A review of progress after a bit over 6 months here

I am now quite well settled, well enough to review the current state of affairs and maybe comment on some possible opportunities going forward.

Things I love about being here:-

• Kat and her family. They have welcomed me and helped me with the transition. There is still a way to go, but it gets easier day by day.
• The new friends I have made, these are on the whole through Kat and they will never replace those in the UK, but it's good to have a new group to share things with.
• Fresh fruit, year round; yes, pineapples fresh from the plantation and a mango tree in the garden!
• Warm sunny weather most of the time
• Warm tropical beaches, and the associated water sports (I haven't been diving yet, logistical problems, but am planning a trip to Donsol soon where we can swim with whale sharks)
• The proximity to other parts of SE Asia, Singapore is 3.5 hours away, Bangkok a little over 2 and Hong Kong is 2 hours away! I would like to go and see the Hong Kong 7s next year.
• The outlet stores and the malls around here, good shopping and sensible priced food at the restos.
• The low cost of living compared to Europe. 
• 7090 something islands that I have yet to explore here (there are 7107 in total, not all above water all of the time) I have only been to a few so far.
• Getting workmen to do things, providing you have the money and can supervise things can be done really quickly, we had some steel gates made and installed in less than 48 hours
• Shops happily deliver stuff, they may charge a little, but they do deliver, as do McDonald’s which seems all kinds of wrong to me.

Things I miss from Europe and more specifically the UK:-

• TV, and more importantly my Sky+ Box, who knew life would be so hard without many hundreds of channels and a 1TB HDD Personal Video Recorder with series link? I can cope without high def, just about, but this is torture. I also can't get my favourite sports at the moment.
• eBay, yes I know we have eBay.ph but it is not the same. I miss the Canon and PCWorld outlet shops, some great bargains. On the plus side, I haven't bought much in the way of gadgets recently.
• Roundabouts (I never expected to say this) I really don't like most of the junctions here, especially those without traffic lights, roundabouts would make life easier, maybe.....
• Similarly, reflective paint used for lane markings and cat's eyes. I have to comment that Calamba City has installed some road studs, but I haven't seen these at night but that is the only place I have seen them.
• A crisp, cold day in autumn, I love these, a day with clear blue sky, the temperature hovering around 0C so your nose tingles when you inhale.
• My friends, a bit obvious this, and I can chat on Facebook or use Skype and all that, but it's not quite the same.
• The pub, need I say more.
• UK banking, at least the retail variety; I was not aware how sophisticated it had become and how easy it is to pay for stuff. Banks here have a way to go re debit cards, electronic transfer of funds. I suspect there is a strong regulatory influence slowing down this development. 
• The NHS, medical care free at point of use is something I have taken for granted all my life, I see examples of the consequences for patients who have to pay for treatment yet can't afford it almost daily. 

Things that drive me crazy:-

• Filipino politics, part bemuse, part confuse and part worry me in equal measure. Election time is like a madhouse of competing candidates, supporters in t-shirts and very loud Tannoy vans.
• Cyclists, both pedal and motor riding in the dark with no lights and often on the wrong side of the road, do these guys have a death wish?
• Roadworks, see photo right of newly installed stop

  

  If you hit these on a bike it's good night!

  valve housings, some 3cm above the ground.
• Christmas starting in September, although it has been slow build up so far, but we are only in the early stages of November at the moment
• The bureaucracy, and the fact that everyone just accepts it. Stand up for yourselves and maybe it will get changed. I actually wonder what the LTO staff do when they have to renew their licence, or maybe they use a “Fixer” or just ask a work mate to do it????
• The number of people who serve you in a shop, it doesn’t take 4 people to sell me a memory card (see last month’s blog)
• Filipino drivers, but let’s give that one a rest this month.
• Bugs, there are loads of them here and not only insects and the like, also lizards and stuff. Some are way bigger than their European counterparts and many are evil and bite (red ants…..) and yes we do have big ass cockroaches!!
• Fast broadband, 2Mbps, I can get faster on my 3G phone!!
• TV here, Korean and Filipino tele-novelas really are something to behold and not in a good way.
• TV news anchors, over egging the pudding doesn’t come close to how some of them deliver the news, makes me laugh.
• Having to provide food for the workmen, what happened to the lunch box?

The things that oddly I don’t really miss:-

• Many of the typical British staple food items, I have found some of the brands are available here (globalisation for you) or alternatives.
• From above, cooking mixes, either powder or sauces in a jar or can, new recipes have become available to me, and those that I want to cook like at home, get out the cook book and work from scratch; I was surprised how good my chill was the other day!!
• British shops, who needs them, besides we have M&S, Debenhams, Top Shop & Dorothy Perkins etc. here in the malls and a whole lot of other more global brands if you want them.
• Ice and snow, got enough problems with the wind and rain thank you
• Jackets, boots, scarves and gloves; oddly it was a bit chilly last night, must have dropped to a bit less than 20℃ so I had to put on a fleece!!
• The A3, A11, M3, M6, M11 and M25, got enough on my plate with SLEX, C5, EDSA etc.

Things I am looking forward to:-

• Getting my new car, hopefully next week, picture to follow
• Paying the developer for the land to build our new house
• Talking to the architect again and sorting out the plan of work for the house
• Sorting out my residency documentation
• Getting back to some sort of work once I am allowed to
• Watching the house being built and then moving in
• Getting faster broadband (maybe as fast as 6Mbps!!) and satellite TV in the new house
• Visiting Donsol for our first anniversary and hopefully diving or at least swimming with whale sharks
• Last but not least, hope to become a father sometime in the next 12 to 18 months

I am sure there are more, but can't think of them right now......