I’m going to start this review with a disclaimer. Voodoo is one of the Dryden group of bars and I’m on friendly terms with the owner. I won’t intentionally let that dissuade me from giving my honest impressions of the bar, but I wanted to be upfront about that relationship. The owner is also the leader of the local business association and regularly interacts with city and barangay leadership on issues that impact the expat community. I don’t want to cause any trouble by inadvertently saying or showing things that may or may not comport with current restrictions and requirements. I tried to be discreet in my photography for that reason. With that said, here we go:

It is a very small bar, but not uncomfortable. People come here to enjoy the company of the dancers waitresses–no pool, no darts, just the ladies. Well, if you look closely at the photo above, there is a small curtained alcove in the back (you can see a young woman sitting there). I was told that it is a karaoke room. That sucks.

The bell ring is one of the traditions of the girly bar genre. A bell ring costs 2900 pesos ($60.) at Voodoo and all the girls working get a lady drink. It is a quick way to popularity. It’s not my thing, but I’ve seen some guys, usually tourists, go nuts with the bell rings–in some cases spending over a thousand bucks. That’s why the bars need the tourist trade, us expats tend to be cheap bastards.

So, here’s the deal. The girly bar format is really not my thing. Even when the girls could dance around on the stage, it just wasn’t much of an attraction for me. So take what I say with a grain of salt, some guys love this type of bar. The girls in these places tend to be more aggressive than in “normal” bars, although last night I wasn’t pestered much for lady drinks. One gal joined me at my table uninvited when I first sat down, but after I told the waitress “no” when she asked if I was going to buy a lady drink, I wasn’t asked again. The girl stayed at my table anyway, and I did eventually buy her a drink.

The attractiveness of the staff covered the spectrum, but no one stood out enough for me to be tempted. Service was fine. Beers were 90 pesos at Happy Hour and then are 110 pesos normally. The lady drink was 185 pesos. Prices tend to be a bit higher in girly bars for what I presume is the overhead expenses of employing so many women.

So, a cozy bar to sit and watch or chat with the women. I kind of liked the ambiance of feeling close to everyone surrounding me, almost like being at a party. If I were into the girly bar scene I might prefer a small bar like this one. And since I was the only guy in the place, I’m pretty sure I was the most handsome man around. I didn’t specifically ask about “take out”, but I’m pretty sure the girls are free to leave with a customer if they desire to do so. Bringing people together is what this bar format is all about.

The rankings:

1. It Doesn’t Matter
2. Alley Cats
3. Adam’s
4. Blue Butterfly
5. Out Back Billabong
6. Dynamite Dick’s
7. Palm Tree
8. Hideaway
9. Rosies
10. Rock Lobster
11. Queen Victoria
12. Voodoo
13. Annex
14. MacArthur’s
15. Redz Pub
16. Whiskey Girl

An unusual and interesting hike with the Friday group yesterday. For one thing, we had 17 hikers in attendance–that’s a record for our group. The other thing we did was rent one-way transport to Tibag, a trip that wound up taking about 45 minutes. Part of the problem was the road was in poor condition which made for slow going. We were also stopped at two different checkpoints along the way. Why they are still doing that at this stage (no new COVID cases in Zambales for weeks) is beyond me. They asked some questions of the Filipinos with us, checked some IDs, and eventually let us proceed to our destination. I’ve done some hiking in and around Tibag before and like the area, but this time we were going to walk from our drop-off point all the way to Subic town on a trail none of us had ever actually traveled. What could go wrong?

The road to Tibag ends at a newly opened landfill. The trail as we understood it started on the other side of the dump. We found a trail there and took it all the way up near the top of the mountain. And then the trail ended at a creek. Well, we ain’t much for backtracking and figured if we walked downstream we’d eventually find a trail, if not the trail. I hate hiking creekbeds, but at least this one didn’t have a bunch of large boulders to climb over. Water was flowing, but the rocks weren’t all that slippery. At first, we attempted to hop, skip, and jump over the water along the banks, but eventually, we gave up and just splashed our way downstream. After an hour or so of creek walking, we found ourselves back near where we had started. There were two paths to choose from and luckily a friendly farmer pointed us to the trail that led in the direction of Subic. Once on the proper trail, our march was almost pleasant, but it was still a long way to go and our detour had left us somewhat exhausted. But in the end, we reached our intended goal with no casualties.

