Raffin

Made a continuation here as it was rightly pointed out the conversation was drifting well away from Sipalay!

Can't use quotes, but poster D-V seems to have taken against the fair city of Muntinlupa. I've been around a number of areas there, some off the road, and I would say it's pretty average for Metro Manila. A range of housing areas, from what could be described as 2nd class down to slums.

Pollution? Well, the air is very polluted outside the Starmall in Alabang - you've got 6 lanes of slowly moving traffic under the SLEX flyover. There's also a fair amount of industry around, especially to the south, off the National Road.

My main point is that Muntinlupa is, in my opinion, in most respects about the same as many other areas of the Metro eg Paranaque, Las Pinas, Quezon City etc.

Makati is mentioned. Get away from Ayala Ave/Makati Ave and you will see some poor, dirty and chaotic areas. Yes, there is Forbes, Dasma Village etc but some years ago I saw a slum right next to a prestigious development - though maybe it's been cleared by now. Makati doesn't have many factories but.. the huge volumes of traffic and it's resulting air pollution!

Temperatures are about the same too as Muntinlupa - when I looked this morning they were both 29C! Of course, Makati has all those Malls, but in my experience it's often baking hot outside, albeit with some breeze! It's maybe due to the microclimate where one resides in Muntinlupa? Are there some trees around?

The thing about the Metro, and increasingly towns and cities in Calabarzon, is that there's no planning, zoning and Green Belt to speak of. So in a short distance one can go from Ist world to 3rd. For example, just 1 km away from the Starmall in Alabang one finds oneself in Filinvest City (part of Muntinlupa) with its upmarket shopping Malls with US style roads.

As far as personal discomfort is concerned, it can be mitigated somewhat by having the use of a car. Otherwise you may have to eventually relocate into an expensive area of the Metro eg Makati, Ortigas, if you can afford it, or go well outside of the Metro. We live in a rural area near Tagaytay but near some moderately busy back roads, so we're always cleaning off black, oily deposits in the house. And I am sure we are getting Manila's air pollution from 50 km away if the wind is in the wrong direction.

Or maybe settle in the UK, where, as you say, standards are higher and consistently applied?

Want to go to an island in the Visayas? Well, I read recently about the significant pollution from ship's engines, especially in this region of the world!

PS: Water always with fruit juice? One would then need to watch out for one's sugar intake. Apart from drinking water I drink weak tea twice a day when at home. Sometimes adding a fruit juice..

Stokkevn

There is one big disadvantage of Muntinlupa in that is where my mother-in-law lives, our advantage is that we live an hours flight south of there.

mikemike

lol i sure cannot argue with that!!

In desperation they could slum by down sizing with a move to Ayala Alabang

Stokkevn

About 17 years ago I paid for the in-laws to build a house there. M-in-L with a bit of help from hubby managed the builders. When we came over and stayed there, the workmanship seemed fairly good. M-in-L explained that one of the workers was very good and turned up early to prepare the tools for the day and stayed late to put them away, she was quite proud that she had found such a diligent worker. Until I asked if she had given him breakfast and he had stayed late for supper. There was a long pause as the penny dropped, her only reply was "Cheeky sod!!!"

She did also struggle a bit with the items in the balikbayan boxes we sent them, I sent out a decorative Victorian chamber pot, as before the house was built there was only a 'bottom of the garden thunder box'. The next time I saw it, it was in the middle of the dining room table full of soup. - I think I will skip straight to the main course.

Raffin

[QUOTE=Stokkevn;12010113 M-in-L explained that one of the workers was very good and turned up early to prepare the tools for the day and stayed late to put them away[/QUOTE]

He certainly did!!

Crystal Dale

Yes, Lupa is standard for the Metro as its no better/worse than most other cities. I just don't like it, but it's where I got married (in a courtroom, by a judge), so that means something of course. Your post is interesting/informative, and perhaps it feels a bit hotter to me when in Lupa simply because of the fact that its not my kind of place.

Bazza070958

"She did also struggle a bit with the items in the balikbayan boxes we sent them, I sent out a decorative Victorian chamber pot, as before the house was built there was only a 'bottom of the garden thunder box'. The next time I saw it, it was in the middle of the dining room table full of soup. - I think I will skip straight to the main course" .... sparks very loud guffaw in my office hahahaha

Stokkevn

Not too sure if this is a Muntinlupa thing or not, but when my M-i-L visited, I was lying on the sofa reading a book and M-i-L asked if she could watch WowWoWe on the TV, my reply was "No!", she then went and got my wife, who asked the same, with the same reply.

Both got a bit annoyed and demanded to know why she could not watch it. My reply was "That it would be the same answer if she had asked 4 hours ago, there is a brown out"

Crystal Dale

Love it, haha. A bit of humour is welcome in any thread, regardless of the topic. When I told my work colleagues that I would be going to Philippines, to meet someone I'd been communicating with online, one of them (a female) asked if they had flush toilets, whilst another was surprised the internet was available over there? Seems many in the Western world really do still see The Pearl of the Orient as being so backward its coming forward, and believe me they weren't joking. Fortunately, my future wife to be's parent's house in Lupa where I stayed during my first 3 times over there does have a flush. However, and sorry to lower the tone a bit, I was horrified and puzzled at the absence of loo roll in their bathroom? Then I noticed the plastic tray like thing in the corner and put two and two together. Well, I was in Asia after all, and already knew that the the Wapanese (no offence intended) use what is effectively a hole in the ground, or so it seems. Anyway, my first ever purchase in Phils was some toilet roll which I bought from a nearby Mighty Mart, later that day.

