Random: fishing in the Philippines? Hard travel case for AT Pro?

Our house over there is close to the Lobac River Cruse which are lots of fun and lots of good food. They are adding some new speed boat to travel between the islands here is a link to them.https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/...O9TD61kSwE7QfDwOROOkTfRjydf44KxH_21t-KPIfg4vI

I love those big cats, so fast and smooth in big ocean chop. Those are the same kind you take from Hong Kong to Macau and back. Love that trip and have been lucky enough to do that every time I've visited HK. Airfare to HK from Cebu is cheap. Too bad the Chinese communists are ruining things there, it is absolutely my favorite city to visit, just spectacular.

Thinking of the Lobac river cruise, we caught our boat not far from an ols Spanish church that was built in 1545 or something.....sad it got damaged in the quake there but I'm thinking maybe some of them Spainards dropped some silver coins around.....?????
 
River cruse on Bohol and old church

I love those big cats, so fast and smooth in big ocean chop. Those are the same kind you take from Hong Kong to Macau and back. Love that trip and have been lucky enough to do that every time I've visited HK. Airfare to HK from Cebu is cheap. Too bad the Chinese communists are ruining things there, it is absolutely my favorite city to visit, just spectacular.

Thinking of the Lobac river cruise, we caught our boat not far from an ols Spanish church that was built in 1545 or something.....sad it got damaged in the quake there but I'm thinking maybe some of them Spainards dropped some silver coins around.....?????

Last trip for me was 2017 wife went back last year for her mom's 90th birthday , We have taken the Lobac river cruse several times last trip we had a lot of the extended family there so I think about 20 people including the helper . They had a guy on board doing a lot of Jimmy Buffet songs , the food was plentiful and good and every one had a good time. A lot of the churches were badly damaged over there in a big earth quake a few years back many are 300-400 years old. I think the one you are talking about that has a watch tower near it has been totally restored . You could probably get permission to hunt it with a small donation. There has to be about 100 years of burned and buried trash in the ground there. When I was detecting over there one of the young relatives became very interested in what I was doing. I ended up sending him a entry level detector to use. Since the coins are made of a variety of metals he will have to hunt in all metal mode anyway. He lives on a diffrent island so may be the only one with a detector in his area.
 
I took my AT Pro to Florida recently, broke it down and it fit in my regular suitcase (checked bag--larger than carry on). You should be fine with it in your suitcase.
My wife is Filipino from Cebu. I spent 7 years traveling to the Philippines to visit her before I married her. I've been all over from north to south. Before that I spent years traveling to Thailand.
One thing you really do not want to do is drive. Really, do not do this. Far too much risk. It is sooooooooo much more comfortable hiring a driver and it is cheap to do----a no-brainer. You will thank yourself for it after you get there and realize what driving there entails. Heed the warnings from other posters, they know of what they speak.
On Luzon a drive north from Manila to Bagio is a good visit as is the drive southeast from Manila to the Taal Volcano. Corregidor is a must see IMHO and I spent one trip visiting every WW2 monument on the Bataan peninsula. Went all the way down to the zero marker at the start of the Death March. One of the monuments on Bataan is a giant cross, Mt Samat National Monument you can take an elevator 54 stories up and view both sides of the peninsula.
Interesting history there, the fighting was so intense that no vegetation survived, everything blasted to bare rock.
I know nothing of fishing fresh or salt around Luzon. I know Manila bay is polluted badly and supposedly if you fall into the Pasig river in Manila your body will dissolve so be mindful of pollution when fishing.
We usually fly straight to Cebu nowadays and try to take a side trip somewhere every time we go. Last April we took our side trip to Surigao City on Mindanao and from there went to Siargao to see the Cloud 9 surfing spot and do some island hopping by pump boat. It was great!
I'm not sure but I think the best offshore fishing in the Philippines may be off of Mindanao. Very deep water, they do alot of tuna fishing there.
One of my go to websites for Philippine info is the "LivinginCebu" forums. Incredible amount of info there. Best of luck to you.

Edit to add: I almost forgot I got into metal detecting because my sister in law in Cebu asked us to send her a AT Pro. They are all hunting for a Japanese gold hoard over there. Yamashitas gold or something like that. So we bought one and sent it to her and then I bought one and became hooked.

