CEBU, Philippines -- Denis is a purple-nosed ex-con with yellow teeth, asterisk eyes receded deep in their sockets and tattoos covering his arms and knuckles.
A Briton who spends three months a year in the Philippines, he drives a Jeep with no doors and can recommend the finest flophouses in Manila. When he said booking the ferry from Cebu City to Manila was a terrible mistake, I believed him.
"Hang onto your bags from the time you get onboard until you're out of the harbor," he said. "These Filipino thieves, they'll steal your bag, toss it overboard and then dive in after it. Did you prepay for your meals? Oh, God, I did that, and the food in the cafeteria is inedible, isn't it? I ended up going up to the first class restaurant and eating there."