Help: What to do in the Philippines

[caeron]

I'm planning to add a visit to the Philippines to my March trip to Thailand. 

But, all my googling gives me little idea how picking up guys works there, or where I should visit and stay.

Will anybody take pity on me and give a newbie some pointers?

Where should I stay/visit? How do you find guys and where? I've managed to find some on twitter, but even then many are unclear to me as to whether they're offering just massage, or more, and whether they service guys at all. 

 

[Guest]

Phone apps work well.  Tip expectations were much lower than in Thailand.

There were also gogo bars, but for various reasons, I didn't investigate.  Firstly, these are spread all over the place, so some travel is required.  Secondly, where websites, pictures or reports were available, it seems they go for larger muscular guys.  I prefer twinks.

Having only been to Manila, Cebu and Lapa Lapa, I'm not properly qualified to advise where to go.

[caeron]

 

Where in Manila should I stay? It's a big city with a lot of neighborhoods. I assume Quezon city, but where is best for the gay life?

[12is12]

just surf: travelgay,   cruisinggays,   gaycities,   utopia-asia,   spartacus

and google.....  

[macaroni21]

Although I've been to Manila few times, I can't much help the OP with his questions. I've found the gay scene quite frustrating. Perhaps that's because I've become so used to Thai business practices.

To take the last question first (Where in Manila should I stay?). There will probably be no good solution since the (few) gay places are scattered. With the caveat that I've only been there a few times and even then I found that busnesses open and close quite rapidly, the hotel search should focus on Quezon City's Cubao and Timog areas (they're about 2 km apart and perhaps 30 minutes by Grabcar given the traffic situation day and night). Personally, I end up walking between the two areas. It's faster than by car.

There is a third area with macho-dancer bars, and that's way to the south in the Baclaran area and along Roxas Blvd. Allow 90 minutes by car from Quezon. But this area seems to have no massage businesses, and so I don't prefer it.

I've hardly ever used apps in the Philippines, so I have no experience to share.

The two types of venues which I can describe are:

1. Macho dancer bars.

The first thing to do is to jettison everything you know about Thai gogobars. Macho-dancer bars operate on a completely model (and if you think Thai bars can be a rip-off, wait till you see Manila's). Macho-dancer bars tend to have just one guy dancing at any one time, and in a dreadfully boring way too.

 

Between dance numbers, the boys are available to sit with you, but the point of sitting with you is to make you drink up more and buy more. Offing doesn't seem to the business objective. It seems to me that bars don't even allow their hosts to leave early, and there may not be an "off fee" rate. Instead, the objective is/was to entice you to a "private dance" in some rat-hole at the back of the bar, where clothes come off... but what else can you do in 20 - 30 minutes in a large-ish closet with peeling paint and sticky faux-leather soafs? It's been at least ten years since I enquired about the rate for a private dance (duration=3 songs, if I remember correctly) and even then it was a ridiculous price, something like 80 - 100 euros. I have never observed any customer to take a host for a private dance. 

I've had hosts try to fix up a "date" with me on a different day while sitting with me. They say such and such a day will be their day off and they can go on a date. Then they talk about dining, and shopping... and when I ask what else, they go quiet. 

The problem seems to be that the guys are mostly straight and homophobia is never far from the surface. They don't have the language or latitude to discuss/negotiate sex sessions with clients. I have yet to successfully take a host from any macho dancer bar because I have never managed to get any meaningful communication on this issue. In other words, I really don't have much information to offer.

These macho-dancer bars target women as much as men. In fact, I think they average more women patrons than men, so the bars do not have gay vibes.

One more thing, the hosts speak even less English than most Thai gogo boys.

2. Massage

There are/were several tiny establishments in the Kamias Road and Kamuning Road areas midway between Timog and Cubao, All are little more than slum shacks. I've come across one that had no running water for days and yet still tried to open for business. Some have airconditioning, others don't. Most are fire traps.

The common practice is for the masseurs to line up behind a one-way mirror, and you pick one.

Massage skills are almost non-existent. Lacking skills, they progress quickly to play, so getting 60 minutes out of them might be a small miracle. In this, aptitude and skills naturally vary a lot from one guy to another. Tips in the region of 2,000 pesos  (about 30 euros) should suffice -- in addition to what the shop charges for "massage".

--

There are other places like "O bar" in Ortigas area, "One 690 bar" on Don A Roces Ave,  and one more in the Cubao area -- I forget its name -- that really are show bars, again targetting women as much as men. But getting there is time-consuming and in Manila, the shows are very very late. 

 

[Guest]

Thank you Macaroni21.

I had read similar but more superficial reviews of the Manila Gogo bars.  Since I'm not even slightly interested in macho boys and high prices are only to be considered when I want the service, I used the phone apps. 

These were quite successful for finding a nice selection of twinks.  The lads tended to be quite good in bed and spoke good English.   They made their expectations for tips clear and this was lower than in Thailand.   I don't have my notes with me, but think it was about 1000 PHP short time and 2000 long time.

Circumcision is the norm, but I didn't see anything too bad.

I stayed in Malate.  I would probably have returned by now, if we hadn't had the COVID madness.

