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The PHILIPPINES...
If you are used to travelling in Thailand to get your ladyboy 'fix' then a journey to The Philippines is going to give you mixed results and mostly poorer ones. The bar scene isn't really very organized and you'll be better making arrangements with someone before you go, especially if you have a limited amount of time to get things done.
That said; in the last 3 or 4 years it seems that this conservative and Catholic country is gettng remarkably better in terms of what's available... it's just tracking them down that's the hard part!
Just as everywhere else you can find 'the transgendered community in most places around the country but for the tourists and visitors we tend to focus on just a few places. The three most important are Manila, Cebu Island and Angeles City.
On this page we'll spare you the scare stories and warnings and just give you a few ideas on what to do and where to go.
Manila
Trip Report from AsianTS.com member...
I made a recent trip to Manila(March 7-12) to meet a LB I had been talking with for over 8 months and since I had planned a Thailand trip, the airfare from BKK to Manila ($200RT) seemed pretty reasonable. For years I had been abused by an LB friend that lives in Cebu saying I should give up on Thai LBs and head to the Philippines. She and I became as close of friends as one can by typing and phone calls….so nothing like a friend you meet face to face and bar hop with.
Anyway, she was once a show girl in Japan, still pretty good looking at 33 yrs old and always seems to have my best interests at heart. Anyway, back to Manila. Not too sure what to expect with this “friend” I was to meet, I only booked 4 nights and then planned on a return to Thailand..
Booked thr hotel, flights, all prepaid and locked in, then get the e-mail that my friend has some big changes in her life…hahah…I know what is coming….she has found a BF and wants to commit to him. Fuck it, I’m going to Manila anyway, meet her, see what I lost out on, and check the LB scene. In my hip pocket I have a couple more LB contacts to fire off an e-mail to…”hey I have missed talking with you and guess what, I’m coming to Manila, do you want to meet?”
Arrived Friday afternoon, grab a airport “coupon” taxi (330 pesos) rather than a meter taxi as I was cautioned about the shit many taxi drivers pull regarding fares and foreigners. The coupon taxi sets the fare so no hassles. Turns out, the fare would have been about 150 peso, so I paid about $3.00 more than needed to. On my return trip, I was wiser and used a meter taxi. A side note on taxis, the 'all white' taxis are independent and are known for trying to not use the meter but rather throw out a high number seeing if you will bite. Apparently they even do this with the locals. So be prepared to demand they use the meter. One night I had a white taxi… he asked for 250 pesos (no meter) then dropped to 200… actual fare was 125. I opened the door and was ready to leave before he finally turned on the meter.
Ok, got to the hotel… Local style place, way over priced at 1800 pesos but recommended by my LB friend and since I figured she’s be sleeping there too, it must be OK. It was clean with very friendly staff and with a couple blocks from the Makati Greenbelt complex… so easy walking. Met my friend after her work and she took me to the “infamous” Malate area which apparently was the hot area when the USA military was still around. Still is quite active with many bars, discos, go-go places and restaurants… many with Japanese signs so I’m guessing they have a lot of Japanese tourists though I didn’t see many.
Had dinner, talked about her new BF and took a walk around the district. Well wouldn’t you know it, she ran into 2 very good TS friends from her younger days (she is 27) that work at a new (3 months old) TS Karaoke and Show bar… The name is Mr Lady and apparently the first one of this type in the area. We decided to go in and ended up staying until 4:00AM (some bars stay open until 6AM) had a fun time but only a few other customers came in around 1am-2am. What I did see however were some pretty good looking LB/TS that appeared to be looking for a “date”.
As previously posted, the Filipina LBs in most cases do not have the surgeries or petite stature of Thai LB’s….but if you like the natural look with a little more meat on the bone, then you can find it here. I had no idea what the cost for a night with one of the LBs would be, but as there were very few customers, I’m sure everything is negotiable.
Interesting how my conversation with my LB friend did touch on Thai versus Filipina LBs . In general, the PI girls are chubbier. But I will agree with others when I say I really enjoy being able to hold a conversation in English about various subjects beyond the minimal subjects I seem to get when I try to engage a Thai girl/lb in conversation. The Filipina LBs certainly have more experience with western men, culture and since English is a required language in school, everyone speaks it.
We left the TS club, she dropped me at my hotel and we said our good bye and gave our regrets about the situation and now I was on my own for the next 4 days. Got up at noon…decided to check out the Makati Greenbelt area...
