philippines :: general

[WillKhitie]

Som's increased their prices abit too, but hell, idk, to each their own?

Was just there last night after work, had some g'damn beef red curry, it wasn't half bad. I'd be willing to go back and pay for it again.

The toilet aftermath though, that's another story.

[bbaquiran]

Is the Sukhothai place in Megamall still OK? I have not eaten there in a long time, but I remember liking it.

[WillKhitie]

Is the Sukhothai place in Megamall still OK? I have not eaten there in a long time, but I remember liking it.

We ate there once, and we did what the name said. Suka.. Tae.

[redshirt]

Sukhotai was great back in the 90's I remember fun times there as a child. Pandan Chicken FTW!

Had some som's pad thai tonight, it's allright.

There is this thai place in Glorieta too. Dusit Thai if I remember correctly used to be inexpensive but not anymore.

[bbaquiran]

Jan I might be able to get some hooters soon. Im sellin the superbike and getting a vespa or somekind of shit....

Apparently there is a Vespa distributor in Malate. Any idea how much those go for?

[D99]

whats the best university for law?

[lil brown brother]

UP or Ateneo ....

[D99]

UP or Ateneo ....

yeah thats what i was thinking but which one of the two

[WillKhitie]

yeah thats what i was thinking but which one of the two

I think it boils down to how much money you have. Costs more to study in Ateneo.

That and what kind of people do you want to study with.

[D99]

I think it boils down to how much money you have. Costs more to study in Ateneo.

That and what kind of people do you want to study with.

so Ateneo is more expensive but it doesnt really matter which one i pick. thanks for the info guys

[stuntastic]

Study with some hot bitches at Ateneo...

Sukhotai was great back in the 90's I remember fun times there as a child. Pandan Chicken FTW!

Had some som's pad thai tonight, it's allright.

There is this thai place in Glorieta too. Dusit Thai if I remember correctly used to be inexpensive but not anymore.

Damn duder, youre like 3 minutes from my place and youre too cool to say wassup???

I forgot wat model the Sams are, but I'll text you later wen I go back to my place...

[redshirt]

Apparently there is a Vespa distributor in Malate. Any idea how much those go for?

232k would be the entry level Vespa LX

[redshirt]

Study with some hot bitches at Ateneo...

Damn duder, youre like 3 minutes from my place and youre too cool to say wassup???

I forgot wat model the Sams are, but I'll text you later wen I go back to my place...

Nigga you live near som's?

I didn't know.

[robertorex]

Hey Flip Sufuers,

Been lurking in the unregistered masses for forever, but I found this thread so interesting that I felt it was high time for me to finally show up.

Reading through some of the posts were a little difficult for me because I have a soft spot for Manila and the Philippines. Although I was born in DC, I moved to Manila at four months old, lived there the first eighteen years of my life, and went to a local high school (Xavier lol) before moving to Boston for college (where I've been for two years now). I still have a lot of friends and family back home and I'm there every winter for Christmas and New Year's.

I guess the reason the negative comments about Manila sort of stung me was because I knew that they were mostly true. Dirty, polluted, crowded, shit wages, crappy zoning and transportation, not to mention endemic poverty and crime hanging over everyone's head? It wasn't until I lived in a city that got all of these things "right" that I realized how hard and far behind it was in my city. It's funny, I hear many Fil-Am kids talking about "getting their eyes opened" when they take a trip to the motherland but it was a trip to America that woke me up to a lot of the problems back home.

It's sad too because even the people aren't free from the hate. I remember back in high school my teachers would tell me that Filipino workers were prized overseas because they were skilled and spoke English. It got a little ironic when I saw my favorite teachers bolt the country for dollar salaries in New Mexico and a fast-track to green cards. On SuFu everyone raves about the craftsmanship and attention to detail that every Japanese worker puts into his art, but some people here think that Filipinos can't even stitch a damn pair of jeans right.

When some people call our culture "flawed" it's easy to get angry and spout who-do-you-think-you-are kind of bullshit, but we Filipinos got to point the lens at ourselves and see why they're calling us that. I think we'll all agree that in the Philippines the gap between the "haves" that own whole island groups and the "have-nots" who live on a dollar a day is so huge that people there assume it's natural, like the way the grand canyon is. When people hate on Filipino workers for being "lazy", "passive", or "unambitious" you guys gotta understand that this is because these people are taught that slapping together fake jeans is the highest station in life they can aspire to. They're born into a society where from day one of their lives they're looking up at a glass ceiling where people on the other side are pointing guns at them and telling them that since they don't have it to begin with, they never will. So instead of fighting to break through it, they try to climb over each other to be on the top of the cage. Crab mentality.

And therein you have the root (imo) of most all the problems in the Philippines. People are too afraid of changing things. Why do we keep electing our politicians from the same corrupt families? Why do we continue to pay our workers shit and give more money to the people with it? And most of all, why do we continue to tell people to avoid our country like the bird flu?

Not wanting to sound like a sap activist college kid, but the only way to get things changed in the Philippines is to stop hating on it and take some pride in what it does have. Great food, talented local designers (they're there if you look), hot women, and a wealth of history, art, and culture. Might I add that besides food and haircuts, taxi rides, drinks, tattoos and vacationing are all ridiculously cheap and well worth purchasing in the Philippines.

