Post: #1

People are pretty desperate in 2nd and 3rd world countries, and I'm starting this thread partly to bring together some disparate information I've seen on other threads and to remind myself to buy some stuff I need and do some things before I leave. My problem is the older you get the deeper you have to go into buttfuck to get 8+ girls. Downtown Manila models are not after 60 year olds most times.

i'm older so the macho attitude, "Oh you're paranoid" might be fine for younger guys but I recover slow from beatings and fraud and I have a profession to maintain that was gained at huge cost to me.
I understand there's always risk but escaping ameriwhales makes it worth it, but no need to be stupid.

I'll just throw some ideas out and welcome differing and added opinions. I would like to avoid it turning in to primarily a martial arts thread however.


GENERAL
a) Make sure girls are legal. I've heard of, but of course not personally experienced, girl posing as 18 on sites then saying later they're really underage. I comply with all laws and advise all others to do the same. Condoms if you're not in an impregnation rampage.
b) travel health insurance with emergency evacuation.Note some insurance doesn't cover MC accidents or snokeling diving.
c) Vaccinations and preventive ( malaria, DEET in tropicals, Mosquito proof shirt, mosquito nets for bed for tropical beach hut sex sessions) Cipro(?) if your guts explode. San Francisco has a public health travel clinic that's great, cheap cuz it gubmint run and great for gamers headed out. Of course that's soshulism so you shouldn't go there.
d) super careful with motorcycles , diving (snorkeling second most frequent cause of death I believe after MC)
don't go barefoot places unless it's extremely groomed, one friend going to SE Asia got a deep cut on his bare foot that was weeks of headaches and multiple trips to hospital (on the hurting foot of course) to stitch, let heal, fix the infection, it would have been a non-issue if he was wearing sandals.
e) have enough credit available to immediately go to airport and leave anytime in an emergency. I wanted to leave someplace once, not a real emergency, the fees to change the ticket can be quite high.

INFORMATION SECURITY
1) Pipelining:
a) Use anonymous emails,
b) don't tell precise profession if in combination with other info could make you traceable,
c) use "I work for the government and am not allowed to have a facebook page" to deflect requests if you don't have a fake one ( this has worked a few times so far foe me on under 23 chicks, makes you sound important instead of evasive) I do a disclaimer, "I'm not a spy of course, or I wouldn't tell you that...I do a sort of end run using the fact I work in health care.. talk about confidentiality for patients so I don't want my name out there.
d) Don't be bringing back sex pics into the us or across borders. I just bought a Chromebook which can be "powerwashed' so there's basically no info in the unit. Doesn't run skype however. Got it used for $125 and it runs youtube videos as another poster recommended to keep your dim-witted girlfriends amused. You probably don't have that much chance of US Customs demanding to access your email accounts as that's stuff already in the US territory not at the border so Customs is probably not real eager to investigate that.
e) Set up your phone so new messages don't show when it's locked, your name will show in headers, bring locked phone into the shower in the locked bathroom,
f) resist telling your real name when asked, say you'll do it after you establish a real relationship, maybe again mention your profession in vague terms and distract while doing DHV that you make money.

Local Customs and Security:
a) Make sure leases are signed, one other ukraine guy who actually got in a fistfight with his landlord said they are scared once the lease is signed, no one including you wants the police involved or trusts them, I was assaulted so they could get more money from someone else when I failed to make sure lease was signed, the red flag was the landlady tried to renegotiate at the lease signing and asked for more money. Beware of all people who try to renegotiate deals.
b) You will always be more suspect as the foreigner unless there are sympathetic specialized tourist protection police, you can't defend yourself verbally well, or obtain good defense if you don't speak the language well so getting into a fight which may be defensible in your country may look totally totally different in another country. One blow can kill someone so imagine explaining that. You could "win" a fight that could have been avoided and be there with the cops and the beat-down local who started it-- who do think they'll believe?
c) anyone who approaches you is automatically suspect, average people in most places are honest, so if you approach a random ( not in a strip club or bar but in a mall etc) you have a better chance of that person being OK than someone who offers to help.
d) always lie about when you're leaving, say it's later than you really will, then if someone's plotting you might be gone before they attempt sting.

STREETWISE DETAILS
A) Elsewhere someone recommended keeping a second decoy wallet with a few bucks , and expired ID, and a couple dead credit cards in it. If you get robbed give them that.
b) Get metal mesh lined back back for your room lock it when chicks are there. don't bring an expensive laptop.

Post: #2

Great thread IKE!
Some good reminders for all in here, and we can all benefit from a thread like this. A great place for newbies to get some potentially life saving tips and for the more experienced guys, to get a refresher and not to let their guards down.

I would add to your excellent list to never ever leave your drink unattended in a bar/club or even restaurant if your'e with someone you just met or barely know. Going to the bathroom? Bring your drink with you! Who cares what people may think, it may be the difference between a fun night and a ruined a evening if not vacation and at worst, your life if you're slipped one of those "boa noite Cinderella" (Good night Cinderella) pills that put you out and the girl cleans you out.

Be careful out there guys at all times. Never let your guards down! Use common sense, don't show off expensive items in sketchy or poor places, don't take out a a big wad of cash when paying for things. Spread your money in the various pockets of your pants/jacket. Know exactly how much you have in each pocket and pay accordingly after each drink/purchase.

Post: #3

So basically certain common sense that works in 1st world countries to!

Post: #4

All the "Anti gubbmint/NSA" steps take the fun out of travelling. The point of traveling is to have fun.

Unless you're a CIA paratrooper, there's no need to go to such lengths to hide every single bit of information. Sex pics are good to bring back (they're 18+ so they can't do anything"), ditto for storing information in your laptop....despite being flagged and having a record, USCIS hasn't looked at my torrented videos in of all my border crossings.