I really appreciate your input. I really love to discuss this stuff, so thank you for your reply. That being said, I've had the same warning about every place I've visited: don't drive, trust me. Well I've driven in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Spain, and Germany. What I've learned is that if you are a smart, confident driver, you will be fine. If you are stuck on American driving rules and can't think outside the box, you might have some problems.

Driving yourself is such a rewarding feeling. Also, it allows you the flexibility of avoiding public transit and scheduling your day around other people's schedule. I am open to a driving "challenge" because I can recognize and adapt to the local driving ways. It makes my trips much more enjoyable and accessible.
 
Not your driving ability in question over there

I really appreciate your input. I really love to discuss this stuff, so thank you for your reply. That being said, I've had the same warning about every place I've visited: don't drive, trust me. Well I've driven in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Spain, and Germany. What I've learned is that if you are a smart, confident driver, you will be fine. If you are stuck on American driving rules and can't think outside the box, you might have some problems.

Driving yourself is such a rewarding feeling. Also, it allows you the flexibility of avoiding public transit and scheduling your day around other people's schedule. I am open to a driving "challenge" because I can recognize and adapt to the local driving ways. It makes my trips much more enjoyable and accessible.

It is the crazy local drivers over there scare the !!!! out of me , speaking just for my self, I would be terrified to drive over there, but I am a lot older , reflexes and eye site not as good as they once were. I would be just as scared if my wife drove over there, she scares me here. We usally just hire a guy and his transportation for the whole day. When we go shopping or to the beach or sight seeing , he waits . They can have a easy day making as much if not more that if they were competing to get a number of fares . When we stop along the way to eat we invite him to join us and pay for his meal they often know the best places to eat. Have also got some great tours that way and a extra hand to carry things on shopping trips. Found a small video of driving over there https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...D95B4460BCC8AFD9E458D95B4460BCC8A&FORM=WRVORC Hope you will post lots of pictures from your trip looking forward to hearing about your trip over there , sure it will be a fun adventure for you.
 
lots of travel

I really appreciate your input. I really love to discuss this stuff, so thank you for your reply. That being said, I've had the same warning about every place I've visited: don't drive, trust me. Well I've driven in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Spain, and Germany. What I've learned is that if you are a smart, confident driver, you will be fine. If you are stuck on American driving rules and can't think outside the box, you might have some problems.

Driving yourself is such a rewarding feeling. Also, it allows you the flexibility of avoiding public transit and scheduling your day around other people's schedule. I am open to a driving "challenge" because I can recognize and adapt to the local driving ways. It makes my trips much more enjoyable and accessible.

Sounds like you have already done a lot of traveling in your life, a lot more than I have , was it for work or military ?
 
I really appreciate your input. I really love to discuss this stuff, so thank you for your reply. That being said, I've had the same warning about every place I've visited: don't drive, trust me. Well I've driven in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Spain, and Germany. What I've learned is that if you are a smart, confident driver, you will be fine. If you are stuck on American driving rules and can't think outside the box, you might have some problems.

Driving yourself is such a rewarding feeling. Also, it allows you the flexibility of avoiding public transit and scheduling your day around other people's schedule. I am open to a driving "challenge" because I can recognize and adapt to the local driving ways. It makes my trips much more enjoyable and accessible.

We usually always hire a family member to drive us which gives back to the family if you know what I mean. And they are happy to do it. Me I am tired of driving and love to be driven around. I don't enjoy traffic at all. I do like driving with minimal or no traffic and I especially like riding motorcycles but even still I consider the risk too high in asia. I rented a motorcycle once in Pattaya Thailand and that was it.
You know I have a solution for the road ragers over here. Make them drive for three months in Bangkok or Manila and if they don't commit suicide they will be cured. :yes:
 
Driver in the Philippines

We usually always hire a family member to drive us which gives back to the family if you know what I mean. And they are happy to do it. Me I am tired of driving and love to be driven around. I don't enjoy traffic at all. I do like driving with minimal or no traffic and I especially like riding motorcycles but even still I consider the risk too high in asia. I rented a motorcycle once in Pattaya Thailand and that was it.
You know I have a solution for the road ragers over here. Make them drive for three months in Bangkok or Manila and if they don't commit suicide they will be cured. :yes:

We tend to do the same thing and he has a nice SUV , I think he is a cousin , to my wife . If he is busy we hire on of the neighbors that drive a jeepney. Another advantage to not driving over there is I get to see a lot more of the scenery .
 
