Experience in Malate, Manila Nov 2017
My last trip to this beautiful country was as great as ever. In Nov 2017, was a great trip to Boracay Island which is still one of my favourite destinations ever. And there is no doubt that philippines has some of the most beautiful locations in the world.
What happened in Malate, Manila at the end of my Japan / Philippine trip slightly dampened my feelings, was when I went down to the local Cafe right next door to my hotel in Malate, was a great treat to a delicious coffee and light snacks.
The Cafe owner and the usual staff were brilliant at serving customers from the hotel and in general street customers.
One morning I was with a lady friend sitting and checking my emails on my mini iPad, when two young people one woman and a man walked in, the woman asked me that the hotel need my attention and here I am falling for one of the oldest tricks in the world, silly me I walked over to the front desk of the hotel which was about 15 meters away from the Cafe, I didn鈥檛 spend more then 5 minutes at the front desk and returned to the Cafe to hear that my shoulder bag I always use overseas has been stolen. My lady friend in fact told me not to go, for some reason I decided to attend the front desk. I never carry anything expensive in my walking shoulder bag anyway, usually its my A5 sketch book, my power battery and pencils, my Earset for phone and of course packet of tissues.
Another incident only two days earlier was when I went to the local Mall with a different lady friend and was sitting in this Cafe inside the Mall, we were engaged with conversation when her small shoulder bag containing 5000 peso and her house key, ID badge and other small items was stolen. These two women I was with I have known for sometime and these incidents are not connected to my lady friends at all.
This behaviour will not keep me away from one of the worlds most friendliest and smiley society鈥檚. But as I hear about so many thefts being carried out by young Filipino men and women all over Manila, and I guess country, this behaviour will drive men and women and tourists in general away from this beautiful yet complex country.
I would like to hear your comments and this is only my small experience,
Cheers
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Sounds as if the three of them were in this theft together... I would think you might sharpen up your antennas ..
Thanks for your comment. You can see the Hotel front desk from the Cafe window, and my lady friend just stayed at the Cafe bench with her back facing the Hotel, I simply took my iPad and phone with me while my lady friend was at the Cafe. I actually looked up at the Hotel front desk but didn鈥檛 see anyone pointing at the Cafe. I simply thought I need to attend and I need to remember that its not Sydney Australia anymore. Just being silly from my part and never speak or leave my belongings. My lady friend did say don鈥檛 go, stay!!
Oh well.
"they all the same if they can get your Dollar they will no matter how, but be careful so you don't get killed, this is one of the worts things can happen to you here"
I have also heard that getting oneself killed is not a very pleasant experience !
Like every country there are good and bad people, it is no different here than it is in Australia.
The worst places are of course where tourist go (bus stations, markets and beaches), the thieves know that the people who go there are only there for a short time, and often inexperienced in travel safety.
Living here you may not make friends but you do know acquaintances (locals who live around you) if you are friendly to them the will look out (to a minor degree) for you.
Sounds like you atrabrecha2015, have a bit of experience in travel and this time you just dropped your guard, it happens to all of us.聽 After never being robbed in 15 years of South East Asia travel, just 5 weeks ago Puerto Galera, my GF and I had just arrived, we left our door unlooked while we had an afternoon nap (day time) and someone opened the door and grabbed my wallet off the table near the door, yes we were sleeping in that room at the time.聽 Of course at night time we would always look it, we were both tired from the travel and it was day time, so yes I dropped my guard and it cost me 5,000php (never leave in you wallet more than you can afford to lose.)
A few tips,
1) If some one is walking behind you and you and following you, simply stop in a lite area or inside a shop, and wait for them to pass you, you are then in charge of the situation.
2) If going out for a day or night, never carry with you more money than you can afford to lose.
3) Treat every one with respect, but be careful who you give your trust two.聽 Just like an ex Australian GF then can be untrustworthy if you piss them off LOL.
PS they will try to steel from you GF or lady friend when she is with you, as they think that she has money as she is with a foreigner.聽 Street kids play on them when begging for money, they don't ask me, they ask her.
