mastrmindalliance

Yes, there is definitely something going on in there so will stick em a locked suitcase for now. Hehe, yeah, i was quite surprised the only time i locked myself out of a safe that the _cleaner_ had a master swipe card. But I'm not in the Phils yet. Just Singapore - where they are almost as big a nation of rule makers as we are. Difference between Aus and SG is that Aus rules just makes everyone a criminal while in SG they seem to abide. I think you get a million dollar fine for theft here, or your thieving hand cut off or something

Electronic with key code. The one here has had the branding removed, so thats no help for googling. It's possible the phone thing is more to do with the phone functions but the toothbrush is good for 10 days with twice a day brushing on full charge. Dead overnight in the safe. This has been tested a few times at different locations. Oh, if anyone's wondering about the toothbrush in the safe. The old chesnut of "everything got stolen except for the toothbrush and camera" has me paranoid hehe.

Hi, I haven't noticed any problems with watches so far but I've noticed some strange things with hotel safes and devices. They quickly flatten my rechargable electronic toothbrush battery and instantly hard power off my iPhone. Contrarily, they dont flatten the battery in my travel laptop or turn my blackberry off... This has got me wondering if they are bad for watches? Does anyone know the workings of these things? Any magnetism involved?

Hehe^. But I don't agree with this at all. I mean, sure it's fast money for the dealers, but with the quality of reps i always feel like they're doing me a favour. They dangle the carrot, sure. But I'm always hungry for carrot.

As much as i love the DSSD (cartel version) it dpesn't belong on your list. Besides those already mentioned, especially the new pams, I'll add the ploprof V2.

Ok, here's my current list based on the reps i own/have owned: • Ploprof V2 (the most accurate rep i own, without doubt) • Soh V2 • Pam 288k • Pam 005k • Pam 318 • pam 26k • Tag calibre 1 • Omega Speedy date (mostly overlooked but super accurate) • FM King Conquistador • IWC Slevin (own the gen not the rep, but have met a couple reps - very hard to tell its rep - even for a gen owner). I love the DSSD - it's probably my favourite rep of all time - but i dont think it belongs on a list of best reps, sadly.

Im (pretty much) guessing it's rep for the AR. Please don't post a better pic

I'm a bit over the black watches but had to have one of these:

Oh the 26k is just horrible. I'm sure you will hate it

This one caught my eye at Josh's too. I love the gradient dial, really cool. I don't really care that it's a fantasy (or at least - way off) but, like the Cal1 the super thick bezel kills it I like the v2 gen.

Haha! Thanks once again, great info! Advice taken, Here's the Jollibee mascot.

Wow! A great response. Thanks so much guys. Or rather, maraming salamat! @ hike. Sorry, perhaps the 'the belly' is an an Australianism (bali-belly, dehli-belly). I meant picking up the old poo and spew. Wondering how careful I have to be? For example, in Indonesia, i have to be very careful, but Malaysia I can eat anything i like. Have you ever picked up a stomach bug while there? Good tip about the crocodiles, I guess i can scratch Croc jerky off the pasalubong list. Anyone have have any tips for good pasalubong (gifts from your home country)? unfortunately I will be gone by the time you arrive. Will be home by 1st may. Such a pity as I'm sure being there for the Paccy fight on the 7th would be awesome! I'm in Singapore a lot so it's very easy to return to PI and will chase you all down next time, hopefully for a get together @ pareng mixmeister, Thanks for the tips! Something I've learnt since this joining this scene is to just buy from our dealers. I've only ever really gotten a price much cheaper once. Other than that I've discovered you're likely to save only $30-50 max - often just the shipping fee - on the high end reps when travelling (and the dealer quality reps are actually everywhere) but you forego any recourse. Once you walk away with your new purchase that's it. If it dies the next day too bad. I enjoy the markets and haggling, but save that only for the occasional street fakes (referred to around here as canal street reps). Though I always grab a couple for mates and for a giggle. So a couple of specific questions... - Stomach virus - should i be super careful or just normal travel careful? - tipping - do i tip in PI? if so, what's the norm? - What are the important local customs i should be aware of? - Any really great Pasalubong ideas? - I'm there partially for holy week. Do i have to be diplomatic about questions of my religion like other countries in the region (i go by agnostic ie - not religious at all hehe)? - Surfing - I'm aware there is some surf up in the north east. At this stage though I'm not planning on taking boards. Should i revise this? Are there some surfing treasures? Thanks for all the info, really great stuff! Any other offbeat stuff i should be checking out? - Like say - go dancing with the Jolibee mascot and upload a vid to youtube?

