I came like I said before social media I don't want to stay here man what are you doing I'm holding on with my life here you're not like in London or Sweden where it's just overcast all day and
D you can be bought in Paradise as well there's a lot of money here now he goes to me oh go there you're nearly 30 now hey YouTube Alex here and in today's video we're talking with my new
friend Tony Tony is a gentleman from Australia he has a 25 year history here in the Philippines traveling back and forth he's got a fascinating perspective I think that it's very nuanced without further Ado let's get into it
Tony once again thanks so much you've been so generous with your time today I learned so much from your experiences you've talked about your base being bolid uh could you share more about your experiences in bid what made
you pick there when I first came me in 99 um I used to stay in Manila you know I did a little bit of a the when I first got married but Bola was like the best you know
it was a it was an island where my wife came from and that you know why I went there it's a it's it's the island called Negros ocidental part of that place and it was the best siiz city
at hotels are cheap everything was cheap especially in those days uh it's a best sized city it's not big and it's not small so you don't have the small town where you get bored after you know a few
nights sitting there you you got all the the good things the big Ms the big SM big aala big Robinson um it's a nice yeah it's pretty good uh it's iloo the the other Advantage is you can just
hop on a ferry 1 hour to and 10 minutes you're into another big city called Iloilo and up there and that that's called the island of Panay iloo is the capital city and for all you new bees if
you want to uh relax in a place get away from the big seeds you go to Rocka city which is Northern panan and there they call it the seafood capital of the Philippines I don't know why but that's
a beautiful place it's the size of dumag Getti but it's not overrun by foreigners so you you you can really have your um you know that that top without bumping into 2 forers every 10 m you walk like
DTI is right here you know that's why I rarely go to Dem meetti this is my second time in 25 years going to the Philippines cuz why why would you want to unless you're an old uh exper and
you want to hang a and you want to retire you yeah you're going to be you want to hang around with the um other rares or Americans but most of the Philippines most foreigners they don't want to you
know don't want to meet the locals hang around with the locals meet a girlfriend or whatever boy uh a a wife and and do that to and get away from where you normally come from you know that's super
helpful uh I think it's so important important for people that want to to get what I call immersion here in DTI it's not a fully immersive experience you've got so many foreigners here it's wonderful in many ways I
love dag Getti but it's not you're not going to get the same sense that you would uh here that you would in a Bola or you would in a a kagay and deoro so yeah very helpful uh did
you experience any culture shock when you first arrived here you mean back in 1999 uh yeah you do in a certain way because suddenly and back then the poverty was probably more worse you know now the countries they
call it a tiger economy now because Prosperity is going up slowly like I said when I first went to Manila You Can Count probably no more than 20 Sky highrise buildings now there's probably 150 I mean you know
Manila is like a 20 million population Metropolis it's one of the biggest cities in the world really the 18 to 20 million is what I heard some say 1550 million or whatever uh so I've noticed that and wealth
is more more you know all the international chains and the malls are there that's how you know there's got to be a bit of money when you get fashion chains like um you know Bugari jewelry are there and
all this I mean third world countries don't usually attract those type of luxury Brands so there's a lot of money here now but there's a lot of poverty and when I first came like your question said I notice
a lot of you know it's an unfair Society it's what it is you get there's 150 million population 15 million are living very well like first world conditions but you got the other 90 million that are you know
working hand to mouth they might work all day for $10 and what does that do just buys you your food your rice your your um you know your your you know piece of chicken or fish the cheap part
of the meat you you know the loers don't eat steak here you know so yeah um so poverty stands out when you first get it yeah these are all fair points a person coming from Australia your home country
or the United States my home country they may be uh surprised by just not what they're accustomed to but you're right about the growth I mean the economy this year I think it's expected to grow 6% year-over-year so
that's that's intense economic growth now you're a successful man uh you know one of the things that come say that I've seen your car collect yeah I've got nice car he's got some beautiful I've got it on the
cheap so I was lucky yeah yeah so yeah the country's gr but don't forget Mo most of the what is because of the 15 to 20 million I heard o ofws which is called overseas foreign workers these are
