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

[bkkmfj2648]

13 hours ago, Marc in Calif said:

Surabaya also doesn't offer you what you're looking for. Its coastal condo complexes are in the far east of the city -- in the mangrove swamps!

Thanks for your reply.

What Surabaya would offer me is a starting point in Indonesia (as I already have a friend there) that is not Jakarta - for the same reason that I do not live in Bangkok and would not give consideration to living in Manila either.  Bali would be a place to visit but I don't see my self retiring in Bali for the same reasons that I would not retire in Phuket.

13 hours ago, Marc in Calif said:

My pick for an urban center with a few high-rise complexes that have ocean views would be Makassar, the largest city on Sulawesi island (and in all of eastern Indonesia). It's a lovely "smaller" city (pop. 1.5 million), walkable, with malls and other attractions.

Thanks for this suggestion - as it sounds like what I would be looking for - similar to the gem that I found on Mactan Island in the Megaworld Mactan Newtown township.

Can you comment if the beaches in Makassar are:

• open and free and walkable like in Jomtien?   Unfortunately, it seems that 98% of the beaches on Mactan island are not free and consequently, not walkable for kilometers like the Jomtien beaches are.
• Is the sea water clean?  clear?  turquoise? swimmable? 
• Is the sand rocky, crushed coral, natural, or like Boracay's wonderful white powder ?

13 hours ago, Marc in Calif said:

Most of the guys are circumcised

This is nice to know.  It is not a requirement but an added niceness to being able to taste and play with variety.

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 58 (24 February 2025).

 

I did not sleep well because of the spicy  Thai dinner that I ate last night.  I have to wake up a couple of time to use the toilet and rehydrate myself.

Since I am going with Mr. B. to Cebu Safari and Adventure Park tomorrow, I decide to move up my required trip to immigration to be today, as my already extended tourist visa will expire on Wednesday 26 February. 

At 8:43am I book a Grab car to take me from my condo to the GMall Immigration office.  Cost was 119.48 pesos (~ $2.06 USD) and the travel time was 15 minutes, as there was very little traffic.  This is strange for a Monday morning during rush hour.

I tell the GMall security guard that I am here to visit the Immigration office and he kindly tells me that it is closed today due to a local Cebu holiday = 88^th Charter Day anniversary.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/regionaltv/news/106687/february-24-2025-is-special-non-working-holiday-in-cebu-city/story/

My bad.  Back in Jomtien, I buy one of those annual calendars and I place it on my refrigerator and in early January I already indicate all of the expected Thai holidays, my USA estimated tax deadlines, 90 day reporting deadlines, and any other important dates that I need to remember.  As I am simulating retiree life in Cebu – I forgot to perform this crucial step, and now I fall victim to my self-inflicted ignorance because I did not take the time to note my new host country holidays.

I am not alone, as many other AFAMs (farangs) start arriving at the GMall to be told the same thing.  So, I will need to go back to immigration on my extended tourist visa expiration date, Wednesday 26 February 2025.

I book a Grab car to the Ayala mall – as I thought let me go and have a nice breakfast at one of my favorite breakfast places =  .  

When I get to the Ayala mall, it is only 9:20am and the mall does not open until 10am – but I tell the security guard that I am here to eat breakfast in The Terraces and then he lets me inside the dark mall.  The only other people that I see are the various shopkeepers who are opening their shops.  I now know this mall like the back of my hand – so even in the dark I can find my way – except – when I arrive to the back exit to the exterior The Terraces, the sliding doors are locked.  So, I try another exit point that is secured with a guard and I am able to exit.  We are very few customers and I am happy.  I am startled, as the waitress recognizes me and asks me if I want to order what I always order?  I reply, of course.   The Philippine people are so friendly and courteous.

Mr. B. and I agree to meet up back at the Ayala mall later on at 1pm – as he does not work this afternoon and tomorrow.  We had planned to visit the, La Tegola restaurant (Busay branch), up in the foothills, with stunning views of Cebu city down below for lunch – but it was closed.  Not because of the 88^th Charter Day holiday but instead because it is Monday.

https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/1891364721076649/la-tegola-busay/

1pm arrives and it is not nice outside and is about to rain so we cancel the idea to go up into the foothills that overlook Cebu city.  Instead I convince Mr. B. to eat at WOLFLINK – my favorite restaurant over in IT Park.  It was a good opportunity for us to try taking the bus – because to date I have not yet succeeded.  So, I take Mr. B. to the Ulli’s Streets of Asia Luzon Avenue exit of the mall to wait for the bus underneath the overhang where the taxis are.  This is what both the ticket conductor and a passenger told me the other day when I went to IT Park.  Mr. B., like me, found it strange that a big city bus would enter into this taxi area main entrance of the mall.  He asks around and most people don’t know where the bus stop is to IT Park and they send us to the around the corner, to the PUV Terminal (Public Utility Vehicle), but parked here are many many small jeepneys (bahtbuses) and small buses – none of the big normal buses that we find in the west. 

Consequently, we decide to just walk to IT Park as it should only require about 25 minutes – but as soon as we start to walk the skies open up with rain and we run to a nearby hotel and commandeer a taxi to take us to WOLFLINK in IT Park.  This is now the 3^rd attempt to find this f:&king bus.

Mr. B. orders the 3 Little Piggies meal and I order my usual favorite Wolf’s Stew.  I was super happy, as the Wolf’s Stew never fails to impress my taste buds and stomach.  But I notice that Mr. B. is not too impressed with the 3 Little Piggies meal.  Oh well, perhaps WOLFLINK is not for everyone.

https://www.facebook.com/wolflinkph

After lunch, I ask Mr. B. to let us take the bus back to the Ayala Mall so that we can solve for once and for all where is the appropriate spot to wait for the bus at the Ayala Mall to return to IT Park.  Mr. B. asks the ticket conductor and she tells him that the bus stop is underneath the overhang at the Ayala Luzon Avenue exit.  When we exit the bus at the MayBank bus stop on Luzon Avenue, she kindly indicates with her finger where the bus stop is.  So, I do not need to amend what I wrote in my Day 56 (22 February 2025) trip report update – as now the mystery is solved.  Furthermore, when the bus was waiting at the traffic light to turn into the Ayala mall Luzon Avenue street we saw the IT Park bus exiting the same street – so further proof that this is in fact the bus stop to return to IT Park.  Amen.

I convince Mr. B. that we should go and have cake at   

Treat Street Café            https://treatstreetcafe.com/

as that is the place where we originally met for the first time on Day 5 (2 January 2025).  Mr. B. gets the cheesecake and I get the avocado cake.  Now we are stuffed like fat pigs and Mr. B. goes back to his boarding house and I go back to my Cityscape condo.