Not unlike the Paragon, Central World Market, etc….very high end shopping, bars and restaurants confirming that some people in Manila have money. The Makati is the main business area of Manila and as such, many foreigners hang around at the malls/Greenbelt complex. Stopped by an internet café to see if my emails to others Manila LB’s got any responses. As luck would have it, my number 2 choice for long term love was indeed very excited that I would come to see her… but she had a lot of work commitments so we could only meet after work and then her day off on Tuesday... fine with me.
So with Saturday night still open, I wondered back to the Greenbelt 3 (there are 4 or 5 Greenbelt buildings) area and decided to see if previous reports of LBs hanging around Starbucks was still accurate after 6-9 months. At about 9pm, I was walking around that area (Starbucks on the ground level) and up strolled an LB…. ”what’s your name, where are you going” Hmmm... that sound s familiar! We talked for a few minutes and she never admitted to being an LB so I thought I’d ask the question.
A scene that was to be repeated a few other times with me was… she responded with a questioning look on her face as if she didn’t know what an LB was, then she was hostile as if I insulted her. Not knowing if she was going to throw a punch or not, I quickly said “sorry, I was looking for an LB, I like LB’s and only date them”…the angry face slackened and she finally calmed and quietly said she was an LB. What strikes me as funny is that she was easily identified as an LB in my eyes. Oh well!
As previously noted, if you don’t see any LB’s on the ground level near Starbucks or the Café Havan, just walk up to the level above and go near the rail overlooking the lower bars and park area. One interesting site seemed to be that the LB’s I saw working had a real girl in tow. I don’t know if they hope for a duel, tag team event with a customer, or it is a situation where one steals your stuff as the other occupies your attention. In all the cases I saw, the real girl looked pretty hard, street wise, and wasn’t smiling much when I talked with her LB friend. This situation was repeated a number of times… Isat with 3 LBs, tried to strike up a conversation, very cold response, asked if they were LB….they got pissed off! I said I liked LB’s, they relaxed and asked if I wanted company. All three were easily spotted as LB’!
At that time I was not sure what I was looking for as I had my #2 honey lined up for the next day and I wanted to remain “pure” for her… or at least not go with a skanky looking Filipina LB.
At about 11-12PM the bars really get going and I ended up at Café Havan where they had good live music and was ass to elbows with many Filipina girls hanging on foreign guys. As the music was fast, the booze flowing and the girls hot, some half drunk, rather cute Filipina girl grabbed my arm and said she was a nurse, just graduated and wanted to get a job in the US or UK. I listened to her story for an hour or two as she poured down a strong Long Island ice tea that she really didn’t need. She was with another cute nursing student that was hanging on the arm of some other foreigner… he looked Asian.
Well, the girls agreed we should all go to the Embassy Disco… My friend and I grabbed a taxi and off we went for a 20 minute cab ride and I had zero clue where I was….what the fuck was I getting into? Well, we pulled up to a club. We went in and were the only people there (it was 2AM) but on a huge stage were naked girls dancing and doing sensuous bump and grinds maneuvers. I asked my friend what was going on. She said, I thought you’d like this.
Ordered a drink… way too expensive… 200 pesos each, then all of a sudden one of the girls came off stage and sat next to me… Someone delivered her a drink and I was “forced” to sign a 700 peso bill for her drink… Food magically showed up… another 900 peso bill… I was getting pissed off and my friend pleading innocence that she thought I would like this. I called for the total bill as I was leaving, with or with out her.
The bill came and was I surprised to see it was now 9,000 pesos… more than $250US! Apparently there were a few charges that I was unaware of and even though they could not produce a signed receipt/bill from me, I seemed to be in no position to argue and refuse. I had only about $50 in cash remaining but with much reluctance, they accepted a credit card. I signed (actually wrote on the slip that I signed that “I did not agree with the amount”) and bailed out to grab a taxi back to my hotel.
Well, before I could escape while my friend was in the ladies room, she jumped in the cab and said “let’s go to the Embassy Disco!" 'The cover was 500 pesos' she said and you only had to buy a 5000 peso bottle of champagne to enter the place - and by the way, can we stop and buy me a new phone card so I can call my friend that is meeting us there. Seems her friend was holding us a place in line for the disco as it was very crowded. I had had enough for the night so some how I convinced her I’d rather go back to my hotel and be with her and not share her with her friends any longer. She bought it and by some miracle we made it to the hotel! I jump out, gave her 100 pesos for the taxi, slammed the door and made my hasty retreat. She was still half drunk looking at me with her mouth agape wondering what just happened to her. I had some enjoyment (maybe there is Karma) in the fact that apparently somewhere between the Café Havana and the stop for buying the phone card, she lost her wallet, credit cards, and cash…. so the 100pesos I threw her would get her back to find her friend at the Embassy. Good luck baby, you’re on your own and by the way, forget about me helping get a nursing job in the US!