the Filipinos usually from poor families or the average Joe and average Sally that goes to work in Dubai Singapore Hong Kong they're Maids or they Seaman you know or they're working in Cru but and they're bringing billions of
dollars in that's what saved this country most mainly because of the English language this country had the advantage compared to Cambodia the um Vietnam or Ty they don't have those millions and millions of uh overseas foreign workers because
I they're not good in English language some of them are but not not not enough to communicate so they can be nurses and seamen and cruise because you got to have that you got to have that perfect Filipinos
have got that or the Filipinos they've got that and that's why they're in demand whether it's just a simple you know they're taking care of as nannies or like I said all these different and that's what's bringing a
lot of billions of dollars into this country and and that's why the economy is growing plus uh you know other countries are investing like Japan's you know bringing car manufacturing or something like that here yeah I think it's
incredible the investment that's taking place here you could pick any country in Southeast Asia to spend your time what are some of the things that you really enjoy about the Philippines over some of the alternative choices in the
region uh because I got married I came here 99 just out of chance I worked I I worked in the 80s when I was in my TW early 20s or 20 with a a BL called Bob who was
married to a Philippine lady back from the early 80s so he was one of the Pioneers some of the early ones came in the 60s and the 70s mainly the Americans and uh he told he was telling me
you know this that and 10 years later 98 I bumped into him and I said uh he goes to me oh go there you're nearly 30 now you're getting on why don't you go for a little I I
I thought I was just going to go once and never see the place again and that's how I met the people they they genuine and they're happy go-lucky they're friendly compared to other Southeast Asian countries um and uh
that's how and then slowly the next time I went I met my wife I got married and that's why I I keep coming here mainly because unlike what you said I'm successful no I'm just you know average J
but so my money is not type of money that can afford to go to Europe no way I'm me it probably once when I retire but it's it's the type of budget which I can afford in this part
of the world you know you can stay a month cheap hotels $20 a day at the most if I want I mean they've got expensive hotels as well but I don't go of those I just like a a
clean room with a airon a clean shower and that's it you can get them from $15 to $20 depends especially in the what we call Island cities not the main city in Manila you need at least $50 a
day for that I got to I stay place that are $18 a day you know some people talk about the increased costs here and certainly they are going up but I think it still maintains being a budget friendly
destination for a lot of people I know we're getting closer to dinner time uh and you mentioned the cuisine and roas what are some of the dishes that you've particularly enjoyed here in the Philippines yeah as a lot
of people would know watching this uh um loc qu lucky Philippines famous for all Cuisines of the world so you you got everything you don't have to but the local cuisine compared to Thailand and Malaysia is Bland a
lot of people say some things because they don't have spicy don't have those nice flavors like in in Malaysia or or Thailand especially uh Philippine Cuisines a bit Bland like the lumer the same thing the the punet um
but the the standout that they do lead in is called the lechon BB boy or roast Pig they're famous for that they they they're top for that but everything else there's much flavor they don't have that nice spicy
different you know the lemongrass in every you know um dish or or a little bit of curry powder Southeast Asian curry powder or that makes you know that flavor there or some good sauces like you see in Thailand
or Malaysia you know cuz I've eaten it uh so it is it is a bit Bland the local Cuisine so usually the same thing the P the lumpia the ceretta the uh cang sufu but they they don't put
olive oil or that those type of flavors which should be in a soup I I I reckon and that but they're good for seafood because this this country is full of seafood especially Raha City or anywhere you go
actually they got they got all the best fish in the world here they're lucky for that geography blue marlin where do you get um blue Marlon um the big maero when you grill it there's no bones I'm a
type of BL who likes fish where you don't have to pick out bones even though the locals who can't afford the big fish so that's why they're famous for eating those little fish where they have to pick a
million bones out of it uh you know because that's their budget rice they eat a mountain of rice with one little fish mostly here and that's the what's unfair with the the poor people here they work for tiny
wages compared and what is that do they can only afford cheap type of meals you know and that's why they they uh fill up with a lot of extra rice to make sure they they become full you know