I write yesterday’s trip report and chat with my Thai boyfriend.  I watch some YouTube videos produced by my favorite vbloggers and then I call it a night as I need to wake up at 6am for our trip to the Cebu Safari and Adventure Park tomorrow morning.

 

No massages or extra-curricular activities today.

 

Day 58 (24 February 2025) concluded.

 

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 59 (25 February 2025) – Safari day

 

Wake up muy pronto to be ready at 7:30am to meet Mr. B. in a taxi that will take us to the Cebu Safari and Adventure Park.  Mr. B. was crafty to convince the taxi driver who brought us to IT Park yesterday to bring us to this far away Safari Park.  As this place is off-the-grid on the Grab app, it is impossible to arrange for it via the app.  Mr. B. negotiates a fixed all day price of 4.000 pesos ( ~ $69.09 USD)  for the taxi driver to:

1.       drive us to the Safari Park,

2.       wait for us outside in the parking lot,

3.       drive us back to Cebu city.

Driving time to the Safari Park was 1 hour and 41 minutes and the return trip took 2 hours and 13 minutes.  The distance is around 50km and the last part is slow going, as it requires going up the mountain on a narrow road.

The Cebu Safari and Adventure Park is an adventure and safari park located in Carmen, Cebu, Philippines, founded by Michel J. Lhuillier and Eduard J. Loop, and covers 170 hectares with more than a thousand animals from 120 different species. It is considered as the biggest zoological park in the Philippines.  These owners supposedly also own the La Vie Parisienne restaurant, which we visited in my Day 24 (21 January 2025) trip report update.

  https://www.facebook.com/cebusafari/

 

Normally, I do not like to visit zoos because when I see the animals in their cages it makes me sad.  However, I will make an exception for well run Safari Parks – and this Cebu version was well worth the money and time and effort that was taken to go and visit it.  The majority of the animals were not in cages – except for the few large bird aviaries, where it was necessary to put high up mesh screening to prevent them from flying away.

Even though it was a Tuesday, we had to pay the weekend rate of 1,300 pesos ( ~ $22.46 USD) per person, because in this part of the Cebu province, they were still celebrating the 88^th Charter Day holiday for 2 consecutive days - instead of only 1 day back in Cebu city.

Latest admission rates as of 01-Dec-2024

This place is enormous and can require a lot of pleasant walking.  Alternatively, they have shuttle trams that can take you all over the Safari Partk.

Above map is interactive at: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/67bd8cbeda.html

One of the convincing activities that made me say yes to this trip was to have another chance to go ziplining.  The last time that I was able to go ziplining was back in 2015, as reported in my Chiang Mai trip report at:

At the admission counter, we needed to state what kind of package that we wanted to purchase and due to the inclement and raining weather, the ziplining was not permitted today.  I was really disappointed and this kind of put me in a mood to be disappointed with this Safari Park.

But, I truly found it enjoyable, as the curators created it in such a way that the layout was divided into distinct zones that allowed you to see very diverse animals in their semi correct realistic habitats:

• Deer District,
• Tiger Turf,
• Orangutown,
• Stunning bird aviaries,
• Outpost area,
• African Savanna – where it was required to enter into caged in trucks where you were then driven into a very secure safari area, where the wild animals were free to roam around. 

--> This African Savanna zone was my favorite area – as it consisted of an area where we could see giraffes, zebras and some different types of different antelopes.  Further on, we were able to see cheetahs, hyenas (which I hate this animal – especially when it laughs – that sound sends chills down my spine), and majestic lions – which was really special for me, because just before departing for Cebu, back in Thailand, my Thai boyfriend invited me to go see the Disney movie = Mufasa – The Lion King, in Pattaya. 

I generally am not a big fan of these types of Disney animated films – as I much prefer real life drama and action films.  But, I have to say that this film left a big impression on me and when I saw the 2 lions and heard the 2 lions (Ben and Ken), in today’s Safari Park suddenly start to roar very loudly when our caged safari truck stopped near them (the lions were reacting to 3 other (I believe female) lions that were roaring in another part of the safari park) – which caused Ben and Ken to start roaring.  I was like = WOW = I must record this and send it to my Thai boyfriend, as he just loves the Mufasa movie. 

I said to him, “why are they roaring so much?” 

He replied, “they want to know when are you coming back to Jomtien to your lion cub??”

 

Ben and Ken roaring in the Cebu Safari Park on 25-Feb-2025 

A very touching response, which made Mr. B. and my safari adventure much more endearing.

Unfortunately, the intermittent rain made some parts of the exhibitions very annoying – especially in the 2 large bird aviaries – however, the birds were very happy and making so much noise and a big fuss – so it was worth it to get used to these big accumulated rain drops, which would form on the mesh nets, and then fall down on you and then bounce off of your head.  Yuck - so wet.

The park did supply us with these really BIG park umbrellas – but we were not allowed to use them in the bird aviaries – as they would scare and upset the birds.

The safari park provided us with gratuitous umbrellas - which saved the day

After many many hours of walking around we take a break at the Michelangelo Pizzeria and eat our lunches.  We call our waiting taxi driver and ask him if he wants us to bring him any food from the restaurant, but he tells us that he already ate in the park canteen.

Then we worked our way back to the main entrance to see the parts of the park that we had not yet seen, and then we finished at the principal roundabout of the park, for some photos:

I include the below 2 links to some external information about this amazing safari park – as I do not want to bombard our gayguides.com server with too many photos.

https://www.judethetourist.com/cebu-safari-and-adventure-park-2023/

Returned our 2 safari park umbrellas (included in the entrance price) to the front desk and we enter into our waiting taxi for the long journey back to Cebu, requiring 2 hours and 13 minutes.  Mr. B. exits at his boarding house and I exit at the Ayala mall to go and eat my dinner at Gianni’s.  Then I go back to my condo room, browse the internet for a while, watch some YouTube, chat with my Thai boyfriend and go to sleep by 10:30pm, as I am very tired from all of that walking and I need to get up early again tomorrow morning so that I can go to the Immigration Office.

 

No massages or extra-curricular activities today.

 

Day 59 (25 February 2025) concluded

[Keithambrose]

2 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Day 59 (25 February 2025) – Safari day

 

Wake up muy pronto to be ready at 7:30am to meet Mr. B. in a taxi that will take us to the Cebu Safari and Adventure Park.  Mr. B. was crafty to convince the taxi driver who brought us to IT Park yesterday to bring us to this far away Safari Park.  As this place is off-the-grid on the Grab app, it is impossible to arrange for it via the app.  Mr. B. negotiates a fixed all day price of 4.000 pesos ( ~ $69.09 USD)  for the taxi driver to:

1.       drive us to the Safari Park,

2.       wait for us outside in the parking lot,

3.       drive us back to Cebu city.

Driving time to the Safari Park was 1 hour and 41 minutes and the return trip took 2 hours and 13 minutes.  The distance is around 50km and the last part is slow going, as it requires going up the mountain on a narrow road.