[12is12]

Macaroni, your detailed response is a great contribution for everyone here!. Thanks a lot!!

The bottom line for the sex craving tourist here: don't look for venues. The only way to go is the apps, and you - unlike z909 - discourage even that.

Right?

[macaroni21]

9 hours ago, 12is12 said:

The only way to go is the apps, and you - unlike z909 - discourage even that.

 

Not so. I am not discouraging use of apps. What I said was "I've hardly ever used apps in the Philippines, so I have no experience to share."

There's a reason why I haven't used the apps beyond surfing though them. I don't visit Manila for leisure. I visit for business and stay in hotels which will not let me bring guests back. Without a place of my own to host, it's not viable to get dates through apps.

The reason why I don't feel any need to visit Manila for leisure should be pretty obvious from my description of the venues!

One small factoid: Manila has quite a few "love hotels" where you can rent rooms by the hour. If I really, really wanted a guy off the app or off a macho dancer bar (such an occasion hasn't happened yet) this would be an alternative to the no-joiner-allowed hotels I get stuck in. But none of the straight and probably clueless-in-bed macho dancers have ever made my heart flutter.

 

[12is12]

You are right, and I apologize for my choice of words.

What I meant to say was, that given your description of guy's attitude and their dicks, it would seem best to avoid them altogether...

[Guest]

The cute twinks off the apps tended to have a good attitude and be rather good in bed.  

[demonito25]

Check if the gay bars and massage parlors you are interested in are still open. they are scattered around the metro. so it might be easier to stay somewhere where there are other reasons for you to stay. Download Grab and use it to move around the city. If you are foreign, it shouldn't be hard to find people on the dating apps to hook up with for free.

[GWMinUS]

I was a frequent visitor to the Philippines. But now it has been 2 years since my last trip there.

My first advice is to skip Manila, unless you have meet a sweet guy online and made arrangements to meet. As said previously, the Go-Go Bars and Massage Places are not worth your time or money. Online I find Gay Romeo a good way to meet guys. And there many gay men use Whatsapp. So if you only plan to visit Manila I would start chatting with Filipinos and then make plans to meet them in Manila.

But I love going to the South of the Philippines. To Cebu, Bohol, Mandaue or Palawan. My reqular visits were to Cebu City or Davao City. I met many hot guys who loved older men! And we enjoyed Traveling or going out to Discos or to Shop. Of course the most beautiful beaches are on Boracay or Palawan. But now you need to plan ahead to get to visit Boracay. Though I think with the opening up of the Philippines, things will be changing.

All in all the Philippines are a great place to vist and there many "right" young men to spend your time with there!!  INGAT!!

[NIrishGuy]

And dont be fooled by the overtly religious (crap) some of the guys come out with re "blessings from God" and "praying for this or that" - all for show to suit their surroundings as just like in Thailand once you get behind closed doors that can change PRETTY fast - in a good way !  

[caeron]

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

My attempts to google had mostly met dead ends, or  information that was years out of date. I'd planned to split my time between Manila and Cebu, I think I'll take the advice and spend more of it in Cebu.

Can you recommend a good area to stay there?

[NIrishGuy]

I visited Cebu a few years back now (2017) and had a blast.  Back then Mango Square was the place to go with lots of str8 and ladyboy bars  - and so where the ladyboys went the gays followed both in the bars and hanging around on the streets outside the bars.  BUT  I believe a lot of the Mango Square area has since been gentrified and they're trying to clean up it's image a bit, a quick google shows me that some bars are still there but I'm guessing it's not the bustling night life place it once was - but I'm also guessing there's fun to be had in Cebu in general, if not there then in other areas.  

I know my grindr just never stopped the entire time I was there and if I'd wanted I wouldn't have needed to go to ANY bars for the duration of the trip thats for sure !  

Should it help you I stayed at the St Mark hotel https://www.stmarkhotel.ph  which a quick goggle shows me is still there.  It was spot on hotel wise and just around the corner from the bars.  

One thing back just to give a word of caution, when there I was warned by several people ( not all guys and it wasn't chat up lines) not to walk home alone 'in general" at night and certainly not to and from the bars, as being the white guy I stood out like a sore thumb of course as a robbery target ( which seemed quite prevalent there at the time I heard.  I did follow that advice the first few nights ( ro got someone to walk home with me "for safety" lol, but after a while I relaxed and did walk about quite freely  - as to whether or not that was actually wise idea late at night or not I'm not so sure.

But do check the PH's message boards etc as it seems info is always quite hard to pin down there ( and in the PH's in general) as everyone likes to put up that "holier than thou" front - and yet the bars once you get into them are busy - funny that eh ! 

