Foreign Travel?

[ultrarunner]

It’s been decades since I had a real vacation as every trip is always work related in some way.

My coworker invited me to go with her and her family to the Philippines and anyone working in a hospital knows nurses with ties to the Philippines are a huge presence in the workforce.

She thought it was admirable that I was learning one Tagalog word each workday as many of our elderly patients are from the Philippines…

Thought about it and said why not… was able to get the time off and book the same flight at a great fare and in the same row.

It was not until a few weeks after I booked friends and coworkers started expressing fears about my safety and since booking the US, Canadian and GB State Departments have all increased their advisories against Philippine travel up to Avoid All Travel and Avoid All Non-Essential Travel due to risk of kidnapping, etc. for my general destination.

I asked and she said there has been an uptick of activity but her family is very well connected with siblings in military and government and they would not let anything happen… but it’s not like I would be able to blend in…

For something set up to be a fun get away and cultural exchange it’s becoming anything but.

Maybe Oakland really is my safe place and the world isn’t my oyster in 2024?

Last I checked kidnapping is not a concern in and around the SF Bay Area… smash and grab property crimes are off the hook though.

A few say go… you will be fine with the majority saying no way…

 

[California]

Just do it. The tourists who get in trouble are those with no 'street sense'. Your hosts are locals, they will know where not to go, and will instinctively sense and get away from trouble. I'm sure you have similar instincts for Oakland. Same thing.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[dodge man]

I agree, since you’re traveling with other people I’d go for it.

 

[WinterDeere]

No advice here, I've done more traveling than most, but all safe European countries. But as a 6ft tall strawberry blonde with a lifelong desire to visit ******, *********, and other middle eastern sites of Biblical history, I'm obviously interested in how this might turn out.

 

[mjarrels]

No advice here, I've done more traveling than most, but all safe European countries. But as a 6ft tall strawberry blonde with a lifelong desire to visit ******, *********, and other middle eastern sites of Biblical history, I'm obviously interested in how this might turn out.

Lost count on how many times I have been in the Philippiines, did two tours at NAS Cubi point and many port calls at Subi Bay. Been married to a gall from there for about 40 years. Some of the nicest people in the world. Lost count of how many times I flew there from Virginia. The malls are incredible and very large in the hundreds of thousand square meters with large food courts with foods from around the word. Cheap living and the US dollar is strong.

mark

 

[EddieWalker]

No experience in the Philippines, and it's been decades since I lived in Indonesia as a Marine Embassy Guard.

People that had problems, all seemed to make these same mistakes.

Use common sense, don't make new friends there, don't go to anybody's home, don't get in a taxi with strangers, and never drink from anything that you didn't personally open. Avoid being flashy, keep your cash, or cards, in your front pocket, and not in a wallet. Make copies of all your information and give them to a trusted friend back home.

 

[newbury]

And post pictures to TBN frequently so we know you are OK!
Go with your friend and look as poor as you can.
Don't try to help "poor people on the street" unless your "guides" say it's ok.
And be politically sensitive. I almost got caught in a riot on my first trip to S. Korea. I've read that getting jailed abroad ruins a trip.

 

[ultrarunner]

No advice here, I've done more traveling than most, but all safe European countries. But as a 6ft tall strawberry blonde with a lifelong desire to visit ******, *********, and other middle eastern sites of Biblical history, I'm obviously interested in how this might turn out.

Traveled extensivly in Western and Eastern Europe solo and never an issue... was cautioned against Slovenia at the time but a great experience... had the place to myself due to what was happening nextdoor at the time.

I was told people 6'4 and 250 lbs cannot "Blend In" traveling the provinces of Mindanao, Philippines...

 

[ultrarunner]

I vacillate almost daily which is totally out of character for me...

Those saying I will be fine and those fearing for my safety are Filipino combined with heightened threat level to Americans just posted by the State Department.

I asked my host if she has ever traveled around her island of Mindanao and she said no... we stay on our side and they stay on their side and I'm thinking its an Island so how can there be sides between Muslim and non-Muslim?

In California I've attended Muslim weddings and family celebrations on the birth of a child and always warmly welcomed.

But I don't know what I don't know and the retired chief of police of Davao has now communicated his concern over my travel plans saying Davao is very safe but my destination puts me in peril... and not everything is reported so as not to impact tourism.

I never would have guessed so many would be looking out for me.

The last time I "Vacated" vacationed was 2000...

 

[California]

Ok, listen those locals advice. They understand the situation.

But visiting elsewhere that your hosts are familiar with, shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Fixastuff]

Numbers say you’re much more likely to get hurt by a family member or someone you know than a stranger.

 

[ultrarunner]

The bottom line as told to me is being a foreigner with a different build and skin color changes the equation outside the traditional tourist dependent areas when it comes to the island of Mindanao.

One of our dear family friends was so excited to hear of my plans and then her jaw dropped when I said Mindanao…

I said isn’t it the same as vacationing in the United States and then saying destination Oakland… she said not even close…

Chalk it up to my naivety but it seems odd to have such a disparity when it come to safety in such a small geographic area.

 

[mjarrels]

The bottom line as told to me is being a foreigner with a different build and skin color changes the equation outside the traditional tourist dependent areas when it comes to the island of Mindanao.

One of our dear family friends was so excited to hear of my plans and then her jaw dropped when I said Mindanao…

I said isn’t it the same as vacationing in the United States and then saying destination Oakland… she said not even close…

Chalk it up to my naivety but it seems odd to have such a disparity when it come to safety in such a small geographic area.