Raffin

[QUOTE=Dale-Vaness; When I told my work colleagues that I would be going to Philippines, to meet someone I'd been communicating with online, one of them (a female) asked if they had flush toilets.... Fortunately, my future wife to be's parent's house in Lupa where I stayed during my first 3 times over there does have a flush. However, and sorry to lower the tone a bit, I was horrified and puzzled at the absence of loo roll in their bathroom? [/QUOTE]

Well D-V I'm going to give that female some points on her questioning on flush toilets in the Philippines, because in my time here I've got the distinct impression that most of them, including many recently installed, do not flush and are served by a nearby handy pail of water and a tabo. All to do with the cheap Chinese mechanisms and just sheer bad maintenance practices.

And regarding the absence of toilet paper, haven't you learned that the locals here use it for everything else other than cleaning up after a number 2? For that they usually use a sprayer which is connected via a 3 way connector on the water inlet to the toilet. So they effectively turn their toilet into a bidet. I don't use them, and they tend to develop leaks easily, but they can be handy to clean up around the bathroom!

Pardon me for the attempted joke...but I think you should take up the matter with your M-in-L.

Last, to avoid blockages it's generally not advisable to put used toilet paper down the toilet, as we do in the UK.

Stokkevn

I must have been quite lucky then ( touch wood ), the toilets in my house have worked as they should do for 8 years, apart from me having to remove the workings and install them properly when we moved in, have had no trouble since.

Mostly the problems ( here in the provinces ) are the lack of any skilled/knowledgeable people who understand building and in particular the water/sewage system. A friend had a septic tank installed but the pipe from the toilet was put in at the bottom of the tank which had no breather on it. A few weeks later the inevitable happened, the contents started to decompose, the sun came out and warmed up the ground, the gasses in the tank expanded, only one way to relive pressure, back-flow up the toilet. Not a pretty site or a pleasant smell. Builder tried to claim it was in accordance with Ph building regs, it may well be as I have not looked. In the end he agreed to do the job properly under supervision, mainly because he wanted his car back which we had locked in my friend's driveway.

Crystal Dale

The last hotel we stayed in, had that sprayer you mention but I throught it was to unblock the system rather than a variation on the bidet idea. Another strange thing over there compared to UK is the amount of water in the toilet to start with, but I guess there's a reason for it? Fortunately, I've never had to use any public inconveniences over there, except once at NAIA when flying home. The attendant handed me a paper towel after washing my hands because he wanted a tip, which he didn't get. For me, the only good thing about the climate is, and despite the necessary high volume of water I drink over there, is that I can go for many hrs without needing a bathroom due to perspiration.

Philosophical 11

I too wondered what that sprayer thing was when I first arrived here. I thought maybe it was for washing the floor if ones aim is not to clever. Does not apply to me btw. But it caught me out a few days after being here. We were staying in a hotel and I used the toilet paper provided. I was not aware that a single sheet can block the whole sewage system in Sipalay. It did. Being clever, I thought I would use the sprayer thing and push it down the toilet to try and unblock it. It got jammed down the toilet. Sheepishly, I had to go to reception and ask them to unblock it. Man came with a large plunger with a look of disdain on his face. His look of disdain changed to one of puzzlement when he saw the sprayer thingy jammed down the toilet. No idea what my lovely lady said to him. But I cringe with embarrassment each time I see him now. But I hide that with a cheery smile.

I often wondered what the protocol was when there is no loo paper. I have since found out you clean yourself using your hands, then wash the hands in bucket provided. Not my cup of tea tbh. Makes me wary of shaking hands with anyone. I now stuff a load of loo roll in my pockets when going anywhere. Much to my lovely ladies annoyance. (Read Retiring in Sipalay for the reason for that)

A funny story. Well....it is now. But not at the time. I had one Red Horse too many (as you do) and we were about to get a bus home after a day out. I was caught short sadly. We were at a relatives house and asked to use their outside toilet. It was night...dark and had no inside light. Nor water. My lovely lady stood guard and I asked for a bucket of water. The floor was sopping wet bty. No idea why. She got a bucket and seeing I had no light, gave me her expensive phone to use the torch to see what I was doing. Because I only have two hands....I put the phone on the floor. She got very agitated (understatement) when she saw me put the phone on the very wet floor. No understanding of the situation I thought to myself. Tried to balance the phone on different objects in the semi dark was a bit difficult. And it kept falling over....more agitation from her. After the deed was done, I handed her wet foul smelling phone back to her. She was not amused. Nor was I at the time. Not being able to have a No2 in peace and quiet....And dignity.

Regards

Pete M

Raffin

Quite a worrying thought....people's fingers could have been in a variety of germ ridden and contaminated locations prior to one being in contact with them....must be a health risk for business people and politicians!

But I think one must be sensible about this and only get concerned where there is evidence.

There was a snack bar adjoining our office in the Gulf solely operated by a certain Hassan. He was observed by one of our colleagues consistently not to wash his hands after using the lavatory. On learning this our group became very selective about what we would purchase from him, although he continued to have plenty of trade from other customers not in the know.

scot47

The arse-sprayer is a great invention and should be introduced in the UK ! As for toilet-paper, this is historically a fairly recent invention. How many generations since it was introduced ?


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilet_paper