Of the 9000 peso charges I put on my VISA, I had only agreed via the signed slips to 2010(about $50)…so I plan to challenge it with my credit card carrier once I’m back to the USA. It will be interesting to see if they have seen other “scams” like this from Asia.
Sunday morning I was up at 11am and off again to the Greenbelt area for breakfast, some internet use(the hotel wifi was not working) and some more exploring the of the area. Having planned on spending all my time with my “LB friend” I had not planned any tourist stuff so I was a little caught off guard and left scrambling to fill my time. That evening I had the chance to meet #2 LB and have to say I was very impressed with her appearance, personality and commitment to work, her family and her general good nature. It seems she and her mother are the only bread winners for her family as her father had a stroke and can’t work much and her brother(and wife and 2 kids) is not working at the moment.
The Philippines economy sucks right now and an attempt to overthrow the current president was in motion while I was there. My friend keeps a good attitude and is really upbeat despite what I think would depress me. To give an idea of the pay scale, she is a data entry/codex person for a major telephone company but works as a contract employee with the hope of becoming a real employee of the company. She makes 360 pesos a day($9.00US) Her mother is a dress maker and cleans houses. My friend is a 2 year college grad and has been trained in cosmetology….if she moon lights at a salon, she gets 25 pesos to do a manicure ( $0.55.)
Monday I met up with LB #1 for a “good bye” drink as I was leaving on Tuesday. We met up in Malate…saw that the LB club was still there with a few LBs hanging in front. My friend offered up that she had a few friends she could introduce me to……I agreed and will see if anything materializes. Having now been with #1 and #2, I have to say that had I met #2 before I met #1…there would have been no #1…..the girl from Quezon City was a class act, far better body but as she and so many Filipina LB’s complain about…..too straight of a figure. “we want more hips and curves”. LB #1 has those but to me it is from having a big butt and major “love handles” on her waist/hips. I would have to say that in most case….. the Filipina LB’s look more like the Latina girls seen on various sites. And, my conclusion after 3 nights of bars in Makati and Malate is that Filipina real girls are cute when they are 17-22yrs old, but after that, they fill out with chubby hips, waist and stomach.
Tuesday arrived and apparently the transportation workers were striking in Quezon City in support if the government overthrow. Damn… that makes it hard for LB#2 to get to Makati on her day off. She does make it by about 2 PM and I have a 11PM flight to BKK that night. I extend my hotel room another day so we can relax in it though my plans were to go with her to dinner and drinks before I leave. She arrives and declines my offer of food and drink in lieu of staying in bed and “talking” as she wants to get to know me. We communicate from 2pm until 8 pm when she takes me to the airport, white taxi tries to ask for “extra” fare even with my local LB with me. We say our goodbyes, I give her fare to get back home and based on her wage scale, a couple days pay worth of pesos that I won’t use. If I had had an airline ticket I could have changed, I probably would have stayed and moved my location up to Quezon City for a few nights… but back to Thailand and on Pattaya...
My advice to those thinking about Filipina LB’s is no different from what others have written. Establish a list (long list) of who you want to meet and spend time cultivating those contacts before you leave home. You could use a cam/chat to try to establish whether she is really cute or not but realize that most cams won’t pick up whether she has a fucked up face/skin complexion or not (I know this from personal experience) I would consider trying Cebu next time but having seen the LB scene in Manila, would expect it to be the same in Cebu…..nothing even close to the scene in LOS. For those that like a different partner in the afternoon and night… the Philippines is probably not the place… or maybe it can be with a LOT of preplanning. Yes, I’m sure you can go to the malls and find them…. but who has the time. I was just beginning to get a feel for the place after 4 days… by spending hours on the internet I made a few more contacts while in Manila that I never had time to meet. Face-pic has tons of potential LBs… so do your shopping there and use the “who is on line now” search function.
The very positive aspect is the common language as well as the easier understanding of western culture by the Filipina LBs/Girls. If I was to make a decision to retire in Asia, I would have to seriously think about the Philippines… explore Cebu (my friend tells me they are building big medical facilities there to cater to foreigners) as well as other locations north(Baguio area). There economy sucks right now, but that just keeps the cost of living lower for those of us looking for a low cost of living where the falang dollar will go further.
Cebu Island
There are no TG bars in Cebu and I don't think there is a gay area where tgirls go to like Malate in Manila. However, there are two clubs which transgirls go to. One is called The Loft, the other is Vudu. I think if you are well over 30 you will stick out as this is for the young 20 somethings, although it is a pretty relaxed sort of place. The girls will often go to these clubs in a small group for birthday parties or if they came back escorting from HK, Singapore etc and want some local talent.
