Few more questions in reguards to the philippines

[Jedironin]

Learn sumthin' new every day... I would have NEVER considered sending a Pizza to someone in the Phillipines!   

I don't know why, but that just struck me as very funny! You sent a WHAT to someone WHERE?!?!   ROFL

Hey, it's a great idea. I like pizza too! I've had Hawaiian Pizza before. It's not my first choice, frankly, but it's a whole lot better than the HERRING Pizza I've had in Finland!     No, I didn't make that up...

[thekfc]

Learn sumthin' new every day... I would have NEVER considered sending a Pizza to someone in the Phillipines!   

I don't know why, but that just struck me as very funny! You sent a WHAT to someone WHERE?!?!   ROFL

Hey, it's a great idea. I like pizza too! I've had Hawaiian Pizza before. It's not my first choice, frankly, but it's a whole lot better than the HERRING Pizza I've had in Finland!     No, I didn't make that up...

Pizza is huge in The Philippines - even Papa John's is about to open up a branch in Manila (yes Papa John's) & the Hawaiian pizza is one of the top flavors. One think I can never get use to is that my wife's nieces & nephew always put BBQ & hot sauce on their pizza
Give me that extra cheese or pep instead

[Bob_S]

One think I can never get use to is that my wife's nieces & nephew always put BBQ & hot sauce on their pizza
Give me that extra cheese or pep instead

My wife loves Tabasco sauce on her pizza, too.  I've tried it, and it's actually pretty good.  Plus there are some neat side effects.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VICaWgD-76w

[thekfc]

My wife loves Tabasco sauce on her pizza, too. 

Tabasco sauce on Pizza
Ok I admit it, I am a wimp.

[Jedironin]

Donato's Beef or Chicken Mariachi Pizza- spicy meat with Jalepenos and other good stuff! 

[robert angel]

Anybody know a safe, reliable way to send a small, light, valuable from the USA to Davao City, Philippines?

It occurred to me that my wife's Mom has never had any 'real' jewelry, so I picked up a nice, small cross and chain, with channel set rubies on the cross and small diamonds on its ends. She more than deserves it, just for being the unpaid church treasurer for many, many years.

My wife was more excited than if I got it for her--her father's gold class ring is about the only 'jewelry' they have and it used to go to the pawn shop so they could pay tuition, then he'd get it back, paying the interest.

Even though it weighs about 5 grams--not even a fifth of an ounce, Fed Ex gives the same rate for half an ounce as to half a gram, regardless of insurance--$99.

I know I could tape it to paper and send it in an airmail letter for cheap, but the postal service there is full of thieves.


Maybe we'll just have to wait until we send the next balikbayon box, with which, everything seems to somehow get there  safely each time--this time, we're sending a microwave oven, a toaster oven, clothes, books, chocolate, etc--they've switched part of their home's electricity to where they can switch between 110 and 220 voltage, so I think the kitchen stuff will be fine.

I dunno, if things like those ovens are like computers and can run on 220 or 110, but having both will be fail safe, I hope. Next summer, my wife wants to make them Italian dishes like baked ziti, lasagna, and also chicken casserole, etc. We may have a challenge finding Italian sausage,  mozzarella,  ricotta cheese and campbells cream of mushroom soup over there though!

[thekfc]

Yep, both UPS & FEDEX will charge you that much for a few ounce package.

Robert, have you looked into LBC Air Cargo or one one of the other cargo places?
http://www.lbcexpress.com/contents/USA/ratecalculator_package.aspx

I think it is about $12 for a speed pouch (up to 2 lbs) & $25 for air cargo (up to 6 lbs).

Not sure how fast it will get there or how "reliable" sending something valuable with them via air cargo will be.

[jm21-2]

I used to use Skype almost exclusively. I switched to Boost mobile a few weeks ago though and checking the rates, they are almost the same as Skype to call Australia and actually appear to be cheaper to call the RP or Taiwan (for calling mobile phones). Interesting. I may start just using my cell to call instead of the computer. It's a lot more convenient. I've been doing international text messages quite a bit and it's only cost me $4.40 so far, I don't know how many texts but quite a few. When I'm out on my boat (which has been almost every weekend recently) I send her quite a few texts. I think most girls probably prefer receiving a call from your actual phone rather than skype too...my fiance definitely wanted to have her number in my contacts even when we never used our cells to communicate. Something more personal about calling from a cell as compared to skype.

Skype is much better for calling landlines but for mobiles it is not as good as it used to be.

[Jeff S]

You can get a skype telephone number for incoming calls. It's only $3 a month. I use it for all business calls in and out.

[HaroldC]

This may be outdated info, but
phone cards sucked so much, I have been using onesuite.com for years.
Yahoo messenger sound and video work great.
If you send jewelry and declare it on the Customs form, it will get stolen.
I remember an incident where a guy sent an engagement ring and got a call from a UPS guy in Manila demanding money if he wanted it delivered.
$50 is NOT a small amount of money- I wouldn't offer/give her any cash until you are married.
There are places on the internet where you can order candy, flowers, etc. and have them delivered- even if it costs you $50, MUCH better idea.

