Philippines - Filippiinit

Philippine Islands that is, officially Republic of the Philippines (Pilipino: Republic of Pilipinas) is an island state In Southeast Asia. The state consists of 7,107 islands located between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea.

Regions

There are 79 provinces in the country, which can be divided into three main groups:

• Luzon - The northernmost archipelago. Center of Government, History and Economy. The capital Manila is also located here.
• Visayas - The middle of the country. Among the cities, e.g. Puerto Princesa, Iloilo, Bacolod and Cebu are in this area.
• Mindanao - The southern part of the country. The capital of the region is Davao.

Cities

• Bacolod City
• Baguio City
• Cebu
• Davao
• Dumaguete

Dumaguete is located in the southern part of the island of Negros. It is a good base for a snorkelling or diving trip to nearby Apo Island. Dumaguete also has good ferry connections to Cebu, Bohol and the neighboring island of Siquijor. From Ceres bus station just south of the center there are good bus connections to Bacolod (6-7 hours, about 300 pesos).

Many tourists stay at Harolds Mansion, just north of downtown, where the most expensive rooms are less than 1,000 pesos. It also organizes popular snorkeling trips to Apo Island (1000 pesos). The hostel is a short walk from the ferry port.

• Iloilo City
• Makati City
• Manila
• Puerto Princesa City
• Tacloban
• Tagaytay City
• Quezon City

Other items

• Boracay
• Banaue rice terraces

Understand

People

Filipinos are very hospitable, in fact sometimes too hospitable. They are known for offering the best food to the guest even at times when they themselves could not afford such luxuries.

The Philippines are also usually helpful to foreigners, but you should keep your resources as some may expect payment for their assistance. For example, some young men may try to help out of the parking lot without asking for help, and get angry unless there is no payment for this “help”. Such should be completely ignored.

Persons assisting in obtaining a taxi may also expect payment for their services. Such should be combated.

Climate

The climate of the Philippines is tropical and there are 2 seasons, rainy and dry. March-May is the hottest. The rainy season begins in June and continues into early November. During this time, powerful typhoons are possible. November-February is the coolest. The Pacific Ocean regions receive steady rainfall throughout the year. The average temperature is 25-32 degrees and the relative humidity of the air is about 77%. Baguio, a summer city in the Philippines, is in the mountains at an altitude of about 1,600 meters and because of this the climate is cooler than the rest of the country. The daytime temperature remains between 25-30 degrees.

Come

With a Finnish passport, you can stay visa-free for 30 days (from 1 August 2013), for a longer period you should obtain a visa in advance from the Embassy of the Philippines in Stockholm. [1].You must have a travel ticket out of the Philippines, upon arrival in the country, for the authorities.

By plane

KLM flies daily from Amsterdam to Manila and back. From major airports in South-East and East Asia (Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, etc.) is also possible to enter the country. Of the low-cost airlines, Norwegian flies to Bangkok, which has several low-cost connections to the Philippines.

Move

The largest islands are usually reached by plane. One-way tickets purchased a couple of days before the flight cost 2500-5000 pesos depending on the distance. The following airlines fly domestic flights:

• Philippine Airlines
• Air Philippines
• Cebu Pacific
• Zest Airways (formerly Asian Spirit)
• SEAir

Please note that many of the above companies are or have been banned from flying to the EU.

You can also travel between the islands by boat / car ferry. It pays to buy a place from the deck as it is the cheapest, most comfortable and safest way to travel by speedboats. Indoors, the air conditioning is often set far too efficient, the windows are stained or completely covered, the television roars with a local soap kit and the door is locked. Even on beautiful days, the wind can reach such a point that only more stable car ferries pass. In addition to the ticket, you will have to pay a separate port fee, which ranges from 10 to 100 pesos.

The islands have a fairly dense road network, the condition of which varies. Roadworks are common and there can be a lot of traffic, which is why progress by road is often slow (about 150 km takes about 5 hours). Bus companies usually have their own terminals, and the trip is paid for by the funder on the bus.

