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Packing for your Trip to the Philippines:

We went to several message boards about the Philippines and  asked input from experienced travelers what they considered necessities on their trip to the PI. Below is a breakdown of the input we think you should consider when preparing for your trip. Most hotels offer 110v and 220v, but 220v is the norm for the country so bring your electrical items with that in mind.

Personal Hygiene Items (i.e. deodorant, after shave, shaving cream, toothpaste, dental floss, toothbrush, comb, brush, fingernail clippers, mouthwash, razor, soap, talcum powder, q-tips.)

Your personal medical items,  like heart meds, high blood pressure, gout,  with enough of them to last a few days longer than you plan to be here, as you may not be able to get some medications here, or your flight could get delayed. Also of course wear any medical warning bracelets you supposed to have on. Sleeping pills for the plane if you think you will need them.

Generic medical items: Alka sheltzer (not available here), tylenol, aspirin, sunscreen, bug repellant if you are going to the provinces, athletes foot powder, anti fungal cream, strong anti biotic, vitamins, tri anti biotic cream, hydrogen peroxide, band-aids, massage oil if you need it, ky jelly, condoms, cold medicine (no contact or dristan here), anti diarrhea medicine, doxycycline for mosquitoes if going to the provinces, wet ones or handi wipes (as you will not find toilet paper available in most public rest rooms).

Money: New $100 bills (do not bring 1996 editions as some money changers will not accept them.) Any ripped bills or ones with slight tears will not be accepted by money changers. ATM machines are readily available in Angeles City so bring credit cards or debit cards to use (Cirrus is the most popular processor on the back of Visa or Master Cards here.)  Travelers checks are not readily accepted and if they are changed an extremely low rate is given exchanging them, bring cash.

Personal Information: Any important documents you need while traveling on a disc or a usb thumb drive, to include scans of your passport, (also a color copy on paper is good), medical history if needed, credit card information (in case they get lost or stolen), and any other papers you think you may need in an emergency, important phone numbers back home.

Books: Map of the Philippines, travel book, small dictionary of tagalog (see our survival guide), something to read on the plane, list of tagalog expressions (but you can easily get by with English).

Hardware: Your cell phone if it will work here, transistor radio, ipod or mp3 player with small speakers, small pocket camera (waterproof is better, see amazon above)  locking money bag to lock inside your hotel security box (so an employee who could access won't be able to steal some of your money) also soon to be available at Margarita Station with a buy back program, flashlight for brownouts, laptop computer, extra batteries and a charger, bicycle locking chain (to secure your high dollar items in your room wardrobe cabinet by running it thru the door handles), sewing kit with safety pins, eye shades and earplugs for the plane ride (maybe even one of those neck pillow thingys), umbrella (rainy season May thru Nov). A ball point pen is needed to fill out your customs and immigration forms on the plane and in the airport, so bring one to avoid buying an expensive one at the airport.

Clothing: At least one pair of long slacks, collared shirt, and shoes if you plan on attending church functions or to be admitted to the casino. Remember you are going to be in a tropical climate where the daily temperature is 90f to 110f and you are probably going to require taking a shower more often than home so bring extra underwear and socks, probably double what you would normally need back home. Shorts (not cut offs)  and t-shirts or polo shirts are ok attire for the tourist areas, sight seeing, general travel,  bar hopping, or shopping in the local stores and malls. We already mentioned one pair of shoes and we recommend you add a set of sneakers or comfortable sandals (or walking/hiking boots if that is what you like)  for walking around along with a pair of flip flops for the shower (also available here cheaply). Bring a bathing suit for the ocean or hotel pool. Bring a couple of large trash bags to use as laundry bags, most laundry turn around time is 12 to 24 hours, much cheaper if you have it done at a laundry and not your hotel. Bring a hat and sunglasses, remember it is hot here in the day time. If you have room you might want to add a large beach towel to your suitcase. Handkerchiefs, bring handkerchiefs to wipe your forehead or what ever else requires wiping in the hot sun. Not sure which category to mention this in but a couple of large zip lock bags usually come in handy for keeping stuff sorted or dry.

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Buying Land/House and Lot in the Philippines (Oct 29, 2007)

The Cost of Love (Oct 30, 2007)

Building your home in the PI (June 15th, 2008)