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  1. #351
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    ^heh. There's no covid visa amnesty. Lots of Chinese ppl will be deported because they overstayed their visa. It's in the news section, but here's another link.

    Philippines to expel thousands of Chinese nationals amid immigration scandal | South China Morning Post

    Good luck on your 13A visa application. From the vlogger's description, it seemed pretty straightforward, just submit all documents asked for. Since you're in the province, maybe it will be faater - fewer applicants (?).

    Congrats on your new apartment! I hope the conditions are better. You have a genset & will be able to work from home - cool!

    Btw, if you're tired of paying high rent (you said that new apt costs more), you could look into foreclosed units which were financed through banks or PAG-IBIG fund (HDMF/ Housing Development Mutual Fund - it's like Sally Mae or Freddie Mac in the USA). I know of some subdivision units here (whether detached house or rowhouse unit) wherein the owners gave up on it because they couldn't afford the monthly payments. If your wife worked before, she probably was a member of HDMF and she would have to reactivate her membership.

    Btw, there are 2 storms coming - one is a potential supertyphoon which will affect Luzon. The 2nd is projected to affect Visayas / Mindanao + maybe south Luzon (based on satellite pics).

    Signals 3 and 4 may be raised due to potential 'super typhoon' Rolly | Inquirer News

    Cheers and all the best to you & yours.

  2. #352
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    Thanks again Katie,

    Rolly has made it's presence known the last couple of days, it's been pretty stormy here, but we're in the rain bands I think....we'll get an hour or two of clear skies, then it will storm for a while, then clear again, repeat as needed.

    Our problem with housing is that we need furniture/internet/electricity in order for me to work from home.

    What really has gotten my attention through the last couple of typhoons is how rock steady both the electricity and internet has been. I guess it only goes out when the weather is perfect.

    We're going to visit immigration very soon to see what my options are...

    Take care and be safe Katie!
    "I was a good student. I comprehend very well, OK, better than I think almost anybody," - President Trump comparing his legal knowledge to a Federal judge.

  3. #353
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    My latest whining/update...

    On the plus side, we love our little apartment, it's absolutely perfect. It's more like serviced apartment. We have a maid that comes once a month and she basically cleans and inspects the place. Our shower curtain wasn't up to her standards, so she had it replaced, for free. Fooking cool. The security guards are great and extremely helpful. We're generally blown away. The generator pops on in just over a minute when the power goes out so that's cool. Right now, getting internet installed has been the only problem.

    My wife has been dutifully buying Christmas presents and food supplies to send to Bangkok over the last few weeks. She went to ship some stuff today and was told that only documents and T-shirts could be shipped and this was by two shipping companies. We've received a care package from BKK without difficulty, but going the other way appears to be limited. I guess we'll bring Christmas with us when we go back in March.

    We're now under a 11 pm curfew vice 10, that's been about the only major change in quarantine status. No beer after six is still in affect. From my observation mask wearing is becoming less fashionable, which is increasing my paranoia about round 2 or 3 or whatever.

    Work has been booming, I did a record number of classes in November but it looks like December and January are going to suck burro balls. Our big worry now is where we're going to travel to in order to renew my visa or what plan B will be.

  4. #354
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    Well, here's some pictures of the BBQ outside our house...literally right downstairs.


    Topper in Bacolod-bbq-start-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-stuff2-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-stuff1-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-stuff-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-crab-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-dinner-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-blood-sausage-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-intestines-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-smoke1-jpg

  5. #355
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    Hi topper, thanks for the pics & update. Such BBQ places are common in my hood too, but without the crab.

    Re: your visa status, my advice would be to apply for the 13A. I don't think int'l travel will normalize by March - you'll need covid test (either before and/or after, depends on airline & destination). Accdg to the PI govt, we'll still be in some form of quarantine this year. Vaccine rollout (for ordinary ppl, not VIPs) will start in March or 2nd qtr, at least that's the target. So it's masks & social distancing until then. I think it will be 3rd qtr before the country opens up to int'l tourism.

    Aside from covid tests, you may have to quarantine in Manila, then again when you return to Bacolod (depends on local govt).

    You could either get a 2-month tourist visa (that's what some foreign youtubers do) but you have to renew it every time. Since you're married to a citizen, then I think it's better to get the 13A and be on track to permanent residency (will be cheaper in the long run, in terms of visa fees). Another thing is that most neighboring countries are still closed to tourists or they have many requirements, like TH or Sri Lanka. Good luck!

  6. #356
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    Quote Originally Posted by Topper View Post
    Well, here's some pictures of the BBQ outside our house...literally right downstairs.


    Topper in Bacolod-bbq-intestines-jpg


    The rest looks good though.

