Back home from the Philippines.  A mostly good trip.  I’ll let the photos do the talking…

The breakfast view each morning…

I was forced to cheat on my diet when I spotted a Monte Cristo sandwich on the menu. Haven’t seen one of those in over 20 years!

A typical lunch. T-bone for Eun Oke, smoked pork for me… Everything was well prepared, service was friendly and efficient…

And it was hard to beat the specials!

The night life was a lot of fun too.  Eun Oke made friends everywhere she went.  She was very kind and generous with the bar girls.  I was impressed and I guess they were too…

Two of her favorites were Wennie and Cherry. It was Wennie’s 27th birthday so we bought her a cake. She cried when she saw it…

It was a happy birthday for a hard working working girl…

Eun Oke got into the spirit of things by joining the girls on stage for a dance…

Eun Oke also gave Cherry and Wennie the dresses they are wearing in this photo. She loved making the girls smile…

A new night, a new city (Angeles) and new friends…

And when “Gangnam Style” was played Eun Oke did what any self-respecting Korean would do…she got up and danced….

…on stage!

It was fun while it lasted.

Day 2 of our long weekend in the Philippines.

The pool side bar at Orchid Inn.

Eun Oke slept in so I enjoyed a pleasant breakfast poolside at the Orchid Inn.  This is where I stayed on my cherry trip to the PI ten years ago, so it was nice to sit with my old memories.

And the pool. Lots of fun memories here…

I had arranged a 2:00 p.m. checkout so once Eun Oke roused from her slumber I walked her over to Norma’s to exchange some dollars for pesos.  Then we sat street side at Kokomo’s where the girlfriend ate lasagna and I drank beer.  Also arranged for a car to take us to Subic through Kokomo’s.  Poor bastard got a ticket on the way though.  Either speeding or an illegal pass (or both).  He was in a foul mood afterwards of course.

The infamous Walking Street in Angeles City is not as scary by day…

Enjoying the food and passersby at Kokomo’s…

We checked into our room at Arizona a little after 3:00 p.m.  Nice spacious room (#28 for those in the know) with a fair view of the bay.  10% discount thanks to Gavin and Philippines Addicts (a web forum I’m a member of).  After getting settled in and changing clothes we popped downstairs to check out Score Bar.

The view of Subic Bay from our balcony…

The view of Eun Oke all decked out for a Friday night on the town…

Five years since my last visit and the place had been remodeled.  Sat down where the bar used to be and ordered us a couple of SML’s.  And then the same thing that had happened the previous night occurred again—Eun Oke was surrounded by the curious Score bargirls.  She actually seemed to enjoy being treated like a rock star (or in her case, a K-Pop star).  And soon enough she had bought her entourage a round of lady drinks.  I told her she should save money by handing out autographs instead of drinks!  Anyway, I think seeing a Korean female in the bars is unusual and I was surprised at how pervasive Korean “culture” is amongst Filipinas.  They were all talking about their favorite Korean drama stars and singers.

Miss Popularity in Score Bar.

Knowing I wasn’t going to permit a second round of drinks I suggested we check out other venues.  Walking up the road I saw a nail salon, noticed my overgrown toenails, and popped in for a pedicure.  The GF didn’t want the foot work but she was talked into a back massage.

Next up was the SOB (Sons of Baccus, and no, I’m not sure why it’s called that) at Hot Zone.  This event features a dance competition from the dancers at various bars.  The girls go all out with costumes and choreographed dance routines. Eun Oke seemed to really enjoy the show and we both agreed the pole dancer after the show was incredible.  I did pretty well in the raffle drawing as well, at least well enough to make the P1100 (per couple) entry fee a relative bargain.

The joint was jam packed with revelers…

Here’s a video of the pole dancer.

Walked back to the Arizona, and not ready to call it a night just yet dropped in for another visit to Score Bar.  Most of Eun Oke’s new friends were still there and invited themselves to join us.  I had already impressed upon her the need to end the practice of buying mass LDs, advising that she pick one or two girls to drink and engage with.  Of course, when there are 10 or 12 gals surrounding your table with puppy dog eyes thirsting for a drink it’s tough to pick two and disappoint the rest.  I came up with the bright idea of giving Eun Oke her first ever body shot experience.  She didn’t freak out at all.   So, I bought her another round from two girls this time.  Eun Oke got into the spirit of things and insisted I join in with body shots of my own.  It was fun while it lasted, but I decided we’d best bail before things got completely out of hand (and pocket).  It was the right call, because the tab exhausted the last of my pocket money.  More in the room safe, but I try to not spend more than I bring out for the night (5-6,000 pesos).

And let’s just say the night’s festivities put the GF in a happy mood.  So day 2 ended sweetly.

