What Is Was Like to Visit the Philippines While on a Navy Warship and Take a Port of Call

I was happy, when I finally learned that I would be meeting up with my ship, it was going to be pulling into the Philippines. I was going to fly from San Diego, to Manila, and then take a van down the country, about 200 miles where the ship was going to be tied up at. About 6 other guys, and me, were going to the Philippines on an Air Force cargo plane that was going that way.

It was totally loaded with pallets of cold merchandise, headed to the Philippines for who knows what. We were just passengers. The seats we sat in, where temporary net seats, and they felt like it. They were seats made out of netting, and they were facing backwards, of the way you would sit on a regular plane, facing forward. We were facing backwards when you took off in the airplane, and you were forced to bend forward, instead of backwards, into your chair. The plane needed to be kept cold, and it looked like a London fog, inside the plane, just like we were sitting in a refrigerator. That was a very long 17 hour flight.

I was 19 years old when I landed in the Philippines. This by far, was one of the funnest countries a service guy could go to. If you just wanted to have a good time in the bars, and a good time with a bunch of pretty sexy Asian girls, you will love it there.

What Is Was Like to Visit the Philippines While on a Navy Warship and Take a Port of Call

In the Navy, most of the guys that have not been to the famous places, like Thailand, or the Philippines, Korea, or Hong Kong, always want to know if what they heard was true, about what they heard from other guys on the ship. There is no way really to explain another country sometimes to someone, they just need to experience themselves sometimes.

Where are ship was tied up, was about 1/2 a mile from the main gate, which was located right next to party central town, called Olongapo. When you were on the base, it was big. The base had a laundry mat, you could do your own wash at, and the soda machines dispensed cans of beer for you while you did your laundry.

The base had a small casino on it, with slot machines. It had horses you could rent, and a nice golf course, that had wild monkeys, that would be up in the trees, and they would throw things at you, if you came to close to them.

In the Philippines, clothing and services were very cheap and easy to get. You could have all your laundry cleaned, pressed and bagged up for you, for only a few dollars. It was like that in town also. Your money could go far. For clothing, there were out door markets everywhere, and they sold lots of knock off clothing items, for dirt cheap prices. You could be the ugliest guy on the ship, and you would still get a girl. It was not if you could get a girl, but which one you would want for the evening.

Right when you walk out the main gate, there is a small bridge with a river underneath it. All the guys called this "shit river". It might of been that, raw sewage was always in the river. But that did not ever stop the usually 4 or 5 boats that would sit in it, with young girls dressed up in white dresses, and holding cups, begging for you to throw money out to them. People would throw pesos, down into the boat to them, and this was about 100 feet from the main gate of the base, and the entrance into town, was just steps away.

The town had lots of lots of bars, with various themes going on inside. There were little souvenir stores, or sorry sorry stores, as they called them, and different bars and restaurants, just about everywhere you looked. The funny thing about the town was, girls were everywhere and easy to get, but pornography was not seen around town, and it was illegal.

We had a bar that most of the guys from the office would hang out at on a regular basis. Usually on the weekends, or day times after work each day, we would hang out there, because that was our hangout place. The girls there did not try to hassle you into going with them, only if you wanted to, and the drinks were cheap.

They wrote our names on their bar window, just like a lot of bars did, that had special ships, and special departments, that hung out there, and claimed that bar for their own. Our department, pretty much hung out at the Cindi Bar, right on the first block of town, down one block to the right, and easy to get to.

Some of the bars, did not look so big from the outside. But it might be so huge on the inside, when you went inside. Most all the bars had bands, acts, and other things going on inside, to get more customers. It was a rocking town at night time. Back then, there were no such things as AID's, or any other decease that might kill you these days. It was one big town party each night, and it was a free for all, young sexy woman everywhere, and plenty of cheap drinks.

Most all of our whole admin office, would hang out together, after work, and we would always start in the same bar for drinks. Some of the bigger, better bars, that had more sexier girls, and where the drinks cost a little bit more, were where we liked to go, later in the evening, to pick the girls we wanted for the night, but not spend all our time there drinking. We would go there, and just look for the prettiest girls we could find.