My niece is working about one hour away at UVA hospital as a emergency room RN, we sent her through RN school a few years ago in Olongapo city, her better half is a RN too and will arrive here in about a week, he had problems getting a visa. Im told that about 200 work there from the Philippines.

mark

 

[ultrarunner]

My niece is working about one hour away at UVA hospital as a emergency room RN, we sent her through RN school a few years ago in Olongapo city, her better half is a RN too and will arrive here in about a week, he had problems getting a visa. Im told that about 200 work there from the Philippines.

mark

About 50% of hospital staff have ties to the Philippines where I work.

When I started in 1991 not a single staff member from the Philippines.

The Director of Nursing and Charge nurses all from the Philippines with some having come here as children.

Very caring and proud to be working in the medical profession. We also have several Doctors with ties to the Philippines.

My friend from Mindanao did her 4 high school years in California and her nursing school in the Philippines.

She said she earns in one shift here in the SF Bay Area the same as an RN working in a remote Provence clinic earns there in a month.

Almost all sponsor nursing students back home in the Philippines… my friend sponsors 3 nieces.

I have some ties to Austria and was surprised to see Philippine nurses working in Austria and I learned the country of Austria set up a Nursing program in the Philippines due to shortage of nurses in Austria.

To work in Austria you must be fluent in German so Philippine nurses in Austria are fluent in German, English and often 2 of the languages of the Philippines…

The last 30 years has been transformational for oversea foreign workers in the medical profession as the worldwide demand increases.

Oakland Public schools recruit teachers from the Philippines as contract workers due to the shortage of English and STEM teachers willing to teach in the Oakland public schools.

 

[dodge man]

Isn’t there some saying that you will regret the things you didn’t do more than the things you did? I honestly don’t know the danger of traveling to the Philippines but will you regret it if you don’t go?

 

[ultrarunner]

Isn’t there some saying that you will regret the things you didn’t do more than the things you did? I honestly don’t know the danger of traveling to the Philippines but will you regret it if you don’t go?

I'm sure I would... family obligations kept me tied down for years and it's just the way it was so no complaints...

It's not like I'm moving... it's only 2 weeks and less when travel subtracted plus I have friends in other places there so it wouldn't be a question of being stuck...

The sincerity of those asking me to reconsider is very real.

Still a month away so it may come down to the wire...

Some have brought China and Taiwan into the mix making it geopolitical

 

[ultrarunner]

Oakland seems to always make the top 5 or dangerous places in America and there isn't anywhere in Oakland I would not go if needed..

That said you won't catch me out for a stroll late at night or in the wee hours if the morning...

 

[lsgreg]

Go! Please, just go!

You will be changed for the better if you do.

 

[3Ts]

It's been 50 years since I've been to the Phillipines so I can't provide any definitive answers. However, I have been to Africa, some of it with a local guide and some of it on our own. If you know it to be safe then you can do it on your own, otherwise go with a local guide and follow their advise. They are familiar with the local conditions and risks. For example, most of the USA does not consider Oakland a safe place to be, and for most it probably isn't, but if one has a local guide, they will probably enjoy their visit and wonder what all the fuss is about.

I encourage everyone to travel overseas if they possibly can, especially if they can get into the non-tourist areas. It will definitely influence ones perception of the world and the US place in it. The US truly is an exceptional country.

 

[dmccarty]

It’s been decades since I had a real vacation as every trip is always work related in some way.

My coworker invited me to go with her and her family to the Philippines and anyone working in a hospital knows nurses with ties to the Philippines are a huge presence in the workforce.
...
It was not until a few weeks after I booked friends and coworkers started expressing fears about my safety and since booking the US, Canadian and GB State Departments have all increased their advisories against Philippine travel up to Avoid All Travel and Avoid All Non-Essential Travel due to risk of kidnapping, etc. for my general destination....

The question is WHERE in the Philippines? The answer seems to be Davao City on Mindanao. Therefore, stay away or exercise EXTREME CAUTION.

First a bit of history. After the US took control of the Philippines from the Spanish after the Spanish American War, the US fought a war against the Moro's. The Moro's are Muslims and are different population than the Christians. The Spanish never controlled the interior of the Moro territories in the southern Philippines, only the ports. The US fought a war for almost 12 years which was bloody and divisive in the the US. It was the Viet Nam of 1900 that nobody knows about. The lessons of the war led to the development of the 1911 pistol and 1903 Springfield rifle.

The Moro's have been fighting for their independence from the Spanish, Americans, Japanese, and lately, the Philippine government. They are FIERCE fighters and not to be underestimated. To fast forward a bit, the Moro are now part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in the south. This regions was setup after the bloody and long war against the Muslim terror groups in the south and the Philippines that ended a few years ago. The terror groups were greatly reduced

Back in the 2014, a group of westerner were kidnapped from the Davao City area. Other westerners were kidnapped from as far north as Palawan Island. These people were on boats or in a marina when kidnapped in well planned operations. There were other westerners kidnapped during raids around the Sulu Sea in Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia. Two Swiss men were killed in the northern Mindanao in 2014. This was not a robbery so it was a terror operations or the men were taken out for some other reason.

I know all of this because back then were were thinking of getting a boat and living for a time in the Philippines. We knew people who had done this and it made some sense. Then the violence kicked up. One of the Moro terror groups kidnapped a bunch of westerners from a marina we thought about staying at some day. We knew people who had planned on staying at the marina and one of the YouTube sailing channel boats just missed the kidnapping operation.

It seems that the situation has improved in the south but one would have to be careful down there. An American is NOT going to blend in and there are still people who are a threat. In the northern part of the country the NPA(Philippine Communist party terrorists) are still still active but greatly reduced in operations. Not sure I would worry about them unless in rural areas though. They seem to be all but gone. Thankfully. Though they did kill Nick Rowe 35 years ago.

The Philippines would be a great place to visit but one does need to be cautious of where one would go and who one would meet.