philippines, thailand in july/august

[eric_arnold]

<p>hi will be in manila for two weeks, bangkok for 1 week. traveling with philippino buddy who lives there. you know the drill -- suggestions, advice, dos/donts, specific photo locations not to be missed?<br>

i will be traveling probably with a d90 + a few lenses--<br>

my possible options include:<br>

kit #1: 17/3.5, 35/2.8 macro 35/1.8 or 30/1.4, 50/1.8 or 50/1.4, 85/1.4.<br>

kit #2: 12-24/4, 28-75/2.8, 70-300 VC.<br>

kit #3: 17-50/2.8 OS, 50-150/2.8 or 70-300 VC, 35/1.8 or 30/1.4 or 35/2.8 macro.<br>

kit #4: 17-50/2.8 OS, 85/1.4, 3o/1.4 (or 35/2.8 or 35/1.8<br>

with a p7000 +sb-400 for backup. maybe the gorilla pod.<br>

what kit would you choose and why?</p>

[leslie_cheung]

<p>Take a motocy taxi ride...Shoot with the p7000, if you can manage to hang on with one hand:) </p>

<p> </p>

[leslie_cheung]

<p>Happy shooting and don't get discouraged, Eric, Manila is a little better, I hear:)<br /> http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/542722-bangkok-traffic-as-seen-from-a-motorbike-taxi/</p>

[archie]

<p>kit #2 --- lightest and with D90......you got the focal lengths needed.</p>

 

[dave_l.]

<p>I loved Bangkok as a photo destination! Suggestions:</p>

<ul>

<li>It will be hot. Hauling extra gear around can become a burden quickly.</li>

<li>Many great sites are dark interiors (temples, etc). </li>

<li>Eat the street food</li>

<li>Read about the various scams ("temple is closed today!", etc). Not as much of an issue with a friend around.</li>

<li>I thought Chatuchak Weekend Market was a great place to shoot</li>

<li>Read up on Thai customs. I found that the Thai had "tourist fatigue" and will (justifiably) get very upset over things like putting your feet on furniture. </li>

<li>Ayutthaya makes for a good day trip and will expose you to architecture you won't see otherwise</li>

<li>I don't think flash photography is allowed indoors in a lot of places (I could be misremembering this)</li>

</ul>

<p>As far as gear, I would go wide, fast prime, telephoto. But that's what I most commonly shoot while traveling anywhere (my typical traveling setup these days is 12-24, 35, 50-150 with a D90). But you know how this goes. </p>

 

[Ian Taylor]

<p>Rainy season in Bangkok (where I live), and also Manila. Bring correct bag for your gear. </p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>thanks for all the suggestions/advice, friends!</p>

<p>i like the 12-24/35/50-150 suggestion, since i have all those lenses already. although last time i traveled, to Havana, i brought almost exactly that combo and didn't shoot with the 50-150 much...</p>

[reuben_heimer]

<p>Well, august in monsoon season in southeast asia, so expect rains...a lot of rains. So make your gears are well-protected.</p>

[blu_dek_lawoe]

<p>When in Bangkok, Pack light. A lot of walking. The BTS trains are always packed. You don't want to be too bulky. Siam Square area is good for people shooting on the weekends. There is a Starbucks on the bottom floor of Siam Paragon, check it out that area on the weekend. Dang!<br>

One week in Bangkok is nearly not enough to get the feel of it. Try not to sleep. Holy moly!</p>

[blu_dek_lawoe]

<p>When in Bangkok, Pack light. A lot of walking. The BTS trains are always packed. You don't want to be too bulky. Siam Square area is good for people shooting on the weekends. There is a Starbucks on the bottom floor of Siam Paragon, check it out that area on the weekend. Dang!<br>

One week in Bangkok is nearly not enough to get the feel of it. Try not to sleep. Holy moly!</p>

[david_h_dennis]

<p>I was in the Philippines in February 2006 and have a few ideas for you that might help. I'm sure things have changed somewhat since then, but I doubt all that much.<br>

First, remember the weather is going to be quite hot and so carrying heavy gear will be tough. Everyone else has said that, but it's worth repeating because the heat will truly exhaust you. If you have a lot of lenses and other gear, don't put them in bags that don't scream "expensive stuff!" or you're likely to lose them. I carried a very expensive camera around my neck for the whole trip and never had any trouble.<br>

Pollution in Manila is horrible. You can smell the air. Drivers of the motor bikes that are so common there frequently wear masks to limit their exposure to the pollution. <br>

Renting a car is not recommended because you have an excellent chance of getting in an accident. Traffic rules are ignored. Those funny lines painted on the road are treated as advisory, not law. It's best to hire a car and driver for the day, which is fairly affordable - when I was there it was about $40 a day. <br>

