*PHONE: The Philippines does not have the convenient phone card system that is popular in Thailand and the local long distance kiosks are outrageously expensive. Your best option is buying a cell phone and purchasing a 500 piso load card to check in with work or other people back home. There are many cell phone dealers across the street from Margarita Station on Fields and at Nepo Mall in Angeles City. I would avoid Savers Mall in Balibago as they are overpriced and cater to impulse buying bargirls. Depending on the type of phone you want, you can purchase a phone from 1,200 pisos to 5,000. Cell phones are a must if you are staying longer than a week because all the girls will contact you via txt messages. It’s a fun way to keep in contact with the girls and will save you money in the long run. The girls will come over for afternoon sessions before work, when the get off work or on their day off for about 500 pisos for short time....this is what they would receive from the bar for an all-nighter, so everyone wins. It’s also a great way to get back in contact with a girl the next time you arrive or to track down a popular girl who will usually work whenever she feels like it. Do not make calls from your hotel room as the hotel will gouge the shit out of you and you will be shocked how expensive it is, same goes for internet cafes. If you have a phone from Thailand, you will be able to use those phones in AC, provided you pay them 800 pisos to unlock the phone and an additional 300 pisos for a SIM Card or more. Some Thai phones are already unlocked and ready to go, depending on the service provider and the brand of the phone.

*INTERNET: Internet cafes are readily available up and down Fields Ave. and vary from 50 to 80 pisos per hour. The internet café in the back of Margarita Station and at Rick’s Café are both fairly quick. The one in back of Margarita Station has a CD Burner if you need that service for some reason. Kokomo’s Hotel has a desk top computer with internet access. Orchid Inn Superior rooms have internet access as well for those of you bringing laptops. Clarkton Inn has a laptop in their café for internet access and another computer in their business center. Hana Hotel has a small business center with internet access as well. You will soon find out that some of the cafes will block your access to nude pics.

PHOTOGRAPHY: I have come to find out that a digital camera with 3 megapixel minimum is essential in AC. I would recommend finding a camera that is small and portable. Good idea to bring extra memory and burn copies onto a CD as the memory becomes full at Rick’s Café business center. There is also a few places that will burn copies for you or print pics from your memory stick on MacCarthur Blvd and a Kodak Center next to ChowKing on Fields. Filipinas like to wear this bluish/white makeup that is not noticeable in person but the flash can make their faces glow with a regular camera and make a hot girl look aweful. Digital cameras can eradicate this problem or minimize it depending on the quality of camera you have. I am no expert on digital cameras as I finally bought one but I looked at the difference between Ahora007's 5.0 Sony and my regular camera photos and it didn’t even look like we were taking pictures of the same girl. In the bars, almost all of the managers will allow you to start snapping photos. Even if you start snapping away at the smaller bars, they will not stop you as they want their bar promoted. It’s advisable to ask a girl to take her picture before you do so. Don’t just go in and start snapping away at girls before meeting them as they might get pissed. This is where a digital camera comes in handy as the girls love to look at their pic instantly. Anyone with one of those new Canon photo makers will be a huge hit as you can make pics instantly in your room and give them to the girl before you leave.

*MISC TECHNOLOGY: Not all hotels carry 220v outlets so contact the hotel ahead of time prior to arrival. Many electronic items, including laptops have dual voltage but it can be a problem for electric razors, phone chargers from home, or portable music (MP3, Discmen, ghetto blasters). Many times AC will experience temporary brownouts but most hotels have backup generators, so you shouldn’t be inconvenienced for very long.

Blazers,

I can't imagine SIM cards being unavailable in Manila. I'll be back in Feb-- and will try to hunt one down then...

They are all over Manila...everything is available in Manila. I will be making a Makati guide soon.

AC Mo, the owner of Kokomoz, announced today that they were going to have computers and internet available downstairs in the bar/restaurant area and that the first 20 minutes of use would be free, plus if you buy food/drink they'll give you one free minute of internet per peso spent on your food/bar tab. I would imagine that the free 20 minutes of internet would draw bargirls in there like flies -- voila freelance joint! It'll be interesting to see what happens.

I bought my Philippines cell phone at Robinson's Place Mall, in Ermita. They certainly have sim cards at the same store--in fact I'm going in there this Saturday to get a new one. (One thing I didn't realize about sim cards until recently is that the phone's number is changed--so if you aren't interested in your old honeyko being able to call you on later trips, just get a new sim card!)