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georgeb.
for your LTO needs, use the services of your friendly neighborhood fixers.....i can intro you to one if you like....good guy.....
as for my quest.....still zero.....hopefully this quarter.....
were you able to talk to the leather resellers....
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pauls0
Part of things
Posts: 31 
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Yup, you've got to love the EAS, it's lovely in the Disco too, although it's a bit tired after 170,000 kms on these 'roads'. I'm not looking forward to what customs re-value the parts at for the import duties calcs when I come to rebuild it...
Never get stopped for a doc check on foot, but you have to present your ID card to use credit cards and other random stuff too sometimes when buying/paying for stuff. Unfortunately the people reviewing the docs often don't know what is what on a foreigner's ID card, which can lead to problems.
When driving I've been stopped a few times. The last time was when I was up visting our main production centre, and borrowed a pickup from work to get between two farms. It’s less than a mile on the public highway, and I still got stopped in that distance. Thankfully the docs for the car were in order!
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Sounds like a baptism of fire for the re-instated system. Glad it has proven worthwhile. Did the passengers appreciate the improved ride quality? They slept all the way to school if that's any indication! georgeb. for your LTO needs, use the services of your friendly neighborhood fixers.....i can intro you to one if you like....good guy..... as for my quest.....still zero.....hopefully this quarter..... were you able to talk to the leather resellers....
Nah, I'm not really one for using fixers, thanks anyway. Been bitten in the past over a visa in Malaysia, so not too keen to go that route again. Fortunately, I work for myself so can plan time accordingly. Besides, as I intend to be here permanently, it's better to be able to do everything yourself, right? And it makes for a better tale.
Anyway, I've just taken on a driver/minder  for the wife and girls so he can do it next time!
On the leather, not yet. I'll get the missus to ring them today and they can Tagalog for a bit.
Good luck on tracking down a P38, as said, give me a shout if you need any help.
pauls0 Never been stopped in the car or on foot here. They seem to concentrate on motorbike blocks rather than vehicles. Sometimes I'm asked for ID if making an expensive purchase, laptop, car, etc., but generally not.
For the EAS, if it's just the bags they shouldn't be too bad, it's if you need the height sensors and compressor as well that customs seem to rub their little hands together and start booking their next holiday!
[/p]
Glad I'm not the only one who puts "roads" in inverted commas!
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Last Edit: Feb 3, 2015 22:41:51 GMT by georgeb
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George!
No news?
Life is not the same without your tales!
How's the eas?
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THE_Liam
Yorkshire and The Humber
If at first you don't succeed... HAMMERS.
Posts: 1,363
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Sod the EAS, how's Manila?
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Sorry guys. I’d like to say that I’ve not posted because things have been nice and quiet but I can’t. But first, may all of us here in Malate Towers take this opportunity to wish you a very happy Year of the Goat. On hearing this, Jey-Ann, our eldest AKA the Human Tapeworm, enquired if she could have the head, with rice.  At this time of year, how nearly two billion Chinese see a goat  Jey-Ann’s view – any time The reason for the silence is that we’ve been embarking on the process to rid our house in Tondo of its current occupants, namely Madam’s family who’ve been living there, all expenses paid, for the last 9 years. This is not a decision arrived at lightly, but ever since we came to live in Manila from Malaysia, it’s been brewing for a while. Madam has finally realised that they have been milking her blind all the years she worked overseas and, after 22 years, has had enough. The final straw was when we discovered one sister stealing money, her husband bankrupted the little business we'd given him, another sister had pawned all of Madam’s jewellery that was in the house (fortunately, not too much) and her brother decided assaulting our girls was a good idea. Police reports and medical exams later, Madam decided enough was enough and, deciding to take the legal route first, I’d hired a lawyer to do me some nice official letters of eviction. These had to be signed by all parties including the Barangay Chairman, which was interesting. The Chairman happens to be the brother of the bankrupt-er