Safety Tips in Angeles City

have just returned from a 20 day first trip to the phillipines,all i can say is that absolutely nothing is safe here,armed guards at hotels,shopping malls,even mcdonalds and i dont mean just hand guns plenty of ak47s and pump action shotguns,manilla was the worst of the lot,angeles is a dusty,run down town that caters only to foreighn sex tourists,but even they are not safe,the corrupt police will set foreighners up in all sorts of scams from planting drugs to falsely accusing tourists of rape,all this so that the police can scare tourists into parting with very large sums of money in bribes to make the problem go away (trust me i paid and so did others i met) the police here will even take you to the atm in order to get payment!! dont pay and your looking at jail!! ask yourself why would you chance this,just stay away from angeles and the philippines as i will be doing from now on.

Kapampangans, like most Filipinos are very friendly and keeps a happy disposition in their lives, which is also obvious in their daily business and occupation. With a readiness to help and assist, any foreigner (local or foreign) usually gets the help requested. Filipinos are seldom confrontational and abrasive unless provoked, usually turning away or keeping silent in any sign of argument. Also, Filipinos especially in Angeles City, wouldn't pass an opportunity for a chat and tend to be overly helpful at times.

Seeing this happen daily, here are my tips for those new in Angeles City or in the Philippines:
1. Always be polite and smile genuinely. Be nice (even when you're frustrated). Best efforts to help are done for foreigners who are always nice.
2. Don't assume everyone is in the entertainment industry.
3. Most women are still traditional and takes offense for any sign of disrespect. Be careful with the words you use when talking to anyone. An innocent word can be interpreted offensively.
4. Don't complain loudly if you're not getting the service you usually get from highly urbanized cities in the world. Hey, we're not perfectly happy with some local issues ourselves!
5. Don't criticize the Philippines' third world state. It forms part of our charm and brings out our real human spirit.

Many of the things one has to do in Angeles City is not on any manual or posted in signboards. Always ask around, and ask properly. When you find that a seemingly common destination is unknown to locals, ask instead about landmarks nearest to your destination.

Ask locals, stores, hotel staff of things you can see or do, and you'll always find something interesting. Hey, Angeles City/Clark is not only about bars and nightlife!

Oh and yes, a souvenir shop or a museum may not be known to a local despite having passed it hundreds of times.

With the alarming high number of prstitutes living and operating in Angeles City it is not the kind of tourist destination I would recommend for families, especially those with young kids, even me, a seasoned traveller whom have been to many rough parts of the world and seen all kinds of things must admit that on ocassions I have felt fearful walking down some of the streets at night, There are thousands of them(prostitues) lining the streets looking for business and keeping an ever watchful eye on them are the pimps, even if you are a single male visiting Angeles City and feel tempted to "treat yourself to a hooker", be warned, it could be the death of you as most of them are rife with all types of sexual diseases(some fatal and incurable). Surely it's not worth the risk, surely your life is worth more than a few hours of fun.

Despite the number of bars that sprung up and the numerous of working bar girls in these night spots, Kapampangans (Pampanga locals) are defensive and protective of their women. Foreign nationals are warned against making any display of physical abuse, or making deregatory remarks about women or the local way of living.

We don't know where this girl comes from. We were having fun taking pictures around and she just jumped in.

Look.. prostitution in Angeles City is pretty common. Most of the girls who works here are from all over Philipines and they are from really poor background. So they are willing to trade their body for cash. Unless you are really interested, I think its a warning/danger to look out for.

The beggars here comes in all forms. A young girl with a baby, kids, elderly folks and even handicap people. There are so many of them that until one point of time, you just ignore them and you sympathy just runs dry....

Before going to Philippines I got warned by travel agency, national travel warnings and so on.
Once I arrived in Angeles city I started wondering why there were not so many people around and when I asked to some locals I got answered that secret services were expecting a bomb attack in the town or in the airport.
Going around the town and in the airport you could actually feel the anxiety, it was really full of police and army, some street closed to traffic for the fear of a car bomb and in the airport, really maniac controls, never had so many, not even in Middle east.
So, with all these policemen, army and controls do you feel safer?
I do not, I only see more guns and weapons around me and that makes me feel everything but safe, just more nervous, I think that living in a weapon controlled place is not my thing, I feel like in jail even if they are supposed to be there to protect me.