Businiess travel tips for Manila - the city, not the folders

April 15, 2007 10:31 AM

It looks like I'll be spending 1 or 2 weeks in Manila next month, and I've got lots of questions.

There will be two of us traveling on business, both women from Southern California, and it's likely we will be working pretty much the entire time - I doubt we'll have time to explore or check things out. Unless we do go for two weeks (it's still up in the air) and have a weekend day free maybe.

I've never left the US except for Europe, so I have no idea what to expect.

I've just read this post which has me a wee bit scared - how worried should we be? I had never discussed anything like this from my Filipino friends back in school or in the office, but then they wouldn't have stood out there like the two of us (both blondish and chubby) will. I'm not sure how to go about asking my coworkers who might have been there "excuse me, but will people hate me for being American when I go to Manila?" seems like a question that would get me in trouble with HR.

My specific questions are:

Are we likely to experience hostility based on our appearance/nationality?
Are we going to have trouble getting around speaking only English?
What's the weather like in Manila in May?
Are we likely to experience any particular culture shock?
What's the standard dress code for female office workers? (our office wears jeans every day except special occasions)
Are there any warnings we should keep in mind?
What's the tipping etiquette?
How likely are hotels to have Internet availability?

and any other helpful hints you can think of. Thank you!

posted by buildmyworld to travel & transportation (8 comments total)

1. Are we likely to experience hostility based on our appearance/nationality?

No.

2. Are we going to have trouble getting around speaking only English?

Most people speak English. You shouldn't worry too much about this.

3. What's the weather like in Manila in May?

Extremely humid. Bring a lot of light clothes.

4. Are we likely to experience any particular culture shock?

Hopefully not too much :)

5. What's the standard dress code for female office workers? (our office wears jeans every day except special occasions)

Most companies only allow jeans on Fridays. Ladies usually wear something like this. However, there is a growing trend in making jeans acceptable for every day office wear.

6. Are there any warnings we should keep in mind?

Well I'm very leery of some cab drivers. But take note that I'm a special case because I'm very particular about who's driving me to work. I'd rather call Avis in advance for a cab (rather than taking my chance & getting one from the streets).

7. What's the tipping etiquette?

Usually 5 to 10% of the bill. I know a lot of people who only tip a maximum of $1, regardless of the bill.

8. How likely are hotels to have Internet availability?

Almost all of the 4- to 5-star hotels have internet. Some hotels require you to pay extra. I would personally recommend Discovery Suites. It's been a year since I last stayed there, but internet was free, & having a small kitchen around was dandy.

Others I have stayed in which are very comfortable are Oakwood, EDSA Shangrila, and Crowne Plaza. Most of the hotels are beside a mall, so its very convenient.
posted by chette at 11:17 AM on April 15, 2007

For perspective/filtering: White, American, Male. I lived in Manila for around 6 months, and have visited on four other occasions.

Are we likely to experience hostility based on our appearance/nationality?

Not once. People attempting to run scams on you is probably a once a week thing, so the difficulty will be distuinguishing between the general ambience of friendliness and somebody that wants something from you. That doesn't really qualify as hostility in my book, but you definitely need to be aware.

Are we going to have trouble getting around speaking only English?

Depends on how deep you go. In general, no. I recall two or three times in Manila itself it would have been convenient to speak Tagalog or some other dialect.

What's the weather like in Manila in May?

Awful. Houston-awful.

Are we likely to experience any particular culture shock?

Yes. Poverty up close and personal.

What's the standard dress code for female office workers? (our office wears jeans every day except special occasions)
Are there any warnings we should keep in mind?

Little insight. Certainly more formal than any office I've worked in.

What's the tipping etiquette?

Chette nailed it. I never got used to it, and hence was ugly American over tipper.

How likely are hotels to have Internet availability?

If you're in the Makati area, I'm in love with the Mandarin. Even if you don't have hotel availability, net cafes are ubiquitous.