We have been robed here too, in my own house, we been up stairs watching TV, and they got in from back door, at the time they have been working on my house not finished yet, so yes I think is one of them, but good thing about been robed they will never come back again, one time only, in OZ they robe you they will come back few more times, people around me here are ok I think, i do not have much to do with them, they keep away and I do too, works both ways, but I am here and not going any way soon.
You are the only well mannered man I have had the most decent response from my experience in Malate. I cannot fathom the response of other readers on this site. As you mentioned you had an incident as well, this is not a site to insult travellers as we can all fall into a situation where we drop our guard down.
I most certainly will keep your tips in mind and I truly and most graciously appreciate and adopt what you have mentioned.
After all I only wrote this incident to share, not to be insulted by some of the members on this site.
Kind regards
John
In the first instance, you do not explain how is it possible for your shoulder bag to be stolen when your 'girlfriend' was supposedly聽 guarding it !聽 聽In the second instance,聽 you should be protecting your 'girlfriends' belongings.聽 聽In both cases, it seems very possible聽 the thieves聽 knew your 'girlfriends'.聽 聽I am correct in saying you聽 paid your second girlfriend the 5000 pesos that was supposedly stolen?聽 And in the second case, why did you not apprehend the two thieves?聽
Somehow, you seem like an easy target!聽 聽 聽My advise.聽 Look for your girls in a different bar.
FortuneFavorsTheBold wrote:bob18 ~ Well put. Clueless people make other foreigners targets when the thieves are laughing while drinking beer bought with stolen foreigners money. Guess what? Theives like this talk to each other. If he ignores good advice and cries like a little girl about being insulted, the next time he will probably get knifed or shot. The bad part is that people like this put others at risk. So maybe I enjoy insulting people like this in the hopes that it will help others.
Hi Fortune Favors the bold.
I don't think that samangelevski聽 or atrabrecha2015 or myself are clueless as you imply that people who get rob are, as all three of us have had it happen.聽 "Clueless people make other foreigners targets when the thieves are laughing while drinking beer bought with stolen foreigners money"
If you go through life and have never being robbed you are lucky, I was robbed in Australia as many other people are rob.聽 Yes my house was locked up and they simply brock in.聽 As the saying goes locks are only for honest people, they do not keep the bad guys out!
I have only have had one westerner acquaintance killed here, and he was a big player in the bars, you probably know who I am talking about if you have being here for while and followed the news.聽 And he was not clueless.聽 In the end he was a targeted.聽 Yes as all foreigners are in one way or another, from begging, to pickpocket, to robbery on the street, to houses being broken into and right though to the extreme of kidnap, and murder.
In the end if they want to get you (rob or kill) they will.聽 The only way to reduce risks in any country is to sit at home in a house and lock it down.聽 But these people are basically waiting for death to come to them.聽 So one way or the other stuff happens.
Come on guys we are all here and thinking of coming or have an interest in the Philippines, surely we can have a civil conversation.聽 And respond to the original post, without posting side chats on the post which some one took time to post.
Non of us are clueless, but as they say "it happens" to quote Forest Crump.
In the second incident he describes, (which occurred earlier in time), why did our friend not jump out of his seat and retrieve his lady's聽 shoulder bag which was being grabbed?聽 聽Did he just sit there in shock?聽 聽As you can see,聽 in both these instances,聽 our friend was set up by his special girlfriends for a 'snatch and run' !聽
Our good friend should be fishing in a new bar out of Malate!
Didn't realize you had this reply, you sound like you have tons of experience living in Philippines, I am very much appreciative of the type of nature and personality you posses, it is a pleasure to hear what you have to share and express from your view point. I totally agree with what you have said and yes! even here in our Australia, people are robbed every hour some where in the country.
And if you had to compare what we have in Australia and what they have in the Philippines, its like chalk and cheese, we have so much support here in Australia and still we find certain individuals stealing or robbing people, and this is why I was saying in my original Post that even though Filipinos have so very little to survive with, they still have a smile on their face.
I will visit this beautiful and exotic country not for the obvious reason only but as an Artist I appreciate nature quite a bit, Philippines has some of the most beautiful landscape and people in the world.
I appreciate your view point and do certainly appreciate you being here as a member, god bless
cheers
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