In the Philippines, it's very easy, for a regular Joe, to have 2 girls at the same time, on numerous occasions, and even try 3 girls at one time, just to say they did it, and see what it is like. In the United States, you would either be the luckiest guy around. Overseas, it was whatever you wanted.

One time, we were having a division office party, and I was putting it together. We decided to have our department and the supply department have the party together. My job was to get the drinks, and reserve the bar in town. I reserved a two story bar, that had a nice balcony overlooking the street below. We had people roasting a pig, and all other kinds of food was brought in. In the Navy, they have a fund for parties. So I collected more money from each person on the list, and then requested that the Navy, give us our money, for our party, so we could have, and even better one. I put the money together, and we had a party on our hands, with everything.

This was a party, that did not matter if you were single, married, or an officer. If you were at the party, you usually had a little sexy Asian beauty with you. It was just a standing rule, that out in town, everyone is a free person, and most married guys are in the bars, and with girls, and that is just the way it is.

This party would land me in jail, but not until after having an excellent fun time at it. With the help of a Philippino chief on board the ship, he got the entertainment for us, to liven up the party. The entertainment consisted of an act of a man letting anyone who wanted to, throw darts into his back. Another act, was a man that would let you put a rope around his neck, and pull as hard as you wanted to, and you could not hurt him.

We also had many acts of girls, doing things like sticking banana's up their vagina's, and they would sit on the face of who ever wanted the banana. Other guys would lay down and stick money on their mouth, and the girls would come over and pick it up with their vagina's. This was a regular division party, that was starting to get wild. Later that evening, I was arrested and taken back to the ship for being drunk and disorderly, and having to much of a good time.

One of my biggest lessons I learned in the Philippines, was about the language, and it was embarrassing. It was the word Benny Boy. In all the 9 months I was able to spend in the Philippines, I was pick pocketed, three times in all.

Once, I was pick pocketed by a group of small kids. They all came up to me, and then all started poking me with their fingers. Well, I tried to shoo them all away, and after they were gone, I realized, I had just been pick pocketed, and lost the money from my front shirt pocket, I had on me. After that, I never carried all my money in the same place, I always broke it up, just in case I got hit, I did not lose everything.

Another time, I was walking down the road, and this sexy lady, standing in a dark doorway, suddenly came out of know where, and asked me to come over to her. When I walked over to her, to see what she wanted, she got really close to me, and started squeezing my penis. I thought she must be to dirty, as she just stepped out of the darkness, and I got away from her, and stepped back and left. Later, I realized she had used one hand quickly on me, and the other went right into my front pocket, and within 4 seconds time frame.

The 3rd time, I lost my watch. I was sitting at a table, drinking a drink, in the middle of the day time. I was sitting outside a bar, at a table. This girl sits down, and after talking with her for a while, asks about my watch, and if she can wear it. Later, she says she has to go to the bathroom, and she never comes back. I asked one of the girls working in the bar, where the girl went that was sitting with me. Somehow, the girl told me she was Benny Boy. I thought that was her name, Benny Boy. Well, I asked the next girl that came over to me if she had seen Benny Boy. She just looked at me and said, "No," with a weird look on her face.

I went outside, I was looking for this girl that just took off with my watch, and it was just a cheap watch. I had never had an expensive watch before. But, I still wanted to get my watch back from her. I was walking up and down the street, and I would ask people, "Do you know where Benny Boy is?" One girl that I asked, said, "Why you want Benny Boy, when you can have me?" I wondered why she said that.

I kept asking people, and they would give me weird or bad looks. I saw a shore patrol van up ahead, and when I got there, I asked the guys inside, if they knew of anyone named Benny Boy. I told them, that she had just stole my watch, not to long ago, from around the corner. These guys just looked at each other, and I did not know, I was still new to the Philippines.

One of them asked me, "Do you know what Benny Boy means?" He told me that, "Benny Boy, is the Tagalog name for ladyboy, or shemale, or man in woman's clothing." I was embarrassed. Not from these guys, but the other girls I asked, thinking Benny Boy might of been one of their friends, and now they all thought I was looking for a Benny Boy. It's funny now.

