New email address

Hey folks. Long time since my last post. Mostly because the computers in the Philippines, even the fastest ones, are glacial compared to my little lightning box here in Korea. It was just too sluggish typing and waiting half a second before your letter came up on the screen. I'm not kiddin!

But I, (being the terrible traveler), have found another bad thing about the computers in the Philippines! Word to the wise: Don't use them unless you must, and if you must, be VERY careful.

I got home to my computer and got onto Yahoo which said, "Hello davoid133. You have 48 new emails." So I put in my password and it said, "Invalid password." I checked my password, my caps lock, tried to retrieve my password, EVERYTHING had been changed on my yahoo mail including my profile information!

So then I thought back to the last time I used a computer in the Phils. It was at my hotel in Manila. I won't mention the name of it but it's on Mabini Street and it rhymes with the Shmiviera Shmansion. I used their one and only computer in the coffee shop to check if there were any updates on my job situation back in Korea. Didn't find any news but I sent a couple emails to friends and family. Then I tried to log out. I logged out of Yahoo but didn't seem to log out of the little program they have at the hotel that measures your time on the computer. So trying to be on the safe side I went to the front desk and asked the girl there how to log out. She told me that it is automatic. You wait three minutes and you are automatically logged out. It had already been more than 3 minutes and nobody was at the computer so I foolishly trusted her and went on about my business.

So I guess what happened was her or one of the bellboys who was listening jumped on the computer and got into my yahoo mail by retrieving my lost password. Although you have to know date of birth and a postal code for that. I don't even know what postal code I used. But they're pretty clever some of these Filipino computer geeks. Wasn't the Phils. responsible for the I Love You virus?

So now I'll never know what those 48 emails contained. It was probably mostly congratulatory letters for winning the UK lottery or urgent messages from the desk of Mahmir Abdul Mahatma Coat etc. I've been getting a ton of spam lately. And NOT in my bulk folder. So on the bright side it was time to change email addresses. On the dim side, I can't check my address book and transfer all my email contacts to my new contact list.

SOOooo, what I need is for anyone who reads this and wants to keep in touch by email, recieve pics from the trip, offer me a job, etc. send ME an email at my new address. Well it's not really new, I just never use it: david.professordave@gmail.com

I shoulda known better really. Mabini street. I met two guys on the island of Camaguin who BOTH got ripped off by a money changer on Mabini street. They both described a lady at an official looking office behind some bars who dinged them. They're convinced it was the same woman. I mentioned this to my travel companion in Manila but HE got ripped off by a money changer too! 7000 pesos I think. That's about 175 bucks, which goes a long way in the Philippines. And HE described what sounded like the same woman. Very smooth.

I learned my lesson in Indonesia where EVERY money changer should be a dealer in Vegas. They're really good! But all you do is make sure you're the last person to count the money. That's all. More than once I've started counting the money, (even though they make sure they give you LOTS of small bills in like 4 different piles to make it less convenient to count), and the money changer has grabbed the money back and tried to re-count it for me. I just let them do it again and then count it myself. It's fun. Kinda like watching a magic trick a few times. But I STILL have never seen the trick to it. Then if you try to count it yourself a second time they usually just give you back the foreign currency and tell you to go to some other money changer and then act offended that you don't trust them. Even though money changers are more convenient and nearby, it actually saves time to go to a bank and change your money.

I got dinged by one guy in Indonesia before I knew all this. I walked a few blocks to a restaurant, checked what I had in my wallet, knew it was the wrong amount and walked back to the money changer. I just told him he had ripped me off and it would be in his best interest to make amends. So he gave me my money back. I was pretty lucky there. That probly doesn't happen too often.

So the travel tip of the day is "Mabini" probly means "steal money from foreigners" in Tagalog. Stay away from Mabini street if you can. But this is the bad stuff from the vacation. There was much more good stuff. I'll use a new post for that.