Trip report Jan/Feb 2025 - Cebu & beyond - Research if an elderly gay retiree can live comfortably in Cebu

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 47 (13 February 2025)

I forgot to mention in yesterday’s trip report update, that after dinner I picked up my Wash n Dry laundry, and I can report that I was VERY satisfied with their work.  My laundry was all folded and handed to me in a plastic sealed wrap.

Eat breakfast and make some updates to this trip report.

I sort out my returned laundry from yesterday by putting them in their places in the wardrobe.  They all smelled nice and clean with a good fragrance.

Also, I extended my stay by 3 days in my current AirBnB condo – as I truly LOVE it here, consequently, I have decided that on Friday 21 February, I will return back to Cebu city and finish my sojourn here in the Philippines in Cebu city.  So, I start the arduous chore to find a condo to rent with a sea facing balcony on all of the apps; Agoda, AirBnB, Booking.com, HomeToGo, and VRBO.  I am also chatting with Mr. B., who gives me some ideas of condos with balconies in the city center.  I am also trying to convince Mr. B. to come out to Mactan Newtown to come and visit me on his next days off so I can show him around.  After many hours of searching with no good unique finds, I give up and I go to lunch. 

Earlier in the morning, I got into a tense chat on Twitter (X) with a former tour guide that I found on YouTube, that I was going to hire to go on some short trips here on the Cebu island outside of the environs of the city.  Unfortunately, he has abandoned his tour guide business, as it was not meeting his income objectives and has since taken a full time job.  He wanted to take me on tours but only on Saturday and returning on Sunday.  Unfortunately, many of these places are far away and it just did not make sense to only have 1 night in a resort and to not be able to properly enjoy (due to a lack of time) the facilities and local nature.  I try to explain this to him in the chat and he just decides to terminate my ability to communicate with him in Twitter.  I told him my concerns in a very gentle and friendly way, but he seem to not have liked my reluctance to undertake a big trip for such little value in what we could possibly do in such little time.  This made me very sad, as I have been communicating with him for more than 1 month now – and I really liked his YouTube channel and the trips that he undertook when he did have his travel business full time.

Simultaneously, I am also searching for a florist in Jomtien that can deliver some roses to my Thai boyfriend tomorrow, on Valentine’s Day.  I am conversing in LINE with 2 florists and the florist that I prefer, because they have a bouquet of roses with a small teddy bear, is very slow to reply to my requests.  So, I go with the other shop, and I go with a standard bouquet of beautiful roses.  I convince the owner that the recipient is unpredictable to locate, so I list all of the places that he could be; his condo room, over at Dongtan beach or over on Jomtien soi 4.  She tells me that if they cannot locate him in his condo room that they will call him so that the delivery person and him can meet in a mutually agreed location to complete the delivery.  I am elated and she confides in me that many Thai people are like this, “free spirits” and unpredictable and to relax, as  they will be able to hunt him down as they know Thai people very well.  Hallelujah!!

Go to lunch at the Mactan Alfresco to eat a yummy bowl of ramen with some spring rolls that I order from the   shop. https://www.facebook.com/RamenSage

After lunch I go for a long walk and then back to my room to relax.

Later on in the evening I return to my usual place to eat, An’dale and then return home to make some more trip report updates as I am several days behind again.

 

No massages or extra-curricular activities today =  sorry --> boring - life as a happy expat retiree.

 

Day 47 (13 February 2025) concluded.

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 48 (14 February 2025) – Valentine’s Day

I spend all morning on the booking sites and I decide to return to the Cityscape Grand Tower (the first place I stayed where I had my condo room when I arrived in Cebu back on 29 December 2024).  It was the only condo building that met my criteria with sea facing balconies.  So, now I am booked through 3 March, when I will then return to Thailand.  I am relieved that this boring task is completed as it is very time consuming and frustrating.

I go to eat lunch at the Mactan Newtown Alfresco open air food court and while I am waiting for my food to be prepared my Thai boyfriend sends me a wonderful photo of him holding the Valentine Day roses that I sent him in his condo room.  I can see from the photo that the florist delivery team managed to get them to him while he was still sleeping – as he has that early morning groggy look – but he is truly happy and so am I that I could make him this nice surprise.

Afterwards, I try a new adventure – which challenges my nerves.  I decide to walk by myself to the nearby Angasil Port – which I can see from my balcony.

To get there, I need to exit the Mactan Newtown township and walk a long street towards the sea from the main road that is external to the perimeter wall of the township.  I do not know the name of this type of housing, perhaps “shanty houses” ??  Excuse my ignorance.

So, I start my walk, which takes about 25 minutes, and my heart is racing, but I try to keep a pleasant smile about me as I pass the many people sitting out alongside the roadside outside their poor metal roofed wood walled homes.  Many ignore me and many smile at me.  I am obviously the ONLY AFAM (farang) in this neighborhood, which is VERY poor.  I even had to walk amongst the roaming around roosters.  The diversity from wealth to poverty is truly in your face – as I look back towards my left at the Mactan Newtown luxurious condo room that I am renting versus these shanty homes that I am surrounded by:

– it all just seems so unfair and unjust. 

I eventually arrive at the port and I see both the ticket office and one of the ferry’s loading up with passengers for the journey over to Olango island.

https://www.facebook.com/www.sta.rosaferry.com.ph/

I ask the ferry ticket booth person how much does it cost and she replies 40 pesos ( ~ $0.69 USD) per one way.  Also, the ferries depart every 30 minutes and the trip across the Hilutangan channel takes 20 minutes.

For the trip back to the Mactan Newtown township I take a motorbike taxi for 50 pesos ( ~ $0.87 USD) and the ride takes just 6 minutes.

I send all of this information to Mr. B. to solidify our plan to go to visit Olango island on Monday 17 February.

