Rizal
Park, shopping malls, the open markets & even on the bus. We have
never heard about this happening in other parts of the Philippines.
9.) Always wear a cloth type money belt which is worn around your
waist under your clothes instead of those leather or vinyl pouch
waist bags with several zippered pockets because psychologically they
appear as you are advertising your valuables. It may seem a bit
awkward to reach under your pants to get your money or travelers
checks at a bank but it's MUCH SAFER. Even when you drink too much
your money is much safer closer to your - - - -.
10. ) DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY!!
That saves you the annoyance from the very common reply, "sorry
no change".
2.) Ask someone, a local Filipino or foreigner about taxi or jeepney,
tricycle fares before you get in. Pay & walk away. NEVER ask "How
much?" because the price goes up the more you talk. A moving taxi is
too busy working so it tends to be a better, more honest
taxi versus parked taxis waiting for victims. Tip the taxi driver P10
to P20 reward him for not hassling you. Good Karma ALWAYS REWARDS you.
3. ) Never change money on the street nor inside a restaurant. You
will ALWAYS lose and usually almost half your money. These money
change scam artists are very good and show that the hand is always
quicker than the eye.
4. ) Never gamble with local Filipinos not pool, playing cards, chess
or any game for money & not even for drinks. It's safer not to
gamble. It's one example in life where when you win you lose & when
you lose you lose. This also applies to Filipinos outside their own
province, barrio without access to the support of their barkada(sp?) .
5. ) Never raise your voice at a Filipino away from your own
neighborhood. Never call a Filipino "STUPID". They are very sensitive
about it. If you do get angry & make the mistake. Please leave the
place as soon as possible .Go Away Fast because you are in more
DANGER than you realize. Filipinos are among the most peaceful easy
going, "happy go lucky" people in the world so do not like to fight
BUT "fair fights" are not the custom, "fight to kill" is.
6. ) Forget about the 2 words "WHY" & "SHOULD" or you get constant
headache trying to understand why things happen like they do in
places outside your own country, especially the Philippines.
Acceptance is the preferable attitude. There are too many things for
you to question, so it's better for you not to start. So just relax & enjoy
the positive aspects of living in the Philippines with a sense of
humor.
7. ) Expect everything to be late and slow. Life stops at LUNCH.
Schedules change & the weather is unpredictable. Telephones,
electricity, cable TV, internet access and water - sometimes they
work, sometimes they don't. Such is life so use these "down times" to
broaden your awareness of life around you without the modern
conveniences s most of us take for granted.
8.) Never accept drinks, candy, or fruit from strangers, especially,
younger women, most often appearing very straight, educated and
sophisticated like Filipinas working in offices in Manila. In the
past few years a few of our guests have been drugged, maybe one or
two guests per year, using the above methods after being met in Rizal
Park, shopping malls, the open markets & even on the bus. We have
never heard about this happening in other parts of the Philippines.
9.) Always wear a cloth type money belt which is worn around your
waist under your clothes instead of those leather or vinyl pouch
waist bags with several zippered pockets because psychologically they
appear as you are advertising your valuables. It may seem a bit
awkward to reach under your pants to get your money or travelers
checks at a bank but it's MUCH SAFER. Even when you drink too much
your money is much safer closer to your - - - -.
10. ) DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY!!
Happy and safe travels to you all.
Harry
Philippines Information and History
The Philippines, in southeastern Asia, consists of 7,107 islands lying between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The islands of Luzon and Mindanao account for two-thirds of the land area. Even though the Philippines lies just north of the world's largest Muslim state, Indonesia, it is about 94 percent Christian—mostly Roman Catholic. About five percent of Filipinos are Muslim, mostly living on the islands of Mindanao and Palawan—islands closest to the Muslim countries of Malaysia and Indonesia.
In 1521 Ferdinand Magellan claimed the Philippines for Spain, which ceded the islands to the U.S. in 1898. Independence came in 1946, after Japanese occupation ended. Widespread poverty and political corruption sparked social unrest starting in the 1970s. In 1986 President Ferdinand Marcos was compelled to hold an election. Despite his fraudulent claim to victory, Marcos was forced into exile, and Corazon Aquino, widow of a murdered opposition leader, became president. The government continues to make progress in negotiations with Muslim rebels with a cease-fire in 2003, and it works to provide political representation and economic development to the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.
ECONOMY
Industry: textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products.
Agriculture: rice, coconuts, corn, sugarcane; pork; fish.
Exports: electronic equipment, machinery and transport equipment, garments, coconut products.
Population: 84,765,000
Capital: Manila; 10,677,000
Area: 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 square miles)
Language: Filipino (based on Tagalog), English, and 8 major dialects
Religion: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Buddhist
Currency: Philippine peso
Life Expectancy: 70
GDP per Capita: U.S. $4,600
Literacy Percent: 96
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