If one is scared in "desperate 2nd and 3rd world countries" then the best idea is to stay home to avoid getting mugged in Chile or Poland.

Rules are simple: Carry cash and a credit card; leave 200 USD in your hotel/hostel; finish all of you drinks beforehand.

Many trips later, I've developed a good social and professional network to the point my contacts trust me with money and work with them.

Post: #5

i know im new to this forum but i still think i could contribute seeming ive been in and out of many third world countries in the last 7 years and a more than a few fuck ups ive experienced.
last year i got robbed for 300 US and my psp from a sketchy taxi driver in cebu , he held me hostage till i came up with the goodies of course been super waisted i just gave in and it didnt help that he looked like an asian version of "Big country ".
Another fuck up was been robbed in patong beach "cheap rooms hotel" after a 3 day bender i had everything from my cash to my ac milan shirt stolen then threatened with my life by the bitch staff manager of the hotel.
i hope someone will learn from my mistakes and not get fucked over.

Post: #6

IKE the philippines is pretty safe man.

Have fun and I would not be surprised if you give in and move there for good.

Post: #7

(02-17-2014 10:49 PM)Tim1986asdf Wrote:  i know im new to this forum but i still think i could contribute seeming ive been in and out of many third world countries in the last 7 years and a more than a few fuck ups ive experienced.
last year i got robbed for 300 US and my psp from a sketchy taxi driver in cebu , he held me hostage till i came up with the goodies of course been super waisted i just gave in and it didnt help that he looked like an asian version of "Big country ".
Another fuck up was been robbed in patong beach "cheap rooms hotel" after a 3 day bender i had everything from my cash to my ac milan shirt stolen then threatened with my life by the bitch staff manager of the hotel.
i hope someone will learn from my mistakes and not get fucked over.

I dunno man it seems like you made yourself an easy mark. Ive been robbed too in a couple different countries but it was always when I was very hammered like you were and made myself an easy mark.

Post: #8

IKE - good thread and be careful in the Phils. I know someone that was hijacked and forced to go to the ATM at gunpoint for a couple of days until the money ran out.
Recently there was an incident in Cebu, some thugs were shooting at the cops from across the street. In the middle was a tour bus full of chinese tourists, they all died and the Chinese government is not impressed.
Not saying this can happen to you but it does not hurt to be cautious.

Post: #9

Rudeboy,
When did that happen? You have a link on that?
Where was your friend high jacked and had his bank account cleaned out? That's terrible man. Sorry to hear about that my friend.

Post: #10

VP - my Chinese friend told me the story a few days ago, he read it on some Chinese newspaper.
The hijacking story was told to me by an English co-worker, he was very positive about Thailand but didn't want to know about the Philippines. It happened to his buddy and his girlfriend.

Post: #11

While I've never had trouble in the Philippines, there are a few more precautions that I take. I use a money clip on the inside of my shorts with the bulk of my cash for the day. When I get low on pesos, I'll transfer some money to my wallet from the clip. If someone were to hold me up, I'd let them have the wallet. While you're probably safe in jeepneys, pickpocketers are common in them and I don't use them unless I'm with a filipino.

This might be common sense, but if I'm in a new area I don't look around everywhere. I usually look straight ahead, walk relaxed, and scan the area with my peripherals. I've heard stories that hold uppers usually come from behind or the side, so walk fast if you're in a dimly lit area. This is also the reason why sometimes filipino friends/family/girlfriends will walk behind a foreigner in their company. If you know a bit of tagalog, that also helps show that you've probably been there before and you're less likely to get taken advantage of.

While this might be overly paranoid, I rarely do freelance tours while overseas and prefer to go through a hotel or official channel unless it's obviously overpriced. There might be a low risk of something happening on one of the tours, but at least I know major hotels and travel organizations are concerned about their reputation for safety.

Oh, and one more piece of advice I wish I had known before I almost killed myself. If you're snorkeling on Balicasag island, or any other island that has a reef area next to a large precipice into the deeper ocean, do not snorkel over the deep area. I got lucky by only going about 10 feet before swimming back. I later found out strong currents can pull you under very rapidly, and you could potentially die from ruptured lungs or drowning. I love the wild west feel of a lot of the activities in RnP, but sometimes the lack of safety oversight can have consequences.

Honestly though, I've always felt safe in the Philippines. The people are very friendly, the women are beautiful and easy, it has some of the world's best beaches, etc. Stick to the touristy areas and use official channels unless you're an experienced traveler and ready for adventure.

Post: #12

Be aware and careful about the surrounding physical environment. This does not mean other people, it means streets, buildings, vehicles. Things we take for granted in developed countries are not the same in less developed ones. A friend of mine was killed in an accident in a developing country - he was crushed climbing out of a stuck elevator.

Be careful around work scaffolding - with few standards, inspections and no real tort damages, things will fall. I've seen it in Manila.

Manhole covers can be missing - I put one leg into one in Africa, lucky I only got some scrapes. There are more holes and other problems in roads and sidewalks.

Electrical appliances might not be grounded or grounded on metal plumbing.

Vehicle danger probably dwarfs all other dangers - use seatbelts in taxis. Is it worth it to take motorcycle taxis?

Post: #13

(02-18-2014 12:49 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  IKE - good thread and be careful in the Phils. I know someone that was hijacked and forced to go to the ATM at gunpoint for a couple of days until the money ran out.

The solution to this problem, along with the problem of criminals cloning or stealing your debit card, is to keep less than a thousand dollars in your main travel account (or even just a few hundred dollars). When you need more money, simply use the internet to electronically transfer more money into your travel account. That way, the most that you can lose in such a situation is a modest amount of money.

Obviously, you need to use a secure computer and network while making the electronic transfers.