The Cebu Safari and Adventure Park is an adventure and safari park located in Carmen, Cebu, Philippines, founded by Michel J. Lhuillier and Eduard J. Loop, and covers 170 hectares with more than a thousand animals from 120 different species. It is considered as the biggest zoological park in the Philippines.  These owners supposedly also own the La Vie Parisienne restaurant, which we visited in my Day 24 (21 January 2025) trip report update.

  https://www.facebook.com/cebusafari/

 

Normally, I do not like to visit zoos because when I see the animals in their cages it makes me sad.  However, I will make an exception for well run Safari Parks – and this Cebu version was well worth the money and time and effort that was taken to go and visit it.  The majority of the animals were not in cages – except for the few large bird aviaries, where it was necessary to put high up mesh screening to prevent them from flying away.

Even though it was a Tuesday, we had to pay the weekend rate of 1,300 pesos ( ~ $22.46 USD) per person, because in this part of the Cebu province, they were still celebrating the 88^th Charter Day holiday for 2 consecutive days - instead of only 1 day back in Cebu city.

Latest admission rates as of 01-Dec-2024

This place is enormous and can require a lot of pleasant walking.  Alternatively, they have shuttle trams that can take you all over the Safari Partk.

Above map is interactive at: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/67bd8cbeda.html

One of the convincing activities that made me say yes to this trip was to have another chance to go ziplining.  The last time that I was able to go ziplining was back in 2015, as reported in my Chiang Mai trip report at:

At the admission counter, we needed to state what kind of package that we wanted to purchase and due to the inclement and raining weather, the ziplining was not permitted today.  I was really disappointed and this kind of put me in a mood to be disappointed with this Safari Park.

But, I truly found it enjoyable, as the curators created it in such a way that the layout was divided into distinct zones that allowed you to see very diverse animals in their semi correct realistic habitats:

• Deer District,
• Tiger Turf,
• Orangutown,
• Stunning bird aviaries,
• Outpost area,
• African Savanna – where it was required to enter into caged in trucks where you were then driven into a very secure safari area, where the wild animals were free to roam around. 

--> This African Savanna zone was my favorite area – as it consisted of an area where we could see giraffes, zebras and some different types of different antelopes.  Further on, we were able to see cheetahs, hyenas (which I hate this animal – especially when it laughs – that sound sends chills down my spine), and majestic lions – which was really special for me, because just before departing for Cebu, back in Thailand, my Thai boyfriend invited me to go see the Disney movie = Mufasa – The Lion King, in Pattaya. 

I generally am not a big fan of these types of Disney animated films – as I much prefer real life drama and action films.  But, I have to say that this film left a big impression on me and when I saw the 2 lions and heard the 2 lions (Ben and Ken), in today’s Safari Park suddenly start to roar very loudly when our caged safari truck stopped near them (the lions were reacting to 3 other (I believe female) lions that were roaring in another part of the safari park) – which caused Ben and Ken to start roaring.  I was like = WOW = I must record this and send it to my Thai boyfriend, as he just loves the Mufasa movie. 

I said to him, “why are they roaring so much?” 

He replied, “they want to know when are you coming back to Jomtien to your lion cub??”

 

 

Ben and Ken roaring in the Cebu Safari Park on 25-Feb-2025 

A very touching response, which made Mr. B. and my safari adventure much more endearing.

Unfortunately, the intermittent rain made some parts of the exhibitions very annoying – especially in the 2 large bird aviaries – however, the birds were very happy and making so much noise and a big fuss – so it was worth it to get used to these big accumulated rain drops, which would form on the mesh nets, and then fall down on you and then bounce off of your head.  Yuck - so wet.

The park did supply us with these really BIG park umbrellas – but we were not allowed to use them in the bird aviaries – as they would scare and upset the birds.

The safari park provided us with gratuitous umbrellas - which saved the day

After many many hours of walking around we take a break at the Michelangelo Pizzeria and eat our lunches.  We call our waiting taxi driver and ask him if he wants us to bring him any food from the restaurant, but he tells us that he already ate in the park canteen.

Then we worked our way back to the main entrance to see the parts of the park that we had not yet seen, and then we finished at the principal roundabout of the park, for some photos:

I include the below 2 links to some external information about this amazing safari park – as I do not want to bombard our gayguides.com server with too many photos.

https://www.judethetourist.com/cebu-safari-and-adventure-park-2023/

Returned our 2 safari park umbrellas (included in the entrance price) to the front desk and we enter into our waiting taxi for the long journey back to Cebu, requiring 2 hours and 13 minutes.  Mr. B. exits at his boarding house and I exit at the Ayala mall to go and eat my dinner at Gianni’s.  Then I go back to my condo room, browse the internet for a while, watch some YouTube, chat with my Thai boyfriend and go to sleep by 10:30pm, as I am very tired from all of that walking and I need to get up early again tomorrow morning so that I can go to the Immigration Office.

 

No massages or extra-curricular activities today.

 

Day 59 (25 February 2025) concluded

I like the idea of a 'gratuitous umbrella'!

[bkkmfj2648]

1 hour ago, Keithambrose said:

I like the idea of a 'gratuitous umbrella'!

Yes, me too. 

I was trying to play around with different ways that I could express that idea and related feeling that it gave me, when the safari park personnel insisted that we take umbrellas with us before we started our journey.  I was trying to be overly optimistic that it would not rain on us, as the local meteorologists only anticipated a 27% chance of rain for yesterday.

I just now checked in Grok if what I wrote is not stylistically correct - but Grok seems to say that it is ok in a weird way.

[Marc in Calif]

On 2/24/2025 at 6:40 PM, Olddaddy said:

Oh yes sounds amazing 

😅i did hear though that Jakarta streets are not the best for....Senior citizens 

I generally have no problems with streets, sidewalks, pathways, hills, or crowding. Streets in Jakarta are just like streets in hundreds of other Southeast Asian destinations.

Don't you complain about walking around certain places? What's your problem? Poor you, Old!

[Marc in Calif]

On 2/25/2025 at 2:40 AM, bkkmfj2648 said:

Thanks for this suggestion - as it sounds like what I would be looking for - similar to the gem that I found on Mactan Island in the Megaworld Mactan Newtown township.

Can you comment if the beaches in Makassar are:

• open and free and walkable like in Jomtien?   Unfortunately, it seems that 98% of the beaches on Mactan island are not free and consequently, not walkable for kilometers like the Jomtien beaches are.
• Is the sea water clean?  clear?  turquoise? swimmable? 
• Is the sand rocky, crushed coral, natural, or like Boracay's wonderful white powder ?

This is nice to know.  It is not a requirement but an added niceness to being able to taste and play with variety.

