First I would like to say thanks to all those on this forum I would have never done this so soon without your reports and now that I am back I am astonished with how accurate the reports have been. THANK YOU. This report will offer nothing new for vets but I hope other newbies will learn something that maybe the vets have overlooked considering the exp. Ultimately these vets know what they are talking about and from my limited exp. it was well worth listening too. , especially what needs to be done to help preserve this great hobby. Me- I might be the youngest guy around here- 30's look 20's. I am a college student in the Nor Cali area with easy access to SFO and LAX. YES YOU CAN DO THIS ON A LIMITED BUDGET! I blew my chance to do this last summer and was kicking myself all year. I joined an Air Courier service for about 30$ to learn about last min flights with 1 or no check in luggage. Saw nothing to Thailand but some deals to Phil 4-550 rt in aug. not good for me- start of school sememster. Oct comes around and I get my mid terms. All A's. Man I deserve a reward. Check the courier site 500 rt to manila hmmm not bad but I cant miss school. Next week 450 rt, less than a week to flight time. Now I start looking hard. Call my proffesors about future test etc. looking better and better. Finally 4 days before flight I call jupiter air 350 rt TOTAL! SOLD! I could have gone for 2 weeks but I just couldnt miss the time but 6 days?? Since this all happened last minute I made hasty online bookings which I dont regret actually very happy with but next time I'll save even more.

Flights- Japan Air- sfo- tokyo- manila with 2 hour lay over in tokyo. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE. I was worried that the flight would kill me, and I am an young guy, not true.

Sorry funny side story- I am sitting in SFO international with a mild hangover. This guy looks at me and says " Oh good old Jupiter Air". I say hello we introduce etc. He instantly reads my like a book. I play innocent -"well I wanted travel to the far east...." but he wasnt dumb. apparently he is an now living in SEA. Quickly I realize hes cool and he immediatly gives my great advise that coincides with the great advise I learned here. Quickly I feel ever better knowing my game plan is right on track. However i lost his contact info!?!?! Fuck!! Very Cool Cat hopefully i can track him down and say thanks.

Flight- not anywhere as bad as I thought. I saw 1 good and 1 bad movie plus lots of crappy video games on my little LCD screen+ my IPOD turned 10 hours into what felt like 4. HELL I AM GEN X GIVE ME VIDEO GAMES AND TV SHIT..........
Second flight got hard should of slept while i could.

Arrive Manila- customs was easy- Courier responsiblities easy- email me if you wanna know details. Its 11 pm I am tired. I let the Taxi mafia win 500 peso to ermita Lotus Garden Hotel.
First exp. in Phil. Taxi driver shows me pic of 18 virgin daughter- actually cute- tries to call her- No thanks- just get me to where I am going please. INSANE TRAFFIC!!!!!!

Arrive Lotus GARDEN hOTEL ERMITA. 30$ PER NIGHT RIGHT AROUND CORNER FROM La CAfe. Good hotel. good customer service. *** wouldnt let girls leave hotel without my permission via phone call- nice touch****

Get in late 11 pm. go to la cafe get drunk fast- get mobbed by girls- easily the youngest guy there. I dont like being rude but i had too a few times. anyways drank too much took a gal home, barely made check out time. Cab to bus station to Angeles- 550 peso. THERE IS NO REASON NOT TO TAKE A BUS TO ANGELES. I wish I had time to check out edsa or makati but airport buddy said that with my time and money I was right on track.running late i lost myarrangements with the courier serivice. NOT LIKE ME- but i never lose my passport keys or wallet. I was pissed at myself but I wouldnt let me down- I delt with it and solved it eventually.

Angeles- Finally I arrive in angeles- i knew that i would see some 1st hand 3dr world poverty that i only had a glimpse of in Manila due to my limilted exsposer there. And it pretty much was what I exspected however something I wasnt prepared for and not mentioned here was the AIR POLLUTION. JESUS CHRIST!!!!! I was on a back of a trike for a half hour going into Angeles and felt like was I as sucking on a exhaust pipe- NO KIDDING!!!! No wonder we didint sign the Kyoto aggrement?!? Even after a few days in Angeles it still got hard to handle to air pollution. I am an x smoker not some tight ass bay area fuck. That was the only thing I didnt plan for.

Hotel- I stayed at the Hotel Natalia. 30$ per night. NICE NEW. interent might be as good as it gets. Rooms big great new nice, service great- no chage extra for towels etc. no pool etc. no complaints at all, but next time i think all look elsewhere to save money- but highly recommened. why??? they answered my email quickly for booking. super new and clean

Clubs girls- its all been said before- even though it was my first time i still agree the talent always changes- bottom line there is lots of pussy so go shopping. 1200 peso is the going rate for BF. DONT TIP for ST. LT if they deserve it and most did in my opinion. Dont over pay please- these guys on this forum are right. Military coming back? maybe i did see an ac-10 warthog take off- pretty cool.

