The Philippines - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 588

comfortable than jeepneys or buses
though still decorated in the same
ostentatious manner. he fare is usually
P20 for a short trip.
Tricycles are the Filipino equivalent of
the hai tuk-tuk, and while they are not
allowed on major roads they can be useful
for getting from a bus station to a beach
and back again. Most tricycles carry three
(or more) passengers, and fares tend to
increase dramatically when a tourist
approaches, so always reach agreement
beforehand. he regular fare is P10 for a
quick hop, and fares are lower if you are
willing to share the tricycle with anyone
else who flags it down and can fit on board.
To hire the tricycle exclusively for yourself
- or for a small group - P50 is a reasonable
fare for a ten-minute journey, or you can
charter one for a half day for P300-400.

Southeast Asian countries, with quality
varying quite dramatically. On the
outlying islands the budget rooms are
often in the form of a nipa hut , made
from woven palms, ranging in price
from P400 for a simple room with
communal bath to P1200 for something
a bit more refined with private bath,
air conditioning and TV. In Manila,
Cebu and Boracay you can expect to pay
up to P1400 at “budget” level.
Electricity is usually supplied at 220V.
Plugs have two flat and rectangular pins.
Power cuts (“brownouts”) are common,
especially in the more rural areas. Almost
all budget places offer both fan and more
expensive air-conditioned rooms.

FOOD AND DRINK
he high esteem in which Filipinos hold
their food is encapsulated by the common
greeting “ kain na tayo ” (“Let's eat!”).
Filipino food has not been embraced
worldwide because it has an unwarranted
reputation for being one of Asia's less
adventurous cuisines, offering a relatively
bland meat and rice diet with little variety
or spice. But those willing to experiment
will find even the simplest rural dishes can
offer an intriguing blend of the familiar
and the exotic. Sampling balut (boiled
duck embryo in the shell), a popular type
of merienda , and reputed aphrodisiac, will
practically make you an honorary Pinoy
(Filipino), but whether the admiration of
the locals is enough of an incentive is up
to you! Food is something of a comfort
blanket for Filipinos and to be without it
is cause for panic. Any Filipino who eats
only three meals a day is usually
considered unwell because that's simply
not thought to be su cient. A healthy
appetite is seen as a sign of a robust
constitution, and sundry smaller meals
and snacks - merienda - are eaten in
between every meal. Not to partake when
offered can be considered rude.
Meat dishes, notably of chicken and
pork (both cheap and easily available),
form the bulk of the Filipino diet. he
national dish is adobo , which is chicken
or pork (or both) cooked in soy sauce
and vinegar, with pepper and garlic.

TAXIS
By international standards, taxis in the
Philippines are dirt-cheap, making them
a viable option for getting around on a
daily basis. In larger cities, the flag-down
rate is P40 and P2 per 100m. Before you
get in, make sure the driver will use his
meter or that you have negotiated a
reasonable fare. Never use a taxi if the
driver has companions and never use one
that isn't clearly marked as a taxi. All taxi
registration plates have black letters on a
yellow background.

8

ACCOMMODATION
As a budget traveller, this is likely to be
your biggest expense. Accommodation is
a little more expensive than in other

ADDRESSES
It's common in the Philippines for
buildings to give an address as 122
Legaspi cnr. Velasco streets. This means
the place you are looking for is at (or near)
the junction of Legaspi Street and Velasco
Street. Streets are sometimes renamed in
honour of new heroes but are often still
referred to by their original name. The
ground floor of multistorey buildings is
referred to as the first floor and the first
floor as the second.