Your experience in Mactan Newton township made me think of that partcular complex in Makassar. I think you enjoy modern-ish neighborhoods and enclaves that can give you the amenities you like. On the whole, I think Makassar as a city is more pleasant than Cebu City.

However, you own't find the beaches to be the same as in Jomtien. Most of them are public, although a  few small areas of sand and beach belong to hotels. It's a city, so the sand won't be pristine and white. Neither is the water (for the most part) clear and blue. It's a port city, so the water is too deep for casual swimming and wading. Typically, you can't walk on sand for kilometers at a stretch. So this will probably be a deal-breaker for you if you need to do your beach walking every day. 

Not too far from Makassar are indeed nice beaches with clear water. There are also islands where you can explore.

[bkkmfj2648]

46 minutes ago, Marc in Calif said:

However, you own't find the beaches to be the same as in Jomtien. Most of them are public, although a  few small areas of sand and beach belong to hotels. It's a city, so the sand won't be pristine and white.

Thanks for the additional information.  From a not deep search I see that the Jomtien equivalent type of beach within the Makassar city limits would be:  Losari Beach ?  would you agree?

48 minutes ago, Marc in Calif said:

Not too far from Makassar are indeed nice beaches with clear water.

From the above map - Google AI is stating that both Pantai Biru and Pantai Tanjung Bayang beaches are beautiful with clean water and white sand.  Google reports that they are only around 7km and 15 minutes away from the Losari beach.

 

 

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 60 (26 February 2025)

 

Wake up early and eat a quick breakfast and request a Grab car to take me to the  Bureau of Immigration (BOI).  As it is raining, and it is rush hour, it takes 20 minutes just to get a Grab car confirmed.  I arrive at the GMall BOI office at 9:15am.  I avoid the left side – as you all may remember that I encountered the “fixer” 1 month ago on the left side – as I reported in my Day 27 (24 January 2025) trip report update.  So, I approach from the extreme right side, where the BOI Information Desk is and the BOI employee gives me the tourist visa extension form to complete.  I complete this form and I return to the Information desk – but ***(this part of this trip report will be revealed and completed AFTER I am back in Thailand for safety reasons).

At 10am, everyone stops working, stands up, and starts singing the “Lupang Hinirang” National Anthem song to pay respect to the country.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/328903/thrice-a-day-playing-of-national-anthem-in-malls-public-places-proposed

Immediately, after the conclusion of the National Anthem my passport is returned to me with my new tourist visa extension and I then leave the GMall.

At 10:03am my Grab car comes and picks me up and I go to the Ayala Mall to eat a nice breakfast at the 4^th floor Roof Deck Garden at the beautiful 2 story Abaca Baking Company  

Here is a quick TikTok to describe this place:

In all of Cebu city, the only other place similar is the famous Dean & Deluca, which we also have back in Bangkok,  consequently I did not give much emphasis to Dean & Deluca – as I thought it would be better to simulate for a retiree choosing to live in Cebu, that he might want to give more emphasis to Abaca Baking Company – as it is a Cebu invention.

Below is a TikTok view of the lovely Dean & Deluca in IT Park, which is hosted on the grounds of the elegant 38 Park Avenue condo residences. https://www.facebook.com/Official38ParkAvenue/

 

As it is raining and it is still early, there are very few customers, and so they place me in the extreme back of the restaurant (a part of this place that I have never seen before) that I really like, as it has a huge all glass wall that gives a nice high-up view of the many office towers of the CBP – Cebu Business Park.

my usual eggs benedict with salmon

While I am eating my scrumptious breakfast, I am itching to tell someone what happened to me at the Immigration office, so I convince Mr. B. to hurry up and join me at Abaca.

He is quite surprised by my story and agrees with me that I should not publish it in our gayguides.com forum until I am outside of the Philippines and already back in Thailand.

After our early lunch / late breakfast – we part ways (Mr. B. needs to go to his hotel job) and this retiree (me) needs to figure out what to do with all of his free time?  Hmm – ah, I can write up our trip report update from yesterday’s visit to the safari park….

All of that writing worked up my gonads to be horny, so I request Jeff to come to my place at 18:45pm and give me one of his great signature titillating erotic massages.  I tell Jeff all about my Immigration incident and I ask him what he would have done if he was me, and he can’t answer my question, because he says that they would never try to do that to a native Filipino.  We get naked and start the massage.  Each time that I meet with Jeff, he gets better and better.  We end our meeting with great orgasmic explosions.  He washes up and leaves.

I wash up and then I order some falafels, hummus, and beef shawarma from the Shawarma Gourmet shop   via the Grab food app.  It was very good.  https://shawarmagourmet.com/

Watch some YouTube, chat with my Thai boyfriend and call it a night.

 

Day 60 (26 February 2025) concluded.

[Marc in Calif]

20 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Thanks for the additional information.  From a not deep search I see that the Jomtien equivalent type of beach within the Makassar city limits would be:  Losari Beach ?  would you agree?

From the above map - Google AI is stating that both Pantai Biru and Pantai Tanjung Bayang beaches are beautiful with clean water and white sand.  Google reports that they are only around 7km and 15 minutes away from the Losari beach.

Well, there's no way that Losari (which is the most popular and central Makassar beach) is clean and pristine with clear water. It's more like a municipal pier with lots of food and concessions, but nobody swims there. It's a domestic tourism site that's mostly about restaurants, concessions, and other tourist attractions. There's no sand -- just rocks and pavement. The AI description is pretty misleading!

However, Pantai Biru and Pantai Tanjung Bayang are indeed much closer to the types of beach that you're seeking. There are many others like them, plus the small islands I mentioned.

[bkkmfj2648]

3 hours ago, Marc in Calif said:

Pantai Biru and Pantai Tanjung Bayang are indeed much closer to the types of beach that you're seeking

I agree.

However, I could not find any hirise condos that accompany the above mentioned 2 beautiful beaches.

All of the hirise condos were back in Makassar city.

wah...

 

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 61 (27 February 2025) – What is my purpose in life?

 

Slow wake up, as there is no planned itinerary for today.  Eat a mini breakfast.

Outside is a really beautiful day, after having experienced many overcast, and off and on rainy days -> this is a BIG relief.

View from AirBnB condo balcony

I prepare a bag of laundry to bring down to the Cityscape laundry service = D Washers Laundry Hub  https://www.facebook.com/p/D-Washers-Laundry-Hub-61566968902776/

One of my favorite pairs of shorts, in the right front pocket, has formed the beginnings of a new hole.  I ask the laundry lady if she can repair it.  She looks at me like I am from Mars.  She replies, “sir, we don’t do that here….”  In my mind, this is a BIG missed business opportunity.  Back in Thailand, they can do anything in many of the View Talay laundry services, including sewing and replacing buttons.  I see the Thais as not wanting to miss out on the business opportunity.  Anyway, this gives me a purpose for today, – as when you are a retiree, with a lot of free time on your hands, you often find yourself looking for purpose.