Oh and I would concur with what a few others said, I went to a few so called go go bars in Manila ( the old location, not where the new O bar is at now  - link here - https://www.travelgay.com/venue/o-bar-manila/#comment-13023  and the guys ( in the old gay bar area area of Malate - where they may actually still be a few gays bars I believe?) but they were nothing to write home about in the slightest, and I'm guessing mainly straight. There were however plently of friendly guys OUTSIDE the bars, who I'm guessing weren't allowed in as they were freelancing - they I found were VERY friendly and in fact I spent a few days with one of the guys I met there and we had a great time seeing the sights "and stuff" 🙂

The Ph's can feel like hard work sometimes when trying to plan a trip online as nothing is easy or laid out on a plate for you and the info online can tend to be years out of date sometimes ( although bars facebook pages seem a better option sometimes), BUT the guys there I found always to be plentiful on arrival the minute you walked out the door and ( and also many of them were hot) and a lot of them always very keen to be "friendly" either for money or not actually half times and many were just keen for a good night out ( and in) with you  - the only downside of course being that every Flipino seems to think they're you're bf after 10 minutes, but I'm sure you're well experienced in correcting that misapprehension FAST !   

Hope that helped in some way.  

[chum_soccer]

I have lived in Manila for 20 years. Most of the things mentioned in this forum about Philippines are just the tip of the iceberg of what this country has to offer.

 

All you ever gonna need is https://peoplelikeus.activeboard.com/.

 

It is mostly in Tagalog (just use google translate) but asking/replying in english is pretty much welcomed over there.

 

It has everything you will ever need for your sexcapade in the Philippines. It has classified and field reports of filipino money boys (both freelance and affiliated with massage shops), massage shops reviews, gogo bars reviews, sauna/bath houses reviews, even tips and tricks on how to book basketball players, models and celebrities. 

 

So yeah.. you're welcome

[Olddaddy]

Thanks guys...I'm also off to the Phillipines in late June after my Thailand trip.

First timer to the Phillipines and I'm a little scared.

I will probably hire a gayguide to show me around.

I'm thinking Manila a few days,then a bus to Angeles City.

 

 

 

[Guest]

I went to Manila, then Cebu.      I used my normal tour guide, the one who provides almost everything I need and is based in Mountain View, California.

The phone apps seemed to work for all my hookup needs, with tip expectations well below Thai levels at the time (5 years ago).   I think the expectation was about the same number of PHP as THB, but you got far more PHP for your money.    They were usually very good in bed.

ID cards didn't seem common, so I kept something of a safety margin.     

I remember taking a ride on the Metro.   It was fairly quiet and all was well.   On the return trip, it was early evening & the train was rammed.    When we got off, everyone was patting down their own pockets.   I got the message and only used the Metro during quiet times after that.   

I would have been back by now, but for covid restrictions during recent Asia trips.    Hopefully a few more members can add more.

 

[Certain Filipinos produce some nice videos with fitness tips for our members.    Not quite the type I was chasing, but I wouldn't kick him out of bed 😉 ] 

 

[caeron]

 

Thanks again for the advice folks, I didn't write a trip report, because well, I caught Covid in Thailand, had to be isolated, and missed the whole Philippine leg of the trip. (Given the requirements at the time were a PCR test to get back into the US, I was kinda stuck.)

Still planning to make that visit though, so the forum tip is much appreciated.

[GWMinUS]

14 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

 

I'm thinking Manila a few days,then a bus to Angeles City.

I would recommend you plan a trip to one of the Resorts in the South of Luzon. Search for Laiya or La Luz Beach Resort. There are also great resorts just north of Batangas.  And better you invite a Pinoy guy to go there with you!! 

ENJOY!!!

[snowglobe11]

Filipino local here. Would be glad to answer any of your questions!

I agree with Chum_Soccer, the site he posted is a great starting point to look at the current MB offerings, complete with photos and reviews.

Usual ST outcall rate is 3000 pesos, with massage and extra. But due to inflation, prices can be as high as 4,000 to 5,000.

 

[Olddaddy]

I'm in Philippines now, Grindr never stopped and no way those prices ,1000 pesos most common ,Manila maybe 1500-2000 

But everywhere else 1000 & under 

One thing is these people in Davao City Philippines all seem to be rich , shopping malls are packed jammed, food places line ups outside McDonald's joiibees in fact they were so busy I couldn't get inside,  I'm yet to see any poor people or crime  in the last 7 days on entering,

 

I never paid over 1000 pesos at all and even some wanted free as they were professional jobs and spoke good English 

But they are mostly all tops.,so only suits more if your bottom, 1000 pesos usually they ask

Please don't believe rumours of crime etc,feel safer here than Sydney at night 

[Guest]

From what I recall, people were asking ~1000 pesos in Mania as well, but that was 5 years ago.   ID cards seemed less common than in Thailand, so there is some incentive to be more cautious in selection of company.

There is plenty of poverty around.   I'm surprised there are so few photos in my Philippines folder, but here's one from one of the many shanty towns.  (And one showing their Metro system)

According to the IMF, the GDP per capita in The Philippines is just under half that in Thailand. 

 

 

 

[Olddaddy]

I was in general Santos City yesterday which is in the south,the malls were jam packed,places like KFC , McDonald's etc were jam packed with families, I can't even afford those prices ,so obviously all those people must be on good money as well as all the toyota Hilux they have.

They certainly didn't look poor to me.

[floridarob]

Which part of Manila would you recommend to stay in, where is closer to more action....or is another city better, like Cebu?