When we think of the phrase, ‘tropical paradise’, we usually include blue sky, green coconut palms fringing a white sand beach and gently lapping azure blue water so clear you can see the fish darting by. Sadly, for many …
Category: In the Philippines
Life’s A Beach – Life in Philippines
Tagged with: boracay, malapascua, manila, olongapo, perry gamsby, philippines beach, puerto galera, subic bay
The Best Days Are Often The Least Expensive
I always have to smile when a Filipino mentions how much fun they had as kids in the ‘summer’. To me, it is pretty much always summer in the Philippines, but of course, this isn’t really accurate. In January …
Tagged with: down under visa, perry gamsby, philippines beach, philippines holiday, summer philippines
Just a Number – Philippines license plates!
Vehicle registration plates, number plates, rego plates, license plates, tags (as some Americans refer to them) are something of an interest to me when I travel overseas. I recall one road trip across the top of the USA on …
The Very Real Danger Of Cold Water
We Kanos may well laugh, but when the asawa says the kids shouldn’t have a shower after running around in the sun, there is more to this than we may think. Filipinos will avoid wetting their hair before going …
China’s Getting Closer
In April this year we saw aerial photos of the Chinese airstrip and port built on a sand island in the disputed Spratly Islands group. This group of islands, islets, sand banks and reefs off the Palawan coast has been …
The Filipino Family – Blessing or Curse
As I wrote many years ago in my debut publication; ‘Philippine Dreams’, when you marry a Filipina, you marry into an extended family of literally hundreds of people. I remember the guest list for our wedding reception never really existed …
The Big Trip Back
When do you make ‘The Big Trip Back’? That is, the first return trip to the Philippines after going through all the trouble and expense of getting your Filipina to Australia. Do you do it after one year? After two? …
Swings And Roundabouts – Exchange Rates
I remember the first time I visited the Philippines in 1988. The US dollar was the currency to have and it bought you about Php25. The Aussie, on the other hand, only got you Php18. Back in Australia, it was …
Players and Stayers
I find there are basically two kinds of Kano in the Philippines: players and stayers. The players are there to horizontally interact with the local population as much as they can. The stayers are already hooked up as far as …
Migration Medical
Before we migrated to Australia, my wife had to undergo a health check. This is standard procedure to insure she is not going to be a burden on Medicare or infect Australia with some of the ‘loathsome diseases’ that will …