Job opportunity in the Philippines. I’ve seen copies of this poster all over Legazpi. It looks like people are paid to surf the Internet – clicking on links – to make it look like advertisers are getting their money’s worth. A bit of a scam, of course. The numbers in the poster don’t add up, though. It says that you earn 10 pesos per click. But it also says that you can earn up to 200 pesos per day. That would be only 20 clicks of the mouse, and I think you can do more than that in one day! I guess this won’t be my next career.

People find all kinds of niche ways to earn money in the Philippines. One of the common ways I’ve come across is for people to give me “help” that I haven’t asked for and then ask for a tip. I’ve become reluctant to stop at a store, because several people will jump up and pretend that they’ve helped me find a spot to put my bicycle. Then I feel like a cheapskate later if I don’t give them a tip. But I feel a bit like a fool if I do tip them because they didn’t really do anything for me. I can easily lock up my bicycle without help.

The heavy security in stores is also taking some getting used to. The armed guards at the entrances and exits give my suspicious pannier bag long and hard looks. I’m also required in most stores to leave my pannier bag at a desk. I’m nervous about doing that though because I have so many valuable things in my pannier bag and I can’t lock up every zipper. The weird thing is that the more armed security guards I see, the less secure I actually feel. They don’t make me feel safe at all. They make me feel less safe

Tags: clicks, job, Legazpi, pannier bag, Philippines Bike Trip 2013, scam