While walking back towards my room I see this Valentine Day stand and I ask the security guy if he can take my picture in front of it.  After he takes my picture, he asks me to turnaround and to notice the security guard lady behind the glass who has her 2 hands displayed as the heart symbol =   I blush and he tells me that she would like to be my valentine, and I blush even more.  I tell him that I asked him to take my photo in front of the love sign as I want to send it to my valentine back in Thailand.  He tells his female security guard colleague and she then makes a sad face and I do the Thai wai to her (I did not know what else to do as the situation was warm but slightly embarrassing) and I walk away.

Later when I was home, while looking at the above photo I notice her watching me through the glass – as if I was photo bombed.

I decide to already buy my dinner as take away and to keep it in my room – as I already see that the Mactan Newtown township is already filling up with lovebirds and the 2 hotels next to my condo are already celebrating valentine festivities out on the street.  So, I seek cover closed up in my condo room.

Later in the evening I chat with my Thai boyfriend and he shares with me via a LINE video that he is furiously cooking up a storm in his friends kitchen a scrumptious seafood dinner for him and his 5 Thai friends.  Before I doze off to sleep he sends me a video of them dancing the night away over at the SinLapin Isaan club in Third road in Pattaya city:  https://www.facebook.com/SinlapinEsarn/?_rdr

 

No massages or extra-curricular activities today = sorry - I know that some of you are looking for me to report on sexcapade activities - but it is a dry spell at the moment - but I am ok about it.

 

Day 48 (14 February 2025) Valentine’s Day concluded.

 

[macaroni21]

30 minutes ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Go to lunch at the Mactan Alfresco to eat a yummy bowl of ramen with some spring rolls

Haha 😆 I know I am an insufferable nitpicker, but the photo doesn't show spring rolls (lumpia in the Philippines). They show gyoza. I'm pretty sure you know that because you have referred to spring rolls (correctly) before.

[bkkmfj2648]

5 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

If I were you I would quickly try the same route using Grab and see how that works out in comparison, preferably on the same day of week so it factors out traffic variability by day of week.

Yes, I already reported on some of my Grab car trips in this trip thread on 31 January (45 minutes) and again on 1 February (1 hour).

The reason for my Day 46 (12 February 2025) update was to simulate a "like for like" comparison of using the public transportation system in Cebu versus its comparator back in Jomtien.

To go to the Ayala Mall in CBP from Mactan Newtown there is only the public bus option that takes between 114 to 117 minutes and requires 2 buses - as there is no direct route.  This option costs 51 pesos + 15 pesos = 66 pesos = $1.14 USD or 38.55 Thai baht.

Meanwhile, the public transportation option from Jomtien to Pattaya city takes between 15 to 20 minutes and costs 10 Thai baht or 17.12 pesos (can cost 20 Thai baht if you are venturing deeper into Pattaya city).  So this is very good value for time and money.

To reduce the travel time by using the Grab car here in Cebu instead of the public bus, it equates to:

• a travel time between 45 minutes to 1 hour for a cost of 709.67 pesos = 414.52 Thai baht

This afternoon, 16-Feb-2025, Mr. B. joined me here in Mactan Newtown and he took a  motorbike taxi from his hotel where he works, which is just north of the CBP Ayala mall, and the total elapsed time was only 25 minutes.  So, this could also be another option.  I rarely use motorbike taxis back in Pattaya - as I often find the adventure to be too unsafe.  I have used motorbike taxis here in Cebu 2 times and I felt safer - as the intense traffic tends to limit the speeds that the Cebu motorbike drivers can go at - whereas in Pattaya - there just doesn't see to be a speed limit - and as such the motorbike ride in Pattaya can be more harrowing.

 

[bkkmfj2648]

9 minutes ago, macaroni21 said:

Haha 😆 I know I am an insufferable nitpicker, but the photo doesn't show spring rolls (lumpia in the Philippines). They show gyoza. I'm pretty sure you know that because you have referred to spring rolls (correctly) before.

Thank God that you exist - I definitely f*%ked up that post.  Yes, those are indeed yummy gyoza and NOT spring rolls. 

I should send my preposts to you for proofreading and editing  😍🤩 before I attempt to make any posts here.

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 49 (15 February 2025)

Today was not a good day, as 2 bad events occurred.

First, I have an argument with my Thai boyfriend “former” money boy – about ?

Can anyone guess?     What is the most favorite topic of “former” money boys ??

 

 

Yes, you guessed it correctly -->

  

the    Thai Baht  

We close our argument with my words to him “leave me alone for some days, as I need to cool off….”

I know, I know, I know - many of you have warned me publicly and privately to NOT invest in any type of relationship with a  "money boy", but after the success stories of our forum members = @Min and @jason1975, I thought that I would try my luck......

As this occurred right after our wonderful Valentine’s Day – it was very disheartening.

 

Secondly, I contact Jeff in the Heesay app – (see Day 45 - 11 February 2025 in this trip report for related information) for a repeat session.  We agree to meet at 8pm.   I go downstairs outside of the OPR condo complex to wait for him on the street.  Eventually, a guy appears and says to me, “massage”.  I look at him perplexed, and I reply, “sorry I am waiting for Jeff”.  This mysterious guy replies, “I am sorry but Jeff is sick and I was sent to you instead”.  I reply, “I am sorry, this is not going to work for me – please go away”.  The guy replies, “but but,…..I can massage…”.  I reply, “no thanks – this is not correct – I do not want you”.  He gets a frown on his face and walks away.

Now I am really pissed off.  Then in the Heesay app (formerly BLUED),  I get another message from a profile that I have never chatted with claiming that this new chat is Jeff.  I tell him to prove it to me and he sends me his picture and in fact it is sexy Jeff from the 11^th of February.

