*A series of potentially stupid mistakes*

Yesterday, I was at the Manila Airport, it was noon, I was leaving for Japan in 2 hours.  First mistake, I hadn’t notified my bank or credit cards that I was going to Japan.

I had to pay immigration fees because I didn’t extend my Philippines Visa a couple of times.   The cost was P6,820 ($148), and I had about P1,700 ($37) in my pocket.  So I went looking for an ATM.  I tried a couple with no luck, and I started getting very paranoid that I wouldn’t be able to get my money.   The 2nd one that I tried didn’t even accept a withdrawal of more than 5,000, so on the 3rd ATM I was trying to play it “safe” and I only withdrew 6,000 ($130) successfully (second mistake, I should’ve withdrawn the maximum P10,000 ($217)).

Then I’m walking back to pay the immigration bill, and I think “hey, I should withdraw some extra cash just in case I have ATM troubles in Japan”.  Then I think “Nah, I don’t want my bank to give me trouble because I withdrew a strange amount and then immediately withdrew another P10,000.”  Third mistake.

After getting a snack before the flight, I arrived in Osaka at 7pm with P720.  I converted that at the currency exchange for ¥1,021 ($11.50).

Then I went to the ATM and tried to withdraw more money.  On all 3 ATM machines.  So now I’m freaking out a little.  Only ¥1,021 in my pocket, not enough for a hotel, barely enough for a train ride.

I whipped out the laptop and got online at the airport.  I tried logging into my online banking, but nope, the card has been locked out. Getting worried now.  I only have one other credit card, and a MasterCard at that.

I picked up a brochure on budget hostels at the tourist desk, and recognized some of the hotels from my online research.  So I decided to go to one of the ones that accepted a credit card.  The hotels were all located in Shin-Imamyia, in the middle of Osaka.

So, I went to get a train ticket for ¥890 ($10).  Fourth mistake.

In retrospect, I should have gone to a hotel at the airport and determined if they actually accepted my credit card!

So now I’m on a train for a good 45 minutes, freaking out, with only ¥131 ($1.50) to my name.

I get off at Shin-Imamiya station around 8:30pm, and find my way towards the budget hotels.  I stopped in a random hotel first, and asked if they can take my MasterCard.  ”Yes, but you need ¥1000 security deposit, cash only.”  *UH OH*

So I leave that hotel and continue to the destination, and finally wind up at Hotel Toyo.  Fortunately for me, they accept the credit card, and used the old-fashioned slider to record the transaction.  With my luck, it might’ve been rejected if it was processed electronically.

I ended up in a japanese style room with wifi access.  I was beat, so I went to sleep, ready to contact my bank and credit card companies in the morning.  Woke up at 7:30AM and contacted them and let them know I was in Japan.  Finally, my stupid mistakes are erased, right?

But first, I had to actually withdraw the money from an ATM.  I tried 4 ATMs near the hotel without any luck.  On the 4th ATM.  I accidentally dropped my ¥100 coin and it rolled under a machine, and I wasn’t able to fetch it out.  I had enough money for a box of crackers or something filling, and it was gone. *GULP*

So I went back to the hotel and asked, and found out about a post office ATM that was 15 minutes walking away. I headed there, and tried the ATM there, as well as 4-5 others in the area.  Even one that clearly showed a Plus sign did not read my card!  I walked back to the hotel.  I started thinking I might need to go into a bank and ask them for help directly.

I took a break, got on the internet, and found out that the Post office is supposed to be the best place for “International Cards”.  So I headed there again.  Tried the bank card again.  Nope.  Tried the VISA card.  Finally, money in my pocket at 2PM.  Imminent hobo adventure averted.  *WHEW*

This applies when you are planning on flying into the Philippines without a visa. You automatically get a 21 day visa waiver, and you can extend it every 2 months up to 16 months. At which point you can restart the process by flying out and back.

Anyways, in order to fly into the Philippines, you need a return ticket or an onward ticket. Let’s assume we don’t know when we’re flying back, if ever, so we need a throw-away onward ticket to get into the country.

Just buy the cheapest ticket you can find. I found one for about $25 on airasia.com from Clark, Philippines to Kota Kinabalu, Indonesia.

Now the next question you should be asking is “What date do I buy it for?”. Well, there’s mostly contradictory information on the forums. Some people mistakenly believe that you need to have an onward ticket that flies out 21 days later. This is WRONG.

For flying on Cebupacific Air to the Philippines, they only require an onward ticket that can be up to a YEAR in the future! I am absolutely confident the other airlines accept onward tickets a year into the future.

So buy one $25 throw-away ticket, and keep it with you for a year. This saves you money because you can fly out to visit other countries and fly back without the extra expense of multiple-throw away tickets.

Note: Make sure to PRINT OUT THE TICKET. You need to show it when you check-in.

Ever seen a non-western bathroom? Many if not most places in the world use a hole in the floor. It requires squatting, and you have to bunch up your pants around your knees to prevent it from touching the floor or getting splattered. Tricky!

Example:

This picture shows a bathroom in a middle-class apartment in China.  The hose on the right is part of a detachable shower handle.   There is a folded chair on the left that can be used to sit instead of squatting.