In the mornings, most the base was hustling and bustling around. The taxis were busy, and the ship was busy with everyone coming back in the morning to go to work. Even thou the ship is overseas, and about half of the guys are single, and half of the guys are married, most everyone that can, usually stays in town.

Most everyone finds a girl that has a place, or you can also rent hotel rooms cheaply for the night, almost everywhere. The way most of the bars work, is they call it a bar fine. You pay the bar for the privilege of taking the girl out of the bar for the rest of the evening. It is up to you and the girl, to figure out what you are going to do for the rest of the night.

Most of the girls, just want to get away from where they work at, and go to another bar, and hang out with their friends, and bring you along. After all, you have all the money usually. If the girl ever wants money for herself, she usually will let you know that up front, and you can decide for yourself. Other girls, never ask for anything from you, sometimes, and they are the funner ones to spend time with.

Most all the bars have the price of their bar fine, right up on the wall. Some of the bigger bars, with model type dancers, and bar girls, have the highest prices. I figure those are for places where the ship comes in, and only gets to stay for a couple of days, so the guys splurge, and get the best they can buy.

Most all the bars, have the girls wearing bikinis as their outfits. Needless to say, you can easily see what you are shopping for. In the mornings, since the medical department was also in our department, the corpsman would be busy every morning, giving out the VD shots. Some days, the line of guys standing in line to get shots, was 30 or 40 guys deep.

In the Philippines, it was a practice of taking peoples military ID cards, so they could not go into town and spread anything if they got VD. The medical department was swamped all the time. The girls were supposed to have been checked by doctors on a regular basis, that worked in the bars that were big, and the Navy did have people, who checked on them, to make sure the girls were seeing doctors.

You might have a battle group of 15,000 guys pull into port, and there still might be 3 or 4 girls, to every service guy, and all hot and sexy, in bikinis too. This was a playground for any 19 year old.

The ship would seem to always have a lot of parties and cook outs. One of the favorite places that we used to go, was an island, called Grande Island. It was just off the coast, and maybe only 1 mile away by bonka boat. These little bonka boats, had large wooden beams to keep them steady, and afloat. We would take them out to the island, usually in the middle of the night. The island had lots of cabins that we would stay in the for the night. That was the Navy's party place. We would all drink, and roast pigs, and just have a good time on the island.

Most of the guys still preferred to be in town, where all the night life was happening. If a ship was going to be in town for only a few days. Some of the guys would pay hundreds of dollars to get someone else to stand their watch, or take, or exchange their duty day with them, just so they could go out in town, everyday they were going to be in port.

Even before most of the ships would pull into port, as I would take care of secret message traffic, and I would know when a certain ship was going to be pulling into port, before most people. But, a lot of the bars in town, would already have the new signs painted on their windows, welcoming whatever ship it was, that was going to be coming into port. They just always knew the ships schedule, better than we did.

The whole time I was in the Philippines, I never felt unsafe, walking down alleys, or just hanging out. I was never worried about being robbed, attacked, or anything like that, like I thought might actually happen, when I was in places like Pakistan, or somewhere else. The Philippino people are really so friendly, and they all speak English, and it's just a really fun place to visit.

A person could really go out for the night on . That would be for a bar fine, which might be kinda high, as the peso exchange rate was roughly 50 pesos for 1 dollar. Some bar fines, would only be maybe around 300 pesos, which is less than . You could get a hotel room for the night, just about anywhere, for around a night. And, for , you could get a handful of beers, and some tacos to eat, for the last . So for , you could eat, drink, get a girl, and get a room, for . You could spend more, and get better, and some guys could spend a lot less.

One night in the Philippines, a lot of us from the office, went out as usual together. This night, a LTJG that was our division officer, decided to go out with us. All the guys called him feel good, because his name rhymed with that, but no one, ever called him that name, to his face. He was the kind of officer, that if you were typing something up, he would come up from behind you, and put his hands on your shoulders, and just look at what you are doing, and try to give you a massage like you were doing a good job, or something.

No one ever told him to stop, as he was a nice guy, and he was our division officer also. This night, we were going out, we had a new yeoman that had not been on the ship, or working in the office for that long yet, and he was our youngest guy in the office, and lowest ranking. He also went out with us that evening.

