SO MANY SITES

Let's face it. That cloud looks so fake. You know there's a UFO in there! It's amazing how many strange cloud formations I see in this tropical paradise. Sometimes I bet they are raging storms off in the distance. Some look like huge nuclear explosions out on the water. None of them, though, have anything to do with this post.

So here I am beginning my third month in the Philippines and it's time for things to change. I am trying to get a new place so that I can live both better and cheaper than staying in a hotel or pension house. I looked at a few places. Even though there are nice places that can be found for around $100 US per month, they are usually too far from the city center for my tastes and they are not such that I could walk outside and hail a taxi. I would maybe even need my own car or motorbike. Places near Ayala, the great mall I wrote of some time ago, are more expensive and some can even reach an amazing $400 US per month. Keep in mind, though, that's a fortune out here.

One of the places I am looking at is a high rise condo unit with a view to die for. It's in that super expensive range I spoke of, but I think it would be more than worth it. I would still be saving money over a hotel and after some startup costs, life would be cheaper. I'd be able to buy groceries, have a refrigerator, even cook, thus saving more money. The downside is the place comes completely unfurnished. That's fine though. My place in California was unfurnished and pretty much stayed that way for three years. I had an airbed, two card tables, pretending to be a computer desk, and a cheap chair. I might do little more with this new place, though, if I get it.



Thinking along those lines I went to a place called Blim's Fine Furniture in Ayala. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let me take pictures. Still I made a list of things and their prices. Some things I thought of as essentials and others as things that would be nice to have. Like I saw this awesome bedroom set, which included everything, even the pillows and sheets, a night stand, tall mirror, dresser and side table for PHP 64,998. That's about $1400 at today's exchange rate, where the peso is weakening thanks to the fighting with muslims in the south. I also hear the dollar is finally making a come back. Anyway, I found just about everything I would need, even a set top gas range for cooking, in this store. Some things, though, were certainly expensive, even approaching American prices. This was the mall after all.

I showed my list to Alona and she was not happy. She decided to take me to a place where things could be had much cheaper. Yesterday I had my first experience in Metro Gaisano downtown. I had heard the name many times, and seen the shopping bags from there, but had never visited. This is not exactly a place where you want to pull out an expensive cell phone and start taking pictures, so I have none. There was so much activity downtown. It was amazing. Huge crowds of people everywhere. There are street markets here too. We chose, however, to go inside the huge plaza.

Immediately on the first floor, of this huge five level cube, I saw computer desks, chairs, bed mattresses and other useful things all in the $20 range. I could get a decent rice cooker for about $12 or so. They even had a juicer! The true essentials, though, were where prices really shined. Things like plates, silverware, bowls etc. were in a big pile and they were 99 peso per kilo. Basically you grab a bunch of plates, cups, or whatever and put them on the scale until you have one kilogram, and you pay about $2 for it! The same with coat hangers and other little things you don't normally think about, but have to have when starting in a new place from scratch. Towels, soap, bath tissue and other things were also extremely cheap, yet all very nice quality. This is not 99 cent store quality stuff here. Sometimes it pays to have someone who knows where to shop. Even high quality clothes, though not likely to fit me, could be had for $2 or so per item.

So today it's all about actually getting this awesome place. Rumor has it the owner might even be willing to let it go, so if I really enjoy staying there, I may just consider buying it after a year or so. That could be my base of operations as the adventure continues in other places like China or Japan. I will be sure to post pictures of that amazing view if I do get it. It has to be seen to be believed!