  7. #357
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    Well, good...ish.

  8. #358
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    @snub - Lol. Those are chicken intestines & fairly common here. There are pig intestines too, as well as chicken heads & feet. The brown squares are made from blood (not sure if pig or chicken). In some parts of the country, they also eat pig's brain - sauté it with salt, onion & garlic, and dip some bread in it. Bon appetit!

  9. #359
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    Quote Originally Posted by Topper View Post
    Well, here's some pictures of the BBQ outside our house...literally right downstairs.


    Topper in Bacolod-bbq-start-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-stuff2-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-stuff1-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-stuff-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-crab-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-dinner-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-blood-sausage-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-intestines-jpgTopper in Bacolod-bbq-smoke1-jpg

    Looks delicious!

  10. #360
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23 View Post
    Bon appetit!

  11. #361
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    ^Lol. Snub, I searched for this. I found it quite funny at the time. The guy ate pig's brain & balut (boiled fertilized duck egg). PI delicacies! Cheers!



    @topper - sorry for the thread derail!

  12. #362
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23 View Post
    Re: your visa status, my advice would be to apply for the 13A. I don't think int'l travel will normalize by March
    And that's the thing...I'll leave here, quarantine for 14 days, fly back and then be put in quarantine for 14 days. We're off to talk with immi in the next couple of days.

    The nearest "big" immi office is on Iloilo, where I would have to do the whole 28 day quarantine thing just to visit immigration.

  13. #363
    Thailand Expat armstrong's Avatar
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    LOL shit just got real

  14. #364
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23 View Post
    The guy ate pig's brain & balut (boiled fertilized duck egg). PI delicacies! Cheers!
    Do you eat this? Fuck I am so drunk right now. Almost 9am here and was at my homeboys house for a cook off and drinkfest. So glad I was able to walk home, but it has been a torrent of rain here, and I slipped on the walk down the hill this morning. Thankfully I was close to home and able to change out of those wet clothes. Now I should sleep but I have a couple of White Claws to drink and a brekkie burrito.

    Good lord.

  15. #365
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bsnub View Post
    Now I should sleep but I have a couple of White Claws to drink and a brekkie burrito.

    difficult choice

  16. #366
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheRealKW View Post
    difficult choice
    I forgot to mention that I got a couple of McDonald's egg and sausage things too. The lady passed out, so I may as well eat her tucker While I polish of these claw things.

  17. #367
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bsnub View Post
    I forgot to mention that I got a couple of McDonald's egg and sausage things too. The lady passed out, so I may as well eat her tucker While I polish of these claw things.

    Superb plan.

  18. #368
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    @snub - I've been eating balut as a kid. As for the pig's brain, haven't tried it. But if I go to Cebu and find it, then I'll eat it.

    @topper - oops, I forgot that you need to quarantine if you travel to a different island. Yes, AFAIK only the big immi offices accept 13A applications. Maybe you'd be better off on a 2-month or 6-month tourist visa until the situation eases & quarantines are not needed. A 2-month tourist visa extension costs ~3k pesos (~60 usd, for reference) based on what I've seen in vlogs. Good luck on your immi visit.

  19. #369
    Thailand Expat tomcat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23 View Post
    I've been eating balut as a kid. As for the pig's brain, haven't tried it. But if I go to Cebu and find it, then I'll eat it.
    ...poverty certainly affects the menu...have you tried boiled shoes?...

  20. #370
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    Quote Originally Posted by bsnub View Post
    Do you eat this?
    Lots of people eat sheep brain . . . grilled with a nice béchamel sauce - beautiful. The only disconcerting thing is hearing the saw cut the skull into two

  21. #371
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by armstrong View Post
    LOL shit just got real
    Well that's a rootin' tootin' wtf were you talkin' about there, pardner.

  22. #372
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    Lots of people eat sheep brain .

  23. #373
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    My mum tells me about eating sheep brains spread on toast during the war.

    It's something I've always meant to try but it's not so easy to get in the UK... I think something to do with a ban on eating the nervous system of animals after the mad cow episode.

    It seems hard to get a lot of stuff from UK butchers now... even tripe is hard to get.

  24. #374
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    Sheep brain with béchamel sauce - yumm
    Quote Originally Posted by bsnub View Post



    Quote Originally Posted by Mendip View Post
    tripe

  25. #375
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mendip View Post
    My mum tells me about eating sheep brains spread on toast during the war.
    My grandfather was a widower/bachelor for the last half of his life. He did not keep much in the fridge and tended to eat at the pub where he spent his evenings. The only thing you could count on being in the fridge was a jar of pickled pigs feet. He would come home from the pub good and lathered up and usually go right for them. Tried to get me to eat them countless times. I relented once and never again.

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