This would be another night, I would end up locked up for the evening, at the end of it all. We were in a bar, that had a mechanical bull in it. We were all drinking, and betting on who could stay on the bull the longest. I remember riding the bull that night, because I did really good at staying on it, but my legs must of hurt for 2 days after that, because I hanged on so tight, I used up muscles, I never even knew my legs had.

Well, I don't know how things turned out, but before you know it, the new yeoman, had his shirt off, and was sitting in our division officer's lap. Here we are, surrounded by some of the most beautiful girls in the world, it seems, and these guys are doing this. Well, it turns out, the division officer had to much to drink, and he had taken the shirt off the enlisted yeoman, and pulled him into his lap. When some other guys saw these, they broke it up, and a fight broke out.

We all ended up out in the street, in front of the bar, and a bunch of us, got taken away for being drunk and disorderly. Our division officer was also one of the people that had been taken away, and locked up. I could hear the division officer in another cell, throwing up. I could hear him say, to the yeoman that had his shirt removed, don't say anything, just don't say anything.

As it turns out, our division officer, was transferred right away, from our ship, and we all thought he must of been kicked out of the Navy. One of the guys saw him about a year later, and said he was stationed on another ship, and was a LT now. So he got a new duty station, and he got promoted, and I guess it was just swept under the rug.

The main strip of bars in town, where your major bars were located, which had the prettier girls, the bigger dance floors, and the better bands. All the roads to the left or right, were also filled full of smaller bars, and there must of been at least 100 different bars, just in that 2 mile radius.

There were bars with girls oil wrestling, wet t-shirt bars, and one of my favorite bars, and a lot of other guys favorite place also, I'm sure, was called "Begger's Banquet". It was full of girls, and it had a little bit of a different twist. This was the place that a girl would bring something out on stage with, and people would throw pesos on the stage, and they would do different things, with different objects, and beg for people to throw money on stage. The more money that was thrown out, the more bizarre they would become.

Some of these girls, were amazing, with how they could stretch themselves, or give themselves their own cunnilingus. Some of the things they could fit inside their vagina's was amazing, to say the least. And that was just one bar of many different types of bars on the strip, and the side roads.

On one of my journeys, me and a friend were heading to another town, that was about 10 miles away. The town we were heading to, was famous for a game called "smiles". That is when a bunch of guys sit around a table drinking, and one of the girls goes under the table. When someone smiles, they have to drink. You can only imagine what the girl is doing under the table to whoever broke a smile.

In the Philippines, most people travel by either jeepney, or a 3 wheeled motorcycle bike called a trike, and they are both busy, with lots of horn honking going on all the time, just like a big city. We were heading to this other town, when we saw a small circus set up on the side of the road and off to the side. We told the jeepney driver to let us out there. We paid to go in, and it was a freak circus. They had the half man, half woman person, they had really small people.

They had a man that must of been 8 foot tall, he only had on a pair of torn up shorts, so it was not a trick, and he would not even look at us. He must of lived in that cage for a long time, and they had a lot of deformed people on display. It was one of the weirdest circus' I ever saw.

One day, I was walking down the main street in the Philippines, they call Magsaysay Avenue, and I heard a guy shout out, "Brandon". Well, that was the name of my high school that I went to. I looked, and it was a guy that I had went to school with, he was also in the Philippines. I talked to him, and he had joined the Navy as well. He was stationed on a ship, and was import in the Philippines the same time I was.

The bar that we usually hung out at, and played pool, and just lounged around, was called the Cindi Bar. Most of the girls were in their teens, or early twenties. There was one girl, or woman, who was in her thirties. She was the seasoned girl. She had already been to San Diego, and knew all the places there. We were always told, don't bring back a girl from overseas, she just wants to get into the United States.

It's O.K. to find one in the states, they are already there, but if you find one overseas, don't bring her back. She will marry you, and then dump you when she gets her papers to live in the United States, we were told. There was always that goof ball guy, that wanted to marry a girl he met over there, and he might of only known her, for a few days. They Navy always tried to discourage anyone from getting married, as the paperwork had to go threw our office, and you had to request to get married.