I say to him – what was that all about.  He replies, “they took my phone and they were communicating with you”.  I reply that this is not correct and that I am annoyed with this type of shenanigan, and he apologizes many times to me.  He tells me that he can only meet me tomorrow, 16 February – but I tell him that I am busy on 16 and 17 February (as Mr. B. is coming to stay with me for 2 nights so that we can go to Olango island).

Later on in the night, reflecting on what transpired, I can only think that perhaps Jeff is working for a “strici” (the Hungarian word for a pimp boss).  When I lived in Budapest, this was a common practice, that the guys that you would find in Planet Romeo / Hunqz, were sometimes being managed by a “strici”.  So, you would chat on Romeo / Hunqz thinking that you were actually chatting with the hot sexy macho guy that you see in the profile, but instead you are chatting with his “strici” pimp boss.  This was common in Budapest for 2 primary reasons:

1. The hot sexy gypsy guys could not write in English and could only speak a little in English and they needed someone to help them get clients via the apps – hence the use of a “strici”.
2. These hot guys were hard up and in debt with their loan shark = “strici”, who then controlled them to work for them by pimping them out on Romeo / Hunqz so that they could pay off their loans to the loan shark.

How do I know this?  I got foolishly romantically involved with some of these guys in BOTH of the above 1 and 2 categories and I heard all about what goes on behind the scenes.

So, I speculate that my Filipino Jeff is perhaps being controlled by the Philippine version of a “strici” pimp boss manager.  I will eventually find out, as I want to meetup with this sexy Jeff guy again before I leave Mactan Newtown to go back to Cebu city.

In the idle time today - I made some progress in my backlog of trip report updates.

 

That is all for today – not much of an interesting day and NO extracurricular activities for today – even though I did try.

 

Day 49 (15 February 2025) concluded.

[jason1975]

1 hour ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Day 49 (15 February 2025)

Today was not a good day, as 2 bad events occurred.

First, I have an argument with my Thai boyfriend “former” money boy – about ?

Can anyone guess?     What is the most favorite topic of “former” money boys ??

 

 

Yes, you guessed it correctly -->

  

the    Thai Baht  

We close our argument with my words to him “leave me alone for some days, as I need to cool off….”

I know, I know, I know - many of you have warned me publicly and privately to NOT invest in any type of relationship with a  "money boy", but after the success stories of our forum members = @Min and @jason1975, I thought that I would try my luck......

As this occurred right after our wonderful Valentine’s Day – it was very disheartening.

 

Secondly, I contact Jeff in the Heesay app – (see Day 45 - 11 February 2025 in this trip report for related information) for a repeat session.  We agree to meet at 8pm.   I go downstairs outside of the OPR condo complex to wait for him on the street.  Eventually, a guy appears and says to me, “massage”.  I look at him perplexed, and I reply, “sorry I am waiting for Jeff”.  This mysterious guy replies, “I am sorry but Jeff is sick and I was sent to you instead”.  I reply, “I am sorry, this is not going to work for me – please go away”.  The guy replies, “but but,…..I can massage…”.  I reply, “no thanks – this is not correct – I do not want you”.  He gets a frown on his face and walks away.

Now I am really pissed off.  Then in the Heesay app (formerly BLUED),  I get another message from a profile that I have never chatted with claiming that this new chat is Jeff.  I tell him to prove it to me and he sends me his picture and in fact it is sexy Jeff from the 11^th of February.

I say to him – what was that all about.  He replies, “they took my phone and they were communicating with you”.  I reply that this is not correct and that I am annoyed with this type of shenanigan, and he apologizes many times to me.  He tells me that he can only meet me tomorrow, 16 February – but I tell him that I am busy on 16 and 17 February (as Mr. B. is coming to stay with me for 2 nights so that we can go to Olango island).

Later on in the night, reflecting on what transpired, I can only think that perhaps Jeff is working for a “strici” (the Hungarian word for a pimp boss).  When I lived in Budapest, this was a common practice, that the guys that you would find in Planet Romeo / Hunqz, were sometimes being managed by a “strici”.  So, you would chat on Romeo / Hunqz thinking that you were actually chatting with the hot sexy macho guy that you see in the profile, but instead you are chatting with his “strici” pimp boss.  This was common in Budapest for 2 primary reasons:

1. The hot sexy gypsy guys could not write in English and could only speak a little in English and they needed someone to help them get clients via the apps – hence the use of a “strici”.
2. These hot guys were hard up and in debt with their loan shark = “strici”, who then controlled them to work for them by pimping them out on Romeo / Hunqz so that they could pay off their loans to the loan shark.

How do I know this?  I got foolishly romantically involved with some of these guys in BOTH of the above 1 and 2 categories and I heard all about what goes on behind the scenes.

So, I speculate that my Filipino Jeff is perhaps being controlled by the Philippine version of a “strici” pimp boss manager.  I will eventually find out, as I want to meetup with this sexy Jeff guy again before I leave Mactan Newtown to go back to Cebu city.

In the idle time today - I made some progress in my backlog of trip report updates.

 

That is all for today – not much of an interesting day and NO extracurricular activities for today – even though I did try.

 

Day 49 (15 February 2025) concluded.

Sorry to hear about Jeff

[jason1975]

On 2/16/2025 at 10:24 PM, bkkmfj2648 said:

I go to eat lunch at the Mactan Newtown Alfresco open air food court and while I am waiting for my food to be prepared my Thai boyfriend sends me a wonderful photo of him holding the Valentine Day roses that I sent him in his condo room.  I can see from the photo that the florist delivery team managed to get them to him while he was still sleeping – as he has that early morning groggy look – but he is truly happy and so am I that I could make him this nice surprise.

 

🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[Olddaddy]

Questions ⁉️ 

Are you missing Jomtien?

Can you see yourself staying in Cebu long term?