After dropping off our bags I took Eun Oke  for a quick tour of Walking Street in Angeles City.  It was late of course, but she was still amazed.  I gave her a quick lesson in how to ignore the touts and street vendors.  And then it was time for me to introduce her to her first girly bar.  I chose Voodoo because it was small and maybe not too overwhelming.  Not surprisingly, the lineup of girls at that late hour was not impressive, they were all overweight and lacking in the pretty qualities.  Our waitress was very friendly and engaged  Eun Oke is some conversation.  When the waitress left for our next round of drinks Eun Oke commented that she was surprised how friendly people are in the PI.  And then without prompting from me, she offered a drink to the waitress.  She accepted, and then gave us each a free drink!  That was a nice touch.

We then moved down the street to a larger venue, Dollhouse.  I was shocked at just how obese these gals on stage were.  Eun Oke commented that fat and t-backs are not a good combination.  There was a group of Korean men upstairs making it rain (throwing money on the stage) which of course set the dancers off in a mad money grabbing scramble.  Eun Oke was not impressed and shared my view that it seemed demeaning to the girls. I did point out that they were working for a living, and money is money no matter how it is earned.  Still, my preference is to reward with generous lady drinks one-on-one.  To each his own I suppose.

We decided to walk on up the road and popped into Angel Witch.  We sat down at a table near the stage and I noticed we were the only customers at this late hour.  About the time our drinks arrived there was a rotation of dancers.  And to my surprise the girls coming off the stage immediately surrounded our table.  That’s never happened to me before!

I guess it still hasn’t, because I wasn’t the attraction.  Apparently they had never seen a Korean woman in the bar before and they treated Eun Oke like a movie star.  They besieged her with questions, rubbed her arms and shoulders, and made her feel special indeed.  I think she loved the attention because again, unprompted by me, she ordered a lady drink for all ten of them!  Yeah, waste of money perhaps but they were all having a good time and you really can’t put a price tag on that kind of fun.

The happy dancers at Angel Witch

We then returned to our room, relieved some tension, and fell into a happy sleep.  I reckoned the trip to be off to a better than hoped for start, so I was very pleased indeed.  Next up—day 2 in Subic.  Stay tuned!

I’d written in an earlier post about my plan to bring my new Korean girlfriend along for my weekend jaunt to the Philippines.  In the monger parlance I’m bringing sand to the beach.  The potential for disaster with this plan is evident, but the chance that this woman might just enjoy this aspect of my life made it worth the gamble.  Here’s how it is going so far.

Prepared for any contingency. Monetarily at least…

The first stage of the journey obviously was getting here.  Eun Oke was supposed to meet me at my house at 1700 which would give us plenty of time to make the airport for our 2100 flight.  I walked home from work so she could park her car in my garage (parking on the street in Seoul can be a bitch).   She calls at 5 and says “what time do I need to be there?”.  I told her now and asked her where she was.  “Home” (an hour away).  I told that’s not going to work, so she said I’ll take a cab to Incheon airport and we’ll meet there.  I was a little frustrated about this turn of events but nothing to be done but make my way to Seoul station and catch the airport railroad on my own.

Eun Oke arrived about 30 minutes before I did and to her credit she had worked her way through half of the longish check-in queue when I joined her.  And she was looking smokin’ hot in her cut-off jean shorts, so all was forgiven.

Who could stay mad at that?

Our Asiana flight departed 15 minutes late and arrived at Clark a little after midnight.  We were seated at the back of a full flight, so of course we were at the end of the line for immigration.  It was here that the Eun Oke made an astute observation: out of the hundred or so folks in line (primarily Koreans) she counted only four other women.  “What’s up with that?” she asked.  “Probably here for the golf” I lied.

If getting there is half the fun I expect we will have a blast!

After clearing immigration, we made our way to baggage claim.  What a fiasco!  My bag came out early and hers came out last.  Apparently they only have one trailer to haul the bags from the plane to the terminal.  Or so it seemed.  Bags would come out in spurts, then stop for awhile, then start again.  During the hiatus, I could hear the tractor starting up to fetch another round of luggage.  I took this opportunity to remind Eun Oke that in the PI frustrations like this are best just laughed off.  So we did.

As bad as the wait for our bags was, getting through customs was infinitely worse.  Now, I’ve done my share of traveling over the years.  But in no airport I’ve been in anywhere in the world did customs search every fucking bag!  I don’t know if this is something new or if they were looking for something specific based on a tip.  When I made it to the front of the line they had me unzip my bag, gave it a cursory glance, and sent me on my way.  Didn’t even ask to look at the backpack I was wearing.  So it was an entirely pointless exercise.  Ah well, grin and bear it, right?

The driver arranged through the Orchid Inn was there waiting.  Now this is on me, but I *assumed* he worked for the hotel.  Nope.  I was preparing to give him a tip when we arrived at the hotel when he told me “that will be 450 pesos”.  I’m thinking what the fuck, I could have taken a cab for that price.  Eh, I’m committed to maintaining a “who cares” attitude this trip.  Paid him the 450 and checked into our just before 2:00 a.m.

Stay tuned for part 2.  Eun Oke’s first experience on Walking Street in beautiful downtown Angeles City.