Daily food cost and tranportation in manila

[keith&jezyl 0]

For worried spouses i was wondering what kind of daily budget to plan a day for my wife for first food cost and possible transportation cost, while she is conducting her medical, and embassy interviews in manila. Forgot about the CFO class too! Is there a safe place she can use a phone to call for a ride or taxi at St Lukes since they dont allow phones, also is she allowed to wait there or at a close restaurant to meet with a possible ride after she is finished.

[Markieboy 104]

For worried spouses i was wondering what kind of daily budget to plan a day for my wife for first food cost and possible transportation cost, while she is conducting her medical, and embassy interviews in manila. Forgot about the CFO class too! Is there a safe place she can use a phone to call for a ride or taxi at St Lukes since they dont allow phones, also is she allowed to wait there or at a close restaurant to meet with a possible ride after she is finished.

The daily budget really depends on the person's tastes. The spectrum ranges from fast food to fine dining. Robinson's Place, a shopping mall, is about 2 blocks away from St Lukes Extension Clinic (SLEC). It really is walking distance...no need for a cab. In the food court, one can get a complete Filipino meal for ~P50-P60. Fast food places, like Jollibee and McDo, may run ~P100 for a meal.

There are pay phones everywhere inside Robinson's Place. Security guards help passengers load their bags/belongings. It is a very secured area. OTOH, you are allowed to wait until a specified time, if you like. But the downside to that is: no food or drinks are allowed inside SLEC.

I hope this helps you some.

[Markieboy 104]

Just to give you an idea how close Robinson's is...

[keith&jezyl 0]

Helps me out a lot, my wife is not a heavy eater but i thought her daily cost would cost me a lot more food wise. You have given me peace of mind. A friend suggest that i ask a moderator to put this in another area, so if any moderators out there fill free, i am doing good just to post lol.

[john & jean 37]

25.00 per day is more than enough!!!

[rsn 135]

moving from off-topic to Philippines

[Markieboy 104]

Helps me out a lot, my wife is not a heavy eater but i thought her daily cost would cost me a lot more food wise. You have given me peace of mind. A friend suggest that i ask a moderator to put this in another area, so if any moderators out there fill free, i am doing good just to post lol.

I'm glad it did! No, the food there is pretty cheap. Like john & jean mentioned, $25/day is more than enough! I'm assuming that is in dollars.

[Tahoma 2,291]

For goodness sakes...don't make your sweetheart eat some of her last meals in 'Pinas at Jollibee, Chow King, or McDo!!!

Keep in mind that she won't be back to 'Pinas for a long while. Now is the time for her to live it up a little. Budget enough so that she can go out to some good restaurants and eat some of her favorite Pinoy dishes.

And I hope your not going to make her walk around Manila in the hot sun, the pollution, and the traffic carrying three kilos of visa documents under her arm! Let the poor girl take taxis or hire a car and driver.

Don't forget shopping. She will have plenty of spare time to go shopping and Manila is a great place for it. She can pick up some things she needs before she leaves 'Pinas, as well as pasalubongs for those back at home. So, add that to her budget as well.

Better yet, add enough to her budget so she can take a friend or a family member with her to Manila. I'll bet she would enjoy the companionship.

[keith&jezyl 0]

I am on a shoestring budget, was just lucky enough not to need a sponsor for her.

They say walking is good for the soul and good exercise as long as she is safe,

she can treat 1or 2 of her ants toJollibee preferably after she completes each test.

Half the time when we eat she is always giving me her seconds as i am eating my thirds.

[Tahoma 2,291]

I am on a shoestring budget

Why didn't you say so in the first place.

To save money, your sweetie could complete the CFO seminar in the morning and go to her medical right afterward. This could save her a day. In two days, she could complete her medical and the CFO seminar too.

Another money-saving idea is to schedule her medical and her interview close together. Instead of the usual five to seven days between the medical and the interview, she could cut it down to two or three. All she needs to do is to notify St. Lukes during her medical. They will allow her to hand-carry her medical results and her passport to her interview.

Markieboy had a good suggestion too...eating at Robinsons. Chinook said it's nothing fancy, but pretty good grub and inexpensive too.

Also, PRISM, St. Lukes, and the Embassy are all within walking distance of one another.

Best wishes for a silky smooth visa journey.

[keith&jezyl 0]

Some real good ideas from Markieboy and Tahoma Unfortunetly her embassy date is on a tuesday and i am scared to change it, so she will come in a week ahead, also to make sure no problems like a friend on the forum had with septum test.

Already thought about her flying in early and doing first part of medical to avoid the crowds maby noonish. Then maby taking your idea and doing the CFO in the morning next day and finishing up with the medical, which will leave the rest of the week for her to relax at her auntsor eat some of that good Robinson mall cooking

Hopefully she will be well relaxed for her interview and can play it by ear weather to wait for visa to come in there or pick up in Dipolog.

[Tahoma 2,291]

It sounds like you already have a perfectly good plan.

If your wife is staying with her aunt, it's going to be easy on the budget because she won't have to pay for a hotel.

Taking a week or so to get everything completed will be less stressful too. She won't have to rush around town trying to get everything done at once.

I doubt if this will cost $25 per day unless she wants to treat the aunts to a nice meal.

[keith&jezyl 0]

thats the plan anyways for her to get er done in 2 days then relax

hopefuly no mistakes but time to correct them if any

[tallcoolone 102]

For goodness sakes...don't make your sweetheart eat some of her last meals in 'Pinas at Jollibee, Chow King, or McDo!!!

Keep in mind that she won't be back to 'Pinas for a long while. Now is the time for her to live it up a little. Budget enough so that she can go out to some good restaurants and eat some of her favorite Pinoy dishes.

She can eat at a Sari Sari store and enjoy homecook food for about 30 pesos per dish. Restaurants are too expensive and the food is prepared behind doors which means they can and will use cheap and old ingredients.

The toro toro is the way to go, it fresh food.

Jollibee and chowking suxs

[Tahoma 2,291]

Jollibee and chowking suxs

As a public service and in the interest of full disclosure: TCO and his wife met in a Jollibee.