Are the cost of prices & cost  of living cheaper there? ❓

[bkkmfj2648]

28 minutes ago, Olddaddy said:

Are you missing Jomtien?

Yes.  You need to leave Jomtien to appreciate what it has to offer:

• Supertown with its 35 gay bars, 2 cabaret showbars, 12 restaurants, 10 massage shops, and 10 hotels.  Here in Cebu - there is no central gay ghetto area with a concentration of gay bars.  The closest 3 bars here in Cebu - within walking distance are 1.) the Cave Bar, 2.) ICON mixed disco, 3.) Censored bar.
• Dongtan beach - and the ability to walk freely on the beach - unfortunately here all of the beaches here in Cebu are for payment and so you are not able to walk from one beach to another like you can in Jomtien.
• all within an 8 to 10 minute walking distance from my condo

• 33 minutes ago, Olddaddy said:

  Can you see yourself staying in Cebu long term?

  Only if the current Thai government follows through with its threat to implement a Global Taxation Regime - then I will leave Thailand - and I could see myself living here - as life here in the Jomtien of Cebu = Mactan Newtown - I truly enjoy.  The MegaWorld company that created this new well planned community is truly enjoyable and is near the beach and they have hirise condos like in Jomtien with stunning sea views.

36 minutes ago, Olddaddy said:

Are the cost of prices & cost  of living cheaper there?

Many things are cheaper here because the cost of labor is cheaper here.

The average daily salary for a Cebu person is 501 pesos, which is equivalent to 289.72 Thai baht.

The average daily salary for a Jomtien person is around 400 Thai baht, which is equivalent to 691.76 pesos.

Consequently, there is a 38% premium in wage cost - in that Thais in the Pattaya area earn 38% more on average over their peers from Cebu city.  Note:  this 38% wage differential does not equate into that things cost 38% less than in Jomtien - I would guess that things are between 15% to 20% cheaper on average. 

Here in Cebu I pay on average between 2,500 to 3,000 pesos for a massage with light extras - which equates to around 1,700 Thai baht, which is around 15% cheaper than what I pay for the same massage back in Jomtien.

However, even though renting a condo can be cheaper here in Cebu - it will be a much smaller space. So, Jomtien gives more value for your money when measured in sqm.

Out of the 3 places that I will compare each other to - I am pre-anticipating that Da Nang, Vietnam will come in at the cheapest - as I noted this when I stayed there for 2 weeks during Songkran 2024.

 

[garygx]

On 1/28/2025 at 10:17 PM, bkkmfj2648 said:

Day 27 (24 January 2025)

Today I have my FIRST experience getting my tourist visa extended at the main Cebu immigration office, as my initial 30 day tourist granted to me at the airport is set to expire.  Here is what I did:

1.       Watch this short 3 minute YouTube video of a guy who recently extended his tourist visa in Cebu:  

 

2.       Take Grab car (or any other suitable transportation to the GMall (aka Gaisano Malls)) and go to the 2^nd floor, and you will see the Bureau of Immigration (BI) office.  This BI office opens at 9am – even though the mall does not open until 10am.  You just tell the security guard that you need to enter the mall to go to immigration and they will let you in.  When you get off of the escalator you will see the BI office off in the distance – ignore the left side of the BI office – as that is the exit side and walk to the extreme right side so that you are in front of the Information Desk.  If you approach the office on the left side, you may encounter some opportunists (fixers), who want to help you for a fee, and will ask you to give them your passport.  I strongly suggest that you don’t do this.

3.       The Information Desk will give you an Extension of Temporary Visitor’s Visa form for you to complete over at one of the sit down areas that are nearby in the mall.  You will need your own pen.

If you want to see the form in advance, here is a direct link to the BI web page – valid as of 28-Jan-2025:  https://immigration.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IRD04.QF_.004-CGAF-FOR-EXTENSION-OF-STAY-OF-TEMPORARY-VISITORS-VISA-1.pdf

Note that on the application form in the Contact Information section it asked for a Mobile Number in the Philippines, which I did not have, as I bought the Airalo eSIM, which is a data only plan without a phone number.  So, I left this part of the form blank and the immigration people did not make a fuss or even ask any questions.

Note that the form will also ask you if you desire “Express” service – click this check box if you want your updated tourist visa within a couple of hours instead of some days later.

1.       Return to the Information Counter and show the BI person your completed form and passport.  He will stamp the extension form if all is good and tell you to go to the Assessment Counter where they calculate how much you need to pay and they will also take your passport and extension form from you and put it into their work queue.

2.       With the receipt given to you by the Assessment Counter you then need to proceed to the Cashier window to pay the fees – see below for fee calculations.

3.       You now wait for your name to be called so that you can then go to the Releasing window to pickup your passport and sign a register book that you are claiming your passport.

Note that you will not receive an additional stamp in your passport but instead an important piece of paper, “Official Receipt”, which now has printed:  VISA VALID UNTIL :  XX XXX XXXX    KEEP this document in your passport in the same page as the tourist visa stamp that you received at the airport.  Note that this first extension only gives you an additional 29 days, whereas, the original entry tourist visa that you obtained at the airport gave you 30 days.

I performed all of the above steps and I was in and out of immigration in just 1 hour and 20 minutes – not bad for someone doing it all by themselves.  Back in Jomtien, this would be a nightmare and that is why I always use an agent in Thailand to streamline as much as is possible when I need to deal with Thai immigration.

So, I left the BI office as a happy camper.

