NAIA terminals yellow cabs - shams!!

Two years ago I was glad NAIA finally had an organized metered taxi system with brand new cars. Mostly toyota vios yellow cabs. At first it was great since they charge Php70 flag down and 4 pesos increments as compared to the fixed rate taxis which charges Php450 up to Makati. The other common white taxis are just too old and should be taken off Manila roads. With the yellow cabs I would only pay around Php200-250. But that was then. NOW these yellow cabs are getting just like the crooked independent old taxis. They have a standard rate but they cheat and swindle travellers!! I heard they were featured in IMBESTIGADOR last October 2009. But my last trip was in November 2009 and still the taxi i got has tampered meter and cheat driver!

The victims ofcourse are tired travelers, clueless tourists or returning OFWs.

SO WATCH OUT FOR THE YELLOW CABS IN NAIA TERMINALS!!

BEFORE BOARDING, CONFIRM WITH THE DRIVER IF THE METER IS NOT TAMPERED AND THE STANDARD RATES WILL BE FOLLOWED. YOU CAN ACTUALLY COMPUTE TOTAL FARE BASED ON THE STANDARD RATE.

I don't actually mind if they RAISE the standard rates. The point here is that these people doing business with the public should learn to respect and FOLLOW RULES!

McCarran Airport - Las Vegas

McCarran Airport - Las Vegas, originally uploaded by edbumalo.

I stepped at McCarran Internation Airport... literally.

For more information about my Vegas trip CLICK HERE.

90 Days In Miami

I will be based in Miami, Florida USA for 3 months. So I created another blog specifically for my 90 Days In Miami.

Investiiing!!

Mistake#1: I bought UITF in 2007 when Phil stocks are on record high.

Lesson#1: Be well informed before investing (in anything). Before investing in financial markets, read wall street journal or other financial related columns or at least watch or listen to business news. Know the trends, learn a bit of stock market history.

Mistake#2: I cashed-out in May 2009 when the stocks showed some recovery. From the news, I have an idea the stock market will recover in May and June. But I badly needed the cash in May so I have to withdraw. Unfortunately, the stocks gained more than 5% after my withdrawal.

Lesson#2: Do not invest in high-risk products if you can not hold it long-term. If you believe you'll be needing that cash soon (less than 3 years) then invest in safer products like time deposits or money market. I guess this is the reason why banks wants to know the percentage your investment from your total liquid assets. It is not advisable to invest most of your cash into high-risk products.

ZoukOut Singapore 2008

ZoukOut Singapore 2008, originally uploaded by edbumalo.

This is the annual beach party at Siloso beach (Sentosa) held every month of December. It was very well organized but the beach, i must say, is no match to our beaches.

So... theres entrance fee, not so accessible since Siloso beach is inside Sentosa which is an island of theme park and resorts, whole night of music from local and international bands, booze and disco on the beach.

Photo taken with my SE W9601 phone.

Who will be the next president??

It was not waste of time watching the Ateneo leadership forum. I learned many things about these individuals who expressed intentions to be the Philippines next president. Photo by: flickr/jvnunag

Here's my opinion:

Gordon - i will vote for him if election is held today. good background. sounds intelligent. mature and with excellent experience in public service. nice american name as well, easy for mass voters to remember.

Teodoro - harvard educated lawyer, good reputation and with great ideals. with good public service experience though unknown to most voters. i think he is clean and desires change for good. with elite image and could be hard to campaign for the masses.

Escudero - looks young and sounds young. full of great ideals and have great appeal to young people, perhaps due to his speaking skills. belongs to political clan which may not be good. he is a UP educated lawyer with one year stint at Georgetown University.

Panlilio - there's a joke "road map to recovery" is written over his face. like religion he offers hope for the hopeless. but lacks experience compared to others. could be favorite among those who hates traditional politicians. will likely be influenced by catholic church. last name hard to write and remember.

Roxas - son of ex-president. name easy to write. young and with vision for this country. future husband of korina sanchez. looks adventurous. may not be favorite for chick voters.

There should be more forums like this or televised debates for presidential candidates. And people should not vote for those who don't attend forums. I suspect they prefer going to places to convince the vulnerable masses to vote for them rather than spending few hours on TV to subject themselves to questions and let the general public know what they want to do and their potential to make it happen.