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Category: Retiring To The Philippines

LBC Shipping Cart Now Open in the UK

It has just been announced the LBC Shipping Cart now open in the UK. That’s great news for a number of reasons especially if, like me, you hail from the UK and want goods shipping to your door in the Philippines. Marks & Spencers’ bigger mens’ sizes anyone? 🙂 If you need to know the details of the LBC Shipping Cart system, I have written about it before here and here. The LBC system has always delivered for me. Safe in transit, insured goods, tracking, great communication by email – all of those things and the price you pay includes any relevant taxes. They take care of the Customs declaration so it isn’t impeded on arrival in Manila. At the moment I await delivery of an…

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Philippines Christmas – Re-blogged

Yes, it’s that time of year again – a Philippines Christmas. I thought it would be a good idea to re-blog this post as I’m sure many of you will not have read it before. Enjoy! Merry Christmas! Christmas in the Philippines “Maligayang Pasko Sa Inyong Lahat” or Merry Christmas to Everyone! The typical Filipino does not need much of an excuse to celebrate and party. Christmas in the Philippines is no exception. The manifestations of the onset of Christmas start here as early as September. That is when you first notice the street vendors and stalls selling their Christmas lighting and decorations. It is a sight particularly noticeable after dusk when you cannot fail to see the twinkling, flashing lights of reindeers and other…

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British Grub For Brit Expats in the Philippines

I was delighted to come across a sauce, I mean source of British grub for Brit expats here in the Philippines. It’s a website run by another British expat from Leyte. No problem though as he arranges shipping through LBC. Funnily enough, HP sauce can be bought in many supermarkets here. But the guy in Leyte stocks a lot more foodstuffs that all Brits are familiar with. Most of it seems to be from Asda, Lidl, and other UK supermarkets. No matter, it appears to be a good selection right across the board. The prices are reasonable too. I think I’m lucky. I can eat the local food and find most of it delicious. I was the same in Thailand and come to think of…

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Bacolod Bicycle Lanes – Will They Work?

That’s a good question: will they work? I’m talking about the new Bacolod bicycle lanes project. I hope they do partly because they have cost P62M (about 1.1M USD). That’s a lot of money to spend on some yellow lines painted on the road. However, the main reason I hope they work is to make the roads here safer for all users including cyclists and there are many of them in this country. You see the serious ones every day of the week clad in Lycra furiously pedaling away on their top-end machines. Here is one reason why the good intentions are immediately dismantled by selfish car drivers. Take a look at the picture below. You can immediately see what the problem is and how…

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Sad Story of One Expat

What follows is one sad story of one expat here in the Philippines. I reproduce the tale unedited. I know him and he will remain anonymous. He’s a good man and deserves better. It is a cautionary tale for any who move here. I thank God I chose wisely and have a wife who ensures I am not exposed to any of the shenanigans you will read below.  For your information, one British Pound equals about 70 Philippines Pesos (PHP) at the time of writing. One dollar will get you about 50 PHP. I have been here in the Philippines for almost 3 years and can honestly say it is a stunningly beautiful country. We bought land, designed and built our own house in an…

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Carabao Confrontation: A Near Death Experience

Okay, I admit it, “near death experience” is a tad exaggerated, but it was damn scary! As most of you know, the first book I wrote was about the abysmal driving standards here in the Philippines. It’s available here if you want to read it. And all my other books in digital format may be purchased here at Books2Read. The paperback and audio book versions are only available through Amazon. Plug over! 🙂 So here is the story of the carabou., a big heavy water buffalo type thingy.   It all happened on a weekend away. A wonderful trip south to Hinobaan,then onward to Bayawan and Siaton. The last named town is the most southerly point of Negros Island. We meaning me, my wife Zabrina,…

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California Coral Beach Resort, Guimaras

This post was intended to be about Guimaras. However, seeing ninety-nine percent of our time was spent at the wonderful California Coral Beach Resort at Nueva Valencia, Guimaras, then it seemed right to me to blog mainly about the resort. Firstly, a little about Guimaras. It’s a gem of a small island situated between the two larger islands of Negros and Panay. Here is what one Philippines website has to say about the island: ABOUT GUIMARAS PROVINCE Guimaras Island varies from level to steeply sloping, with land elevation ranging from 0 to nearly 300 meters above sea level.  Mt. Dinulman, located in Millan, Sibunag, has the highest elevation of 267 meters above mean sea level. A great part of the island’s land area is above…

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13A Visa Process Updated

Another step closer to converting my tourist visa into a 13A Visa. This is intended as an update for all who are contemplating the same 13A visa process and to those of you who have asked me for the information. I hope what follows is helpful. May I say at the outset that there is no need to pay lawyers or fixers to process this application. It is easy if you complete the forms correctly and follow the simple step by step guide below. For the uninitiated, a 13A Visa is to convert from a tourist visa to a Non-Quota Immigrant Visa By Reason of Marriage. If approved, you, the applicant foreigner, are permitted to stay in the Philippines on a one year Probationary basis.…

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ReBlog: Where To Eat In Bacolod

I am re-blogging this post as to where to find the best eats in Bacolod. It was originally blogged by Sigrid Says, a very good local Negrense blogger. The  original post is  reproduced below. I hope you find it useful whether you are a local or a visitor to Bacolod, the City of Smiles. I love my food and it struck me as a good idea to share Sigrid’s post as it were “blind.” In other words I will reproduce it first before reading it then at the foot of this post I will make my own observations. One observation I will make now is that I firmly believe if you are an expat living in the Philippines it helps if you like at least…

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Dumaguete, Dauin & Siquijor in December

Happy Christmas to all of you! I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while. My writing and other book-related activities such as book reviews took up so much time lately and are likely to do so in the foreseeable future. I’m sure that many of you who receive my monthly newsletter will already have guessed that for the newsletter includes posts from this blog and from my author website. One of the beauties of living in the tropics is the ability to go to the beach all year round. The temperatures don’t vary much through the year, a usual high of about 32C with a low of about 26C. Just watch out for the two distinct rainy seasons and the occasional typhoon! As much as…

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