Bus operators:

• Victory Liner (From Manila - Baguio to other cities in the Northern Luzon area)
• Ceres - Negros and Panay (a very reliable company with its own terminals)

Talk

The main languages ​​spoken in the Philippines are English and Philippine (pilipino) or Tagalog. Different regions also have their own languages ​​and dialects. It follows that Filipinos often speak at least three languages. Several newspapers are also entirely in English.

However, the English language skills of the locals vary greatly, even in tourist destinations.

Buy

Shopping paradise. There are big malls everywhere in the bigger cities. In the area of ​​Manila and surrounding cities, you will find, for example, the shopping malls of the SM chain (SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, etc.), Glorietta, Powerplant, Robinson’s Place, Market Market, Greenhills, Tiendesitas, etc.

Credit cards are available at more expensive and mid-priced hotels and restaurants. In the cheapest places, be prepared to pay in cash. You can exchange euros at some banks (best rate) and always at currency exchange offices (worst rate at beach resorts). Bring some dollars for exchange problems and, if desired, 500-1000 pesos already exchanged in Finland (at least Forex will exchange at a tolerable rate). There may be inconvenience with traveler's checks. ATMs sometimes also accept foreign cards, but the commission is tough. When the fee for your own bank, the poor exchange rate, and the fee charged by a Filipino bank are included, the cost rises to as much as 10 percent.

For the trip, you need an adapter with two flat spikes instead of two round spikes.

Price level

The price level in the Philippines is one of the lowest in Asia and the world. An affordable hotel room with private bathroom costs 500-1500 pesos per night depending on the location. A basic meal (e.g. chicken adobo) is available in restaurants from 100 pesos upwards. A half liter bottle of beer costs 40-60 pesos and a liter bottle 80-100 pesos.

Eat

There are restaurants from side to side, both in terms of quality and price level. Many of the restaurants are concentrated in shopping malls, but of course there is something to eat elsewhere as well.

For example, fast food is provided by:

• McDonald's
• Jollibee - Like McDonald's, maybe less focused on burgers
• Chowking - Chinese-themed fast food

Pizzerias are also popular and reasonably priced.

In the Filipino family, guests are usually offered the best they can afford, or even just over the funds. Home cooking is often simply seasoned (salt & pepper) compared to Indian or Thai food, not hot at all.

Some edible may seem strange in the West. A good example of this is Balutegg, a partially developed duck egg that has been cooked. The broth, yolk and fetus inside the egg are ingested with a small amount of salt. Balut egg vendors usually walk the smaller streets in the evenings.

Juo

Tap water is not drinkable. In larger cities, however, it can be drunk after cooking. A one and a half liter bottle of water costs 20-50 pesos depending on the store.

There are mainly two brands of beer on offer: San Miguel and Red Horse, the latter of which corresponds to a Finnish beer with an alcohol content. San Miguel is milder.

Sleep

There are many hotels from side to side. For example, TripAdvisor is a great site for finding a suitable hotel [2] and VirtualTourist [3]

Study

Work

Stay safe

The Philippines is a fairly safe country with normal care. In larger cities, however, there is reason to be vigilant when moving in the evening. In this case, always keep your handbag or backpack on your stomach. Slum areas should be avoided even when moving during the day.

Stay healthy

Tap water should be potable. However, if you want to be sure, bottled water is widely available.

As always when traveling, you should keep your travel insurance valid. However, the threat of tropical diseases is not high as long as it stays in densely populated areas and maintains vaccinations (hepatitis A, tourist diarrhea, Japanese encephalitis). Air quality is not always as good, especially in cities, as in Finland, which can lead to sore throats. Betadine mouthwash is reasonably effective for this condition.

Medical services are of a Western standard. Philippine health care has been said to be understaffed but this is not noticed in practice. Diagnosis can be made even faster than in Finland.

There are many pharmacies and most of them are open 24 hours a day.

A lot of healthy food is eaten in the Philippines. Fish and rice

Respect

Courtesy is a country custom and Filipinos are very friendly and hospitable. Guests are also expected to be complimented, so it’s worth saying “thank you” or “lightning” in Tagalog. If you thank an older person, say "lightning po."

Take contact

The GSM network can be found everywhere and text messaging in particular is extremely popular in the Philippines. Prepaid cards are available at shopping malls. The largest operators are Smart and Globe, of which the latter has cheaper roaming pricing for Finns.

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