Here are some photos from the adventure:

Although the hike didn’t go as planned, it was good to be out and seeing some new scenery. I rather enjoyed it. My day was far from over though, I still had a dart tournament to compete in.

After darts, I went to visit Pearl at her food stand. Had some sweet and sour chicken for dinner there. Pearl sat with me and we had a nice long chat. Interesting gal and nothing like I’m used to. I told her that I’d be taking things slowly with her, but I’m definitely ready to try one more time. It should be interesting.

I would have given you all of my heart
But there's someone who's torn it apart
And she's taken just all that I had
But if you want, I'll try to love again

Baby, I'll try to love again but I know

The first cut is the deepest
Baby, I know, the first cut is the deepest
When it come to being lucky, she's cursed
When it come to loving me, she's worst

Although I’m in Mango’s a couple of times a week, it’s been well over a year since I last visited Rock Lobster. Nothing wrong with the inside bar, I just prefer sitting beachside.

Actually, Marj knew me from the time she used to work at It Doesn’t Matter. My Biden-like brain didn’t really remember her though. She was also quite sweet and I enjoyed chatting with her. Only 20-years-old which surprised me. Smart and savvy, too. No kids and no intentions of ever being an unwed mother (that is something quite rare in this country). I teasingly asked if she wanted to come home with me on a barfine (paying the girl so she can leave work early) and she laughed and said no. She told me some girls do, but she is just here to waitress.

A nice and comfortable bar and a good place to hang out. Except the WiFi sucks. I do not understand how any hospitality business can not have good internet service this far into the twenty-first century. For some reason, even my data would not connect inside the bar (the WiFi in Mango’s beachside bar is also no good, but outdoors my data connects with no problem). Marj wanted to become FB friends but alas, we weren’t able to make a connection. Story of my life.

Otherwise, nothing bad to say about Rock Lobster. I still prefer beachside at Mango’s though.

1. It Doesn’t Matter
2. Alley Cats
3. Adam’s
4. Blue Butterfly
5. Out Back Billabong
6. Dynamite Dick’s
7. Palm Tree
8. Hideaway
9. Rosies
10. Rock Lobster
11. Queen Victoria
12. Annex
13. MacArthur’s
14. Redz Pub
15. Whiskey Girl

Something a little different for the Wednesday Walkers yesterday. Took a Jeepney out to the Kalaklan area of Olongapo, then climbed some stairs, well, lots of stairs, and wound up leaving the land of the living. Heh, all in a day’s hike. Let’s get to the photos:

I couldn’t stay long at Dick’s because I had a dart league match to attend.

After the match at our home bar, Lagoon, I stayed on in Baloy for a while. A couple of beers at Johan’s and dinner at Da’ Kudos. I went home early feeling no pain. I guess that’s gonna be the way of Wednesdays for the foreseeable future.

One of the Angeles Hashers posted a graphic from his fitness app showing that he has averaged over 5K daily for the past year. He said he doubted anyone could top that. I said hold my beer:

Still, maybe I need to get a life. Or a girlfriend.

I’m one of the Hare’s for tomorrow’s Hash, so I was out with Scott and Jim this morning, marking our trail with powder, paper, and chalk. Naturally, we had a rain shower this afternoon, so hopefully, there is still a trail to follow. Folks are going to be surprised, I think. Two challenging and steep climbs are in store for my fellow Hashers. What were us old farts thinking? I’ll post up some photos tomorrow.

After the work was done, we went to Sit-n-Bull for some lunch. All I can say is that we are never going to eat there again. In that location, I mean. They are closing up at Del Pilar street and moving up on the highway where the old Lollipop bar was located. The menu and current staff are moving too, so it will be more of the same, just in a better venue. Well, I actually liked the old place but owner Ron feels being on the main road across the street from two major hotels will be a boon for business. Looking forward to giving it a try in the new venue.