what I mean absolutely that's a fair point that you know these really big fish that people from Australia or the US are a fan of exactly you get the middle class Philippines who can afford that but not it
should be available to everyone that have the big giant prawns that the foreigners or the the the world to-do Filipinos thing but out what's the world to do Filipinos out of 150 million say 20 million 10 million are
super rich 10 million are middle class and you got 80 million who who are just you know they might go once a week and have that type of restaurant meal that's why mys can only afford the Jolly bees
or the you know the McDonald's because they they're used to they think that's a a uh uh triple star rating meal is a Jolly Bee cuz they don't know anything else they're used to living on small just rice
with a with a sardine can or uh if it's a it's a fresh fish it's just a grilled little it's called a tuloy or what they call sardine freshly grilled and yeah so when they get a bit of
money from May you know they go to Jolly Bee they Rush the Jolly Bee That's Just Junk fast food mate you know even though I'll eat it now and then but you know only the world to do go
to the top you know grilled blue Marin and there and big prawns to eat or good squid you know big squid whatever you're one of those guys that's fortunate to bounce back and forth between Australia and the Philippines
when you are back in Australia what are some of the things that you miss about the times that you spend here in the Philippines my uh Finance can only afford you know like I say two months of the
year I'm not retired or nothing yet like the expats here or or the retired um uh foreigners and the things I miss well like I said the good seafood the ones I can afford I'm lucky enough to to
afford a good blue Maron steak for for no more than $10 would it will cost you $ 25 for the same thing back home or a big prawns that still is expensive for the locals but for us it's
you know $10 you can eat three four giant prawns in Australia you need bloody $30 for that same you know at least three times more the price and what else and the scenery it's a beautiful you know with
all the the you know like the post card the coconut tree scenery the uh beautiful mango trees you miss that and you miss the how PE people with very little are happy they've got a good lesson to teach
the rest of the world um um these people smile and and you think what the hell are they smiling for they just they're working 10 hours a day and what do they do and uh you know just to
just to have a feed but they're all happy gol lucky people I suppose uh and that's what I miss and just you know you get out of the normal mundane thing you know I suppose if you live here
full time at some Farid us this would be mundane you know the heat gets to you it wears you down so Pro it's when people get bored it's not because you can be bored in Paradise as well it's
just what you see every day every day yeah if you see us as foreigners when we go to a resort right let's say in the background at the back of it you see the locals how they live in
their uh bamboo hearts and you think think oh look how loud they got the the water is only 10 m away they're swimming in there every day they're living amongst the beautiful trees there's mango there fruit but you
know what if you've got that every day that'll boore you to death mate I mean I've I've I've sort of experienced it like that so it's wherever you are longterm is where boy so but it's good to sometimes
go back to a first world country where you know where you can really unwind it's you know you wouldn't want to have too much Paradox it gets boring it does I don't know how some people live here fulltime
in dumag Getti do it you can live somewhere close to the beach but if you see that same it's good if you go to different countries and different beaches all right that's a different kettle of fish but if
you're in the same locality and you can have beautiful coconut trees next to you you got the beach but if you see that every day for like 2 three years or 5 years you get sick of it wouldn't
you you know yeah and that's why the locals they they want to get out of you you when we say oh man you you live next to Paradise you got to be oh no I want to go live
in America I want to go live in Australia I want to go live in Canada I want to go live in Germany I don't want to stay here and you think why you scratch your head why you look
at that you got fruits here you got durian you got all these beautiful fruits beautiful fish to eat you got the beach here you got nice sunny weather you're not like in London or Sweden where it's just overcast
all day and D and and depressing and all that but no they want to go and live there the Filipinos they want to see snow they love they they got this thing about I want to go somewhere to
see snow uh see for them it's all about it's all relative uh what is fantastic to you and me who come from different places is boring to them and same for us it's boring to us to be living
where we come from but they want to they want to live there you know the Filipinos want to see snow but to live there if they did a year they'll get bored I think that's a great point and
