Places to visit in the Philippines

Get low airfare in the off season, May through October. You can even come over and back on a courier flight, any time and it's very cheap.

Book your hotel in advance since the good hotels sometimes fill up quickly. You can always find a good "pension house", to accommodate you in the $35-$50 range. These will have private bath, cable TV, air conditioning and hot water most of the time.

Travel by land since it is inexpensive. A ride across a large city like Cebu in an air conditioned taxi is about .40 US and the ride to most airports not much more than that. Most airports are close into town.

• Jeepney fares, are Peso 6 - 7, about 10 cents us, the main mode of transportation for most people. They are colorful and fun except when it is raining, they do leak.

If you want to tour around Manila in a much cheaper and faster long distances destinations, ride the LRT (Manila Light Rail Transit System) and the MRT (Manila Metro Rail Transit System) with fares ranging from 10-15 pesos (25-35 US cents) or a stored-value (multiple-use) ticket ranging from 100 to 200 pesos (2.50-2.80 US dollar).

Eat out. American and other international foods are available. Fast food places from Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonald's to their own, Jollibee, abound and prices are cheaper than in almost every country in the world.

Visit the nightlife. The Philippines is always voted as best in night life by the expats in Asia, and the prices are the best too.

Go shopping. There are many local handicrafts to buy. Do not overlook the silver, handmade in Baguio City, in the north of the main island Luzon, famous for years. Baguio is one of the cooler places to go too, in the mountains, the City of Pines.

Don't tip. Tipping is the exception, not the rule. If you want to be given preferred treatment, even without making a reservation, give a hefty tip immediately and discreetly. With that, you can almost expect to be treated like a king. Filipinos are avid practitioners of The Golden Rule.

Get sporty. Golf and other entertainments abound. Japanese tourists fly from Japan stay two nights at a first class hotel, play two rounds of golf on the weekend, have a caddie and umbrella girl and a nice room and food for the price of one round of golf in Japan.

10

See the movies. First run movies are about 3.00USD or less and sometimes are in the cinemas before they hit larger countries(just make sure you get there early enough Philippine theaters have been known to have standing room only)