[Dave H]

Anybody know a safe, reliable way to send a small, light, valuable from the USA to Davao City, Philippines?

Hey Rob,

Not really...I have been waiting over 3 weeks for a Global Priority envelope (US Postal Service) containing medical paperwork. We have been checking at the post office everyday to avoid our weakest link (the crooked local mailman) from touching it. The more hands it passes through...the less chance it has in arriving at it's destination! It sounds like your package would pass through many hands to reach their house. FedEx would probably be safer, but expensive, especially for non valuables like mine. Best to personally deliver valuables or have someone you trust hand carry it. I sometimes have important mail delivered to a local business where my wife's sister works. Their mailman is more reliable. When I am in the US, I often use envelopes from my friend's law office, which they haven't messed with...yet! I never send mail from the US during Christmas season!

Next summer, my wife wants to make them Italian dishes like baked ziti, lasagna, and also chicken casserole, etc. We may have a challenge finding Italian sausage,  mozzarella,  ricotta cheese and cream of mushroom soup over there though!

You will probably find a lot of the ingredients in Davao, that I can't find in my city. You might want to ship a pasta machine (electric or perhaps better hand cranked) to make the various shapes. Although I haven't seen Semolina flour here.  Locally,   pasta is limited to spaghetti, fettuccine, lasagna, and elbow macaroni. I can't buy Italian sausage (only Hungarian). Grated parmesian cheese is available, but mozzarella or ricotta forget it! You may get stuck with  "cheese food," including the ever popular "Quick Melt." YUCK! Here, I rarely see Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup. I usually only see Campbell's Cream of Celery Soup. WARNING! If you can pull off some good Italian dishes, I am driving my motorcyle 5 hours to your house!  

Dave

[Ray]

I'd bet that her family won't like "authentic" Italian dishes anyway, unless you make them with banana sauce and tons of sugar.

Ray

[Dave H]

I'd bet that her family won't like "authentic" Italian dishes anyway, unless you make them with banana sauce and tons of sugar.

Ray

Hey Ray,

I think that you are probably right on the money! My wife, her mother and sisters were making food for our daughter's birthday recently. I really wanted to help, since I like to cook. Reluctantly, they let me make the spaghetti. How hard can that be? After all, I have a little bit of knowledge about Filipino taste buds...salty and SWEET!  I bought "Filipino style" sweet spaghetti sauce and added a few "secret ingredients" like banana ketchup and sugar. When it was finished, I thought that I had nailed it! I asked my mother-in-law how it tasted and she replied "good," but needed a few more things to finish it.  She sent me to the grocery store with a small list, which included a large jug of banana ketchup. When I returned she dumped the bottle in. Thn she added more ingredients, including more sugar, and a couple large blocks of Kraft Eden cheese that she shredded. Everyone raved about the spaghetti. It must have been good, since it disappeared before I got to taste it. OH well...I helped! 

Dave

[Jedironin]

Super-extra-sweet-banana spaghetti?!?!         

Talk about culture-shock!  

[piglett]

Super-extra-sweet-banana spaghetti?!?!         

Talk about culture-shock!  

he he he 


pig

[robert angel]

Re:

WARNING! If you can pull off some good Italian dishes, I am driving my motorcyle 5 hours to your house! 

Dave--you might need a good dust filter on that motorcycle helmet! My wife's talking about somehow bringing lasagna & ziti pasta, Paul Newman spaghetti sauce, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses all the way to her home --that's probably 32 hours by air from our house to Manila and on to Davao and three hours more plus by bus to their home. She thinks she can keep the cheese fresh all that way!

Then again, she wants to make baked ziti the night before we drive 12 hours down to Key West, Florida around Christmas time, for my parents--keeping it in a cooler--so she's fixing for a 'dry run'!

Yea--I can't eat the spaghetti over there and the cheese---yuck!

[Dave H]

Hey Rob,

Ok...so then I am willing to drive the 8 hours on my motorcycle!  I have a couple types of dusk masks that I can use.

If your wife can pull it off, I will be VERY impressed!

Have a great time in Key West. I thought that you might enjoy this. http://www.suite101.com/content/key-west-underground---ghosts-ghouls-and-graveyards-a299845

Dave

[piglett]

W O W Dave 7000 posts !!!!!

i would say that about 90% if them involved posting some kind of funky pictures

keep up the good work


pig

[Dave H]

W O W Dave 7000 posts !!!!!

i would say that about 90% if them involved posting some kind of funky pictures

keep up the good work


pig

Thanks pig,

About 7 of those posts were relevant and on the topic.  Actually, I have a  hundred or so more posts on the old board under DaveH2O,  when the DaveH password wasn't working. Man, I wish I would have thought of that "Dirty Dave" handle! 

Almost Dirty Dave