I pay 187 pesos (~$3.22 USD) for my small bag of laundry, which will be ready before they close at 9pm – same day.

I go over to the Ayala mall to eat my favorite corned beef hash egg breakfast at SBC:

Afterwards, I go on the hunt for a sewing kit, and I head upstairs to the all too familiar Mr. D.I.Y. shop (I frequent this shop often back in Pattaya).

https://www.mrdiy.com/ph/storeopenings/199th-store-ayala-center-cebu

I am overwhelmed with the number of sewing kits to choose from.  I pick a random one and buy it.

I then decide to walk the perimeter of the CBP – Cebu Business Park, as it is truly a fresh and pleasant day.  If you walk the Samar Loop, Leyte Loop, and Mindanao Ave areas, you can see and experience 85% of the CBP area and take in all of the parks, skyscrapers, and beautiful slightly windy sunny day.

Google map of the CBP – Cebu Business Park area

While walking around, I notice that the mini Sugbo Mercado in CBP, that I reported on in my Day 6 (3 January 2025) trip report update, is now defunct and an empty lot of gravel:

Formerly the Sugbo Mercado of CBP

I try to figure out which condo is my AirBnB while looking back at the Cityscape Grand Tower from the Negros road.

Is it that one ?

Head back to my room to write yesterday’s trip report update.  Then I decide to make the 30 minute walk over to IT Park to eat again at my favorite WOLFLINK restaurant.  Afterwards, I take a walk over to the primary Sugbo Mercado of IT Park (outdoor food market) and I can confirm that it is still open.

I take the bus back to the Ayala mall – as it is now nightfall and I don’t feel like walking on the busy Archbishop Reyes Ave., as the sidewalks can be either treacherous or non-existent.  In the daytime, it is easier to negotiate them.  I noticed that while I was waiting for the Ayala mall bus – 2 buses departed for the Mactan Newtown township, and this made me sad and melancholy – as I felt that this is the place where I was the most happiest here in Cebu.

I exit the bus at the Ayala mall and I decide that I want to witness with my own eyes the return bus that actually goes to IT Park (up to now I have never seen it) – that is required if one wants to use the bus transportation system to get from the Mactan Newtown township to the Ayala mall.  I wait around 35 minutes at the taxi stand that is directly in front of the Ayala mall Luzon Avenue exit that is in between The Alcoves residence and Ulli’s Streets of Asia – and sure enough, with enough patience, the big CIBUS city bus actually does descend into the taxi area to let off and/or pick up passengers.

My actual photos as proof in the pudding that this mysterious bus actually exists

I return to my room totally satisfied.  I self reflect on what gives me joy in my life and how that has changed.  I went from a high stress career where the movement of money internationally was mission critical to being a gay elderly retiree who creates purpose by tracking down if an actual bus that he has never been seen actually exists – to solve a transportation puzzle.  Wow how times have changed for me.

 

Probably many of you reading this blog are thinking – oh how boring.  I would agree, but how does one in retirement give purpose to his life ?

 

As it is 20:45pm, I pass by to pick up my laundry.  Back in my room I decide that it is time for more purpose – so I start to attempt to sew the hole in my favorite short pocket.  Oh my GOD – after more than 1 super frustrating hour – I cannot get the sewing thread through the hole of the sewing needle.  I then realize that the made-in-China sewing kit contains sewing needles where the hole is just too small for the given string.  What the f%^k!! 🤬

Before going to sleep, I chat with my Thai boyfriend and he laughs at my frustration – as it is such a trivial matter that I allowed to raise my blood pressure.  He is right.  If I was back in Thailand I would have given these shorts to the Thai laundry lady and for 30 baht she would have happily repaired the newly forming hole in my shorts pocket.

 

 No massages or extra-curricular activities today.

 

Day 61 (27 February 2025) concluded – Purpose found for today.

 

[EricV]

Repair services are available and inexpensive in the Philippines: every major mall will have a Mr Quickie (not kidding, that is the actual chain name) that does alterations, clothes-, shoe-, bag- or luggage repairs. Small repairs are only P50 or P100 and they are very creative - pretty much anything can be repaired… for more complicated tailoring, there are specialized alteration shops, ie turning long pants into shorts, taking in or shortening pants/shirts…you’ll find them often in the basement or other less prime locations..

there are many different store brands/names - just ask the info desk at the mall or the front desk at your condo building for the nearest one, they’ll know…

[bkkmfj2648]

34 minutes ago, EricV said:

Repair services are available and inexpensive in the Philippines: every major mall will have a Mr Quickie

Wow @EricV, you are amazing - you know everything about life in the Philippines.  Have you ever considered curating the Philippines section of our gayguides.com forum?  It is truly lacking in up-to-date information - as most of our forum members tend to contribute only to the Gay Thailand channel.

Sure enough, exactly as you stated, there is a MR. QUICKIE,  right here in the Cebu Ayala Mall - I would have never seen it - as I know the Ayala mall like the back of my hand after 60 days here.  It is located in the sub-basement Level -1, down where the car parking is.

https://mrquickie.com/

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1454118197944995&id=121503941206434&set=a.208386375851523

I see from Google that there are many more disbursed throughout the city of Cebu.

Shame on me, as I was a victim of my own "ethnocentrism", where I thought - well they do these kind of repairs at the laundromats that I have frequented in Thailand - thus creating my false expectation, that the same should be true in the Philippines.  I have lived in USA, Italy, Hungary, and now Thailand - and my personal experience has been that you can often get these kinds of clothing repairs done directly in the local laundromats - those where there is an attendant (mom & pop style shop) who is washing the clothes.  For obvious reasons, this service is not available in those sophisticated automatic laundromat. 

 

[spoon]

8 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Anyway, this gives me a purpose for today, – as when you are a retiree, with a lot of free time on your hands, you often find yourself looking for purpose.

When i read this part, i thought you were going to find a shop that will do the fixing for you, but instead shocked that you actually went to Mr. DIY to actually fix it yourself hehe. 

[bkkmfj2648]

5 minutes ago, spoon said:

i thought you were going to find a shop that will do the fixing for you, but instead shocked that you actually went to Mr. DIY to actually fix it yourself

Hahaha - yes, when I was a boy my mother taught me many things, of which one was how to sew.

Had I seen @EricV excellent suggestion prior to me going to the Mr. D.I.Y. store --> I would have instead brought my shorts to be repaired at the Mr. Quickie shop - just to have the experience and to see how "quick", Mr. Quickie would actually be 🤔 .

[Keithambrose]

5 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Hahaha - yes, when I was a boy my mother taught me many things, of which one was how to sew.

