Some travel scares in the Philippines

[Palawan 131]

On 8/1/2022 at 9:04 PM, Cyberfx1024 said:

If you go over to the expat forum in the Philippines sub this is a very common problem people have with trying to build a house in the Philippines. You have to be there or have someone there that knows that's going on 100% of the time. If you do not then it will be a substandard build

From what I gathered when a house is built in Philippines normal quality, it is really already substandard in regards to US building methods.

 

My nephew has went overboard and built to USA standard, but he has spent a fortune as well.

 

Now I understand why when you see a typhoon or a earthquake occur, why so many houses are destroyed in the Philippines, it is due to the substandard building practices they use.

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

On 6/7/2022 at 7:49 AM, flicks1998 said:

From a tourist perspective, the scams are relatively low level and for relatively small amounts. 

For tourist scams and petty theft of tourists, the worst city I have been to is Barcelona.  If you go there for the tourist attractions, make sure you read up on the latest scams before you go.

[flicks1998 1,044]

7 hours ago, seekingthetruth said:

For tourist scams and petty theft of tourists, the worst city I have been to is Barcelona.  If you go there for the tourist attractions, make sure you read up on the latest scams before you go.

Yes, I remember Spain being tricky.  20+ years ago, I was robbed in a hostel in Madrid, my friend was held up at knifepoint in Barcelona, and I had another issue on a separate trip to Barcelona where I was sitting on a park bench and one guy sat next to me making up a conversation to distract me, while another guy sat on my opposite side trying to go through my bag.  Havent been back since, but the guy who was helped up at knifepoint is moving to Spain permanently this month.  All of this happened around 1996-1999.

[Stevephoto 230]

On 7/30/2022 at 1:11 AM, Palawan said:

We were at a gas station waiting on gas, another car pulls up and tries to cut in front of us, clearly blantant.  Thankfully it was me and my relative and the other guy had him and his buddy, well we got into a confrontation, he was driving some type of truck and he quickly ran to the back to get a jack to fight with,  That is the kind of stuff you have to deal with in the Philippines.  As I said if you do get into confrontation it seems they will only want to fight if they can outnumber you, or if they can get some type of weapon.  

 

 

I was at a gas station in Hawaii and some guy offered to help me (I have cerebral palsy). I said thanks and went inside to pay. The (fill in whatever nasty word you want) then pulled his truck up to the still open pump and filled HIS truck up and took off. Thankfully the person working the counter recognized the truck and adjusted my bill. It happens and lesson learned. As for the Philippines, I had one scare going through security 10 years ago: the xray showed an Ipad at a strange angle and it looked like a knife. Cannot blame them for searching in that case. The only "hassles" I get at the airport is the occasional "medical clearance" interview I have to go through to explain what cerebral palsy is (two times). Maybe going through security in a wheelchair has some benefits! Funny story about taxis: Yes I was scammed, but I recognized it and got pissed.  I through down an amount of money (before I really understood the conversions) that was...well let's say I unintentionally gave him a big tip. Another time some guy asked for P1000 for offering me a hand getting out of a kalesa. My then fiancee (now wife) took over and said some things that I still don't understand! Bottom line: many times in the PI with few attempted scams--BUT it is always good to be aware of your surroundings--even driving to work in your home town.

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

On 8/2/2022 at 11:08 PM, flicks1998 said:

Yes, I remember Spain being tricky.  20+ years ago, I was robbed in a hostel in Madrid, my friend was held up at knifepoint in Barcelona, and I had another issue on a separate trip to Barcelona where I was sitting on a park bench and one guy sat next to me making up a conversation to distract me, while another guy sat on my opposite side trying to go through my bag.  Havent been back since, but the guy who was helped up at knifepoint is moving to Spain permanently this month.  All of this happened around 1996-1999.

In 2008 I was planning a big 3 week trip with a Korean girl I knew while I lived in Germany.  It was a driving trip to many cities, so it took a lot of planning.  Her brother flew in from Korea and met us along the way.

 

I had heard a lot about the petty crime in Barcelona and did a lot of research on what not to do.  I read that there were a lot of vehicle scams like someone letting some air out of your tire, following you, acting like a good Samaritan, then robbing you.  That one worried me but never materialized.

 

However, we had 3 incidents in two days!  My Korean friends probably made us stand out more as tourists.  In some of the popular parks, there are bands of girls who look ok and are trying to sell something.  I can't remember what.  I was not close by and did not see this, but my Korean girl friend was talking to them, probably telling them No, when one of them just slapped her hard across face!  Not sure why, but it may have been an attempt to distract her so the others could grab her stuff.  Nothing was taken.

 

Then something else went missing when we out and about.  I can't remember what right now.

 

Here is the kicker.  We were in this nice park in a hillside area with not many people.  There were these big concrete 'steps" going up the hill.  We were sitting down resting when these two teenage guys approached.  They made some small talk, and then all of a sudden, they jumped on the brother, trying to get his camera!  He fought them off for a second, but they got the camera and took off running.  The best I could do was unsuccessfully try to trip one of them when he ran by.

 

So the Korean brother, and his sister, take off after them, down this steep hill, to the main road, which is another downhill.  I gather up the stuff they left, and try to follow, yelling for them to stop.  The brother was only 21 I think, and that camera was very valuable to him.  I would never follow a thief like that, especially in an area I don't know.

 

So they ran down a hill and the street dead ended at an apartment building, and the thieves went inside.  When I was at the top of the hill, quite a distance away,  I could see my friends standing in the street talking to someone.  They told me later, they stood outside, yelling at the thieves from the street, saying what they stole, and raising quite a scene.  Then they heard a lot of screaming inside the building, and it appeared the thieves were catching hell from their family(s)!

 

And a short time later, they returned to me, with the camera!  Someone in the family brought it out, was very nice, and apologized for the boy's behavior!