and so was a tad reluctant to do his legal duty. Madam’s approach was simple; “We ‘helped’ you when you wanted to get elected and we're sure you'll want some more 'help' next time around, now it’s your turn to help us”. Hmm, difficult to argue that one. He who pays the piper…etc. So with the Chairman safely in our pocket now enthusiastically onside, we embarked on a series of long, messy and ultimately acrimonious meetings with the family. It’s been a pretty nasty and messy time but to cut a long story short, they leave on Sunday, we get our house back and…rest Of course, whilst all this has been going on, Daddy George has been on the school run as the girls have been here in Malate, mainly because I’m not sure her brother quite understands yet the concept of “undertake not to intimidate, coerce, harass, molest or abuse” either us or the girls as written in the eviction contract they’ve signed, although he can find out the hard way if he wants. The driver I’ve hired to look after Madam and the girls has a license to concealed carry, and he does. Whilst I know brother hasn’t the cojones to have a physical go at either Madam or myself (she laid him out with a piece of 2x2 the last time he tried!) 11 and 14 year old girls would probably be seen as soft targets, so no point putting temptation in the way. There’s history, after all. The upshot of this has seen me with the dubious task of rousing two reluctant young ladies at 4.45 each morning, chasing them to get showered and ready for school, making sure they’ve eaten (obviously not a problem with Jay-Ann), got their books and generally getting them sorted. 5.45 sees us on the road to Tondo as Tania starts at 6.30 and Jey-Ann at 7. As the roads are as empty as you’ll ever see them in Manila, we can give the old girl – the RR, not Madam – a right good thrashing every morning and she seems to like it. Sticking the ODB reader on now shows fuel trims exactly where they should be, air volumes correct and all sensors reading as expected. Lovely. The new air suspension makes light work of the Tondo “roads” and performs exactly as it should, so I actually look forward to this part of the daily ritual. Think the girls do as well as I’m led to understand that being dropped off outside school in Tondo by a Range Rover gets you tons of “cool points” with your mates, even with an old git like me behind the wheel. Madam? She sleeps through it all but, to be fair, does the afternoon run by which time the traffic is an absolute pig, and I’m in Café Adriatico with a cold one. Seems like a fair division of labour to me. And whilst we’re on the subject of registration, Madam finally got her official number plates for her hateful Fortuner last week, almost exactly eight months after she bought it. In the meantime, she’s been running round with pieces of paper stuck on the front and back with the registration number written in felt-tip pen. Not too bad as there’s a police car in Malate with nothing at all yet. Fortunately, there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation. You see, they decided to standardise the number plates here, mainly as they were running out of three letter, three number combinations and it’s only the transport department that can issue plates. As a consequence, all new plates shall consist of two letters and four numbers, unless they are three letters and four numbers of course and shall be black and white on the front and yellow and black on the rear. Unless they are both black and white, like hers are. So that’s got things nicely standardised then. It’s then taken months after the announcement to get the actual production of plates underway, hence the eight month wait. I’m supposed to collect my new ones next month and whilst the number will stay the same, three letters/three numbers, I’m interested to see which colour combo I get. These things take time you know. |
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Last Edit: Feb 19, 2015 3:35:19 GMT by georgeb
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So sorry to hear about the troubles you've been having - hope you, your lady and the girls are okay :/ Incidentally, I was chatting to a friend of a friend a week or so back who had spent some time in Manila and met his wife there... One of the first things he said was a 'culture shock' was that she has a stomach like a tardis and a cast iron constitution... Reminded me of this thread!  *n |
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Top grammar tips!
Bought = purchased. Brought = relocated
Lose = misplace/opposite of win. Loose = your mum
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THE_Liam
Yorkshire and The Humber
If at first you don't succeed... HAMMERS.
Posts: 1,363
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That sounds bloody awful George, hope you, the missus and particularly the young 'uns are ok, or as ok as you or they can be.
