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Originally Posted by masraum
That's great news that everyone is home and out of the hospital!
The "good" news is that the Internet seems to think that the normal hospital time after a C-section is "2-4 days". And considering the hospital there, maybe being at the short end is actually a blessing. It seems like the kind of place that you don't want to be any longer than you need to.
It's surprising the difference in food from first world countries to third world countries. Most of us probably never think about food quality even if we travel, but there are still places where you can't drink the water, so... I've never heard much about the PI other than stories from military guys which focused on different aspects than medical treatment and food. It looks like you're "in the city" so not a super rural location. I don't know, so I'm just curious, are there "rich neighborhoods" like there are in many/most big American cities? If there are places where the rich folks congregate away from the regular folks, would you be able to find better food there? Of course, you said that just being outside is unhealthy, so maybe getting food from farther from home brings a different set of risks that make it not worth the effort.
Good luck to you all. I hope in a short period you're all healthy and happy with this nightmare behind you.
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The Philippines is one of those places. Don't drink the tap water. I've got a friend in Oregon who married a Filipina about 10 years ago. He spent a week in bed crapping and puking his guts out after taking a shower and gettign water in his mouth.
They've spent more than five years trying to get her (not so young now) son to the US.
Yep, there are "rich" areas here in Manila. A section called BGC is about ans "rich" and developed as you'll get. There's even a Porsche dealership there. I haven't had the opportinuty to go yet.
We've tried some of the "rich" stores here like
Landers and
SnR (Costco kockoff that buys Kirkland brand stuff and resells them for
outrageous prices. But even the quality of thier foods is iffy. There's a delicatessen nearby called
Santis that specializes in import stuff and high quality. The quality seemed great. The prices were about 3x what we'd pay in the US. And they looked at me as if I'd lost my mind when I asked for a chuck or rump roast. It''s .59 miles from my surrent location, and took 30 minutes to drive there. You cannot walk due to the heat.
That said, directly arcross the street is another store. Since we were early, I actually managed to find what could pass as a roast. I think they claimed it to be a bottom round. Price? About $60.
We then went upstairs to
a home goods/electrical appliance store and I found a "cheap" $70 crock pot. It's cooking right now. But, the cut itself leaves a LOT to be desired. A ton of fat, a ton of connective tissue. Nothing like what we'd see at a bottom round at home.
I've been noting prices for a lot of things here. Like a can of clam chowder soup, about twice what we'd pay. Basically, everything here that you would buy -- unless it's ultra cheap garbage stuff -- is about twice what we'd pay in the US. The $30 small block of cheese. Real milk for $8 1/2 gallon (the milk here is UHT garbage -- disgusting and spoils within a day or two of opening) the four tomatoes for $5. Laundry detergent, shampoo, the M&M's I brought for her grandfather.
$16 at Costo, when I bought them. about
$30 here.
The $150 stock pot I bought in November to make spaghetti sauce... about $45 at home. And forget about a cast iron pan. I recall a Lodge being around $180 when I found one at a high end mall.
Everything here seems to be designed to cause maximim inconvenience. From simply grocery shopping and checkout, to travel, to getting the birth certificates. After taking the hospital certificates to get notarized and return them, they submited them to the local city hall, which were finally able to pick up on Friday. 6.2 miles away. The round trip took nearly 6 hours. The traffic....you ain't seen nothing like it.
Condo units with no hot water in the taps is a good example. I'm renting a unit at
Lumiere Residences for mom, her younger sister, and the baby. The kitchen consists of a two-burner hot plate, a micro-fridge, the smallest kitchen sink you've ever seen, and virtually no counter of cupboard space. 3 suqare feet of counter, maybe? No hot water in any tap except for the shower head. At least there's AC. And electricity, which they didn't have before. And a toilet and bathroom sink. And relatively stable internet access.
No storage space of any kind, like closets. Not even a medicine cabinet.
And this is a high-end place.
It's "cheap," at around twice what the average Filipino makes in a month, at 35,000php. Secure and safe, and they have a water dispenser room in the parking garage for filtered water. And a small convienience store as well.
One positive thing I can say is that the water and electrical bills are quite reasonable. And the drinking water jug refills are no charge.
There's actually a Porsche owner or two who live here. Haven't run into them yet.
Speaking of Filipino wages, I learned not long ago that workers like construction, electricians, plumbers, and other trades that are well paid in the US are some of the lowest paid workers here in the Phils.
It's an interesting place. About two hours ago there was a jeepney fire or something that I could see from the balcony, 1/4 mile away or so. I think the Jeepney drove away...
If you ever get the chance to come here, I highly recommend it. It's an eye opener.