This girl that was older, she had her own home, and she would invite us all, over there on the weekends, and make spaghetti for all of us. She would also have some of the girls from the bar over at her house. At one time or another, I think every one of us, had spent some time alone with Maria, who was the oldest girl of them all, the one that owned the house, the one that had already been to San Diego.

Almost each guy from the office had been her short time boyfriend, as they liked to call it. None of the guys seemed to mine, we all had a good time with her, and we all liked her. On one of those occasions, I was on a couple of days of leave. I decide to take a few days off from the ship, and I was staying at Maria's house. Well, while I was on leave, something happened to the civilians that were working on base, and the base decided to called back all military personnel, and canceled all liberty into town, until further notice.

They were afraid, the civilians might start to riot, over a contract dispute, that was going on. At any give time, there seemed to be more civilians, working on base, than military personnel. At the base in the Philippines. It had lots of Philippino citizens, that did work on the base, and they all seemed to ride bicycles to, and from work. When work would let out, it would just be a traffic jam, and a sea of people on bicycles everywhere.

The town was deserted, except for girls everywhere, and some civilians that were working with the Navy, that did not have to follow the military rules. I was aware everyone had to be back on base, but not until you were officially notified by someone. I was just enjoying having the whole town to myself. I could walk in a bar, and there would be no guys, but all the girls were still there. It was like being Hugh Hefner or something.

Eventually shore patrol saw me, and told me I had to go back to base and report in. A few days later, everything was back to normal, and the town was a giant Mardi Gras type atmosphere again.

What Is Was Like to Visit the Philippines While on a Navy Warship and Take a Port of Call
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Vince Stead has 13 books up for sale so far, one called "Navy Fun". He was in the navy for 8 years as a Yeoman, and he visited 16 countries, and went around the world in 1986. He was on a destroyer, a submarine tender, a short stint on an aircraft carrier, and 4 years shore duty at a VAW squadron.

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Cebu City, Philippines - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

A tourist visiting Cebu City for the first time may well be turned off by some of the city sites. The city has several world class resorts, hotels, beaches and dive sites. It also has some areas of the world's most devastating poverty. Cebu City is the capital city of the Cebu Province and it is the second largest city in the Philippines following Manila. I always feel at home in the city and lived in the city before building my home in the rural Cebu Province of Camotes Islands. Cebu City is a mix of the old and new, rich and poor, good and bad and pretty and ugly. There is also the mix of clean and really dirty or filthy. The rule for anyone going to Cebu for the first time is to not make a snap judgment.

My first trip to Cebu City was in February 2004. I went to the Philippines to meet a girl (Judith) now my wife. I flew into the Cebu-Mactan Airport and was met by Judith and one of here sisters. My flight started in Florida and the last leg of the flight was from Hong Kong. The Cebu International airport is just a little outdated, but very functional. Once outside of the airport doors I saw waves of people waiting to meet people coming off of the flight from Hong Kong. The airport was not all that busy when I arrived and I think my plane was the only arriving flight at the time. As people from my flight walk outside of the airport door they were bombarded with shuttle, taxi and V-hire greeters, all trying to get a fare. I met Judith just outside the airport doors. She, her sister and I all jumped into an old Kia Taxi and we were off to my hotel.

The taxi was old and not very well maintained. The Air conditioner didn't work and the window wouldn't go down. Of course that didn't matter as I couldn't close the door because the door latch was broken. So, I got lots of air. The hotel was about a 30 minute drive from the airport. As we traveled the city streets I saw crowded sidewalks made even more crowded by the many sidewalk vendors and street vendors. Some of the roads we traveled were moderately maintained while others were in very poor condition. The roads were crowded with many types of cars, but mostly Kia's and Hyundais. There were also a lot of Jeepneys, a Philippine traditional method of travel. A jeepney looks like a stretched army jeep with a hardtop and a large cargo area used for two benches for passenger seating. Jeepneys are normally painted with several different colors and lots of chrome. Many of the jeepneys are poorly maintained and most have bald tires and the braking systems may be questionable. Also, there were lots of small motorcycles.

