Cold Showers and Other Missing Creature Comforts
In the Philippines, most homes don’t have hot water at the tap. Now one should consider that the average temperature is some where near 80F or warmer. There are some exceptions to that. In the mountains, the average temperature may be more than five degrees cooler, depending on where and 
the elevation.
You can buy and install a small water heater attached to you shower for around $150 to $300. To a large extent that depends on where you are located. Some places will install it for free. The cost of the unit is from P6000 to P12,000 in most places. The cost of installation is going to very. So far the only price I’ve obtained for installation was over priced. So I’m still getting use to cold showers.
You can get a full hot water tank but I don’t know where from. That is a rare thing here.
Here’s another one that you might have some trouble getting use too. You can’t flush toilet paper. In almost all cases, the plumbing is not built for it. The use of septic tanks is very common. I don’t know much about plumbing. I just know what the Filipino tell me. These little things take some getting use to and some people cant do it. I think most women would have a very hard time with some of these things.
Like baths, very few places have bath tubs. Usually only showers are available. Some people would love to have that! Sometimes people even wash in the ocean or under a hose.
You wont be able to obtain all your favorite products. Your favorite food, can be hard to find. I’ve found cheese hard to come by. Good cheese that is. I’m picky when it comes to cheese, I love cheese and I miss cheese. I can’t find low calorie fat free milk, at least not so far. I use to drink a lot of Nesquick, no sugar added. I can’t find that here. I have not been able to buy caffeine free coke any place! Many Westerners complain about the beef here though I have not even tried that. I can generally live without that but I tell you, a hamburger would be nice. I use to cook them on my George Foreman grill, oh yea, those are hard to find those here too. They do have them but usually under different brands.
Most beds here use foam rubber as a mattress. I bought a bed that is similar to American type beds but it is far less comfortable, probably wont last as long but the price is much less at around $400.
Own a hummer? It wont fit on many of the side streets. Its too wide to get it down the street. I wouldn’t have that problem where I am now. I rented one apartment though where I couldn’t have got it to the drive way. I couldn’t have got it very close at all! I have seen only one Hummer since I’ve been here, almost a year now.
Oh and air conditioning (aircon) is not common here. None of the small shops in the provinces have it. They will have aircon in the malls but in some malls they will be a lot warmer than you are use too. I sure was doing some major sweating when I first got here. Its not so bad now. We don’t use the term A/C here. If you use it with a Filipino, they wont understand.
Even the way Filipino refer to different types of plastic will be different than the American is use too. The way they pronounce margarine is different from the American pronunciation, adding to the language problem.
Take nothing for granted. Nearly everything is going to change. Some changes you will love, other changes you will not love so much. If you’re an old grump set in your ways, lacking of the adventurous spirit, you should consider living here rather than moving here. Not everyone is adventurous, not a bad thing, just the way some people are. It would be a bad thing for me to not be adventurous. I love learning and that’s just another form of learning. I am probably an old grump though. 
Once again, I am not trying to discourage anyone from a move to the Philippines. I’m trying to get you prepared. The disadvantages are not important if you stop to think about it. I had to re-evaluate after arriving here. I decided it was the place for me. I figured if all these millions of people can handle it, so can I.
Many of the things that seemed so strange to me, like the way people drive , are no longer an issue for me. The abnormal has become far more normal. I even tolerate higher temperatures better than I use too. You should visit during December or January so that the temperatures will likely be milder and give you a chance to get use to it. For me, the perfect solution was moving to the Philippines.
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Hey Rusty, I certainly remember those cold showers. The funny thing was that afer the initial shock of the cold water it really felt good. It is so hot there many times that it actually was refreshing. I must preface that by saying that was my attitude when renting an apartment where the house was hot inside. My stays at resorts or hotels were obviously spent taking hot showers which was nice too!
Can’t flush toilet paper? Never heard of that before. We flush toilet paper regularly, and have since we’ve lived here. Maybe the plumbing in Mindanao is better than the Visayas!
There were signs rules posted in some places I’ve been. Very common. If I build a place, I think I’ll address that too.
I often go walking late in the day for exercise and end up taking most of my showers at night and it is most unpleasant. LOL I try to ease into it though, not just jump straight in and it is not as bad as the cold showers in the states when our water heater went out. That was freaking miserable. LOL The water is warmer here and once I ease myself into it, its not too bad. By the end of a shower, like you say, it can even feel nice. Sometimes I hear Jessie gasp, she just jumps in full steam ahead and takes the shock.
I’m almost finished with the negatives and will return to some of the positives and ways to make things better too.
Hi Rusty – I’ve seen signs posted not to flush feminine napkins. I don’t remember the exact wording, but the way they word it, it sounds like they are talking about toilet paper. I wonder if those are the signs you saw? Sometimes it can pretty hard to understand Filipenglish.
Nope, I’m positive thats what they said. Jessie warned me about it too. I didn’t even notice the sign for a couple of weeks in the first apartment I was in. It was a nice place too.
I know you’re in a very upscale place now, but don’t think your prior places all were. Just another one of those interesting details that seem to vary place to place. Jessie’s family isn’t real poor, much higher standard of living than most Filipino.
I don’t know man. Its in the details so many times.
Something I thought was so matter of fact turns out not to be. I’m not going to test anything where I am. My landlord expects me to pay for ANYTHING that happens in the house. I need to move but the house is pretty nice. Will be hard to find a place this large. I hate renting.
Moving to that location up north you mentioned has been on my mind a lot. Jessie has been there for vacation. Looks like an awesome place.
