Sunday, Aug 18, 2013.

Morning threat of coming rain. In the afternoon, there was light rain or sprinkling. I went to a 6 pm concert and it was easy to find a taxicab.

After 8 pm and the concert was over, rain was pouring down. I walked over to Roxas Blvd and Vito Cruz street to find a taxicab. The corners were flooded ankle-deep. There were a lot of taxicabs passing by, but nearly all had passengers. Unusual for a Sunday evening. Not unusual in a rain.

First empty taxi, the driver wanted 200 pesos. I declined and a young Filipino male near me grabbed the taxi. After dickering for a couple of minutes, he got into the taxi and it drove on.

After standing in the rain under my umbrella, I finally got a taxi. We took off heading north on Roxas Blvd. We immediately were behind lines of vehicles moving about 5 mph. Drivers were afraid of the over-ankle deep water. The right-most lane had deeper water and a few SUVs drove on it to quickly bypass the slow lanes.

The access road seemed dryer, except when it crossed east-west streets.

We turned right onto Pedro Gil street. My driver really did not like the over-ankle deep water. I said, do not go on Mabini or Adriatico streets, where rain water usually flood first before Pedro Gil floods.

He drove very slowly, gasping all the way to Robinson mall. Lots of people were waiting for taxicabs, but there was only one other taxi there. I paid my driver, double the 62.5 peso on the meter. I pointed out that he had lots of customers in front of the mall. He said, no more passenger. He drove off by himself.

Cable tv has a lot of local tv stations, but no one was reporting on the weather. I guess Filipino news people on tv do not work weekends.

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Monday.

Overcast, some sprinkles. I went over to the mall and bought some groceries. The supermarket was not crowded, like in the past when everyone expected a typhoon to hit. Prices on certain green vegetables were doubled, probably due to flooding disrupting transportation in other parts of this island Luzon.

After 6 pm, I was thinking of happy hours. There were a few puddles in the street. Since parts of a street are not well-lit, so I returned to my room. In the past, I have stepped into a puddle and ended in ankle-deep water with a wet shoe and sock.

I watched tv and there was a lot of local reporting on certain streets and certain parts of Metro Manila and nearby cities in calf-high water or worse. Some people had been evacuated. A few hundreds. Big trucks easily moved on streets.

Weather people explained that Tropical Storm Maring and the annual southwest monsoon were causing the rain. Government offices and schools were closed.

I watched the tv program "Legal Help Desk". Two lawyer-hosts interviewed and questioned a third lawyer-guest about Sharia law. They explained that PI has 5 million Moslems, who were subject to Sharia law which the Marcos government recognized in late 1970s.

The female lawyer-host had a major concern about marriage. She said that when she was young, her girl friends told her not to marry a Moslem man. The reason was that he only had to say "I divorce you" three times to end a marriage.

The Moslem lawyer said that it was true, but divorce was considered the last option for a married couple with difficulties.

I thought it was odd that PI allows divorce for Moslems, but not for other citizens.

The subject of a Moslem man having several wives came up.

The Moslem lawyer said that the first wife usually had a say about the man's having another wife.

I wanted to send a text or email asking whether it was true or not that a man could marry a Moslem girl for one night and get a divorce in the morning.

Unfortunately, that topic did not come up.

A couple of years ago, I did try to put the move on a Moslem girl. She said that she would have sex with me, if I marry her for at least 30 days. I said that I would never buy a pair of shoes without putting them on first. She was very pretty, a college graduate, but annoying in constantly texting me on the cell phone.

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Tuesday.

Morning. Adriatico and Mabini streets were flooded. This usually happens after about an hour of heavy rain and then an hour later, the water is gone except for some puddles. A light rain was coming down. I guess that the light rain must have been continuous throughout the preceding night.

Several pedicab-trikes were biking through the over-ankle deep water. A lot of people were hovering under overhangs. They looked like poor people who usually slept on the sidewalks. Some sidewalk vendors were out, the noisiest were the umbrella hawkers. But, no one was buying and no one wanted a pedicab.

