http://www.greenwindowsdormitel.com/davao/
Here is a nice hotel and dormitel (hostel) in Davao where beds will go for 188 pesos. Of course, they are hard to get at that price, and you must reserve far in advance. Otherwise, you can get one for around 250 pesos. If you click on the "rooms" tab, you can see the pics. They also have regular hotel rooms. It's fairly nice.
http://davaoetcetera.blogspot.com/2009/ ... t-inn.html
Here is a hotel i stayed at for about 500 pesos ($12). I had an air conditioned single with cable TV. Not particularly nice, but not bad. 800 pesos would have gotten me a pretty nice room at a more tourist class hotel. Not quite as nice as the 100Y hotel i stayed in Datong (somewhat near Beijing), but hotels are generally more expensive in China, running closer to 200Y for a decent place. The hotel had a cafe in front with wifi and lots of cute middle class tourists staying there. The prices are outdated.
I also had some very nice vegetarian meals in Puerto Princesa with main dishes running from 35-70 pesos. The meals were healthy and greaseless. Another person i ran into told me that he ate like a king for cheap in Baguio. Of course, the portions were not that big, so it would run me 75-140 pesos ($2-$3.50). Even in Thailand and China, meals would usually run similar in costs as portions are also small in thailand and China.
Another point i have is that although costs are higher in the PI, they are not that much higher than in China or Thailand. Outside of Manila or other tourist or upper class ghettos, costs in the PI are actually quite reasonable. One thing in particular that is a good deal is meat. You can often get a solid 4-6 oz of meat for 60-70 pesos in a restaurant in the smaller cities. This is quite difficult in the rest of Asia.
For example, tourist attractions are INSANELY expensive in China. It costs 150Y or $25 to see the Terracotta Warriors in Xian. I often saw attractions in the PI for $1-$3. In Shanghai, in the local food courts, a meal can run $4-$5. And quality wise it was not as good as the meal i had for 12Y in a restaurant in Gansu.
One other thing is that the PI is more like the US or a Latin country, very class divided. I can't emphasize enough how different places like the Fort (Bonifacio), Ortigas and places like that are from Ermita/Malate/Chinatown. It is like going to central Detroit and thinking how dumpy Michigan is. Most people in metro Detroit live in nice places like Birmingham or Troy and go out in Royal Oak. They never go downtown. It's the same in Manila.
Finally, of course the PI isn't for everyone. For example, some guys from America think that most Asian girls are ugly but find their minds change when they spend some time in Asia. It's because the Asian women in America aren't as attractive nor as widespread as they are in Asia. Some guys love NE asian women yet some think they are ugly. It is the same with PI women.
As far as unattractive PI women, i agree that finding attractive ones can sometimes be difficult, but they do exist. And the attractive ones are very attractive IMO. I was in the PI for nearly a month. It did take awhile to start seeing the attractive women.
The real big advantage with the PI is really the language and culture. Everyone speaks English and the culture is often very Americanized. This alone makes for a very big contrast with a place like Mainland China, where people who don't speak Mandarin are in a very different situation as compared to countries like the PI or Thailand where English is more prevalent