That’s my Sunday so far. I’m thinking I’ll do another bar visit this evening. It’s a good excuse to go out and drink some beers. I know my readers are looking forward to the next installment and I don’t want to let you down.

I’ll be back tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a little poem:

Now while my lips are living
   Their words must stay unsaid,
And will my soul remember
   To speak when I am dead?
Yet if my soul remembered
   You would not heed it, dear
For now you must not listen,
   And then you could not hear.

--Sara Teasdale

Yesterday was my first visit to this iteration of Annex. It was previously known as Sit-n-Bull Annex prior to being sold last year. I was a very infrequent visitor before the sale as well.

So, I stepped inside to see what there was to see. Not a lot as it turns out. The smallest bar I’ve reviewed thus far. No pool, no darts. A bar with several stools and two tables. That’s it. I took a seat midway on the empty bar.

So, first impressions of this new (to me) bar. It’s small but cozy. It was comfortable enough and offered up most of what I want in a bar, primarily cold beer and a pleasant atmosphere. During my visit, there were two bartenders. I assume they would accept a lady drink, but this is one of the few places in town where it doesn’t appear that staff is hired to entertain customers. Nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, I didn’t find the bartenders particularly friendly or welcoming. They took my order, served my beer, and ignored me while carrying on a conversation with each other in Tagalog. Maybe I’m spoiled, but most bar staff will at least ask you your name. I did note that when the other two customers departed, the girls thanked them by name. I guess I just haven’t achieved “regular” status so as to warrant time and attention.

I also thought it was interesting that smoking was allowed inside. Now, that doesn’t bother me but I know lots of folks who are very much opposed to secondhand smoke exposure. Hell, there are people who don’t like secondhand water vapor which is why I started gravitating to outside bars. Of course, I gave up vaping a month ago so it doesn’t matter to me now either way.

Anyway, nothing much else stands out about Annex. The bartenders were attractive but I felt invisible to them. It was a very small bar, but nicely decorated and comfortable. It would probably be better to come with a friend or two to keep you company though. The bottom line for me: I liked it okay but found no compelling reason to make it a regular stop, even though I pass by frequently on my way to other places.

The current rankings:

1. It Doesn’t Matter
2. Alley Cats
3. Adam’s
4. Blue Butterfly
5. Out Back Billabong
6. Dynamite Dick’s
7. Hideaway
8. Rosies
9. Queen Victoria
10. Annex
11. MacArthur’s
12. Redz Pub
13. Whiskey Girl

Don’t worry, we aren’t going far, seems like only yesterday. Oh wait, it was only yesterday. Let’s start at the end and go from there.

It was Wingsday so I had me some from the pub. Brought them home to eat as usual.

Prior to The Pub, I visited Adam’s Sports Bar for the first time in quite a while. My purpose in doing so was to knock out another bar review, but I wound up having a pretty good time while I was there. You can see my review in the post previous to this one.

My afternoon was spent at Alley Cats where I played dart league with my teammates from Lagoon. The ‘cats are a strong team, in fact, they were undefeated coming into yesterday’s match. I had very little expectation that we would actually win so my attitude was let’s just have a good time, chuck some darts, and drink some drinks. Speaking of drinks, I’m cutting back on beer in an effort to trim away some of my big ol’ belly. I’m drinking gin and soda instead because it’s lower in carbs and calories. It is also higher in alcohol, so I was buzzing more than usual. I was engaging in friendly banter with our opponents and I guess I pissed off their captain who admonished me to throw more and talk less. I guess (s)he (yeah, it was Billy) wasn’t happy that we were winning the match. When it was all said and done, Lagoon came out on top 8-5. I bought Billy a beer as a conciliatory gesture and (s)he accepted, so it’s all good.