Cebu City, Philippines - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

After traveling just a few minutes I decided that the most dangerous vehicle in Cebu was the Jeepney, the Taxi and finally the motorcycle. The jeepney drivers tend to rule the road and stop on either side of the road to pick up or drop off passengers. I saw many jeepneys cut both lanes of traffic off just to drop off people and then saw others swerve quickly to the side of the road cutting off traffic so the driver could jump out of the jeepney to urinate along the side of the road. Taxis are no better, but pose a slightly smaller threat because the vehicles are smaller than a jeepney Motorcycles seem to be a danger only to the motorcycle driver and passengers and anyone walking along side the road or on the sidewalk. Motorcycles make their own traffic lanes on whatever little shoulder the road may have to offer or sometimes drive on the painted divider line as a narrow roadway to make an extra traffic lane for themselves. At other times I saw motorcycles throttle down sidewalks weaving around pedestrians. Yet, the pedestrians seemed little concerned of the carelessness and just continued on their way.

As we continued on our way to the hotel we drove through many different areas of the city. Some areas were very old and the buildings looked as though they were ready for demolition years ago. Many buildings and store fronts are concrete with plywood or corrugated steel sheets added to broken windows and steel bars cover the window or plywood. I can't imagine what would be worth the cost of the steel bars as the buildings were so poor. I was sure the contents within were no better. I noticed several small store fronts with one big open widow covered with chicken wire. These little stores are about the size of a small closet and there are dozen of these little stores on every street. They are called sari-sari stores and sell just a very few items such as canned fish, rice, snacks, cigarettes and so on. Most of these little stores are attached to the front of private houses and are crudely constructed of unpainted plywood and tin roofs. Most of the Sari-sari stores block the sidewalk, forcing people to walk on the road to get around the protruding plywood box. Other Sari-sari stores have a small table or tables along the narrow sidewalks for their rum buying customers and a karaoke machine assist in blocking the sidewalks.

In many of the old areas the sidewalks are filled with vendor's shacks, tents or some other type of hurried shelter to sell goods. The sidewalks belong to the vendors and the pedestrian is left to find his own way around the ugly obstructions. These small vendor shacks on the sidewalks block the store buildings behind and I still wonder why the store owners allow the vendors to block their stores. The old neighborhood streets and sidewalks in most areas are filthy. Trash is all over the streets, chickens are tied to utility poles or street signs as well as dogs. Many of the old homes along the city's commercial streets may or may not have running water and a sewer system. Many people use the streets and sidewalks as their bathroom and even bath on the sidewalks. The infrastructure of the old neighborhoods is almost non-existent. There is poor drainage, poor sewer systems, and electric lines hang low to the ground with hundreds of wires attached carelessly to a single wimpy pole. I often wonder how trucks make it under these wires without hitting the wire. In many cases the bigger trucks do indeed hit the wires and knock out power to large section of the city.

The one thing that stood out for me as we past by all these areas in the taxi was the people all seemed happy. Despite, what I saw as great poverty and terrible living conditions, these people, or least many people were happy. Although, most of the people I saw were rushing down the sidewalks going about their daily routine. I thought these people are doing the same thing as other people do in any major city around the world. Yet, my first visit in Cebu City opened my eyes to the fact that at the very least, the city was poverty stricken or had a large population that lived in poverty.

After about 30 minutes riding in the taxi we came into a much nicer area of the city and there like an oasis in the middle of all the poverty was this beautiful Hotel and a large modern shopping mall next to it, as well as several large modern well maintain high rise buildings. The scene was a stark difference to the old areas of the city. This area could be found in any modern US city and looked very much like a commercial area of a US city. The area is called the Ayala Business Park and the Ayala Mall. This is modern Cebu City and it is everything you would find in any modern city.