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fer4l
Posted a lot
Testing
Posts: 1,497
Club RR Member Number: 73
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Feb 19, 2015 13:51:10 GMT
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Good wishes from me too G, sounds a nightmare
Cheers
Matt
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blower
Part of things
Never mix Cider and Red Wine , Thats 1 of my Life Lessons . J.C.
Posts: 252
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Feb 19, 2015 20:59:14 GMT
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I stumbled upon this thread this morning about 8ish( its now 9pm) , ive been reading - breaking off for Dads taxi time , shopping - etc
But Like a good book its kept me intrigued , interested
Its taken most of the day to get through it
Ive visited Thailand a few times , I have a brother who lives in Bangkok , so am a bit familiar with the culture
Like my brother , i think you are a lucky so n so to be living the dream
Hes currently into the Classic car scene , so you share a few things
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Feb 19, 2015 21:20:13 GMT
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Cheers guys, it's just all part of life's rich pattern living here and will hopefully soon be at an end so we can then carry on as "normal"
Madam was out with an old mate from KL the other night who'd just gone through exactly the same. She and her son had arrived home from Malaysia to find the house she'd bought stuffed with assorted family with no intention of shifting, leaving the two of them with literally nowhere to stay. She had to evict them all just to get a bed!
I get the feeling that this is not an uncommon problem, certainly in the poorer areas, where half a dozen or more can live happily on the money that one sends home. This also means that a) they never bother to do any work of their own and b) see it as a right for life and resent the homecomer as inevitably, the returnee realises what's been going on all the years and gets a little miffed.
To be honest, I could see this coming a long time back but didn't want to push Madam into anything as the dynamics of the Philippine family can be very different to our own. It had to be her decision and then I'd back it all the way. It's been hard watching her go through this realisation process with all the conflicts of emotions that families cause. Still, she's a strong lass and been resolute all the way having made her mind up. I've tried to be the "bad" one in fronting all this, but it hasn't stopped the bile and vitriol being directed at her as they see their free, comfortable, idle and shiftless lifestyle coming to an abrupt end. Hence my concern for the girls safety and the employment of an armed driver as a sensible precaution. I don't have to worry on the morning run as I've never seen any of them up before 10am  and we're long gone by then!
penski Yes they can certainly eat. Our youngest is like a young whippet and the other morning for breakfast, having declared she wasn't very hungry, devoured two adobo pork chops and a mountain of rice followed by a bowl of cereal. You really have to see it to believe it!
Anyway, as said, at least the motor is getting a good fast run every day rather than the usual Manila crawl which can only be a good thing. I came back from a meeting the other side of town a day or two ago and literally never got above 10kph for the entire 12km journey, so it's nice to be able to clear all that out the next morning
Really must get the mojo together to replace the cooling system. I've got everything I need except willpower but I should get to it as a catastrophic failure in these temperatures would give you a nanosecond to react before irreparable damage sets in. It's just difficult, when everything is working fine, to rip it all out. Maybe next week... |
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Feb 19, 2015 21:33:53 GMT
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Remind me not to complain about my inlaws... The worst they do is fart at inappropriate moments. (Is there an appropriate moment?)
We've never had to evict them. In fact they evicted themselves and moved to France.
Anyway, good luck mate.
Speaking of your cardboard number plates. I saw a (quite respectable) 4x4 in London last week that had plates made of flimsy white plastic with random stick on 'dustbin' numbers on it. I'm fairly sure it was the permanent plate too. I think the car was over from the Middle East somewhere.
James
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Feb 19, 2015 21:40:21 GMT
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georgeb,
don't know if i will be amused or sad or angry with your situation....
very common, keep safe, don't want to watch you on TV PARTOL of channel 2 or 24 ORAS of channel 7, :-), :-)
those have no business in manila should return to their respective provinces and make themselves productive....