on that note I do want to ask you foreigners you know they get two weeks off of work a year maybe four weeks in Australia um if there's one holiday that a foreigner could come here to the Philippines
to enjoy which holiday would you recommend a foreigner to uh come here to experience best time of the year if you if you want to come uh if you avoid the hot heat and the we you know where
is January and February is what they call the locals and and everyone knows it the cool months there's no such thing as winter here so so there's no very cold weather where you can relax and you're not you're
not going to sweat if you walk out for half an hour but they call it January February it's the cool month it's cool night time you won't even need it an air con uh but the rest of the
year you talking 35° to 38 in I don't know in American what they call it 100 CS is what we'd call 35 in Australian or British terms degrees uh but yeah so and um but if you you got
a air con in your room you're sleeping you know on the low air con you don't need a high you're comfortable and day time I don't know you just um put a hat on and yeah you can do
it a few more questions uh you know what comes to mind when we were talking earlier is that in Bola you really enjoyed the historical districts and you also who showed me a gentleman who's a friend of yours
um can you discuss a bit on your opportunity to meet with members of the community and like how that how a foreigner can kind of engage people or build those relationships yeah you can um a lot of a
lot of the uh unless it's your family members avoid meeting the the local cuz you know they think you know and plus the locals a little bit shy to meet you you know you'll get you'll get the average
you know the street H you know they want to help you know get a bit of money obvious I'll be friendly Hey Jo or that but to me the a real normal you know Filipino black yeah you do
come across them but most of them they don't um the locers oh right yeah in in and outside talisay or s cities is the famous historical old Mansions they call them you know Mansions they're not in Europe in
terms of mansion built out of you know Castle no these are wooden or some are built out of you know brick and mor but they what we call the sugar Baron uh mansions and it's a place called s
talesai they got Maps it's Heritage listed there so and there's they're all within like one one square kilometer I think yeah you got like 25 of these big mansion they're all nice you know to look at some of
them are open to the public not all cuz they still belong to you know uh other than that um and you you know old money still rues here you got of course a lot of new money it's hard
to to get in if you're just average even if you've got a PhD and you you know You' been you know you became a lawyer can you speak on the bus travel in the Philippines yeah yeah yeah I
mean uh I I came from bolled City uh to Dag Getti not that I go out on my way to come to DTI because I want to avoid where this you know 10,000 foreigners or whatever uh I came
here to me to C two foreigners mate uh uh one was called Big Ron he's from Australia and uh Ray and one Frenchman that I know and he used to be in Bola but he's come here so I
I just to change my scenery uh I I got a beautiful bus ride so it's a 5 to 6 hour ride I know it's a bit long from there but you cross it's it's worth the scenery you cross
over nice you know towns small towns where it's still on the side of the road you know the buff water buffalo is walking with kids running and happy and and uh bamboo Huts to you know nice houses with
with four-wheel drive Raptors inside then you you get the Highlight come climbing up the mountain and then coming down the other side to enter uh where the the lowlands are where dumag Getti is on the coast and you
got to play pass places like kabankalan mabina once you get over the The Other Side of the Mountain then there's a Bayes a coastal town called Bayes that's beautiful there and then you slowly get closer to Dag Getti
and uh yeah it's worth a bus ride you enjoy that just as much just keep your eyes open look out of the window and enjoy the ride if you get modern airom buses they're comfortable the seat goes back
you know pretty good you know even more so than an air airplane seat you can really lie it down uh and and you just enjoy the the the ride sometimes it could be a bit hairy because uh the
bus drive are a bit like Cowboys the Filipino bus drivers they want to overtake anything they see it's like man what are you doing I'm holding on one my life here I don't mind getting getting into town an
hour late I want to be alive when I get there uh you know they they they love to you know speed and whatever not all I'm not I'm generaliz you know but yeah that's funny mate but they're pretty
good drivers Filipinos I noticed in back in 1999 for the M especially in Manila the amount of cars and you know everything on the Road Motorbikes buses you hardly see an accident compared to the first where where I
come from we don't have a population on that it's still every day there's two three accidents pranks and with all the space in between and how the hell do you find you know cuz there stupid drivers in the
Philippines they're scared to hit another car because for them most people don't have insurance and it means big trouble withth their life so what they are they make sure they don't hit each other and when it does happen