Go, enjoy. Manila has world-class nightlife, dining, and people. Make a point to eat at Lolodad's if you have a free night.
posted by minedev at 11:52 AM on April 15, 2007

I was there on business for a couple of weeks in October 2006. Everybody speaks English very well, often better than most Americans I know. Everybody is very friendly. Expect police everywhere, on every corner and in front of every store. In fact, you will probably never need to open a door for yourself because there will be a policeman to open it for you. I stayed at the Shangri-La in Makati, which is just incredible and awesome. Ditto above on the humidity, in fact I'm from Arizona and people kept asking me if I was OK because I was always dripping with sweat. That was the only unpleasant part of the trip. Food was great, around Makati there's a great selection of Asian, Italian, American, anything you could want. You should be fine during the day, but may want to be careful walking around at night.
posted by mattholomew at 12:09 PM on April 15, 2007

First off, before I start babbling let me just tell you this: buy this book and this book. I buy them for every country I'm going to and read them before I leave. They'll give you all of the answers you may need. And I can't stress this enough: if you're doing business there, having good cultural etiquette is SUPER SUPER important. Especially in Asian cultures.

Regarding safety, yes you do need to be cautious in the Philippines. Especially in Manila, they have quite a bit of crime. But if you're working most of the time I'm sure they'll be keeping you safe. And honestly, you should be cautious and use safety precautions when traveling ANYWHERE. Even in the United States.

All of that stuff aside, here's my basic travel advice for you: there are incredibly wonderful people and incredibly nasty people in every single culture... it's just a universal truth. Doesn't matter what culture you're in, you will always find both. I've been to 23 countries now, and while not one country is absolutely perfect where nothing about it annoys me, there is not a single place where I haven't found something incredible to love about it. And from each culture I've taken really great insights home with me that I will always treasure. Travel is cool!!!! Don't be scared.

Before I went to Egypt (by myself) last year I had ALL sorts of people asking me about how I was going to keep away from terrorists and wasn't I terrified because everyone there is going to try to kill me. I started having nightmares and really freaking out. Funny thing though, when I got there I found people to be nicer than in most of Europe. I faced FAR less anti-Americanism in Egypt than in Austria or Italy or France. The people were very generous and kind to me and I'm going back again with a friend in December to see more of it. I learned A LOT about being open minded from that experience. Honestly, so much of the danger we assume will happen in a foreign country is in our heads. It's no different than when people overseas assume that everyone in America is a George Bush loving, gun toting, obese person eating freedom fries & shooting eachother on the freeway.

Will you experience culture shock? Yes. Sorry, but the first time I went to Southeast Asia in 1994 it was a whole different world for me. I'd never been anywhere but Europe & going to Europe is not exotic in comparison. I had never seen that kind of traffic. Never seen a family of five riding a motor scooter with their chickens. I had never peed in a porcelain hole in the ground before. There were flavors I had never tasted before that I was surrounded by. The cultures were amazing to me, and at first it was a bit overwhelming. I mean, as Americans we are very versed in European culture, but are unfortunately oblivious to others. I think my first trip to SE Asia was really the first time I truly realized how much diversity there is in the world and how cool that is.

The biggest piece of advice I can give to you to make life easier? Think of the whole thing as a wonderful little adventure. I give this advice because many people travel overseas and go on about how they hated a country because they felt it was inferior to America... and honestly, those people should just stay home. Try to be embrace (and at times just be entertained by) the differences & just enjoy the experience, it's not like you have to live there forever. Give the place a chance. Respect it.

You may find yourself surrounded by things that may be unfamiliar to you, but you are in THEIR country. So try to remember that while you are there it's the way WE do things that is actually weird. YOU are the foreigner, not them. Other people's cultures work for them & it doesn't matter if they work for you. Don't go there and allow yourself to hold onto the perception that they do things "wrong" or that their customs are "weird." If they don't eat pancake breakfasts, if the toilets don't work the way yours do at home, if you order a soup and there's a fish head staring at you from the bowl, if there are geckos on the ceiling of your room and the hotel manager says "Oh yes! That is good luck!" Just laugh it off. Don't take it too seriously & get upset about it. Go with the flow. Try to do things as they do them. Experience it. Learn from it. You'll go home soon enough. Try to embrace your short time there. Life is short and you'll be seeing things that a lot of people never get to see, experiencing things that many people don't get to experience, learning about a culture that many people never learn about. THAT'S COOL!
posted by miss lynnster at 12:36 PM on April 15, 2007

What everyone else says so far is great. My take as an under 30 white guy:

Are we likely to experience hostility based on our appearance/nationality?