Had I seen @EricV excellent suggestion prior to me going to the Mr. D.I.Y. store --> I would have instead brought my shorts to be repaired at the Mr. Quickie shop - just to have the experience and to see how "quick", Mr. Quickie would actually be 🤔 .

And what other 'quickie' services he might offer? 

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 62 (28 February 2025) – Dark Day

 

Wake up and eat breakfast and I start to do the daily news perusal.

I see and read the AWFUL news that the Thai government has decided to forcibly deport the 40 Uyghurs that were held in detention for 11 years back to China – while we were all sleeping in the middle of the night.

This unsettling news cast a dark shadow over my entire day and made me question – why should I continue to live in Thailand as a retiree.  I understand that no country is perfect, especially my birth country – but after working most of my life for the United Nations, this news is very disheartening, knowing that Thailand was recently elected to serve a term from 2025 to 2027, as a new member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), effective 1 January 2025.  I remember how proud the Thai government was when they achieved this honorable accomplishment.

Therefore, it makes it even more difficult for me to understand why this current Thai government would violate international human rights law, especially the principle of non-refoulement, for which there is a complete prohibition in cases where there is a real risk of torture, ill-treatment, or other irreparable harm upon the return of non-Thai nationals to their home country – in this case, China.

So, I spend most of the day trying to digest this news and to prepare a list of articles that were written in the Thai language so that I can try to make my Thai boyfriend be aware as to what his  government has just done.  As usual, he pushes back, as I have learned over the years that the Thai people don’t like this kind of global criticism – and so he deflects with his normal deflection mechanisms:

·       I don’t follow what my government does,

·       I don’t understand politics,

·       Etcetra.

So, throughout the day I bombard him with tons of articles and opinion pieces and eventually he realizes that what his government has done is a bad thing.  I am relieved, because then from that moment forward I can have a meaningful conversation with him.  I try to make him understand that Thailand will now likely be subjected to the negative consequences of this unfortunate decision, which may hurt the Thai people - and this is my concern for him.  Already, Japan and the USA have issued travel advisories to stay alert for potential retaliatory threats.

Then I tell him that this kind of behavior (by his government) makes it hard for me to want to be proud to be retired in Thailand and makes me want to look elsewhere.  Obviously, he is quiet and does not like this.  But I want him to be aware – in case one day I do decide to jump ship.  The problem would be where to go?  It’s not like the neighboring countries are saints when it comes to protecting human rights.

There is already dissension within the current Thai government about this awful decision – I share this Bangkok Post article which tries to explain all sides of the argument.  As the Bangkok Post lives within the Kingdom of Thailand – it is limited on what it can expose.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2970273/thai-government-under-fire-for-claiming-uyghurs-left-voluntarily

Unfortunately, it has since leaked out that certain parts of the government were intentionally kept in the dark about inconvenient truths – in order to reduce the potential internal political pushback.  If you are curious about these leaks – look in the Khaosod English publication on the internet to learn more.  I do not post them here to avoid potential problems for any of us.

I think that the easiest countries for me to live in would be countries that are not afraid to stand up to China – as that would allow you to live in a place where you would not feel to be bullied by your northern big brother.

 

Who are these countries here in South East Asia ?

 

Not much else to report for today – just my usual boring updates about where I ate and where I walked. I will spare you all of this pestilence.

 

No massages or extra-curricular activities today.

 

Day 62 (28 February 2025) concluded – night of darkness

 

[PeterRS]

1 hour ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

I thnik that the easiest countries for me to live in would be countries that are not afraid to stand up to China – as that would allow you to live in a place where you would not feel to be bullied by your northern big brother.

 

Who are these countries here in South East Asia ?

I wonder if any of us would have made that comment, say, 20 years ago? And I expect probably not. Then we regarded China as the next big hope for the world's economy, the more so as Japan was only finally coming out of a decade of  deep economic recession. China was expanding at such a fast rate and everyone seemed to want to be associated with it. We knew about the one-child policy and the deaths of so many girl children. We didn't like it but we probably accepted the policy was essential to get the population growth rate of an underdeveloped country down. Just as Thailand had in the years after 1960 when the fertility rate was almost 6 children per family. It is now just under 2, but draconian measures were not needed. Khun Meechai and his popularisation of condoms helped achieve that.

What is so different now is that whereas China's leaders were then regarded as relatively benign and were following Deng Xiao-ping's policies of openess and economic development, Xi Jin-ping comes along and the ghosts of Mao, the dreadful Premier Li Peng and the old guard come back to haunt the country and the world. The extraordinary thing about Xi is that he comes from quite a liberal family. His father was a pal of Mao on the Great March and was made a Vice Premier in the new government. He advocated tolerance towards Tibet and even hosted the Dalai Lama in his home. His son's hard line probably developed after his father was denounced when the younger Xi was 9. Yet his father was rehabilitated after the Cultural Revolution and became the top Party official in the soon to be economic powerhouse of Guangdong Province.

China's top leadership was for decades after Mao a major struggle between the old guard and the reformers. I have no doubt that Xi, like others, lobbied hard for the top job. His campaign against corruption at high levels of the party was popular with the public, but that can not have been the only reason he got it. Did the reformer Presidents and Premiers who preceded him think he would continue their policies? Who was promoting him? We'll probably never know. But in the world at large, I think few expected he would become such a hard-line President much more in line with Mao than Deng?.

As the country's military has expanded under Xi, I do not know which Asian country could stand up to him. Perhaps Japan, but only because it is inextricably linked to the power of the USA. The other Asian countries are either too small or too weak. What will be interesting in the future will be Xi's position if anything happens to Putin. And when, as inevitably he will either through death or assassination, he passes from the scene, who will take over and will the reformers once again find a way to the top job? But all that is going to come too late for many consideing where they might retire. South America and even Portugal sudddenly seem a lot more attractive!

[bkkmfj2648]

2 hours ago, PeterRS said:

As the country's military has expanded under Xi, I do not know which Asian country could stand up to him.

Perhaps the Philippines? 

I am now physically here for more than 60 days and the Chinese are not seen positively by the Filipino population - mainly for 2 primary reasons:

1.  The ongoing dispute with China over the sovereignty of the Spratly Island region in the South China Sea.

https://eastasiaforum.org/2025/02/19/choppy-waters-continue-in-the-south-china-sea/

Often on the local news here the Philippine TV replays the many incidents where the Chinese are using their Coast Guard and/or military vessels to harass local Philippine fisherman and/or Philippine military ships with the abusive use of water cannons.

In June 2024, there was a physical incident when Filipino soldiers had to fight with the Chinese coast guard using their bare hands.  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgee719kqpdo

All of this Chinese bullying has pushed the Philippine government to create military defense alliances with Japan - with the USA providing anti-bullying support.

