EricV

Thanks for the great, detailed trip report - fun to read & very helpful... I'd recommend to get a local eSIM with phone number and data - for longer stays, a local number is very helpful and it's cheaper too. GOMO (brand of Globe, largest PHL telecom) offers a 5G eSIM (works via app, similar to Airalo) with local number and 30GB data for PHP399 ($7), data "never expires" whatever that means, but at least a year... You can convert data to call/text as needed... Installing the app & esim was easy... Enjoy the rest of your stay, looking forward to hearing about your Mactan experience...

This kind of scam typically uses a fake 2G base station. You can protect yourself by not allowing 2G connections. It's a setting under Internet/SIM card...

I'd say the impression that residential buildings in Manila offer more privacy / less security than hotels is incorrect in my experience: Most upscale residential buildings, especially BGC, Makati, McKinnley, Ortigas, will have extensive security, controlling every entrance with the need to register visitors. Some newer buildings actually have digital registration systems and the landlord will receive a realtime notification with name/date/time of all visitors to the unit. Most security guards have been in their jobs for a long time and will know all the people in the building, their unit number and family/friends/staff- anybody who's a regular. Filipinos are generally very socio-economically aware and exceptions (from rules & registration) are made for regulars and/or wealthy or connected (seeming) people. A wealthy local lady, swinging an LV bag, dropped of by driver and tailed by assistant will most likely not be stopped. In fact, the guard will probably be able to tell you what family she belongs to, what businesses they control and what political faction they support... Similar rules, gradually tightening, will be applied to well dressed foreigners or locals. A young, local guy in basketball shorts, tank top and flip flops will face much more scrutiny. Some large buildings with mostly small apartments, like the Beacon, have many, many Airbnb units and may have somewhat relaxed rules - but security still observes and will step in when they deem somebody out of place... If you can afford an international trip to Manila, I would not recommend to stay in any place that doesn't have security - it's not a place you'd want to be as an obvious outsider... I consider the Philippines one of the safest places I have been - but there is a lot of poverty, desperation and violence outside the bubble... On the other hand, there is still a bit of a macho culture, sexcapades or affairs are very common, love motels and mistress apartments are everywhere and staff is very discreet. If you are not worried about privacy, stay at any mid-tier/upscale hotel/Airbnb you'd like and be friendly & respectful to the staff. The security guys are more likely to give you a wink than a raised eyebrow once they notice your shenanigans. Educated, English speaking middle class & up guys from (free) Grindr dates won't have a problem and will appreciate the environment (more than the next suggestion)... If you are greatly worried about privacy or security, stay at whatever hotel/Airbnb you like and take your love interest to one of the countless love motels. Their whole, thriving business is built on security & discretion! If you plan to have lots of visitors, they have regular (low) overnight rates, too, just stay there...

On a recent trip, I ended up using Cabify the most: it has the option to select Taxi ASAP - it was a lot quicker to arrive than Uber or regular cabify (think 5min instead of 15), for like 1-2k more... Granted, some of the taxis were in pretty bad shape, but I got there quickly and alive... most of the drivers were nice, no issues... While Uber has found a legal loophole, some drivers are still hesitant at the airport, prefer for you to sit up front & want you to know their name in case the police stops them... Much easier, if you speak some Spanish...no such issues with the taxis on cabify...

Lol maybe... I think it's just the natural cycle: every few years there are complaints & a clean up is ordered, vendors are pushed back to their official concessions, big officials come to inspect, photos are taken, articles are written, how Pattaya is more family friendly and upscale... Then slowly more chairs are added, tea money is paid and the cycle repeats...

Jomtien Beach looked like that probably for the time it took to take the photo. The beach is filled with chairs all the way to the waterline... Of course, more than half of the chairs are empty, even in high season...

On Lazada / AliExpress, try Chuwi (original store!). It's a Chinese budget brand of reliable tablets and notebooks with several models in your budget. They often use older components that'll be fine for your purposes. Good built quality, I made two purchases & no issues... While fakes might be ok quality for clothes & shoes, I would not recommend buying any of the "fake" phones/tablets/laptops - they often are completely useless scams. The description might resemble a brand product, but the item shipped will decidedly not. Read too many horror stories, waste of money imo

I think most of this devaluation is adjusting the "official" Peso conversion rate to the informal "Blue Dollar" rate. The previous government tried to control currency rates, including an artificial (fantasy) conversion rate, resulting in a grey market where you could get significantly more pesos for your $... Some/most/all (?) of the difference was already passed on in the local prices... Argentina has a tough road ahead; this change might make tourism easier, hopefully contributing to improvements for Argentina in the long run...

Thanks for posting, that's good to know. I've always carried just paper or photos, but have never been checked, so was never sure it'll be sufficient...

It's a chain that grew before and during CoVid, there are seven Quarter hotels by UHG all over Bangkok... http://uhgholdings.com/hotel.php

Pretty much any residential building you'd find on airbnb in Makati/Taguig will have 24h security and guests will likely have to sign in. I wouldn't expect any issues, unless the record is a concern to you...

In the EU, it's generally illegal to discriminate based on passport for prices of services and goods.There are some exceptions for government (subsidized) services and of course some businesses don't follow the rules, but then you can complain/sue... I also have never seen it in the US, unless it's (subsidized) government services. Of course there are some tourist targeted fees, for example rental cars at airports, but those are charged to everybody...

paulsf has it right: it's not AirBnB that's illegal in Thailand, it's short-term rentals of less than 30 days. Long-term rentals on Airbnb are no issue. Even if it hasn't been enforced in the past, it only takes one upset tenant/owner in the building to cause a stink and get you into trouble... There are now a number of serviced apartment buildings in Bangkok, so if you want to be on the safe side AND have a kitchen, laundry, etc it's easier than it used to be...

One advantage of getting the SIM card at the airport is the ease of use: The staff will usually set it up for you, so you know it works. No problem with damaged SIM or configuration issues. And the instructions are in English. I bought a SIM package in town once that was Thai only, so figuring out how to reload etc was extra effort. The local packages are usually better value though, bye a few THB...

The latest policy makes it impossible to go, but at the same time you can't get a refund for air or hotel, because theoretically it's your decision not to go. Foreigners pay, Thai hotel owners get to keep the money... I bet Anutin is laughing all the way to the bank... screw the dirty farangs...