Getting to the match on time proved to be more challenging than I expected. Well, when I heard the Wednesday Walkers were hiking to Tralala I knew it was going to be tough. In fact, I considered bailing out, but damn, I didn’t want to miss out on the annual trek to the mountaintop. It took us until 11:00 to reach the summit, darts started at 2:00, and we were a long way from Barretto. Jim graciously agreed to lead me back down and estimated we’d be off the mountain by noon. We left the rest of the group behind and I hoofed it as fast as these tired old legs of mine can move, but my actual arrival on the pavement in Barretto was 12:20 I immediately caught a trike for home which was on the opposite side of town. Hit the shower, changed clothes, and hoofed it back to Alley Cats with enough time to get some warm-up throws in.

And that leaves the hike to Tralala itself. The starting point is in the Gordon Heights part of Olongapo. We hired a van-like vehicle to take us there, a 30-minute ride. Then we did the long climb up to the top, consisting of seemingly endless steps, and then a winding upward path to the small village. We don’t do this hike very often because it’s challenging for us old folks, but I really enjoy the unique views and scenery along the way. Once a year is just about right. Surprisingly, this time the hike up didn’t totally kick my ass. Hard, but not exhausting like it was in the past. Felt good about that. I wish I didn’t have to be in such a rush to get back to Barretto.

Here are some photos from the hike:

As days go, this was a good one. Thanks for taking a step back in time to enjoy it with me.

I visited Adam’s several times when it had first opened. It always seemed blah to me somehow–nothing wrong but also no real reason to put it into my rotation. Last night was the first time I’d been back in several months and it really did have a whole new vibe going on. I actually enjoyed myself. Granted, I had been drinking all afternoon at dart league, but that doesn’t really matter since that kind of thing is what bars are for.

There were a dozen or so mostly attractive waitresses. Not pushy for drinks at all, which I always appreciate. One of the waitresses knew me from when she used to work at Queen Victoria, an event I had no recollection of. I bought her a drink anyway.

My waitress friend asked me if I played pool and I was just inebriated enough to claim that I did. And for some reason I let myself get sucked into playing doubles against two other bar girls. They just happened to be excellent pool players and promptly kicked our ass. After that shellacking, I felt obligated to buy the winners a drink.

So, I have to admit Adam’s turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I actually knew several expats in the bar and it was a pretty good time hanging out there. I’ll definitely be visiting more often in the future. Adam’s places higher in the rankings than I anticipated it would.

1. It Doesn’t Matter
2. Alley Cats
3. Adam’s
4. Blue Butterfly
5. Out Back Billabong
6. Dynamite Dick’s
7. Hideaway
8. Rosies
9. Queen Victoria
10. MacArthur’s
11. Redz Pub
12. Whiskey Girl

When I’m posting this early in the day it means there isn’t likely to be any other time to do so later. I don’t like being in that situation, but since joining the dart league my Wednesday afternoon is committed. My mornings belong to the Wednesday Walkers group. I’m really going to be in a crunch today because the Walkers are going to tackle the climb to Tralala. That’s the highest point on the Kalaklan ridge and it’s brutal. I’ve written about it here and here. It’s funny, in revisiting those posts I always claim “I’ll never do that again!”. And yet, here I am almost looking forward to the challenge. One of the reasons is enjoying views like this:

We’ll catch a ride out to Gordon Heights in Olongapo and begin our climb to the top from there. Assuming I survive that, we’ll march back along the ridgeline then down into Barretto. It’s around 12K all-in.

I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

A full plate yesterday as well.

Between lunch and dinner, I played some darts Alley Cats.

My friend, Bhel, finally had the surgery I had previously agreed to pay for. What was supposed to be a simple procedure, in and out with maybe an overnight stay in the hospital, has proven to be something else altogether. She spent six days hospitalized waiting for the surgery to be performed in what appears to me to be a fiasco of incompetence. It’s a “public” hospital and apparently, the care and well-being of patients is a low priority in such institutions. Not sure how much longer they will hold her post-surgery. It’s been a nightmare for her and I’m not sure what amount I’m going to be on the hook for, certainly much, much more than what I expected it was going to be paying.