Bumping this up so peeps in other timezones can tell me their stories

Product testing with all those saucy Pinays? thanks for the info so far guys. Very much appreciated

Salamat po Dave! Interesting stuff! Oh yes, balut is on the menu. I'm told the locals will enjoy seeing me indulge. Being Australian, naturally I'm taking Vegemite with me, so will make them eat that stuff as return favour (because it's bloody awful). Hah! We're staying at the Edsa Shangri La too. Any good?

Hehe, no hookers for me, I'm going with the GF. I've heard to be very careful with flashy possessions, especially around Shabu (meth) infected areas. How careful exactly should I be in Manila do you think? Would a monster on steel be too eye catching? I'm guessing I leave the prada shades at home this time and I've also been told to keep my mobile phone hidden in Manila. I definitely want to check out Dampa and at some stage eat Lechon - if Bourdain reckons it's his fave pork in the world - it's a must. (Adobo btw is one of my favourite meals). Oh, here's a specific question, is a foreigner likely to pick up 'the belly' from food over there like, say, indo? This is a question I can't seem to get a definitive answer from friends who've been... I'm in Manila, then Laguna then Palawan. Taking any and all tips, and interested in all stories!

So I'm finally getting to the Philippines in a couple weeks. This trip got put on hold from Christmas for GF reasons, but anyway, I'm excited. Have travelled the region a lot but never been to PI. TBH, I haven't been this excited about a destination since the first time I went to Japan. Watches..? Not so much. Having travelled Asia extensively and haggled at street markets I know for the few dollars more you're better off buying from our dealers (recourse) although I will prolly picky up a couple of street fakes. I always do. Though if you have a great watch story I'm definitely interested to hear it! I'll probably just take a single, cheap, waterproof, non eye catching gen with me - seiko monster or maybe even IWC slevin. I'd like to hear about your favourite part of your Philippines trip. The best thing you did, saw or otherwise experienced. or maybe even the worst, or something out of left-field. Maybe you went there for hols, or business, or maybe you're a local, doesn't matter, long or short trip doesn't matter Please share your favourite Philippines story with me/us.

I prefer Lombok for the waves.

Why not turn it to your advantage? Ask them if like more quality shots of their range. Of course you will need access to the non-returnable samples and in return you'll hand over the rights to the hi-res images. You may have to negotiate terms but i assure you, this is a very common arrangement.

If you were in Australia you could send them an invoice. Here copyright is automatic and implied, unless otherwise specified, simply by being the creator of the work. Not that they'd likely pay for it anyway.

Yes, you need a new console for live. Only the console is banned, not the user. You can now upgrade the FW mod on your old one for the new disc type and other mod bonuses

While we're talking about 'modern rolex designs', size does have everything to do with it (size being fundamental to the design). It's not going out on a limb to say as we've seen the average watch size grow to about 42mm. I've got to assume that, like my preference, this reflects the preference of the watch buying market. In the last few years we've seen watches trending toward huge - 45-50. That's since pulled back in to a reasonable average minimum at about 42mm. So after the trend whoring, we're left with a new norm - something more modern. Watch building and selling is still firmly planted in personal preference - which is essentially what we're talking about here. Because the majority personal preference has changed so has watch design (this is simply the basics of demand and supply). The size increase was necessity for companies in the business of selling watches - and I'm sure that's is exactly why rolex modernised. Why else would they do it? Certainly they wouldn't risk their bread butter just for kicks? I couldn't see them continuing to sell in droves watches that wear much smaller than the modern norm. All the big names, are bigger in design now. My point is simply about personal preference, and while the norm has changed... there will always be choices for preferences either side of norm.

With the exception of the Yacht Master (which is hideous), I disagree with just about all of this. It's just modernising the design. IMO Rolex were way behind the times. They still are really, as they only really took a baby step with these increased sizes. Which isn't surprising given that the originals are considered design classics. For example I'd rather wear my seiko monster than my gen moonwatch nowadays, Sure it's only 1mm difference but because of the design it wears much larger. Same goes for the new submariner. I know many will disagree based on the design icon thing. But, that the new sub wears bigger than than the old one is the only reason I would consider wearing one. I know this will be unpopular with traditional Rolex fans, but i bet many others my age (GenX) think the same. I also think that the old bracelet and clasp suck because it feels flimsy and clunky regardless of how reliable it was. The new one feels silky, tough, modern and looks much better. I also think the ceramic insert is huge improvement in terms of looks and durability - finally rolex makes a 'tool' watch that wont ding or scratch with minor use. For my mind, on average, the new designs are way better, but I'm just a guy who likes non-vintage watches and not a traditional rolex fan. Once they start ARing the crystals they will be on the right path.

I agree about the yacht master. Absolutely horrible. Wouldn't wear it if I won it.

This is the pimply faced kid scenario. The description is not literal.