Hi Rusty – Actually, I don’t live in an upscale area. I used to for about a year, but we didn’t like it there. Our neighborhood where we are now is very middle-of-the-road. All of the houses in this neighborhood are 30 to 50 years old. I would say that this neighborhood was upscale 25 years ago, but certainly not now.
Awww, I saw a message from Feyma about it, it must have been old. It was at the country club and a bit noisy she said because of the club house. Sounded like a very nice place other than the noise.
I think I’m in an uppity area of Bogo but I certainly wouldn’t call it upscale. The family that owns it is old money. I’m actually surrounded by churches, non of them Catholic. The Catholic church is close by too, can see the bell towers from our home.
Bogo has been zoned like that? All the BBQ joints are close, the churches are close (two areas of Bogo) and a lot more diversity in churches than most areas in the PI. Looks like lots of planning has gone into the layout of the city. Well it was a city, its a town again now but we still call it a city.
Hi Rusty – Yes,that was at our old place. It was about three and a half years since we lived there. We only lived there for a year and moved out because we simply did not like it there.
Rusty you can get a warmer shower at night, (Thats usually when the water is cooler) Just fill a dunker bucket and pour a kettle of hot water in it. You have to dunk that way but the water is warm. I have had them that way before but usually the time of day I take my showers the water is a little warmer.
LOL Tom, there is an awful lot of me, I’d be there a while doing it that way. I just bite the bullet. It’s not too bad if you ease into it. Its not like I’m taking a shower in Minnesota though.
They actually sell things that will heat that water in the bucket up pretty fast. I’ll just wait till I can get a water heater. The temps are not like what one would have to deal with even in Florida.
If we find a place in Baguio, eventually, now that would be different. When I had my monkey, I found it easier to take those cold showers which is amusing to me. I had to hold him close to my chest so he wouldn’t freak out. Which meant I had to just plunge in.
I usually just take a cold one but once in a while a warm shower feels nice. Dunking isn’t really any slower than a regular shower just takes some practice. I used to be able to shower with a two gallon bucket and have just enough left in the bottom to brush my teeth. I use bottled water for that now(brushing my teeth not showering) but it isn’t a bad skill to have in the Philippines.
Probably not a revelation, but like others probably found out, if you have long water lines exposed to the sun, by late evening you can get a couple of minutes worth of hot water before the cold blast hits. Worked for me in Butuan.
Also, had an ex-friend (short/long story) from Tupelo who lived in Bogo until late 07 (?). Name was John. You might know him.
Also, also…sorry, but I don’t know Danny Thomas from Tupelo. I guess I could look him up if you’de like.
Look and see if you can find him in the Phone book. He might not even be alive. I use to hunt with him and work with him too.
I don’t know John, I got here in Mid 08.
We don’t get he hot water here. We sometimes get some warm water but usually not. In one place I lived for a few weeks in Talisay the water would get so hot we could barely stay in the shower at times. It was very hot. We get warm water downstairs more than we do upstairs. Our water tower is enclosed in concrete, I think that contributes to the coolness.
Been lots of clouds and wind for the last month so it would be cold anyway.
Found a couple of Daniel L Thomas listed. No idea if either one is the same one you know.
I’m thinking on tinkering with a solar heat system here this spring to see if I can come up with something viable and efficient enough to bother with.
Of course cost would be a factor too, since material prices would be (much) different in Mindano.
Yeah…another jack of all trades….
I got used to cold showers, but hot water sure is nice. Asawa ko has become spoiled now anyway. LOL
Clouds and wind…sounds like you’re describing NE MS these days.
Off the subject, but on the language thing, I’ve started spending some time using Before You Know it on line. It’s free, but Tagalog only. Better than nothing, I suppose. You’de think after being involved with the Phillipines for as many years as I have, I could say more than “mahal kita” and “kamusta”.
I’m not much of a builder at all.
In the US it usually takes 10 to 15 years to recover the cost of adding solar. I had a home with old non-working solar and they needed to be removed. Causing leaks. Major job.
Jessie has been here 31 years and more use to cold showers to me but not use to them. Sometimes I hear her yell when she gets in them. LOL I ease into them but I’ll get a water heater. I just need to build up some savings. I’m going to need a few hundred though just to spend a few days out of the country as I’m on a tourist visa.
I would think that black water line exposed to the sun would be enough to get you some really hot water…we will try tinkering with this idea in Bohol later this year.
The black water line in the sun was my warm water in our Butuan aprtment. Timing it right in the evening got me a couple minutes of warm water.
The cost is the prohibitive thing here. But, I’m more or less going to tinker on the “poor man’s version”, if there is such a thing. I’ve got quite a few years and a lot of experience at turning junk into useful items. Maybe it will serve me one or 2 more times on coming up with something usable, semi-efficient, and not too expensive. Planning on using a pump, but I’ll figure the thing out later on.
As I recall, I blurted out some explitives a few times when the cold water hit me.
Bohol? Nice. We spent a little time there in ’06. Quite a bit different from Butuan and Gingoog.
Nice blog. I’m thinking about moving to the phils to retire and trying to decide the best place. I don’t care about the beach and prefer cooler weather. Thoughts? What about Davao, Bacolod and Tagatay?
I currently live in China so I’m familiar with expat life.
Thanks!
David
Hi David, Thanks!
Sorry so long to approve your message, I’ve been neglecting my blogs lately. I must do better.
I would take a look at Baguio and Valencia. They are two mountain cities with temps running about 5C cooler. Baguio is also know for wood carvings. I’d like to visit both and maybe live there but I’m probably going to stay in Bogo for the next several years.
Lots of people got to Bantayan Island and fall in love but its HOT there.