Time for an update. Although admittedly things are getting a little fuzzy.
Now, I’m not saying my following this advice has created that fuzziness, but…
I’ll just slap up some pictures and hopefully things will get a little clearer. Not going to even attempt to stay chronological. Instead I’ll categorize. Sound like fun? Let’s roll!
Let’s start with the housing situation. Too soon to actually make a commitment, it was more about seeing what was out there and assessing the the viability of me wanting to live in a particular location. There is only one neighborhood on the old Navy base I’d like to call home, and whether anything might be available when I’m ready to move (and whether it is within my budget ($1000.00 a month max) remains to be seen.
Now, most of the expats or soon to be expats I’ve talked with this week are renting places for under $500, but I’ve not given up on finding something clean and nice with a view even if it comes with a premium price tag. Maybe I’m a dreamer.
One thing that is different here as compared to Seoul is there are no realtors specializing in rentals. It’s basically walking around and looking for vacancy signs.
Now, here’s a funny story for you. See the road behind the sign in the picture above. Well, that’s the National Highway that runs through Barrio Baretto. It can be a real bitch to cross. So, the other day right after taking that picture I made my dash for the other side. I looked to left and saw a gap sufficiently large to make it across. I looked to the right and observed a smaller gap, but doable if I hustled. So hustle I did. And half way across I came within inches of running into a motorcycle that must have been in my blind spot on the left. And meanwhile a second motorbike had to slam on his breaks to keep from hitting me. If dirty looks could kill I’d be a dead man. Anyway, lesson learned. My future plans do not include being a pedestrian statistic. The best advice I received in that regard was to wait and cross with the Filipinos. They have a knack for getting it done alive.
These apartments are on the far end of Baretto. 3 bedroom, 3 bath, split level. 33,000 pesos ($660) per month furnished. No view though, unless the neighbors leave their curtains open….
What I will likely do when I first make the move is go for a short term rental (30-60 days) while I look around some more. Living in a Nipa hut might be kind of fun….
On the medical scene, I had the opportunity to visit the local hospital.
It wasn’t me in need of care luckily. Rather, my personal assistant/caregiver was feeling poorly so she saw a doctor for meds. No appointment, got in an out in 20 minutes. Place was clean and relatively modern. Actually, it seems to get pretty good reviews from the expat community here. Nice emergency room should I get unlucky crossing the road.
Also located two other hospitals in Olongapo, one that even takes my insurance. On my to-do list is to make sure I’ve made arrangements for some form of pre-payment. They won’t treat you until you pay. And if they do treat you, you can’t leave until you do pay.
On the dart scene, I played in a second tourney on Thursday night and pulled out a victory there as well. 2 for 2, maybe I should quit while I’m ahead?
It was fun to be playing competitively once again.
Also got drafted to play in the league match on Friday with my new friends from Alley Cats bar. Thanks for having me!
And now for a change of scenery…
Brewed coffee to start the day…
Brew with a view…
A lonely banka boat…
What’s not to love?
Some of the food I’ve enjoyed this weekend…
A burger at DaBar…
Fish and chips at Midnight Rambler…
A fruit pate at Harley’s…
Ribs at Blue Rock…
Pork chops at Mango’s Resort…
I never saw such a patty…
I didn’t eat here but I though it was funny as hell regardless…
And I spent some time in the bars as well…
The weekly S.O.B. dance contest was hosted by Rum Jungle this week. Paid my admission and got drafted to be a judge. The girls all work hard and so I tried to be appropriately serious in my assessments of their efforts and results…
Arizona Bar had the the best overall performance.
Nice costumes to go with the moves…
The other competitors were entertaining…
No ifs, and, or…
…butts about it.
Going for it.
getting down…
not everyone can be a winner…
…but you can always look good losing…
A new night, a new bar. This time for the “bar olympics.” And once again, I was asked to perform the duties of sitting in judgement.
The first event…
Hell, I don’t know. They all seemed to know their way around a “banana”.
The next event. Imagine my disappointment when I learned it was all about the skill in drinking a particular shot…
The shots in question…
And the last event of the night…
Much more enjoyable than the crappy photo would indicate….
And that was the highlights of the weekend in Baretto…
When you see the Southern Cross for the first time… I normally hire a private car but everyone was booked up for the trip to Manila today. This got us here in a roundabout way for half the price…
Got here in plenty of time to enjoy a pleasant stroll through Rizal park, named in honor of the Philippines national hero…
I was glad to discover that he had been executed in 1896. Well, not happy about the execution per se, just glad it was the Spanish who did the killing instead of us Yanks.
Crappy service at L.A. Cafe, so I relented and did Shakey’s pizza with Loraine for dinner…
Nope. When I’m done working I will be done with work. I really, really mean it this time!
Anyway, I fly out tomorrow. Overall, I’d rate this the best trip I’ve had to the PI. I’ll elaborate in a future post when I’ve had more time to digest what I’ve learned.
Thanks for coming along!
you did a nice job with those food pics, everything looks delicious including the ladies.
peace out!
Shakeys Pizza is still around? As in the pizza chain founded in the United States? That’s a blast from the past! Trivia I just read on Wikipedia:
“[The chain’s founder] Johnson’s nickname resulted from nerve damage following a bout of malaria suffered during World War II.”
-Chris
Chris, yes Shakey’s is like the most popular pizza brand going here in the PI. I grew up going to Shakey’s in the USA so it blew me away to see the chain going strong here. Actually, the food is pretty damn good.
Soju, certainly much fewer calories in the eye candy….
Welcome back. I imagine this departure is feeling realer and realer.
Kevin, yes I feel ready to take the next step. Getting quite a bit of arm twisting to sign up for another tour of duty here. Even got an offer of free housing in Pyeongtaek. I’ve not said no at this point, so I guess you could say I’m keeping my options open. Either way, I have no future in Seoul.