Your Philippines trip

Looking forward to hearing about your trip to the Philippines , always a adventure . Hope you post some good pictures , of the places you travel over there you will find a month goes by way to fast , and you will hate to leave . Every time i go over i discover new places with so many islands you can never see it all.
 
Looking forward to hearing about your trip to the Philippines , always a adventure . Hope you post some good pictures , of the places you travel over there you will find a month goes by way to fast , and you will hate to leave . Every time i go over i discover new places with so many islands you can never see it all.



Me too !
 
I am sure many on here will enjoy hearing about your trip even though you didn't bring the detector. I imagine you will keep a eye out for potential places to detect for your next trip.You might even post some good tips for members that are planning on future trips there. Always good to have a fresh prospective of a country. I my self love the county and the people and look forward to the next trip. Each part of the country is a little diffrent yet similar in many ways. Hope you have a great trip and every thing goes smooth for you.
 
Hopefully Bagelbites will chime in soon and let us all know how his trip went , and what he thought of the area of the Philippines he was traveling. Wonder if he got any fishing in or spotted any good areas to detect next trip. Sure he had lots of interesting experiences while exploring their culture and country.
 
Hey all, thanks for the interest. The trip was great, but now I'm back to reality and working like crazy to get caught up.

I only went fishing once, in Anilao, Batangas. I had my ultra light travel rod, and swam it out to a little floating dock about 100 feet from shore. I tried spinners, jigs, and some top water lures, with no action. Then I put on a weighted fly and just lightly jigged it vertically, and caught about a half pound, brown and white fish. No idea what it was, but fun to catch.

I visited the Bantay bell tower in Vigan, which was built in the early 1500s by the Spanish. I noticed that right next door, about 100 feet from the tower, was a small patch of grass (about 200 ft by 100 ft) that was privately owned and only used for grazing a couple cows. If I had my detector, I would have tried to seek out the owner to strike a deal for me to detect the land.

I'm happy I chose to rent a car and drive myself. Outside of the major cities, driving was easy. The only real challenge was in Manila, where traffic is the worst I've experienced, and drivers are aggressive. Overall, renting the car saved me money and a ton of time, and I always find it more convenient to travel on my own time and not be subject to the schedule of others.

The food was amazing, and I put on 10lbs while there. I tried balut (Google it). The flavor is good, but the visual and texture are very offputting. I probably won't eat again. Also, one bite of the fruit durian was enough, it's absolutely horrible. Some highlights were pork sisig, kare kare, and the dessert halo halo. Hands down, my favorite was pork sinigang with lots of okra.

The people in the Philippines are very warm and friendly, and always willing to strike up a conversation, or to offer advice, or any kind of help. Great people.

Anyway, some pics attached of my Filipina love and I. I tried to upload a bunch more of the food and sights, but most failed to upload. I think the size is too large, and I'm too lazy to go through and resize them right now. I'm already planning my trip next year, and I will bring the detector and try to get more fishing in. Thanks for reading!
 

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Hey all, thanks for the interest. The trip was great, but now I'm back to reality and working like crazy to get caught up.

I only went fishing once, in Anilao, Batangas. I had my ultra light travel rod, and swam it out to a little floating dock about 100 feet from shore. I tried spinners, jigs, and some top water lures, with no action. Then I put on a weighted fly and just lightly jigged it vertically, and caught about a half pound, brown and white fish. No idea what it was, but fun to catch.

I visited the Bantay bell tower in Vigan, which was built in the early 1500s by the Spanish. I noticed that right next door, about 100 feet from the tower, was a small patch of grass (about 200 ft by 100 ft) that was privately owned and only used for grazing a couple cows. If I had my detector, I would have tried to seek out the owner to strike a deal for me to detect the land.

I'm happy I chose to rent a car and drive myself. Outside of the major cities, driving was easy. The only real challenge was in Manila, where traffic is the worst I've experienced, and drivers are aggressive. Overall, renting the car saved me money and a ton of time, and I always find it more convenient to travel on my own time and not be subject to the schedule of others.