Nearly all Filipinos wear flip-flops (aka shower shoes) all the time. Wearing them is practical when wading in flood waters. But, there is a risk of a disease that comes from infected rat urine, which has been reported in past years after floods.

At the Robinson mall, the supermarket was opened but there was hardly any cashier, a few stock men, and a few customers. Nearly all stores in the mall were closed, including all the chain fast food eateries. But, there were a handful of eateries opened. The mall did not have a lot of people walking around, not as many as the number of people living in the many nearby 30-plus floor high condominium buildings.

On tv, there was a continuous government press conference on many local stations discussing the weather, the flooding, evacuations, etc.

Flooded streets during days-long typhoon of heavy rain, strong winds, and power outage seem normal. Yes, I was in Ermita when typhoon Ondoy hit Manila in Sep 2009.

But, flooded streets after moderate, continuous rain with a slight breeze and no power outage seem odd. I guess metro Manila has no metro-wide sewerage system.

I am glad that I am stocked up with cans of tuna, sardines, and spam; spaghetti, noodle soup, bread, etc; gallons of alkaline water and garbage cans of shower water; batteries for my radio, mp3 players, cell phone; and podcasts for listening and detective novels for reading.

For podcasts, I recommend: "All Things Considered" for news, "People Pharmacy" for health, "Planet Money" and "Freakonomic" for economics, "Marketplace Money" for consumer finance, "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" for news and humor, "Science Friday" and "Radio Lab" for science news, "This American Life" and "The Moth" and "Snap Judgment" for story-telling, and "What The Fuck" for comedy and/or biography of entertainment talents.

Food, water, and entertainment -- the basics of life. Who needs hot and cold-running maids.

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A middle-aged Filipino man recently asked me for the secret of longevity?

I replied, no sex. I explained that a woman causes stress, such as the constant demand for money. He agreed that his wife was always asking him for money.

Then he asked, what about a companion?

I replied, get a dog. I explained that when times are tough, you can always have the dog for dinner.

I do not think he understood Western humor.

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Eurotel Hotel, Angeles City (CH Link) - security flaws


Eurotel Hotel is a chain hotel in the Philippines.

A new Eurotel Hotel was opened in Feb 2013, next to Devera Hotel (which is next to Ponytails club).

I stayed there in June 2013, lured by prospects of a clean, new room and a 5 nights for four nights paid in advance promotion.

The short version of my story is that someone stole my locked PacSafe bag out of the in-room safe (called vault by the locals), during the day sometime between 10 am and 1:30 pm..

My combination code worked, so someone had a key to the safe.

Also, that someone had a keycard to open my room door, or a key.

Security flaws:

1. obvious.

2. Even though the safe seems identical to the $40 combination safe that you can buy at CDR-King, the hotel connected the safe to electrical power instead of using batteries. Apparently, a power outage will knock out my combination code and revert to a 3-digit code.

3. Hotel does not have a CCTV camera on its upper floors. Only on the entrances.

4. Hotel was uncooperative in several ways.

-- One, the hotel said that its Manila home office had the access code to the CCTV file and after four days the hotel did not show the file to me or the police.

-- Two, the hotel claimed that it did not know that a power outage would cause the safe to revert to a 3-digit code, which was the same 3-digit code inputted by room attendants when a guest checks out of the hotel.

-- Three, the hotel did not provide photos of its floor staffers, until a month later I sent a long email to its Manila home office about the robbery and hotel's security flaws.

The 1500-peso room is not bad, especially with a mirror next to the bed so you can look and a five-nights-for-four-nights-paid promotion. But, it has no mini-frig and no electric hot water kettle. The shower has no water retaining separator; result is water all over the bathroom floor.

So, if you stay there, be cautious about your valuables.


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G Point (CH Link) - tap beers - 50 peso - until 7 pm

G Point is in Ermita, on Padre Faura street, between Mabini street and Adriatico street.

