A Guide to living short-term in the Philippines

February 21, 2009 - Filed under Planning

Ever thought about spending a couple of months in the Philippines, but weren’t sure where to start? We’ve teamed up with Location Independent to bring you a guide to living in Dumaguete, as a traveling freelancer, digital nomad, location independent professional, or whatever label you prefer.

The guide contains information on:

  • Visa Requirements
  • Transportation
  • Internet Access
  • Accommodation Recommendations
  • Alternative Office Spaces
  • and Online Resources

To find out more, or purchase a guide ($7) visit locationindependent.com

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Posted by: Shim

Week 23: Umm… I thought this was the dry season!

February 9, 2009 - Filed under Weekly Report

We’ve mentioned before that we’ve been getting a lot of bad weather lately. It’s been raining off and on all week, but this weekend we definitely saw the worst of it. Saturday morning Raina and I decided to go into town for a massage. It had been raining all morning, but like I said, lately that’s been kind of the norm.

We took the El Dorado shuttle into Dumaguete, and headed for Nuat Thai. Mike and I had been there before, and although not the best massages we’ve ever had, better than a couple other places we’ve been since arriving in the Philippines. Unfortunately Raina ended up getting the short straw and had a less than enjoyable massage. In fact I think she described it as “borderline abusive”. Anyway, when we walked out an hour later, the rain was coming down harder than I’ve ever seen and puddles were starting to form in the streets. We considered taking a trike back instead of waiting for two hours for the shuttle, but reconsidered when we realized how wet we’d get. We had lunch at Why Not Bar, and watched, as the rain continued to fall and the water continued to rise.

Dumaguete flooding at Why Not
Read More…

Posted by: Kelly

Week 17: The last weekly report of the year

December 30, 2008 - Filed under Weekly Report

Ok so I know I’m a couple of days late with this week’s post, but we’ve been busy. I’m not really sure doing what, but with it being the holidays and all, I think I have a pretty good excuse to be a few days behind. Besides, we already kind of gave you the highlights of this week in our Philippines Christmas Recap post.

This week brings us up to almost 4 months in the Philippines, and in doing so, means our visas were also set to expire. On Monday we headed into town to pick up a few groceries to see us through the holidays, and figured we’d stop in at the immigration office and check their hours over the next few days. Last time we renewed our visa we were in-and-out in less than 30 minutes so we figured this time would be much the same. Boy were we wrong. It seems that every other foreigner in town also chose that day, to renew their visas as well. Read More…

Posted by: Kelly

Dumaguete and Dauin Online Resources

December 16, 2008 - Filed under General, Planning, Scuba Diving, Stuff to do

We’re becoming a bit more familiar with the area now that we’re settled in and starting to explore the surrounding areas a bit further. Our friends back home in Canada and some of our newer readers have asked for more information about visiting the Dauin and Dumaguete area. Rather than try to rewrite all the great information already available online, I thought I would compile a list of some of the resources we’ve come across and found useful. Sure, it’s a little biased towards scuba divers, but there’s lots of great accomodations and general information too. We’ve found the forums particularly helpful. Feel free to post in the comments section if you have any specific questions about the area that we might be able to help you with, or suggest a resource we might have missed! Read More…

Posted by: Shim

Week 13: 3 Months Housewarming Party

December 1, 2008 - Filed under Drinks, Eats, Entertainment, Weekly Report

We’ve been in the Philippines for 3 months now. Since we’ve finally settled we decided to throw a little housewarming party at our new place and invite a bunch of people over to celebrate. We started out the week by heading into town for party supplies. Off to Hypermart in Dumaguete, we loaded up a shopping cart full of Mexican food supplies, and another cart full of beer, rum, gin, and soft drinks. We nearly cleared the shelves of San Miguel. The grand total? About $200. I love how cheap food and beverages are here. Unless you’re wanting specialty items, nearly everything is 50% what we pay back home. Booze and beer is even cheaper with no government taxation like in Canada. Read More…

Posted by: Shim

Week 11: Getting settled in Dauin

November 18, 2008 - Filed under Eats, General, Scuba Diving, Weekly Report

We love the new beach house we’re renting. This week has been all about getting set up in our new place. We went into town on Tuesday to stock up on food and get a few other essentials. We had a rice cooker in our last rental at the resort and I don’t know how we survived without one before. They’re invaluable! They take the guess work out of making rice and go into warming mode when the water has been absorbed or evaporated. Not to mention how light and fluffy the rice is. I recommend everyone get one.

I finally found a French press to make coffee at HyperMart, which is the local Costco equivalent of a warehouse with everything from appliances and furniture to groceries. Now if I could just find a decent supply of ground coffee. I’ve found I can buy a small bag or two now and again at the market, but it’s sometimes hit or miss. Whole beans are available in many markets, but I haven’t found a coffee grinder yet. Freeze dried instant coffee is the norm here. I want no part of that. Programmers need high test rocket fuel to function. Read More…

Posted by: Shim

Week 2: Dumaguete

September 17, 2008 - Filed under Weekly Report

After a relaxing week on Panglao, we came to the conclusion that although beautiful, it was perhaps a little too small for us to stay there long term.  So we decided to continue on to the next destination on our list. Dumaguete.

Dumaguete is a laid-back university town on the south-east coast of Negros Oriental. Although lacking a white sand beach, there is a quaint little promenade that runs along the shoreline, with a few little cafes scattered along it, which make for a great place to people watch.

Read More…

Posted by: Kelly

Where We Are

September 10, 2008 - Filed under Travel

For those of you wondering where we are in the Philippines, I’ve made you a map.

Posted by: Kelly