Ate lunch again at the Ayala mall and then returned to my room.  Now I was feeling horny so I hired a sexy macho straight guy for a 2 hands massage.  I should have known that trouble was brewing when he would not remove his underwear.  His massage was excellent as well as his edging skills.  I was very happy.  But, he became angry when it came time to pay him, as we agreed to the standard 3.000 pesos and I showed him in the app our chat transcript.  He became even more angry and insisted that I pay him 7.000 pesos because I touched his nipples during the massage.  He raised his voice and then I raised my voice and I showed him my pants pockets which only had another 1,200 pesos in random banknotes that he begrudgingly accepted as I showed him the door.  No violence occurred – as I felt that it was definitely heading that way – but the good news is that they cannot enter the condo complex without giving up their National ID card – so I would have ran downstairs to security should the situation have escalated further.  What is weird is that during the massage this guy was chatting and laughing non stop and it felt like the beginnings of a new friendship.  I would have definitely rehired him as he was near excellent in his massage and edging skills.  So, I just don’t understand this Dr. Jeckell and Mr. Hyde bad transformative behavior. 

Any ideas ?

This is day 26 and only my 2^nd bad encounter out of around 13 encounters to date.

 

Day 27 (24 January 2025) concluded.

 

May I please ask about how you filled out some of the information on the form? 

Reason for extension: Tourism? Checking for possible retirement location? 

Number of months: (I am staying a total of 3 months, but am still on my original "no visa" 30 days)

Passport date of validity: I assume thats the expiration date?

Thank you!

[bkkmfj2648]

1 hour ago, garygx said:

May I please ask about how you filled out some of the information on the form?

Sure

1 hour ago, garygx said:

Reason for extension: Tourism? Checking for possible retirement location? 

Yes - I indicated tourism and to look at possible retirement locations.  None of the immigration officials asked me anything.  The local expats here told me that they will only ask you questions after you have been here for a long time on a tourist visa = like in excess of 6 months or 1 year.  Theoretically, you can keep extending your tourist visa for up to 3 years.

1 hour ago, garygx said:

Number of months: (I am staying a total of 3 months, but am still on my original "no visa" 30 days)

I told the truth = 62 days.  I was given a warning at the airport on day 1 when I got my first 30 day stamp at the airport on arrival when the immigration officer asked me why I had not requested a visa in advance since my known stay would be 62 days and the first tourist visa on arrival stamped into your passport is only for 30 days?  I apologized and I told her that I was ignorant about this requirement.  So, she told me, "I can only give you 30 days in your passport and you will need to go to immigration prior to the expiration of the first 30 days to extend your tourist visa."   --> which is what I did as reported in my Day 27 (24 January 2025) trip report update.  

--> Note that your first tourist visa extension is only for 29 additional days.

Consequently, in my specific case, I will need to go back to immigration next week to extend my tourist visa for an additional 3 days, to satisfy the full 62 days that I will be here as a tourist.

1 hour ago, garygx said:

Passport date of validity: I assume thats the expiration date?

yes - it is the validity through date (expiration) printed in your passport

 

@garygx, Enjoy your stay in the Philippines. 

If I may, can I ask where will you visit ? 

[garygx]

Currently I am in Poblacion area of makati. I found a decent condo to rent for 3 months @25k per. Unfortunately it has no wifi and I am hopefully getting that today. I will visit Baguio this weekend to enjoy some of the festivals going on there now. Overall, I will explore different areas of Metro Manila to see what might work for a longer term stay in the future and possibly take a few other side trips, budget allowing.

 

[bkkmfj2648]

22 minutes ago, garygx said:

Currently I am in Poblacion area of makati. I found a decent condo to rent for 3 months @25k per.

Sounds good.  Thanks for sharing this information with us.

Are you like me scouting for possible retirement destinations ?

If yes, please share with us your findings from your on the ground research - as our gayguides.com forum has hardly any details about successfully retiring in the Philippines.

Enjoy your trip to Baguio.

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 50 (16 February 2025)

Boring start to the day, as I get on my hands and knees to clean the floors in my lovely condo – as Mr. B. will arrive later in the day and I want this impressive condo to be spotless for his arrival.

Mr. B. tells me that he is on his way, as he has booked his ride on the ever so popular Move IT   

motorbike taxi app.  It is 15:20pm.  Before I know it, at 15:50pm Mr. B. is already outside of my OPR condo complex waiting for me.  So, the total elapsed time was only 30 minutes – truly amazing for a cost of 245 pesos ( ~ $4.21 USD). I hurried downstairs to check in Mr. B. with the OPR security team and they issue him a guest badge.

After Mr. B. puts down his luggage and drinks something – I immediately take him out onto the balcony so that he can see for  himself the amazing unobstructed sea-to-sea view from the Hilutungan Channel with Olango island in full view, and then looking the other way to the Mactan Channel with both the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Cebu city skyline with the mountains in the background.  Mr. B. agrees that I have a balcony with a breathtaking view.

I give Mr. B. the grand tour of the Mactan Newtown township, as it is his first time here.  I walk him past the 2 hotels, Savoy and Belmont, as Mr. B. works for a competing hotel, so it is interesting for him to see the competition.

We then continue to the end of the township at the private Newtown beach and I bring him to the wall that separates the township from the Shangri-La resort that Mr. B. and I visited on 4 January 2025 that I reported about in my Day 7 (4 January 2025) update.  In this way we can see both sides of that separating wall from a 5-star resort to this MegaWorld planned community.

On the way back into the center of the township, we pass by the construction site of the new to-be Mactan Expo Center, whose footprint will consume almost 1 hectare of the 30 hectare for the entire township.  The below YouTube video from MegaWorld explains it better, as it provides impressive visuals.

 

 

I take pride showing Mr. B. our very small mini-mall that is within the main 8 Boulevard building, and while giving him the quick tour, I notice a stairs that I did not notice before and we go up to the 2^nd level and we discover 4 to 5 more businesses (in addition to the ones that I already reported on in a previous post update), of which 1 is the Nast Fitness Center https://www.nastfitness.com/

Note that the operating hours are from 5am until 12 midnight 7 days a week.

