Boots On The Ground Or Electronic Surveillance?

[El Negrito]

I have seen several posts in several places about meeting online versus just going and meeting someone. I can see benefits to both. Meet online, have something to work for and really make you go. Just go and get your boots on the ground, so to speak, and you don't hurt anyone's feelings if things aren't as they seemed online or you meet a better match. Thoughts?

[Classic Dry]

You'll hear pros and cons for both. Personally I haven't been very successful online, though it's been fun.

The Philippines is an adventure not to be missed, and there's a surprise round every corner. Sometimes 

the surprise comes in the form of a young lady, and from first meeting to first evening together to ......

Well, you get the idea. Its all good clean fun and I like those first exploratory conversations. But to each

his own.

[El Negrito]

You'll hear pros and cons for both. Personally I haven't been very successful online, though it's been fun.

The Philippines is an adventure not to be missed, and there's a surprise round every corner. Sometimes 

the surprise comes in the form of a young lady, and from first meeting to first evening together to ......

Well, you get the idea. Its all good clean fun and I like those first exploratory conversations. But to each

his own.

Thanks Classic Dry, your name makes me want to change mine to Canada Dry. (Famous Canadian Soda) Great observations and frankly I am leaning your way on this.

[Jake]

I have seen several posts in several places about meeting online versus just going and meeting someone. I can see benefits to both. Meet online, have something to work for and really make you go. Just go and get your boots on the ground, so to speak, and you don't hurt anyone's feelings if things aren't as they seemed online or you meet a better match. Thoughts?

This subject (online dating) has some many wonderful stories about meeting their wife or GF upon arrival.

However, there are cases where you're waiting for your arrival party (her, her family, cousins and pigs) but

they are late, well beyond the typical Filipino time.  Could be many causes -- travel to the airport issues,

misunderstanding of time and date of your arrival (Manila is 15 hours ahead of California), or you just got

scammed........

 

If the romantic rendezvous did actually happen, you still need to explore deeper in her background and to

be fair, she must also be given the opportunity to scope you out as well.  Here are some valid questions:

  Marital background

  Boyfriend background 

  Girlfriend background (oh yeah)

  Gender background (you'd be surprise)  

  Package deal with 6 rugrats

  Package deal with extended family under your roof

  Her age, education and maturity

 

Again, it's a target enriched environment with many of the Filipinas are scammed by the master scammers

themselves (foreigners) and they are practicing those same techniques just to get even -- perhaps they

were victimized and many just endure another day and will do anything to get a bowl of rice.  

 

Respectfully -- Jake

[El Negrito]

 

I have seen several posts in several places about meeting online versus just going and meeting someone. I can see benefits to both. Meet online, have something to work for and really make you go. Just go and get your boots on the ground, so to speak, and you don't hurt anyone's feelings if things aren't as they seemed online or you meet a better match. Thoughts?

This subject (online dating) has some many wonderful stories about meeting their wife or GF upon arrival.

However, there are cases where you're waiting for your arrival party (her, her family, cousins and pigs) but

they are late, well beyond the typical Filipino time.  Could be many causes -- travel to the airport issues,

misunderstanding of time and date of your arrival (Manila is 15 hours ahead of California), or you just got

scammed........

 

If the romantic rendezvous did actually happen, you still need to explore deeper in her background and to

be fair, she must also be given the opportunity to scope you out as well.  Here are some valid questions:

  Marital background

  Boyfriend background 

  Girlfriend background (oh yeah)

  Gender background (you'd be surprise)  

  Package deal with 6 rugrats

  Package deal with extended family under your roof

  Her age, education and maturity

 

Again, it's a target enriched environment with many of the Filipinas are scammed by the master scammers

themselves (foreigners) and they are practicing those same techniques just to get even -- perhaps they

were victimized and many just endure another day and will do anything to get a bowl of rice.  

 

Respectfully -- Jake

 

So it sounds like you are also leaning to in person findings. I mean going and finding a nice girl while there. Am I correct? Seems like in this way you get your questions answered while getting to know her and avoiding disappointment by chatting online for months or years and then finding out you have to really get your boots on the ground to know if any of it is true.