The food was amazing, and I put on 10lbs while there. I tried balut (Google it). The flavor is good, but the visual and texture are very offputting. I probably won't eat again. Also, one bite of the fruit durian was enough, it's absolutely horrible. Some highlights were pork sisig, kare kare, and the dessert halo halo. Hands down, my favorite was pork sinigang with lots of okra.

The people in the Philippines are very warm and friendly, and always willing to strike up a conversation, or to offer advice, or any kind of help. Great people.

Anyway, some pics attached of my Filipina love and I. I tried to upload a bunch more of the food and sights, but most failed to upload. I think the size is too large, and I'm too lazy to go through and resize them right now. I'm already planning my trip next year, and I will bring the detector and try to get more fishing in. Thanks for reading!

Congrats on your neat adventure and your pretty girlfriend, and glad your trip went so well !

……..but after gaining 10 pounds maybe ask your girlfriend to try to cook you lower calorie Philippine foods next time :lol:
 
Glad to hear the trip went well

Hey all, thanks for the interest. The trip was great, but now I'm back to reality and working like crazy to get caught up.

I only went fishing once, in Anilao, Batangas. I had my ultra light travel rod, and swam it out to a little floating dock about 100 feet from shore. I tried spinners, jigs, and some top water lures, with no action. Then I put on a weighted fly and just lightly jigged it vertically, and caught about a half pound, brown and white fish. No idea what it was, but fun to catch.

I visited the Bantay bell tower in Vigan, which was built in the early 1500s by the Spanish. I noticed that right next door, about 100 feet from the tower, was a small patch of grass (about 200 ft by 100 ft) that was privately owned and only used for grazing a couple cows. If I had my detector, I would have tried to seek out the owner to strike a deal for me to detect the land.

I'm happy I chose to rent a car and drive myself. Outside of the major cities, driving was easy. The only real challenge was in Manila, where traffic is the worst I've experienced, and drivers are aggressive. Overall, renting the car saved me money and a ton of time, and I always find it more convenient to travel on my own time and not be subject to the schedule of others.

The food was amazing, and I put on 10lbs while there. I tried balut (Google it). The flavor is good, but the visual and texture are very offputting. I probably won't eat again. Also, one bite of the fruit durian was enough, it's absolutely horrible. Some highlights were pork sisig, kare kare, and the dessert halo halo. Hands down, my favorite was pork sinigang with lots of okra.

The people in the Philippines are very warm and friendly, and always willing to strike up a conversation, or to offer advice, or any kind of help. Great people.

Anyway, some pics attached of my Filipina love and I. I tried to upload a bunch more of the food and sights, but most failed to upload. I think the size is too large, and I'm too lazy to go through and resize them right now. I'm already planning my trip next year, and I will bring the detector and try to get more fishing in. Thanks for reading!
Seeing those really old bell towers and watch towers as well as churches make you really wonder what is hid away waiting for some one with a detector to come along. Looks like you already found real treasure there with out your detector this trip. It is hard not to fall in love with the country and people.
 
halo halo

Great write up and pictures thanks for sharing your adventures . A very pretty girl too !
I'm a big fan of halo halo myself .
You should be able to find the ice cream halo halo at many Asian grocery stores here , it is very good. He should also be able to find a number of items he enjoyed there in the frozen section of Asian Grocery stores. Many have a section just for Philippines foods. Better also invest in a good ricecooker because he will be having some with almost all future meals.
 
I imagine with a contribution to the church you can get permission to detect around the bell tower which was used for a watch tower before that. You might offer the private land owner either some cash , or a large bag of rice to detect his property. Don't be suprised if it is thick with trash thought. They tend to burn or bury their trash in a lot of rural areas where there is no trash pick up.
 
Bagelbites dude glad you made it back ok and had a good time. Your filiapina is gorgeous.
Hope your luck will continue to hold out if you pursue driving there. With a driver, you tell him where you want to go and when you want to so I am not sure how you can claim to derive benefit from driving yourself in a high risk situation but your gonna do what your gonna do. Anyways thanks for the report and the photos, excellent.
 
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