So, in addition to the Anytime Fitness gym (which is open 24 hours every day) that I already reported on in a previous update, which is slightly outside of the township, in the nearby LG Garden Walk mall, whereas this Nast Fitness gym that is located right here within the township.

We then venture outside of the township so that I can show Mr. B. all of the different street food venues that are located outside the perimeter wall of the township, in the busy chaotic real streets of Filipino life.  I understand that Mr. B., who has been working since 6am, is very tired and hungry, and so we head back into the township to eat dinner at the Mactan Newtown Alfresco outdoor food court, which is all illuminated at night with these beautiful white string lights.  I have never eaten here in the evening so I never saw it beautifully illuminated.  It is quite full and busy.

After dinner, we buy 2 yummy mango popsicles from the famous  shop located here in the township,  

https://www.facebook.com/TMN.OfficialTownshipPage/posts/new-store-alert-pan-de-manila-is-now-baking-and-ready-to-serve-you-the-freshest-/122123240714396557/

and now we head back to the condo room.  Soon afterwards, Mr. B. is sound asleep, so we call it a night, as we will wake up early for our adventure over to Olango island.

 

NO extracurricular activities for today.

 

Day 50 (16 February 2025) concluded.

[floridarob]

12 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Yes.  You need to leave Jomtien to appreciate what it has to offer:

Wise old  @vinapu dispenses wisdom occasionally .... the one that sticks with me the most:

If you live in Thailand, you can't look forward to "visiting" Thailand....👍

I'll wait for his reply about using  "old"😵

[Travelingguy]

38 minutes ago, floridarob said:

Wise old

Like Confucius

[floridarob]

2 minutes ago, Travelingguy said:

Like Confucius

I was trying to remember that name, kept coming up with Confusion..... which also would've worked 😝

[vinapu]

8 hours ago, floridarob said:

Wise old  @vinapu dispenses wisdom occasionally .... the one that sticks with me the most:

If you live in Thailand, you can't look forward to "visiting" Thailand....👍

I'll wait for his reply about using  "old"😵

Since I can live with ' wise' I'll let you go with 'old' 

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 51 (17 February 2025) – Adventure to nearby Olango island

We wake up early and we eat our breakfast.  Not knowing in advance what Mr. B. likes to eat for breakfast, I offer him something from my meagre 7-Eleven breakfast selection:

He chooses a mango yogurt and a shrimp type of sushi roll and later on eats some müsli oat biscuits with me  Afterwards, each one of us completes the 3 S’s   

and we dress up (including swimming trunks) for our nature exploring adventure and prepare our backbacks with water and beach towels.

Off we go and we decide to walk the 30 minute journey to the Angasil boat pier.  Half of that walk is circumnavigating the Mactan Newtown township to get outside of the township and onto Angasil road.

Strangely, as I reported 2 days prior when I made this walk by myself – my heart was racing – but this time in Mr. B.’s company, my heart is calm and the walk is much more pleasant.  I generally fear what is unknown more than what is known – as this is now my 2^nd walk to the Angasil Port.

We arrive and pay for our 2 round trip tickets of 80 pesos (~ $1.38 USD) each.  We board the ship immediately, as it is soon to depart for Olango island.  We easily find seats as the large ship is not packed.

All Aboard!!

The ride across the Hilutungan Channel only takes like 20 minutes. We disembark and start the long trek on the cement pier to get to the area where the tricycle taxis are parked.  The pier is intentionally made to be extremely long because of the changes in the sea tides – thus allowing the mooring of large ships (car vessels) to park at the pier even if the tide is out and the water level is low.

There is a busy flurry of ferry passengers and tricycle drivers negotiating rides and I note that there is not much enthusiasm for our relatively nearby destination in the Santa Rosa village – as I would imagine that it is not very profitable and the tricycle driver needs to wait another 30 minutes for the next ship to arrive to gain some income.  Eventually, there were some other passengers going to our nearby destination and we are assigned to one of the tricycles.  This is my first time in one of these types of Filipino transportation vehicles and the only other similar experience would be when I went to Dhaka, Bangladesh for my job.

I was the first person allowed to board this contraption – as I was the biggest and thus the one consuming the biggest space, which then allowed them to assign the many other smaller in bone structure and BMI (Body Mass Index) local people.  Amazingly, we were 4 passengers inside and 1 sitting outside (you can see her behind me in the above photo) – plus the motorbike driver.  Basically, this tricycle is a motorbike welded to this aluminum type of carriage.  These tricycle vehicles can be found all over the Philippines and are used similar in nature like the CNG (auto rickshaws) that are used in Bangladesh.

CNG – auto rickshaw in Bangladesh

I believe that we paid 30 pesos (~ $0.52 USD) each for our short 5 to 6 minute ride.

At the Refluck e-Bike shop we start chatting with the owner (Jeff) about which e-bike we should rent.  Together we chose 2 Chinese Ji Su e-bikes and we pay an initial price of 300 pesos (~ $5.16 USD) each, for a 3 hour rental, with the understanding that it can be extended for each 30 minutes additionally for 50 pesos per each 30 minute interval.  We had to sign a contract and related damage disclaimer with our names and contact phone numbers – but NO documents or licenses were required to rent these e-bikes.

We are given a short demo on how these vehicles operate.  One of them has Chinese switches and controls and I ask Mr. B. if he can take that one and I take the other one that has switches and controls in English.  Their maximum speed is 45km and as they were already fully charged Jeff told us that we should be able to go all day.  They also have manual pedals in case your battery finishes earlier than planned.

https://www.instagram.com/cebu_refluck/p/CzX35BovotC/

The shop is easy to find as it is near the first right after the Santa Rosa Wharf pier ends as shown below:

As we are all sorted out, we ask Jeff in which direction is the San Vicente Marine Sanctuary and he says head south on the San Vicente Barangay Road until it ends.

OK, let’s GO!!