2. The ongoing and recent crackdown by the Philippine government on POGOs (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) facilities operating illegally within the territory of the Philippines.  The primary foreign citizens being arrested are Chinese nationals.  Consequently, the Filipinos roll their eyes when you bring up the POGO issue - and they often will reply that the Chinese need to go home.

https://agbrief.com/news/philippines/25/02/2025/philippine-national-police-intensifies-crackdown-on-illegal-pogos/

I don't see the Filipinos as being xenophobic - as they hold the Koreans and Japanese in high esteem and high regard.  Koreans are often looked up to in fashion for their look and white skin - you see it in the beauty shops and advertising displays.

Consequently, I see the above 2 examples of the Philippines standing up against the bullying done by the Chinese government.

 

The other SEA country where I saw fringes of standing up against the bullying done by China is Vietnam.

Similar to their maritime bullying tactics with the Philippines, they are using the same threatening tactics with the Paracel and Spratly Islands.  Very recently, 20 February 2025, the Vietnamese government offered to give logistical support to Philippine vessels - as a direct result of the 18 February Chinese helicopter incident that buzzed a Philippine plane near the Scarborough Shoal.  The Vietnamese government is having to deal with Vietnamese citizen anger over the incident when Chinese sea vessel personnel attacked ten Vietnamese fishermen in September 2024 that left 4 of the 10 fishermen with broken limbs.  So, the Vietnamese government finds itself being forced from within to stand up to the Chinese bully.  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/06/protests-vietnam-china-bullying-grows

In closing, when I was in Da Nang last April, a local Vietnamese asked me what I liked the most about Da Nang and I replied that I found the view from my 24th floor balcony of the Da Nang beach and of the South China Sea to be so breathtaking.  Well - this Vietnamese guy BARKED at me and said to me:

This is NOT the South China Sea.  Please call it by its right and correct name = East Vietnam Sea!!!

or as,  "Biển Đông", = East Sea.

So, I learned a valuable lesson about geopolitics during my stay in Vietnam.  As I naively thought that since Vietnam is a Communist country that it must be very aligned with China - as it is also a communist country.

 

 

 

[PeterRS]

9 minutes ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Perhaps the Philippines? 

Sadly I cannot see either the Philippines or Vietnam being a position where they either stand up to China - or want to, if push really comes to shove. The Spratly Islands dispute has several countries up in arms, including Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei in addition to the Philippines and Vietnam. No doubt the claimants are far from happy about it, but China has already taken many measures to ensure that the others are going to have problems if they really do want to take them. Alongside China's military might and air power, the other nations are mere minnows.

In 2016 a dispute between China and the Philippines brought up at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favour of the Philippines. Yet China has since then constructed ports, airstrips and military installations on the Islands. All the Philippines and other Asian nations have been able to do is talk - and strengthen alliances with the USA.

The US wants to maintain several principles, including Nonuse of Force in Settling Disputes and Freedom of the Seas. So far it has done little to stop China's expansion on the Islands.

With increasing US sanctions against Chinese manufacturers resulting in China moving many production facilities into Vietnam, I simply cannot see Vietnam upsetting that economic applecart by taking an even greater position against China re the Spratlys.

 

[bkkmfj2648]

51 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

Sadly I cannot see either the Philippines or Vietnam being a position where they either stand up to China - or want to

My last question to you in light of Thai government allowing China to bully them into forcibly deporting the 40+ Uyghurs back to China is:

Would you agree that in light of what I have written above that both the Philippines and Vietnam have done MORE to thwart Chinese bullying than the Thai government has?

Moving to Portugal or South America is not in the cards for me.  But, if I were to choose to leave Thailand, than I would prefer to choose a SEA country that is more willing to TRY to thwart China's bullying rather than acquiesce. 

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 63 (1 March 2025)

 

I go to the Ayala mall for breakfast and I attempt to eat at SBC

but there is already an AFAM (farang) ahead of me discussing with the SBC staff that any meal that includes potatoes is not available.  He is getting agitated.  After 60 days here, I realize that this is a normal thing with restaurants here – in that it is of no use arguing or asking for the missing food item to be substituted with another food item – because the local workers will just go in tilt – as they are not programmed to accommodate variation and will just tell you, “I am sorry sir, this meal is not available….”.  So, before my turn in the queue, I leave and I go and eat upstairs on the 4^th floor Roof Garden, at ABACA  .  As it being a Saturday, it is very crowded, and they eventually find me a seat and I order my usual eggs benedict with salmon and Okinawa iced coffee.  The Filipino guy sitting in front of me with a baseball cap is super sexy and I cannot stop staring at him.  I am sure that he was happy when I left – as I am sure that he was a heterosexual guy who might have not appreciated my lusty eyes on him.

Afterwards, I go back to my room to wait for Jeff, who will come at 2pm.  This will be the last time that I see Jeff, as he is heading back to Bohol later today and I am returning to Thailand on Monday.  Again, everything was perfect and by now we both know each other’s g-points and points-of-no return, as we do that dance towards an eventual explosive orgasm.  We wash up and he leaves and I wish him the best of luck with his life – he is such a masculine sexy Filipino guapo guy.

I post yesterday’s update about China bullying and Thailand’s acquiescence and respond to some forum member comments.  The rawness of what the Thai government did to those 40 Uyghurs, ever so slowly starts to wear off, as I start to realize that there is nothing that I can do about it.  I gain great comfort in that I can discuss this pain with my Thai boyfriend and he is actually compassionate and by now he has discussed it with many of his friends – who would normally not discuss Thai politics.  This made me feel to not be alone – because sometimes the silence can be deafening when awful things happen in life…

I decide to walk to IT Park, which takes about 30 minutes and I head to my favorite restaurant, WOLFLINK, and I order my favorite dish, the Wolf's Stew.

Afterwards, I go into the adjacent mini Ayala Mall of IT Park, and it is super crowded – as it is a Saturday evening.  My goal is to buy a “thank you” card and a small gift to give to Mr. B., who I will meet for the last time tomorrow, Sunday.  Prior to walking to IT Park, I went down to the mezzanine floor in my condo building, to drop off a bag of laundry = all of the 4 towels that I bought at the beginning of this trip, back in December, that were used to protect the various AirBnB bed mattresses from massage oils and creams.  Also, I bring the dark grey king size sheet set to the laundromat.  The woman tells me that everything will be ready by 9pm tonight – which is perfect, as I want to prepare the small blue luggage that I bought for the trip to Boracay – as I will gift it to Mr. B., where inside will be all of the now clean towels and sheets.

After my adventure in the super crowded IT Park mall, I walk over to see what is going on in front of the now crowded park that sits directly in front of the Sugbo Mercado:

Entrance to the Sugbo Mercado outdoor food court in the Cebu IT Park

and I notice that here is this very large flea market event happening, with the name = Ukay Ta Bai!

It is labeled as Cebu’s largest community flea market with many thrift items on offer.

