Looking down on my little town

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I’m not casting aspersions, but sometimes you just have to rise above it all.

I’m getting a little worried about the future here in Barretto. Two of my favorite restaurants have closed, and I miss them both. Last evening we dined at Mango’s, and our waiter said we were his first customers. I started off at Alley Hideout, and despite it being darts night, I was the only one there until just a couple of minutes before the tourney, when three players arrived. After dinner, we dropped into Gold Bar, and no one else was there. Then we went to Queen Victoria for our nightcap, and you guessed it, the place was empty. Granted, it was still early, but I’ve never seen such a dead Friday night, especially when the weather was good. Hopefully, this too shall pass, but I expect there is going to be a shakeout coming.

We did enjoy a very nice Friday morning hike.

The three hikeateers.
Heading for the hills through this slum village.
A shady spot somewhere. Those are orange flower blossoms on the ground. So much nicer than the usual litter.
A skull amongst the mangos. Maybe it was a dog once.
The view we climbed for.
Above it all.
You comin’, Gary?
The other side of town.
The Easter Mountain shot with a goat, a Swan, and a Gary enhancement.
A cookie delivery for Mountain Mama Onelia.
Up the creek.
Gary says tell Coco I’m waiting here for her.
The route of our 5.5K journey.

Swan had a family gathering at the compound in Subic to attend to, so at beer o’clock I made my way to Alley Hideout on my own. As I mentioned, it was strange being the only customer there for most of my visit. Swan messaged that she’d meet me at Mango’s for dinner, so I paid my tab and headed across the highway.

The view from our table. It was breezy, so we sat a little further back than usual.
We were the best (and only) customers.
Low tide on the beach.
Where the ridge meets the bay.
Dinner is served. Like always, we enjoyed our grilled pork chops.

After dinner, we had the Gold Bar to ourselves. But the music was good, and Swan enjoyed a chat with our otherwise unoccupied waitress.

Then we headed up the highway for our nightcap at Queen Victoria.
The view for our usual seats.
Manager Jake joined us for a pleasant chat. He said it had indeed been a slow week business-wise. He also mentioned that Dempsey’s Bar on the other side of town is closing.

And then the clock struck 8, so we headed for home.

From Facebook memories:

Thirteen years ago, my older brother joined us for a memorial to my parents.

Still plowing through the July 2020 LTG archives, and I share finding out some truths about the lies Mary had been telling me. Well, when one door closes, another door opens. Until it gets slammed in your face. Stay tuned for what comes next.

Today’s YouTube video discusses the three mistakes expats make that leave them broke. I’ve not made any of them, at least not in a big way, but I’ve still managed to burn through a hefty chunk of the savings I started with going on nine years ago now. I have a very comfortable monthly income that is as secure as the US government (oh shit!), and I do still have a savings cushion (and a credit card) should I encounter an emergency.

There’s no stopping me now!

“Boring drivel” by Long Time Gone.
It ain’t the meat; it’s the motion.
The three things I (used to) always hear the first time with a Filipina: “Ouch!” “Oh, shit!” “Already?”

Yep, I’ve done it again. Let’s see how long I can keep it going.

2 thoughts on “Looking down on my little town”

  1. What’s your take on the slowdown in business? Are there less expats now? Are they going to other places? Are they broke? Did everyone suddenly decide to stop eating/drinking out?

  2. Re:Blog title
    Dang, I thought I knew for sure which song you would use, and I was wrong. I thought you were going to go with My Little Town by Simon and Garfunkel

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Ro3eGuznI

    Re: Bar/restaurant traffic
    if you were going to plot the expat population over the past 7 years, smoothing it out for seasonal adjustments, what would that look like? Slow steady downward trend? Peaks and valleys with 2026 being the lowest(?) valley? Something else?

    re: 3 ways foreigners go broke.
    Related, but somewhat unrelated. If you haven’t read “Private Dancer” by Stephen Leather, give it a read. Fictional story about a young expat falling in love with a BKK bargirl.

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