Once at the Hotel, the Marriott, I checked into a very nice room and we all went to the dinning room for a pleasant lunch. Soon after that it was just Judith and I as her sister went home. Judith then took me across the park to the Ayala Mall, just a five minute walk and once inside the mall I was amazed. The stores were the same as in the US, Ace Hardware, Levi, MacDonald's and so on. Plus, several Philippine Department stores and many different types of restaurants and coffee shops. All the store clerks and sale people spoke English and most all the Filipinos walking through the stores were speaking English. Others used a mix of English and their native Cebuano. All the store signs are written in English and the restaurant menus are written in English. In many ways I felt as if I just traveled 20 plus hours from Florida to be in a US city.

Although there were many other foreigners in the mall many Filipinos walking by asked where I was from and in general everyone was very friendly to me. While at the mall I bought a few souvenir type things to take home and Judith and I just did a lot of window shopping. I was happy to see the prices of most things in the stores were very cheap compared to the US. At that time one US dollar bought 56.00 pesos. Today it's one dollar to about 44.00 Pesos. Still a good deal, but today I'm careful in my spending. By the middle of the afternoon I was ready for some sleep after my long flight to Cebu. Judith went home and I retired to my hotel room.

The next morning Judith was at the hotel bright and early and we had breakfast at the hotel and then off to see the city and some of the beach resorts. Cebu has wonderful and beautiful resorts and all very affordable. The resorts are all well maintained and modern. The biggest population of customers at the resorts are foreigners and the staff Filipino. I quickly change my opinion of the city from a poverty stricken third world to a modern commercial and tourist city with a few old areas that needed a lot of help.

During my trip to Cebu we went into the old area of Colon. Colon is the oldest street in the country and has several landmarks. However, Colon is a dirty area of very old and poorly maintained buildings. Prostitution is a major problem in the Colon area as is street crime. There are some wonderful markets and great bargains to be found in Colon, but not an area for the new tourist to wander alone. Hotels can be had for a really cheap price in Colon. Some just .00 a night, but these hotels cater to those picking up street girls and both the girls and the rooms are really dirty. Last year Judith and I stayed at two different Colon Hotels. We went into the city for our monthly shopping trip from Camotes Islands. We decided to try the hotels as they are cheap and close to many of the outside markets. I would never stay at either of these hotels again. The best words to describe them is old, filthy, rat infested and full of prostitutes. Both of these hotels seem to cater to single foreign men and any girls the men may find at the Colon bars or on the streets. The area has several little Bikini type bars with Bar Girls (Prostitutes) also called GRO's. Unless you are looking for a prostitute there is little reason to go to Colon after dark and even then one needs to be very careful. This is not intended to say that all of Colon is bad. There are some nice stores and restaurants in Colon. I enjoy shopping in the Colon area, but one needs to use caution in Colon.

During my first visit I saw most all the areas of Cebu City and felt safe at all times. Of course we didn't go into the old parts of the city after dark. Rather we were at the resorts or around Ayala Park and these are all very safe and enjoyable areas.I would recommend Cebu City to anyone that wants to go to a great resort and spend time on a beautiful beach, go diving, take a boat tour of the outer islands and not spend a lot of money. There is just so much to do in Cebu City and so many great things to see. Staying at any of the resorts is very affordable just about .00 per night and some as high as 0.00. Dinner at restaurants is also very cheap. Meals at nice restaurants can cost just .00 to .00 for two people, I had a wonderful time during my first visit. However, I had Judith as my tour guide and as my girlfriend. I'm not sure I would have liked Cebu City as much as I did if Judith wasn't with me during the first trip.

Soon after my first visit to Cebu City I moved from Florida to Cebu City in 2004. By this time Judith and I were engaged to marry and I wanted to live in Camotes Islands. However, we decided to live in the city while looking for land to build a house in Camotes. Camotes Islands are a rural province of Cebu and just two hours from the city by boat. We rented a brand new two bedroom house in the Lahug area of Cebu City. The monthly rent was just 5.00 plus our TV cable for about .00 a month. The house was located on a hillside overlooking the city and close to everything we needed. Lahug is a very nice area and now there are many new housing sub-divisions built in the area. Our monthly budget while living in Lahug was approximately 0.00 and that included the rent, utilities, food, taxi cabs and even lots of dinners at restaurants and entertainment. I assume if we still lived in Lahug the budget would be just a few more dollars a month.