Freelance girls usually cluster in this bar about 10 pm when a small live band plays music and customers dance with the girls.

I do not frequent this bar, because it is too small for me, gets too crowded in the late evenings, and girls average in the 5 - 7 range on a ten scale and seem a little too experienced and/or desperate.

Recently, the bar began offering 5 tap beers for 50 pesos, during happy hours, which end at 7 pm. One tap beer is San Miguel. Another tap beer is IPA (Indian Pale Ale). A third tap beer is Bumpy Butt. The latter two beers are served in a tall pilsner glass, which seems like at least 12 fluid ounces. The last two beers have bitter taste and are served in a much smaller glassware.

Other bars in Ermita serve beer brands other than San Miguel, but they can be pricey, like up to 200 pesos.

If you like to vary your beers, I recommend trying happy hours at G Point for a change.

By the way, why bars charge and people pay more for a San Miguel Light beer which has less alcohol than San Miguel Pilsen (also called SMB) is a puzzlement. Some claim that SML has a better taste. But, it taste like water to me.


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Badonkadonk, Del Pilar street, Ermita, Manila

A new bar that opened about a month ago. Located near Bar Amazonia, about half block from Manila Bay Cafe.

Very nicely decorated. Two levels, air-conditioned indoor, outdoor patios, pool table.

Happy hours to 8 pm inside and 10 pm outside on the patios. 60 pesos for a San Miguel during happy hours.

Free popcorn. Better waitress service at the tables than at the bar.

Dancing waitresses on the 2nd floor catwalk, 15-minute show about every half hour.

Note that Mayor Alfredo Lim is no longer in office since July 2013. So, maybe the girly shows will come back to Ermita's expat bars.

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Hot Tips, Adriatico street, Ermita, Manila

This bar was opened on Del Pilar street, near Padre Faura street, several months ago.

It moved to Adriatico street (around the corner from G Point which is on Padre Faura street) about a month ago.

New interior, air conditioned. Kinda small, although barely big enough for its one pool table.

A quiet bar, meaning not a lot of customers. Best thing is you can ask for your favorite sports program to be shown on the flat screen.

Happy hours end 8 pm, with a San Miguel beer costing 55 pesos during that time.

I usually travel with my Samsonite hard luggage which has combination locks on it. I also take a bicycle cable lock and a big Sesamee padlock. In addition, I also have a longer shackle Sesamee padlock and another cable to physically lock the closet doors. When I go out of the room, the hard luggage gets put into the closet and the closet is secured with the additional padlock.

As for my money and important documents, I will take a drawer out of the dresser. Physically remove the drawer. Then with a big manila envelope and some tape I secure it to the inside of the dresser and then put the drawer back in.

I once lost the combination to the safe and they sent some guy up to help me out. He had some type of master key and opened the safe up in a second. So the safes are really not that safe. They are good for when the girls are in the room, but not when you leave the room.

I have been thinking of this thingy. Anyone have first hand use of it.


http://www.amazon.com/Milockie-17312-Hotel-Safe-Lock/dp/B0042WWMA8

I had a similar safe problem in the Natalia hotel. I had all my cash and papers in the safe. Half way through my trip i went in to take out some cash because i was to lazy to go to the ATM. In doing so i noticed my money was gone 500US. After looking through the rest of my stuff on all the shelves in the back corner of the upper closet i found the pass key to the safe which opened my safe. I reported it and the hotel called the police. I showed the police the key and the hotel manager said the key was issued to me due to problems with the safe. I work in the hotel industery. That is just not done! So it seems the Chamber maid Michael and the manager who covered for him were in on it together. The police knew i had then dead to rights but could do nothing. I not only lost the cash but a lot of time. So far the safest hotels i have been in are the Orchid chains.

I am in Asia now. I am using one of those hotel safe locks.
If you work at it you can defeat it, but it is noway you can get it back on the safe so it is clear someone opened your safe.

That is why I bought it. It is a good deterrent and if someone wants to steal out of a safe, they look elsewhere.