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I stumbled upon this thread this morning about 8ish( its now 9pm) , ive been reading - breaking off for Dads taxi time , shopping - etc But Like a good book its kept me intrigued , interested Its taken most of the day to get through it Ive visited Thailand a few times , I have a brother who lives in Bangkok , so am a bit familiar with the culture Like my brother , i think you are a lucky so n so to be living the dream Hes currently into the Classic car scene , so you share a few things Glad you've enjoyed and sorry I've wasted an entire day for you Yes, whilst there are differences, there's also many similarities as to how families operate between Thailand and the Philippines. Not always easy for us simple Falang to work out. Living the dream? Well, it certainly has more ups than downs, so I suppose so! |
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Last Edit: Feb 20, 2015 1:57:54 GMT by georgeb
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Remind me not to complain about my inlaws... The worst they do is fart at inappropriate moments. (Is there an appropriate moment?) We've never had to evict them. In fact they evicted themselves and moved to France. Anyway, good luck mate. Speaking of your cardboard number plates. I saw a (quite respectable) 4x4 in London last week that had plates made of flimsy white plastic with random stick on 'dustbin' numbers on it. I'm fairly sure it was the permanent plate too. I think the car was over from the Middle East somewhere. James Cheers James. France? That would just about be far enough away for this lot! Mind, I wouldn't want to inflict them on another country, so just out of the house will do for starters. georgeb, don't know if i will be amused or sad or angry with your situation.... very common, keep safe, don't want to watch you on TV PARTOL of channel 2 or 24 ORAS of channel 7, :-), :-) those have no business in manila should return to their respective provinces and make themselves productive.... AS you say, I think it is common, unfortunately. I'll also try to make sure I don't wind up on either of those programmes! Though they're not moving far, I have no doubt they'll eventually wind up back home in Pampanga. I can't see them staying long in Manila before getting booted out for non-payment of rent/electricity/water/etc. It's a concept they don't understand. As for productive...  |
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We are pleased to report that the Battle of Tondo Towers is at last over, with re-occupation taking place in an atmosphere (very nearly) reminiscent of the Liberation of Paris, early last Sunday afternoon. Thanks all for the good wishes.
Aaaannnd rest.
Now I really must get on with this cooling system overhaul.
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Smiler
Posted a lot
I no longer own anything FWD! Or with less than 6 cylinders, or 2.5ltrs! :)
Posts: 2,492
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So what are you going to do with all that new-found space? |
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www.Auto-tat.co.uk'96 Range Rover P38 DSE (daily driver) '71 Reliant Scimitar SE5 GTE 3.0ltr Jag V6 Conversion '79 Reliant Scimitar SE6A 3.0ltr 24valve Omega Conversion '85 Escort Cabrio 2.0 Zetec - Sold '91 BMW 525i - Sold '82 Cortina 2.9i Ghia Cosworth - Sold '72 VW Campervan - Sold '65 LandRover 88" - Sold
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Excellent news!
Be warned that if the pump is not oem you need to keep a close eye on it.
I've been through three in 2 years.
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So what are you going to do with all that new-found space? I would love to say that I'm going to gut downstairs, fill it full of tools and buy that old Mk2 Escort that's been for sale for ever. However, three teeny problems arise; 1) it's unlikely we'd ever get a car down the street, 2) Madam seems to think a kitchen is important and 3) she also wants to re-open the shop that's on the front of the house, just where the door would go, so that's pretty much that. Instead, it will be our weekend cottage in the slums of Tondo where the term Gentrification means you've got glass in the holes in the wall. Excellent news! Be warned that if the pump is not oem you need to keep a close eye on it. I've been through three in 2 years. Cheers. I'd ordered OEM but the pump came in a Britpart box and has a pressed impeller. To be honest I think I'll just go with replacing all the hoses, clips and the stat for now and leave the rad and pump until they need doing. Can't be far off your impending move now? |
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Last Edit: Mar 4, 2015 21:11:32 GMT by georgeb
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for the wife and girls so he can do it next time!
and we're long gone by then!