very rarely I've only in 25 years I've only seen one accident and when it does happen it's on they they come out with one BL come out with a steel rod uh chasing the other BL the other bloke
if he's well to do he's usually got a pistol in his handbag so it can be you know pretty hairy but they're on the whole they're very good drivers everyone t drivers bus drivers they know they can become
like spaghetti they they don't follow Lanes on roads even sometimes it doesn't happen now but before they used to Red Lights meant nothing they would just go right through it say oh yeah it's all right I didn't see
anyone on the on that s all it's a red lot but that's all right well you know she's right mate yeah so overall they're very good drivers that's that's a wonderful compliment oh no no it's wonderful the rant
speaking of Adventure what are some of the adventurous activities or sports that you've tried here that maybe you wouldn't try back in Australia or less accessible I did that what do you call that ziplining man that's a I
did one where it was near San Carlos big long one and and right in the middle of it and it went on for like 10 minutes not 10 minutes I might be exaggerating at least for five now five
minutes in a zipline is a long time when you're counting it m not little seemar and in the middle was like I kid you not probably 100 100 meter drop or you see his Forest I the like if
this harmless goes man I'm I'm gone well any direction but in the beginning you can still see it's only 20 M under your feet but then it reaches certain sections where it was 100 meter drop nothing between your
feet dangling and and down the down the the bottom there what is the wildest experience you've had here in the Philippines I'm sure there's plenty but uh maybe one that you're interested to share well we off the top
of my head man I'd have to think about that we haven't got the time but I just want to let everyone I'm not an expert on Philippine and that but yeah I'm just giving my opinion there's probably people
know more about than me but I've been coming here for 25 years I came like I said before social media Facebook was invented I think 2004 five the first iPhone was 2007 no YouTube when I first came all
that came like seven eight years after I got here and I was a young young lad then um the first thing um yeah uh well off the top of my head Alex I I have to think about that
we haven't got the time but overall the people are good they're beautiful people um you know of course you get one or two idiots it'll SPO you you know but you hardly bump into them you just if you're
respectful to them you you'll be right even if someone's annoying you he's following you he wants to sell you you know trinket or you know a leather belt don't don't swear at him or nothing or or give them
fingers or that respect just you know what the what I've learned yeah is I learned that from the other Pioneers the the Aussies that have came in in the 80s and the 70s just put you if you're walking
there's people following you they want a bet or whatever or sell you a leather bill or a watch a fake watch you know they call it Rox just don't look at them because here it's the type of culture
you look at them even if you look at them because you're look in their Direction they think you're you're interested in so they'll keep following you or they'll start talking to you oh yeah uh so don't look at
just look downwards but right and and just say like that no which means no and they'll drop off sooner or later they might follow you for 20 M or 10 me but they'll drop off but you do it
respectfully you don't have to to talk abuse them just keep your you know calm and just say or or learn the linguage to say uh no thank you inde well I'm better or means no money or uh uh
or or Sal which means thank you sir or ma'am and they they usually take that and they even reply okay okay like that it means respectfully thank you no you know that's really good advice I rarely say that
by the way but in this case I will say that is great advice show respect to the Filipino people we're here based on their Goodwill and their kindness so I I can't thank you enough Tony uh any final
words before we wrap up no Alex thank you yeah what your channel you're a humble black I I don't think I've ever done this before Al Reon I agreed to to you not because I thought I will let
me have a go it's a bit of fun I've never been into the Social Media stuff but you you look very respect you're a humble blood you're trying your best and uh yeah I hope you good luck to
you mate and I thought yeah why not I'm meetti I'm letting my hair down a bit you know when I go home I you know I I don't uh you know uh uh watch too many of these Chanel
but I will watch yours yeah and one or two others that are now and then but yeah no watch his channel he's he's got some good stuff and he's already starting out aren't you thanks so much and uh
we'll call it there really day if you haven't already I want to protect my priv if anyone's asking why I got the sunglass yeah I like I said you know it's my choice but absolutely we totally uh totally
respect that and I yeah thank you so much again Tony I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead and we'll talk to you soon