I hear the subway is dangerous because it's very overcrowded, so crime is relatively easy. The Jeepney is a very efficient and workable public transport method, and service is frequent - almost too frequent, since many times one comes right after the other. The colorful vehicles are great photo ops, too.<br>

I recommend getting in touch with the various expat forums. You can look them up by typing "Philippines" into Yahoo groups. When I took my trip, I was able to meet up with a friendly and helpful expat who made sure I had a fun and safe trip. They can at least steer you to trustworthy services such as drivers and guides. <br>

The people are wonderfully friendly, but watch out for scammers. Don't get drunk with strangers or accept drinks from them until you get to know them well. Scams are especially common if you are given an opportunity to gamble.<br>

Manila is really not that pleasant a city to visit. It's a very gritty place. There are some beautiful things in it, but on the main I spent as little time as I could there. <br>

You can get relief from the heat by going up in the hills. Tagaytay is far up in the hills and has lovely views. There are also some massive crumbling facilities created during the Marcos years that led to great photos.<br>

If one of your goals is to enjoy time with the local women, Angeles City is more affordable and far less polluted and overcrowded than Manila. I enjoyed the Cold Drop Inn, which is also a low-key girlie bar, in the perimeter as a less pressured, more relaxed place than the mainstream bars. It was also a surprisingly good place to stay. The rooms at the time were brand new, and everything was immaculately clean. The women are paid company, but exceptionally friendly and you can have a fun relationship with one for the duration of your trip, if you want. They will act as your guides and be helpful when traveling, as well as in bed. If you are single it's the most fun way to travel. When I last looked a "temporary girlfriend"/guide costs about $25/day plus a tip at the end. I think that's one of the best deals in travel and probably the #1 reason to visit the country.<br>

If you want to see the sights and get out on a beach, everyone I know recommends Boracay or Palawan if you want to be really off the beaten track (meaning primitive facilities and no Internet access). A common itinerary is to go to Angeles, find a girl you like and treat her to a Boracy adventure.<br>

If you want to find a non-paid girlfriend, sites such as DateInAsia.com (which I like because it's free) will help you find one. Look for profiles that are reasonably well written to find people you would like. Most of the profiles show an adorable picture and nothing else, and if you write them they will write one or two word responses. The Philippines has a reputation as a country of sluts thanks to the prostitution I wrote about in the previous paragraph. However, this is not true; outside of the bar scene, Filipino culture is very catholic and traditional. So if you are interested in a woman, realize that taking her virginity makes her non-marrigable within her country! For that reason, unless you are seriously looking for a wife, it is better for the girls and the country to stick with non-virgins. The more Western the profiles are - that is, the better written they are - the more likely you are to find someone who doesn't buy into the traditional morality.<br>

The Philippines has a sort of miniature economy, where most prices are low but foreign products are rare and can be expensive. "Coke Light" is not "Diet Coke" because it tastes different, and there are often shortages of it. The Robinsons malls are more upscale (and also more expensive) than rivals. <br>

English is sort of spoken throughout the country. Filipinos are schooled in both their own language and English. There are lots and lots of different languages spoken, and the country has wobbled between encouraging English, encouraging the local languages and trying to support "Filipino" as a national language. This means that many people will have fragmentary knowledge of English and prefer to speak in their native tongues. It would be valuable to acquire some Filipino language before entering the country, and you're guaranteed to pick up a few words before you leave.<br>

I found the Philippines a great place to visit, but it's definitely not without its rough edges. They do not have the same notion of "safety" as we have here. Rusty ships that look ready to fall to pieces frequently ply the waters. The vehicles that inhabit the streets are often hand-built and crude to the point of looking dangerous. Trucks wobble on bald tires. And yet somehow life goes on. Despite reckless driving everywhere, I didn't see any more accidents than we see on our roads. This is probably because the Filipino driving system severely limits speeds.<br>

Hope that was of interest.<br>

D</p>

[simongallery]

<p>i had a chance to visit the Philippines once, not for too long, loved it and the food. One place i didn't get a chance to see was the Chocolate Hills, if you're heading up north from Manila, it should make for some cool shots: <a href="http://travel.spotcoolstuff.com/amazing-views/philippines-bohol/chocolate-hills">http://travel.spotcoolstuff.com/amazing-views/philippines-bohol/chocolate-hills</a></p>

[simongallery]

<p>oh and one cool spot in Thailand that i got to visit was on Koh Phangan. Loved that island, it's small and where the famous Full Moon beach parties are held. The spot was the Amstardam Bar, it has a spectacular view of the sunset from a raised patio, overlooking an lush preserved forest. Could have been the drinks or smoke ;) but the sunset there produced amazing colors i haven't seen anywhere else. <a href="http://www.amstardambar.com/">http://www.amstardambar.com/</a></p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>thanks for all the responses, a few of them came in after i was already over there, so have to put that to use next time!</p>