Philippines, the land of non veg

Philippines..

Man this is hard to believe but if you are Vegetarian, you are DEAD... This country is a great place for NON-VEG lovers.. Sea food specialties, excellent non veg options. Anything which is dead..

The places looks good, Makati City is a business capital and for Indians, New Bombay at Makati is good place to eat, bit costly but at least you can eat something Indian.

There is a lady who delivers Indian Veg/NonVeg food. Her name is Jane. Give her a call and get Food delivered at any address in Manila/Makati. Pricing is cheap too. For around 150 Pesos, you get Roti, subji, Rice and Daal. Add 30-50 Pesos more and get another subji. She has two subjis daily. She also delivers the Non Veg food, mainly Chicken.  This is the no of Jane +639268521328. I hope this is still valid. Do check it in case you need Indian Food. Veg or Non Veg.

Must be some Indian working behind this. I was pleasantly surprised when i got some Sweet because of some Indian Festival. 

Breakfast is a problem, but you can survive on Sand-witches.. Custom made, you prepare for yourself.

Now about the country.. Its good and Human Life has a value. Driving is not as great as US but has been really good. They wont honk if you are crossing, and even will wait till you cross. Gosh this is bad habit as once back to India, Pune, someone will just bang me if I dont pay attention to traffic in City.

The infrastructure in City was top notch. Buidlings are High Rising, close to 30 stories. and Roads in the city are spacious, clean. Not sure if the story is same in villages.

People:
Fun LOVING, They love MUSIC. The concept of outing has to have a Karaoke Machine and they will sing ALL night... The love to party and work HARD..

Friendly people and will assist you when you are in need, ask some directions, even if they dont know much of english, they will somehow explain you.. 90%+ crowd use CARS in city. You will see very less two wheelers on road.

Caution:

One has to be careful when traveling by Jeepnies. These are modified Jeeps. They are public transport used by common man. There have been instances that someone might steal your phone/laptop at knife point. The people, 80% have iPhone/Mac/Android products and that makes it so common that snatching takes place. The

Places to visit:

Cebu, Makati city & Taal lake.. AWESOME Place

Lot of Malls.. May be you can visit one, MALL OF ASIA, biggest mall in Asia. Its just like Huge township.. includes all eating joints, shopping complex, merry go rounds.. You name it and it has it. Very nice to spend time. They also host a fireworks every saturday at around 7 post a magnificent Sunset.

 

Get the currency changed at airport if you are not carrying PESOS.

1 USD is equal to 40-43 Pesos.

I will see if I can get the number of Jane and put it here so it can be useful to Indian traveling to Makati/Manila.

Duration of Stay: 22 Days.

IDP @ Pune RTO

Getting an IDP, yes International Driving Permit.  @ Pune RTO...

Planning for a visit to USA, I thought it would be better to have an IDP.. Last visit, I could not get it in time. The process is pretty simple.. NO AGENT... NOTHING....

 What to bring:
Stepler, fevistisk, Passport (original for verification) and of course Driving License (original, i need not mention :P ), 4 Photos Passport size, nahh anything will do. Just 4 photos are required.

 First go and park your CAR/Bike at stilt of RTO Pune.

Step 1. Get a Medical Form from outside counter. They wont keep IDP Form.

Step 2. Go to License section from the stairs located at the parking. Its NOT the main entrance of the building.. Climb Stairs and go to Left. Inquire for IDP Form.

Step 3. Get the Medical Filled from Doctor, usually sitting at Stilt Parking. DO NOT Fill it yourself. He will discard it. Nice guy, in case you miss fevistick/stapler, he wont mind you using it.

Step 4. Stick your 2 photos to both the forms, Attach Passport / VISA copy, Driving License Copy to the forms along with 2 more Photos.

Step 5. Get the Form Signed from Officer (left cabin at Driving license Section) from where you got the IDP Form. He will verify the docs. Passport/License/Visa

Step 6. Make an entry in Register in the Driving License Section, same person who handed you IDP Form. He will ask to sign on every photocopy, Self attestation..

Step 7. Go to Block B, the counter below next to parking where all learning license work takes place, and Pay INR 500 (Fees as per Jan 2013), this will be written on application by officer. (at step 5.)

Step 8. Submit all the documents again to the same person who gave the IDP form in step 2. He will tell you to come back in couple of days.. (hoepfully.)

Things to remember.
I had my Driving license and Passport of same address, If your address does not match they might need separate document for address proof. The person did ask me if the address matches so, may be it has some implications..


Fees:
Medical : INR 30/-
IDP Fees: INR 500/-

Time required:
2 hours max. If you have all docs as mentioned & know the process then you might finish in 30 mins flat. I took around 1hour and 15 mins, including photocopying/getting forms/finding Medical practitioner at parking.

All in all, its pretty decent way to get things done. The Information on the RTO PUNE Does NOT mention about 4 photos and also about medical certificate.
So this is latest guide as per my experience.

Im not sure if I will be driving in USA but for all you guys..
Happy & Safe driving abroad.