[oldutot]

These days you will need boots on the ground and electronic surveillance. Like Jake said, gender background.

In the state of Washington, a Pinay can petition her girlfriend lover for marriage. My Pinoy friend has a niece in Seattle that recently

went through the process

[Jake]

BlackMan's quote:

So it sounds like you are also leaning to in person findings. I mean going and finding a nice girl while there. Am I correct? Seems like in this way you get your questions answered while getting to know her and avoiding disappointment by chatting online for months or years and then finding out you have to really get your boots on the ground to know if any of it is true.

 

Your assumption is correct.  Here's a hypothetical scenario: long term online chats may produce some serious promises,
love letters, poetry, flowers, cash transfer, etc and then you step out of that airplane not really knowing whether she shows
up or not.  And if she does, what would happen if you or her got rejected at first sight? 

A broken heart upon arrival is not a good way to start your tropical vacation.  But on the other hand, coming to PI without
a serious commitment will give you more flexibility to explore to your heart's desire, speaking of which:

 

[Methersgate]

This is a question for the moderators and/or the owner:

Is it permissible to link to another site (not a board) which contains a number of articles, some by me, on these issues?

Including my soon to be out dated "Guide to Arriving At Manila Terminal One"

[MikeB]

If it's not a forum or blog specifically about the Philippines it should be ok. If in doubt send the link to JGF via PM.

[Methersgate]

I will jusst cut and paste the guide to arriving at T1:
 

This may seem an odd subject for an article, but the "meeting and greeting" arrangements at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport, known as "NAIA," are unusual, because of the very large numbers of overseas workers being met by their families, and whilst you, dear reader, may be an "old hand", it is also possible that you are travelling to the Philippines for the very first time, to meet someone you have never met before.

In which case, this may help...

On the plane, you will be handed an Immigration form (short) and a Customs form (long). These you must "accomplish" (Filipino American English for "fill them out") The Immigration form is shor,t and the Customs form is longer. Both forms will ask for your "address in the Philippines" - if you don't know, just write the name of an hotel. Note that your full middle name will be needed because Filipinos traditionally add their mother's maiden name as a middle name. Dates are US style - month, day, year, eg: 07/21/1972

Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila, has four passenger terminals:

 

1. International: Also called Terminal One. All international flights, other than those operated by Filipino carriers, use this terminal.
 

2. Centennial: This terminal, also called Terminal Two, is exclusive to Philippine Air Lines ("PAL"). The North Wing handles PAL's international flights and the        South Wing is used for PAL domestic flights
 

3. Terminal Three: This is used by Cebu Pacific, Air Asia Philippines and PAL Express for international and domestic flights.

Note that during August 2014 five major international carriers will move to Terminal Three 

Delta Airlines will make its first flight out of Terminal 3 on August 1st, while KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will move within the first week of August. Singapore Airlines, Emirates, and Cathay Pacific will follow suit by the end of August.

 

4. Domestic: This is the old domestic  airport, and has its own runway; all other domestic airlines, including Zest, are based here.
 

Terminal One, built in the 1970's in reinforced concrete,  is the main international terminal. It is short on charm, and hugely overcrowded,  but it works.
 

If you are flying PAL, ignore this note - you will go to their smart, modern, dedicated terminal, Terminal Two, and you will wonder what all the fuss is about .
 

Terminal Three was built as a new International Terminal, quite recently, but, for reasons that we won't go into now, it never got finished and it is used as the domestic and international terminal for the Filipino airlines listed above.
 

If however you are travelling on a non-Filipino airline then you will arrive at Terminal One, but see the transfer to Terminal Three mentioned above.
 

Most of the bad reputation of Manila Airport is down to Terminal One. It is indeed one of the less wonderful terminals in Asia - but that is by Asian standards - it is about on a par with Heathrow Terminal Three. It's not "third world"; it's just old, and has been operating beyond its designed capacity for many years.

The plane will park at an air-bridge in the normal way. At the landward end of the air-bridge there will be a sign telling you which reclaim belt your bags will be on
. 