/rant over. Sorry about being long-winded, I just had to get that off my chest. I do all the normal SuFu things too like clothes, shoes, and denim so don't judge me as a soapbox guy for one post

Looking forward to meeting all of you! I wanted to stick some tagalog in this post for the hell of it but I think it might be against the rules

[robertorex]

Heyy, just poppin in to ask some questions. I'm 18 years old, in community college working up to transfer to a university, and don't really know what to do with my life. I have an uncle that's fairly well off in the PI that always begs me to come out. I was planning on going next summer but that's irrelevant. what I wanted to know, how hard is it to make a good living out there? I don't know if that's what I want to do with my life, but its been running through my mind. After schooling out here in the states, is there any chance of living well there with a nice job?

The observation I've made is that as it is, it's hard to get "made" in the Philippines unless you have mad connections and friends and family in high places, which in that case you already are kind of made. The idea a lot of people have is to get made somewhere else (especially the States) and then move to the Philippines when you have the connections, the capital, and the resources (some, for want of another c, would say crooks)

Once you do have all of that it's easy to be rich in the Philippines. I mean, it's easy to be rich anywhere but at comparable dollar wage levels it's much easier to own a nice apartment and live well in the Philippines, and if you make enough money, you can retain a driver and some maids like your uncle probably does

[robertorex]

My favorite places to eat in the Philippines are the ones that serve seafood. I stayed in the Renaissance Towers in Pasig and there was this wet market nearby where you choose your fresh fish, crabs, shrimp, etc. and they prepare it for you in the several restaurants surrounding the wet market. Most of the servers and waiters were transvestites or gay. Any of the locals know what I'm talking about? The food was so good. There are also a bunch of good Chinese restaurants around the Green Hills/San Juan area that serve slammin sea food. One restaurant that comes to mind is King Crab. I haven't tried the newer, fancy restaurants in Greenbelt 5 or Serendra. I'd much rather eat at the mom and pop joints where the real shit is.

I lived in the condos right across from Renaissance, I think you're talking about that place down Julia Vargas where they have a bunch of those "turo-turo" places. They're amazing. You point, wait a bit, and eat all day. Wonderful

I'd have to say that one of my best seafood experiences was down south in Iloilo with some of my fam there. They have joints which locals call "Talabahan" where people go to eat huge rock oysters (talaba). Iloilo is also where they actually catch the stuff so it was mad fresh too. They don't even give you utensils - just huge buckets of oysters, some bowls of water to dip your hands in, and some plates to mix your sauces.

It was me, two of my cousins, and their driver eating oysters and drinking beers continuously for about three hours. total bill was about P800 (~$17)

[stuntastic]

Wild night last nite...

[samsikle]

hey jantastic, when (if) i go to the motherland are you gonna kick it with me?

[jsn]

man,mad long post by roberto hah.

a lot of what you say is true, hard not to hate though, unless you avoid all forms of local media.

[Fourtyounce48]

i pmed you. please read.

[bluespring]

rWSndQdH5ME

Best movie ever! I need to go back to the motherland!

[stuntastic]

hey jantastic, when (if) i go to the motherland are you gonna kick it with me?

Wen do is your ass coming?

Yes, we cans kick it... Watch me holler at hot ass bitches like AYE BISH HOW BIG IS YO CUNT?!

BOOOOOOOOOOBS TONIGHT!!!

[bbaquiran]

rWSndQdH5ME

Best movie ever! I need to go back to the motherland!

The lady teacher with the ruler was my fiancee's mother.

[bluespring]

The lady teacher with the ruler was my fiancee's mother.

Plus rep+++ for Filipino celeb connections! Who's the lady teacher anyway?

[jsn]

The lady teacher with the ruler was my fiancee's mother.

brian, you already married??

[bbaquiran]

Plus rep+++ for Filipino celeb connections! Who's the lady teacher anyway?

I'm not sure she had a name in the movie. She's the late theater (PETA) and screen veteran Benjie Ledesma. She was also a script writer for a lot of movies and TV shows during that era.

brian, you already married??

Not yet, but we're tying the knot early next year.

[bluespring]

I'm not sure she had a name in the movie. She's the late theater (PETA) and screen veteran Benjie Ledesma. She was also a script writer for a lot of movies and TV shows during that era.

"Kailan Mahuhugasan and Kasalan", sounds pretty awesome to me.

[redshirt]

last night was goddamn CRAZY!

Too bad will had to bail. Apparently last night was my birthday, stuntastic was my half brother and lapdances are free. Walking arround the streets and copping feels out of random bitches' asses. Would have been better if I didn't have to go to fucking work.

My nigga hooked me up for reals. Makati Ave is fucking crazy!

[jsn]

Not yet, but we're tying the knot early next year.

Oh I misread the "was" in the sentence.

[WillKhitie]

last night was goddamn CRAZY!

That's a f-cking understatement man. I don't know what part of the Manila your living at, but that night was pretty effed up meng. Haha, Hooters and then some.

Saying that wasn't my cup of tea would sort of describe 1% of how I felt. I had to psuedo bail on you guys and have some comfort food over at Wendy's, I felt hella used and dirty, soap can't erase memories either, so bah.