Within just a couple of weeks after moving into the Lahug house I felt as if Cebu was my city and I really enjoyed the city life. The city has many things to offer the foreigner and the city is always trying to attract more foreign retirees. It truly is a foreign (expat) friendly city. The largest group of foreigners in Cebu is Korean then Americans, Australians, British and Japanese. There are no racial tensions or problems in the city that I am aware of and the city is very safe. However, like any major world city there is crime, but using common safeguards and precautions one can have a happy life in Cebu City. Driving in the city is something I have never attempted and I don't think I ever will drive in the city. The taxi cabs can get you almost anywhere in the city for .00 to .00 and that's fine for me.

Shopping in the city is great and there are products from all over the world in Filipino stores. Many food stores stock western brands so you will never get homesick for your favorite foods from home. The outside markets, located all over the city offer great bargains and it's always fun to negotiate prices with the vendors. Cable TV is available in the city and it offers many American shows and news programs. You can go to the movie cinemas and see a new release movie for about .00 and the popcorn is just a few pennies. The city has grown since I moved to the Philippines. There are many new gated housing Sub-Divisions that cater to foreign buyers, new high rise condo buildings and the resorts all continue to attract foreigners. The two major malls in the city, Ayala and SM are both expanding. Many of the roads have been upgraded as well as the infrastructure in many areas. The city is a major draw for tourism and is always attempting to bring in more tourist and more foreign retirees.

Any expat on a monthly pension of about ,000.00 can live like a king in Cebu City. You can live on less than ,000.00 but I think ,000.00 is the right figure if you include saving a little each month for emergencies, trips back home and medical needs. The city has very good hospitals and medical cost are much less in the Philippines. Good dental care at very reasonable rates is also available in the Philippines. Many people go to Cebu for medical or dental vacations. Just remember, if you think you want to move to Cebu City do your homework. Do you want to live in a new country? do you want to be separated from your family and grandchildren?, if you are married how does your wife feel about living in Cebu? If you have young children do you want them to live in a new country and what about their education? Do you have the patience and understanding to learn and live in a new culture? Do you have the money to live a good life in Cebu without the need to find work? Do you have enough money to cover any type of emergency that may require five to ten thousand dollars? Finally, what is your reason for wanting to live in a new country? If you can be honest with yourself and have a positive answer for the above questions, then maybe Cebu City is for you?

Remember too, The Philippine economy is struggling. Filipinos with four and six year college degrees are driving taxi cabs or working as store clerks. Unemployment in the country is through the roof. Poverty is a major issue in the country. For all the beauty of the Philippines Poverty continues to destroy many Filipinos and their futures and creates an ugly face to an otherwise beautiful country. Just this week on November 8, 2007 an 11 year old girl in Manila living with her mother, father and little brother in a shanty town hung herself. The reason left in a note from the little girl was because of the poverty she and her family lived. The father not able to find work for months and the mother working for just .00 a day. The little girl had just the night before asked her father for P200.00 for a school project. The father did not have the money, just under .00. All the girl wanted was to finish school and buy a new bike. A simple dream complicated by severe poverty in a country struggling to overcome political corruption and theft. Please remember, what you may spend in just one day in the Philippines is what a Filipino may have to live on for a month. Poverty does indeed take lives.

I truly love my lifestyle in the Philippines, but it took some time, patience, understanding and a few sacrifices to live in the Philippines. I made several mistakes before coming here and a few since living here. I didn't have enough money when I came here in 2004. I've made a few trips back to Florida to do some contract work and then returned to my beloved Camotes Islands. I'm currently away from home on a teaching contract. However, for me, it's worth the price to have just a few months a year in my paradise called Camotes Islands, Cebu, Philippines. I think anyone looking for a great vacation will enjoy Cebu City. Those looking to retire on a modest pension can live well here, but just be sure living in a new country is right for you. Before making a decision to move here it's wise to come on a vacation first and see the city for yourself. Then you can decide if this is the life you want. Once again, for me this is paradise.

Cebu City, Philippines - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
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Patrick McGrain is the owner of [http://www.philippine-islands-living.com] Patrick has lived in in Camotes Islands, Cebu, Philippines for over three years with his Filipna wife.

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