Follow the crowd to the Immigration area. There is no chance of getting lost, and the walk is not long by some  standards.  Should you need a "Comfort Room" ("CR" - i.e. a toilet) there is one at the end of the corridor, before Immigration, and another one  in the Customs hall which, on a bad day, may be an hour or more away... 

Select a "Vistors" queue, NOT an "OFW" (Overseas Filipino Worker) queue. This is important - "OFWs" seem to take longer to process than visitors do, and this used to cause delay to other travelers, so the booths have recently  been re-arranged to make life easier for tourists.

Hand in the immigration form (not the Customs form) with your passport.

In theory, you should also provide the Immigration officer with a physical copy, i.e. a print out, of your plane ticket, confirming that you have a ticket out of the country. I visit Manila at least three times a year and I have never been asked to show a ticket.

The desk officer will ask how long you plan to stay. On the initiative of the immediate past Commissioner for Immigration, there has been a recent change in the regulations, so that, with effect from the 1st August 2013, you can stay up to thirty days without a visa.

If you want to stay for longer, as a tourist,, say so now - there is an office adjacent which you will be directed to, and  and for a fee of 3,800 Pesos in cash  or fifty US dollars in cash (nothing else accepted) you can get a 38 day extension visa, giving you a total stay of  68 days. Be warned - do not "overstay" - if you don't get an extension at the airport you can do so elsewhere later, but do stay legal.

The baggage reclaim hall is right behind Immigration. Baggage trolleys are free. If you baggage has gone missing, the" lost luggage" desk is to the right as you face the Customs check points. 

After getting your bags, select a Customs queue - if the "Nothing to Declare" desks are unmanned, go for an "OFW" queue. Do not go for the "Goods to Declare" lines. Show your Customs form. The customs officer will stamp it but will not take it. It will be will be taken from you by another official, at the exit. You may also be asked to check your baggage tags against the stubs, to make sure that people don't steal each others' luggage, so have the stubs handy.

Now the fun starts...
 

If you are not being met, and you need a taxi, head for the taxi rank and take a yellow taxi. Do not take a white taxi - these are not specifically licensed to ply from the airport, though they can pick up a fare after dropping off, they are less regulated and are generally older and their drivers do not enjoy the best of reputations. (The yellow taxis, incidentally, are all owned by the boxer Manny Paquiao, so you know who to complain to....seriously, they are fine)
 

If you are being met, this is a good moment to text those meeting you that you have cleared Customs and will be seeing them in a couple of minutes, all going well. 

Keep your baggage trolley.

The next hall was built as the greeting area, but proved too small - these days it is pretty much empty apart from a few taxi touts. Ignore these. 

Turn sharp left and at the end is a bank of ATMs. BPI  and Metrobank ATMs accept most foreign credit and debit cards. The daily limit on withdrawals is 10,000 Pesos. It is a good idea to get some Pesos here, because you may very well be expected to pay for the cost of the taxi that those meeting you have arrived in, and they may not live handy to a Bank.

Return to the middle of the hall and follow the signs for "Arrivals Extension Area" (the green sign in the above photo. This will be the first time that you have stepped outside the air conditioning and the heat and humidity will hit you like a wall.

You need to cross the road:

Once across you will find a pair of ramps leading down - "A" to "L" surnames to the left, "M" to "Z" to the right.

Wheel your baggage trolley down the ramp.

What you don't know is that there is a CCTV camera over the ramp, with screens in the greeters' area, so those meeting you can pick you out. This is just as well, because they are on the far side of another busy roadway/ vehicle picking up area:
 

The meeters and greeters are behind the barriers on the far side of the road.

Line up under the sign with the first letter of your surname on it  and peer across the road at the crowd behind the barriers on the other side. 

All going well, someone will be waving at you, because they will have seen you on the TV screen - make your way to the pedestrian crossing (keep the baggage trolley!) and the job is done apart from paying off the pests who will offer to "help you with your baggage". Note that you should not take the baggage trolley out of the car park immediately behind the greeters' stand. 

From here on, you are on your own...

Edited July 26, 2014 by Methersgate