Since my motorbike training has been on gas powered motorbikes this e-bike experience is very different in that the torque when starting is immediate and sudden and powerful.  So, you need to adjust how much you turn the accelerator on the handlebar.

Well the road ended here at the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary.

Oopsy, we somehow missed our intended destination.  This place is also interesting IF you are into bird watching – which is not of big interest to me.  Mr. B asks one of the rangers how to get to our desired destination and it seems easy.

Here is an aerial photograph of the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in case any of you would be interested in visiting it.

https://forevervacation.com/cebu/olango-island-wildlife-sanctuary

So, we backtrack and within 5 minutes we arrive at the San Vicente Marine Sanctuary.  We park our e-bikes and Mr. B. talks to 2 guys who are eating how we can pay the entrance fees to enter the sanctuary.

https://www.facebook.com/sanvicentemarinesanctuary/

We tell them that we want the “swimming option with chairs and tables”, which includes the 80 pesos environmental fee, so we have to pay 200 pesos (~$3.44 USD) each to enter.

What is weird is that these 2 guys never got up to collect our 400 pesos – they just sat their eating and they told us to leave the fee on the table (we will find out hours later when we leave the sanctuary why they acted this way).  Consequently, we never get a receipt or any type of paperwork.  They tell us that we need to be VERY careful on the 500 meter elevated bamboo walkway – as it is in a state of repair. 

The walk out to the end of the walkway is very exciting as perhaps the first 200 meters is on a bamboo walkway that meanders through a mangrove forest with very clean and clear water and fish below you. 

This portion of the walk reminded me of the wooden boardwalks found on Fire Island, in New York, in the gay communities of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines. 

https://www.fireislandfinder.com/fire-island-villages/fire-island-pines/

Then the mangroves end and you are now walking for the next 300 meters on the bamboo walkway that reaches a type of elevated wooden bridge structure (that allows small boats to pass underneath) where the walkway transforms into a wooden plank bridge.

We arrive to the end of the walkway to this elevated “entertainment” type of center where you can eat, climb into the crystal clear water to swim and/or snorkel, park your party boat and join in the fun, go on a multi-island excursion, go banana boating, and be solicited by local fisherman with a diverse variety of offerings.  Below I am eating a sea urchin (first time in my life) and drinking some Buko Juice = natural coconut juice sold to us by the local fisherman lady and her husband.

Yummy sea urchins – Bantay in the local language

For my entire life I was always fearful of stepping on one of these sea creatures because IF one or more of their spines would break into your foot – which I heard is extremely painful and requires a hospital intervention to have the spines extracted from your foot.  So, I never imagined that I would be eating one of these delicious creatures – to soften the sea taste it is served with vinegar.  Mr. B. only eats one and lets me eat the other 5.

There was one party boat (pump boat) moored,

and their guests were being served fresh caught fish that was barbecued on the barbecue.  There were 2 AFAMs (farangs) snorkeling in the water, and there was 1 group of about 5 or 6 young Filipinos enjoying swimming in the water, going on the banana boat and eating.  So, this place is fun, and exudes a lot of positive energy.

When I bought the sea urchins I also bought some fish food so that Mr. B. and I could toss it into the crystal clear water and see the many colorful fish arrive to eat it.

Before heading back, the fisherman lady sells me 2 coasters that are made out of sea shells – I have never seen anything like these so I could not refuse to buy them.

Later on when we returned back to Santa Rosa, we saw some ladies making these by hand – truly an artisan type of work.

We start the trek back over the wooden bridge and then bamboo walkway to retrieve our e-bikes and we now notice why no one “officially” collected our money to enter the sanctuary because now there is a big plastic CDO (Cease & Desist Order) sign draped near the entrance:

Because the bamboo walkway is considered to be dangerous and unsafe to walk on.

Mr. B. notices a police officer (PO) sitting nearby (I did not see him) and perhaps this PO comes during certain times of the day to enforce the CDO ?  Who knows?  We were unofficially allowed in with words of caution as the bamboo walkway needs to be repaired.

So, this is perhaps why we needed to put the entrance fee on the table and why we did not get an official receipt.

Anyway, if there was some form of corruption occurring, I am happy that we were able to see and appreciate this wonderful sanctuary and we hope that the bamboo walkway will be repaired at the soonest.

On the way to find a place to eat, we stop to take some selfies in the lush foliage of the Maribagini forest which is full of neem trees.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maribagini_Park.jpg

We come across the Casa Blanca by the Sea resort and we decide to have lunch there.  As it is a Monday, after the craziness of the Valentine Day weekend, it is extremely quiet and Mr. B. and myself we are the only customers.

https://www.facebook.com/casablancabythesea/

While we are eating it starts to rain quite heavily which interrupts our plans – as we wanted to venture over to the east coast of Olango – the coast that faces the famous Bohol island.

So, we wait for a pause in the rain and then we start our journey back to the Refluck e-bike shop.  About ½ the way back it starts to poor again and we seek refuge underneath the overhang of a local church.  Eventually the rain stops and we finally reach the e-bike shop.

Jeff calculates that we owe an additional 150 pesos (~$2.58 USD) for the time beyond 3 hours that we initially paid for.  Not bad for the total time of 4.5 hours that we rented the e-bikes for.  Jeff ever so briefly checks for any damages and lets us go.  What a great guy.

We decide to walk it back to the ferry and it was then that we did not realize how far the Santa Rosa wharf really is to the point where the ferry is moored.  Google states that it is 1.2km = 16 minute walk.

As we approach the end of the Santa Rosa wharf, we notice 2 ships – the one on the right is the ship used to transport vehicles to the island and the one on the left is our small passenger ferry.