Entrance to the Ukay Ta Bai! Thrift flea market

https://www.facebook.com/p/Ukay-Ta-Bai-61555142621174/

After returning back to my condo, I decide to sit out on the balcony, and I send the below photo to my Thai boyfriend, as Cebu city is truly illuminated tonight – similar to the many similar lights that I used to see when I lived in New York City.

Before going to sleep, I peruse my Twitter (X) feed and I see this funny tweet that is posted by a gay Filipino – as this is a cultural aspect that BOTH the Thai and Filipino guys have in common – that is the hunt for a rich and successful AFAM / Farang = sugardaddy.

 

Day 63 (1 March 2025) concluded.

 

[Raposa]

On 3/1/2025 at 12:20 PM, bkkmfj2648 said:

 

So, I learned a valuable lesson about geopolitics during my stay in Vietnam.  As I naively thought that since Vietnam is a Communist country that it must be very aligned with China - as it is also a communist country.

 

 

 

Vietnam was never aligned with China, despite of or because of they being within the sino cultural sphere. They were always afraid of being absorbed. They fought off the Chinese after they kicked the Americans out. They say the Americans or the French will never return, but they can’t be sure of China.

During the Cold War they were aligned with the USSR, and it was an USSR-Vietnam alliance that toppled the bloodthirsty Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. 

With the USA retreating from the rules based, human rights based order they were the architects of 80 years ago, the withering of multilateral institutions, and Europe being confined to the role as a museum, standing up to China for small countries will be very costly. This will be true world wide. 

[bkkmfj2648]

Day 64 (2 March 2025) – End of trip report

 

Today is my last day in Cebu, as I return to Thailand tomorrow afternoon.

I meet with Mr. B. for lunch today in the Ayala mall.  As it is a Sunday, and lunch time, it is very crowded and we need to eat in a restaurant that neither of us is familiar with.  It’s name is: BadBoys Swingz  .  As this is my last full day in Cebu, I want to try something different and this dish with the name = Pork Dinakdakan – looks yummy, as it looks like some kind of cream sauce on top of a pork chop ?

I start to eat it and I realize that I do not like it and later on thanks to Mr. B., I get the below picture to understand why I did not like it.  Yuck – it is not really my type of cuisine that I like.  I ordered it by only looking at its photo on the menu that did not contain the below description.

https://www.facebook.com/BBWINGZ/

After I attempted to eat a 1/3 of it, I then call over the waiter and I attempt to order a cheeseburger (now I wanted to play it safe) but he replies, “the chef cannot make you a cheeseburger because there is no cheese today – are you ok with a normal hamburger?”  I reply, yes.

I tell Mr. B., this is another perfect example of a typical experience that I have had numerous times here during my 60 days in the Philippines.  Mr. B. makes me understand that this is normal.  I tell him that I have personally been in many Thai restaurants where the dish that you requested is missing a key ingredient and I saw with my own eyes that the restaurant does one of the following 2 things:

• Sends one of the staff to go and buy the missing ingredient – often I have seen them in 7-Eleven buying the missing and/or run out of inventory item,
• or, they ask you if the missing ingredient can be substituted with something else.

Mr. B. makes me understand that this would never happen – as the staff are NEVER allowed to leave the restaurant to go to the nearby 7-Eleven (they are everywhere here in Cebu just like in Pattaya) or nearby supermarket to buy the missing ingredient.  Furthermore, the chef is only allowed to prepare the dish in accordance with the strict recipe.  I explained to Mr. B. that this is a big difference than in many other countries that I have been in – where they are empowered to improvise – in order to keep the customer happy.

By the way, my hamburger was very good and Mr. B. enjoyed his meal.

While we were eating, Mr. B. teaches me about another Filipino idiom regarding AFAMs.  That is to say, “escape from poverty….”.  To put it into context, if some Filipinos see a Filipino person walking with an AFAM (farang), as they pass by, the Filipinos who are observing them may say, “escaping from poverty….”, in such a way, in the local language tagalog, so that the Filipino person hears it and the AFAM does not understand it.  Everyone has a good laugh and the AFAM does not have a clue.

I tried to find a Thai equivalent – as I have heard the money boys back in the Jomtien Complex – Supertown laugh and giggle when one of them “hits the jackpot…” – as in they found a farang who has money - dtee sua (ตีสัว).

So, this is another similarity between Thailand and the Philippines.

Afterwards, we go to my condo so that I can give Mr. B. the promised luggage with the 5 new towels and 1 set of dark grey sheets.  As I see that there is still some spare room in the luggage I show him the many drinks that were in my refrigerator that I will not consume before I fly back to Thailand and he agrees to take them and I am super happy about that.

We sit and chat for a while and reminisce about our many trips that we did together and how our wonderful friendship developed in these 60 days.  We are both sad that we will not see each other unless I return again to the Philippines or if Mr. B. comes to Pattaya.  As Mr. B. is ambitious and wants to move abroad to have an out-of-country work experience – I am not sure if we will ever see each other again, but we agree to keep in touch via WhatsApp.

Mr. B. leaves with the luggage and I am truly sad.  But, unbeknownst to Mr. B. I snuck a surprise within the towels that he will discover after he opens the luggage back in his boarding house room.  Sure enough, about 1 hour later, he discovers my surprise and he is truly overjoyed, especially with the kind words that I put in the card, some surprise pesos, and a little black book for him to keep notes about his to-be worldwide adventures. 

Mission accomplished, as he only discovered his surprise back in his room, because any other time that I have tried to reward him, he ALWAYS pushes back on anything that I try to give him – as he is such a kind and modest authentic non-greedy Filipino person.  He will make someone an excellent partner.

I love making surprises

I start packing for my return to Thailand and then I call it a night and I set the alarm so that I will wake up in time to finish packing and to check out and get to the airport in time.

 

This is the end of this trip report series to learn if an elderly gay retiree can live ok in the Cebu city area in the Philippines.  After 60 days here, I have determined that the answer is YES, and for my retiree living requirements – the place that I would choose is:

--> The MegaWorld Mactan Newtown township over on Mactan island at the beach <--

--> As it offers a lifestyle that is the closest to what I have back in Jomtien in Thailand <--

--> And the condo complex that I would choose would be - One Pacific Residence  (OPR) <--

--> note that 3 additional condo complexes are currently under construction - so, these would need to be evaluated to understand if OPR would remain as the number one choice  <--

 

In second place would be the CBP Cebu Business Park, and in third place would be the Cebu IT Park.

 

Thanks for coming along on my 60+ day adventure, and I hope that you enjoyed the journey with me.

 

My next trip report will be in late April and from Da Nang, Vietnam, and since I will be there for around 130 days, I am thinking to just do weekly updates – as these daily updates are a killer.  Also, I will have my Thai boyfriend with me – so I will have less down time.

 

Day 64 (2 March 2025) – concluded – End of this Trip Report.