No but you will stand out as an affluent foreigner and, as such, will be a greater target for anyone looking for money -- honestly or otherwise. Watch your posessions and get ready to turn away beggars aged 5 to 85.

Fortunately the airport authorities have gotten rid of most of the freelance baggage porters who used to demand money if they even tried to carry your bag. (Exiting arrivals with more than a shoulder bag used to be like chumming sharks.)

Are we going to have trouble getting around speaking only English?

You'll be fine. English is the language of business and instruction in the Philippines.

If you do have a free weekend and go exploring, take someone from the office with you. Once you get out of the more touristy / business areas, you will come across people who speak either very limited English or no English at all.

You might have a problem with some of the local cab drivers but, generally, they speak enough English to get you where you need to go.

And on cab drivers, either make them use the meter or negotiate a price up front. Airport to anywhere in the Makati business district should be well under 500 pesos.

What's the weather like in Manila in May?

Hot, humid -- expect instant flop sweat. Manila and Cebu are always hot and humid; it's a monsoon climate so the only variance is the amount of rain and the degree of humidity.

Are we likely to experience any particular culture shock?

Yes and no. Like minedev wrote, be prepared to deal with levels of poverty which have no equal in the United States or even Mexico. It's a shockingly poor country but also a wonderfully friendly and vibrant culture.

What's the standard dress code for female office workers?

It depends on what your office does. Jeans and a blouse will be fine for all but the most traditional offices (e.g., HSBC is going to have an entirely different office dress code than Dell's call center). Open toe shoes or sandals are usually frowned upon at work.

Are there any warnings we should keep in mind?

Tap water in the 4+ star hotels is safe, anywhere else drink bottled.

Avoid the local commuter rail (it's overcrowded and a great place to lose valuables) and don't take a jeepney unless you are absolutely familiar with how the system works.

Have 550 pesos on you for airport departure tax. (You can pay in USD, but it's a good way to get rid of excess pesos)

Do not try to bring any liquids through outbound security. They took my eyedrops, my hand lotion, and nasal spray. But oddly they missed the half litre of water in my carry-on. Go figure.

Fly Philippine Airlines if not to just avoid NAIA1. I usually fly to Manila or Cebu via Hong Kong.

What's the tipping etiquette?

I usually follow US %s and just round up to the nearest 50 peso mark. Your hotel will almost certainly include a gratuity charge on the bill so do not feel obligated to tip unless you want to single out an individual for exceptional service.

How likely are hotels to have Internet availability?

Ubiquitous but, as always, it's hotel rates. There's net cafes everywhere and the local Starbucks are starting to roll out wifi.
posted by nathan_teske at 9:09 PM on April 15, 2007

Oh two more things:

Cell phones. If your carrier is Cingular or T-Mobile (GSM carriers) your cell phone will work. If it's Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, etc. your phone will not work.

Memorize this phone number: (63)-2-528-6300. It's the 24/7 emergency line to the US Embassy in Manila.
posted by nathan_teske at 9:16 PM on April 15, 2007

Yeah, definitely get used to that you will be paying more for things. There's the local price & the foreigner price. In some areas the way I used to get around this was that they are superstitious about the first & last sales of the day being lucky. If they don't make them it's bad luck. So my friends & I would get there very early or late & make low bids (local price) on things. They agreed to them after some grumbling because of the superstition.
posted by miss lynnster at 11:39 PM on April 15, 2007

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Sadly it appears I will not go after all, but I've passed your tips on to the people who will be going.
posted by buildmyworld at 1:42 PM on April 23, 2007