FOOD- sucks- I heard that margarita station was good- tries it twice very bad. Kookamoos better but stil not good. ORchid Inn - FINALLY GOOD FOOD ate there exclusively after that point and would rec. staying there too, too late for staying there as they are bookrf in advance but it didnt stop me from pretending I lived there for everythin except sleep. Highly rec. esp. food. HOLE IN THE WALL- good food great Manager named Chet- this is an ex pat military Harley bar- DONT FUCK WITH THESE GUYS- ex. dont bad mouth usa or military. I get along with these types of folk but fair warning.

Long story short- I never thought in my life i would ever utter these words " I THINK I AM ACTAULLY TIRED OF PUSSY AND BEER" and an giant empty void consumed my soul. then after 20 sec. I realized that I simply needed another BJ and all was well.

After doing the math I realised that i spent about he same amount of $ I did on going to my friends wedding on the east coast. And I dont even talk to the asshole anymore. total 1200-1500 total and it could have been less had I known more. GO but dont ruin it for the rest of use- yes i saw all those annoying Koreans and only once did i get ignorned by all gal becasue she was holding out for those guys, but lisetn to this forume and you'll be fine. Courier flights?? dont be shy if your solo. Happy travels

Great thread, if you could tell me mroe about the courier service that'd be awesome.
GOT ANY PICS???

Hey 29blue, thanks for a great report, I always appreciate seeing my favorite destination from a different perspective. Had to chuckle when you said the reports are all accurate, which is true as we have well developed BS detectors, but I do remember researching on other boards prior to my first few trips and finding out, belatedly, that many on other sites had visions of grandeur or exaggerated. "Whattaya mean there is no Soi 7 3/4?"

I wish I had the foresight to discover this hobby when I was in college, but then again, I didn't have two nickles to rub together back then. Enjoy the life.

Merlin, I totally agree with the sentiment that all you pretty much get straight poop from the reporters on Hombre. I know reports from guys like you, Blazers, Don Marco, Crazier, Porker, Epi (well his photos), and etc. properly set my expectations about the locals I have visited. The debates about one place versus another are, outside the few but obvious examples of shilling, good natured and driven by differences of subjective evaluation of the facts.

If I am considering someplace new or looking for info on a known local I first turn to CH and hope someone has covered it here. Often times when I have followed up on reports on ther sites to often stuff wasn't as represented.

Hey Peter nice report and good info. My one suggestion is that next time at the Hotel Natalia turn Left instead of right. Once past the wet market you will start to see the first Perimeter road bars. Girls are wilder, better looking, and cheaper but you won't see line-up with a 100 girls here. Oh yeah your drinks and LD's are cheaper. Plus there some good eats out there as well.

Me- I might be the youngest guy around here- 30's look 20's.

Just so you know, there's a LOT of us that are 30s but look 20s... well, maybe only to ourselves and not before that first cup of coffee (or 3 R&Cs) at the crack of 2pm...

Good stuff. We here tend to get caught up in our own dramas and forget that there are people coming to this site and using it to prepare for their first overseas journey. Nice to know that between all our bullshit there's some real information that's actually useful to the newbie.

Gotta echo P83 - where's the pics?!?!

E

Hey how about us in our 30's who look like we are in our 40's? The dedicated CH reporter's life can be a hard living way off life. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

This is what I enjoy hearing most, a trip where someone got laid without spending a lot of $$$. There are still some of us out there that are either working or going to school or a combination of both. We simply cant afford a high budget trip or dont want to load up our credit cards and pay later. My motto is to always go with the most economical option so as not to encourage the greedy bar and hotel owners. I maybe pissing into the wind by saying that, but whatever.

My next trip will probably be to Brazil, but the prices just seem to be increasing to where the local massage place is a cheaper bet. I might just make another trip to the SEA.

Instead of staying at the Orchid, consider the $27.50 rooms at the Royal Amsterdam especially room #s 201 and 301. Its just as big as the Orchid room, except you have a larger bed, a rug beneath your feet and oak-like furniture (vs whicker basket Orchid type).

Another overlooked option is the Apartelle Royalle (http://www.apartelleroyal.com/main.htm). $29 a night for the standard room and right above the Camelot and close to Bunny Ranch/Classroom and the infamous 7-11. It doesnt have the same amenities like a hotel, but that can be a good thing. It gets awkward after a while walking past the hotel staff and other mongers with different barfines each night. As well, sometimes you walk out your hotel room door (Orchid) to see some half naked overweight 65 year old doing a flop into the pool. With the Apartelle, you have far greater privacy and can avoid the images of half naked retirees.

I love the food at the Orchid, but another alternative is Sub-Delicious. Its a little bit cheaper and the food is better than Royal Amsterdam's, but lesser than the Orchid. I had a steak a few nights ago at Ruth Chris and can say that the steaks at the Orchid do taste a little better. The meal at Ruth Chris cost me about $75 and the Orchid, $7.00.

Take a cell phone next time. Buy one off of ebay, a tri-band world phone. Get yourself a sim card too, SMART or GLOBE. You can buy one there or one off of ebay. Get the girls phone numbers and then you can message them in the morning for some stop overs. The girls love stopping by to make a few extra pesos.

Hope to hear another trip report from you in the future.