The ferry going back to the Angasil Port is a small boat and it is already super packed and Mr. B. and I, we are the last passengers to board – consequently we could not sit together.  I am sitting on a small plastic stool in the extreme back and Mr. B. is in the front row near the boarding area.  As it was raining previously, the sea is choppy and since this ferry is much smaller it sways more and the lady in front of me starts to get seasick and we all need to stand up urgently so that she could quickly pass us to enter into the CR (comfort room = bathroom) to do the necessary.  When she finally exits, we are almost at the port, but the ferry boat that is bound for Olango island has not yet left its docking slip, so we need to wait in the choppy sea and the lady decides that she needs to sit next to me and requests that the Filipino boy who was sitting in front of the CR entrance move to her seat.  I can see that she is sweating profusely, and it is just a matter of minutes that she will need to vomit again, so I decide to stand up and move my way forward holding onto the ceiling of the swaying ship.  At that point we finally dock and we could get off the vessel.  Mr. B. was lucky as he was one of the first off and I was one of the last.  It was truly good to be back on firm ground = Mactan island.  Hallelujah!! 

We decide to walk back to the Mactan Newtown township and about two thirds of the way, we see an ugly sight, a man is laying on the middle of the road – obviously injured from a very fresh road accident – we literally need to walk off of the road into the muddy area to get around the big crowd of onlookers that is now forming waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

We return to my condo to relax, take a nap, shower and prepare to go to dinner later on.  Before exiting my OPR condo complex, I tell Mr. B. that I want to show him something on the bridge floor = 4 (this is the floor that connects the 4 towers of the complex), which is the outside of the tower that houses the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) center. From the children’s playground you have a clear view into the hamster tiny cubicles that those poor workers must work in.  It is just a giant sea of endless cubicle blocks stacked one after the other with 2 workers crammed side-by-side inside the individual cubicle as shown below:

You may remember that on New Year’s Eve, I had dinner with the guy who massaged me who works in one of these BPOs that the Philippines is famous for.  He told me that the starting salary is 13,000 pesos (~$223.71 USD), and his partner who works in a BPO in IT Park in Cebu city earns 30,000 pesos (~$516.25 USD), after 8 years of working there.  This is why you will find many BPO workers moonlighting in the apps for extra money.  Mr. B. told me that within the gay Filipino community, BPOs are popular places for gays to work.

I take Mr. B. to my favorite food truck to eat:   

An’Dale Eats and Mr. B. really likes it.  https://www.facebook.com/andaleeats?mibextid=LQQJ4d

While we were walking over to the An'Dale Eats food truck we witnessed a minor altercation between 4 very attractive ladyboys and an AFAM (farang) who was yelling at the ladyboys.  I heard, "Hey they stole my iphone" and Mr. B. heard, "Hey they stole my food".  The later was probably what was really said as the situation seemed to calm down quickly.  During these few seconds - I thought that I was back in Pattaya.  hahahahaha....

Afterwards we take a walk outside of the Mactan Newtown township to visit the Mactan Shrine – which I have never seen up close at night – only from my previous AirBnB that overlooked the Magellan Sea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mactan_Shrine

They made it magical because they put blue lights out on the mangrove trees out in the bay.

We then walk the outer perimeter of the township over to the main entrance and along the way Mr. B. spots some “balut” for sale and wants to eat one.  It is a baby duck egg that has been incubated for a period of time until the embryo partially develops – and then it is boiled and the purchaser eats it directly from the shell.  I was grossed out but Mr. B. said that it was so yummy.

Mr. B. trying to entice me to eat a baby duck embryo

We walk beyond the LG Garden Walk mall to the nearby 2 story karaoke place to see these large glass walls of people showing off and singing.  We discover that it is an upscale 5 star Korean owned restaurant and karaoke club that is open 24 hours.  Its name is Pungryu Jeong.

 

https://www.facebook.com/p/Pungryujeong-61553767130954/

The more I stay in the Mactan Newtown township the more I realize the influence of the BIG money Koreans who own many of the condos and businesses within the township and outside of the township.  Furthermore, there are 4 to 5 big English language centers here that are almost exclusively enrolled by Korean and/or Japanese students.

We return to my OPR condo and call it a night as it has been a long and exciting day.

 

No massages or extra-curricular activities today.

 

Day 51 (17 February 2025) – Adventure to nearby Olango island concluded.

 

[floridarob]

Balut disturbs me 🤢🤮

[Marc in Calif]

This day's report was one of your very best! Thanks for including so many details so that those of us who'd like to visit the area will have many options and descriptions. 👏

 

[bkkmfj2648]

My reply to @Marc in Calif has been deleted.

[Marc in Calif]

14 minutes ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

One of the DANGERS of our gayguides.com forum is that as an Author of a thread and/or article we lose the right to make further edits after 15 to 20 minutes. 

Yes. That's why I usually edit and proofread a few times before submitting a comment. Then I check it again after it's published.

I've edited my comment above to remove any trace! I think you can still do the same to delete the two sentences where you quoted me.

[bkkmfj2648]

4 minutes ago, Marc in Calif said:

Yes. That's why I usually edit and proofread a few times before submitting a comment. Then I check it again after it's published.

And I always perform a pre-edit in WORD and then I post and I do another edit within the gayguides.com editor and then after I click on the save button and my article/update is posted - I read it again and I use the within the forum software the edit button to fix anything that may have slipped through in the previous 2 edit screenings.

As this specific Cebu Olango post was very long and very special - that 1 mistake slipped through.  It is difficult when we use an alias to refer to someone when we are close to them and know very well their real name.  Even @macaroni21 has brought to my attention how I swapped the alias of Mr. B. with another alias of Mr. M..

8 minutes ago, Marc in Calif said:

I've edited my comment above to remove any trace! I think you can still do the same to delete the two sentences where you quoted me.

Many thanks for your kind intervention.  I have since written to our gayguides.com admin (TotallyOz) to ask for his kind intervention to correct my dufus mistake.