The club link for Vudu is here
http://clubvudu.multiply.com
The address for the Loft is
2/F CJRS Point Bldng
Asia Town IT Park
Lahug
Cebu City
032-2380532
A leisure area that some girls go to for a night out is the Paseo. They go to eat Pizza, hunt for guys etc. You might strike it lucky...
http://paseocebu.multiply.com/
Here's a link for the erotic services listing on craigslist for Cebu; hope you find it helpful...
http://cebu.craigslist.com.ph/search/ers?query=t4m
Alternatives are to cruise the Ayala Mall in the evening or to contact locals via usual sites, Craigslist, ViceSisters, Piladyboy, don't forget Mandaue has some of the best ladyboys in the Cebu area.
Friendster is also another option I think almost all the PI girls have an account, there are a lot of cam show girls on Friendster too so you can from their photos what they are like out of the studio.
The big advantage of being with a local girl is not being ripped off, and in Cebu if she is local (or Mandaue) she ought to know where to get the best Lechon; The Waterfront Hotel in the middle of town is expensive but worth it and sometimes there are fashion shows which attract a lot of girls t and regular, check their website; and some may have a birthday party there so its hit and miss.
The Marriott is ok but quieter than the Waterfront, but is next to the Ayala Mall and has an open air restaurant. If you can afford it some of the resort hotels are also popular and ideal for pleasure - The Shangri-la, Hilton and Plantation Bay on Mactan Island, I think PB is the biggest and best and the Shangri-La is part of the chain, but lets face it if you meet someone and invite her there for the weekend you are made!
You can find ladyboys hanging outside Sunflower disco until wee hours of the morning (all cabbies know where it is). Also if you get a special itch to travel, hop over to Boracay. It's only an hour (and 50USD) by plane. Great lb's and they even have their own show!
As usual try to plan ahead to make the most of your time there. Happy hunting!
Angeles City
The ladyboy scene in Angeles City is vast as nearly all of the cam sites are now operating out of there instead of Cebu and Manila. Most of cam girls we have spoken to make about 4000-8000 pesos per month on cam... about US$100-200....130-260 pesos per day. The ones that have their own computers at home will make more because they can cut our their 'manager'. But even if they double their income by having own computer, you can see that 1000 pesos (US$25) short time is still a decent amount for a few hours of their time compared to cam income.
For anyone interested in meeting ladyboys in the Phils, it is tough to find any with tits but many of them are pretty enough. In the past it was easy to look down on the PI gals compared to Thailand but there are younger ladyboys now whom are not so fat and are quite pretty. There are many there aboit 18-19ish, fair skin, pretty and hoirny as hell. It is, however, very difficult to meet these girls as some of the hotels will not allow them into your room.
One option is the Pacific Breeze Hotel in Balibago. Great hotel, nice staff, room with big jacuzzi/bath, big breakfast and good swimming pool. You can stay in the Executive Room for 1,900 pisos per night ($48) and they allowed ladyboys. The front desk won't assume that your dates were ladyboys and will address them as 'Miss'. Occasionally the bell boys will ask for their numbers! The hotel has a nice pool and the best staff in Angeles. The owners also own Central Park Hotel which is notorious for having superb service. All the employees are required to know your name and are amazingly discrete. If one of the employees is caught dispensing any information about the guests to anyone outside of the hotel, they are immediately fired.
Here, there are 2 buildings. It's better to stay in the building without the main reception. So, if you go out, then when you come back, you don't need to walk through main reception area... just a security guard.
This hotel is close to all the action.
For those of you who want to know the street scene, there are two areas where they congregate. One is in front of Subdelicious on Fields Ave and only after 9pm. The other is on Santos street near the corner of Vian St. which is 50 yards from my hotel entrance. As in Cebu many of the TS's travel around with a GG in tow.
Getting to and from Manila can be tricky so here's some advice... There are several private taxi companies... prices from about 2000-2500 pesos one way, including tolls.
We used these guys last couple of times. Very responsive to e-mail, 2100 Pesos one way...
http://www.margarita-station.com/airport.html
[email protected]
They ask you what drinks you would like for the trip, and a little ice cooler box thing is in the car waiting for you when they pick you up... they charge 10 or 15 pesos per drink I think...
Pacific Breeze also have airport pick up, but it's more expensive at 2,500 each way.
Here's a hint if you are in Manila... Take the 10am luxury bus at Southern Cross Hotel for 550 pisos which leaves at 10am.
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