Let’s just hope it goes better than my previous efforts at generosity have turned out.

I got a smile from this:

No rest for the weary–give this a watch (less than a minute long):

Alright, that’s enough for now. I’ll be back with a report on today’s hike, tomorrow.

*Billy, as you might have guessed, identifies as a male. But I see him/her as a biological female, and can’t seem to do the male pronouns. Not out of spite or any negative feelings about her sexual orientation. I guess I’m just old-fashioned. She’s never made an issue of it with me. I noticed the Filipinas do call her “kuya” (brother). Anyway, I consider Billy a friend that I respect and mean no offense by my choice of words.

Mostly because I ain’t done nothin’. But here goes anyway.

With a loyal readership comes the sense of obligation to actually post something here every day, even when there is nothing to say. Well, I did post the It Doesn’t Matter bar review earlier, but I don’t consider those to be a replacement for my usual daily dose of drivel. Heh, maybe I should. That’s the problem with Hash Monday. Nothing has happened yet today, and I didn’t do much yesterday, so that leads to shit posts like this.

After I left It Doesn’t Matter, I crossed the highway and went upstairs to Cheap Charlies. My usual crew was naturally happy to see me. And my wallet of course. But you know, I’m not gonna lie and say I don’t enjoy the attention. Especially from Alma. I’ve been knowing her pretty much since I started visiting this bar. She’s not the youngest or the most attractive woman at CC, but she does seem to genuinely like me. She’s in her early 30s and a little chubbier than I normally go for, but I still find her quite sexy in a “girl next door” kind of way. And when she rests her head on my shoulder while she is rubbing my back I can’t help but think this would be nice to come home to every night. Yeah, yeah, I know. But it’s a sweet fantasy anyway.

One interesting fact about Alma is that she is a Muslim. She doesn’t dress in the traditional manner, but she is true to the faith in other ways, like no pork and no alcohol. I semi-jokingly asked her last night if she were permitted to have a non-Muslim boyfriend and she insisted that would not be a problem. I had a friend who married a Muslim gal from Indonesia and he actually had to convert (or at least pretend he did) in order to make her his wife. Of course, I’m not a religious man and don’t abide by the tenants tenets of any faith, but I also wouldn’t convert from my agnostic lifestyle either, even for the sake of love.

That’s what I always circle back to–love is pretty to think about but the reality probably just isn’t worth it. It will take a pretty special woman to change my mind about that and she’s going to have find me–I ain’t looking. Much.

I had me some chicken fingers and wingers from the restaurant downstairs. Ordered the girls some pancit which they seemed to enjoy.

Another early night for me, home before 8:00. The 23-year-old asked me to send her a pic before I went to bed. This is what she got:

And that’s more than enough for now. Should have some Hash pictures to brighten your day tomorrow.

This is a relatively new bar in town, less than a year old. In its previous iteration it was named T-Rose and from what I’ve been told was a pretty raunchy girly bar. No more, this is a straight-up neighborhood pub-style place now. The two owners, an Aussie and a Yank, are long-term local expats and I’d say a majority of the customers are their personal friends. One or both are always on hand to greet and welcome you to their bar, and there is just a comfortable “at home” vibe when you are their guest.

I always enjoy my time here. Usually, the laughs come easy. This actually happened (again) last night. I get a message from the 23-year-old and the following conversation ensued:

Her: Hi
Me: Hello
Her: What are you doing?
Me. Drinking beer.
Her: Where?
Me: It doesn't matter.
Her: Why?
Me. I don't know.

Okay, so I’m easily amused. Bottom line is that It Doesn’t Matter is a well-run bar that treats you more like a friend than a customer. That’s what makes it one of my favorites.

Here are the rankings thus far:

1. It Doesn’t Matter
2. Alley Cats
3. Blue Butterfly
4. Out Back Billabong
5. Dynamite Dick’s
6. Hideaway
7. Rosies
8. Queen Victoria
9. MacArthur’s
10. Redz Pub
11. Whiskey Girl