Or at least not working as well as it once did. I’m not a big fan of Angeles City, but it made me a little sad to see what the impact on the government’s response to COVID has done to the once-thriving bar district here. Almost all the hotels on Walking street were closed down. More than half the bars were shuttered as well. I guess that really shouldn’t come as a surprise since almost all the businesses here cater to an international tourist clientele. When even the Korean-owned bars and restaurants aren’t functioning, you know times are indeed hard. In a way, it is ironic that Barretto, always AC’s ugly little sister, is comparatively thriving now. The difference is that Filipinos are flocking to the Subic Bay beaches, there is no similar attraction to draw the locals here. Once international tourism is restored I expect Angeles will make a comeback.
In the meantime, I’m here and enjoying the change of scenery, sad though it may be. My hotel is probably somewhere between 2 and 3 stars, which is adequate. A little over $100. for three nights ain’t too bad I suppose. Signed up for the Hash activities which included a bar hop last night, a 7K hike today, and the big anniversary event tomorrow. I’m still a little nervous about being transported way out of town into unfamiliar territory, but I know several of my fellow Subic Hashers are old and slow like me, so if we stick together, things should be fine.
Here are a few photos from the trip so far:
My place of lodging for the weekend.The hotel bar with a Cuban theme.Not sure what this love affair for Che and Castro is all about. But the beer was cold and that’s what I was there for.Walking Street on a late Friday afternoon. It was shocking to see this once popular tourist area so deserted. Back again after dark and nothing much had changed.This bar on A. Santos street was where we signed up for the Hash. Back when I was a tourist here for the first time (2007), Santos was known for it’s blowjob bars. They are all gone now, which, ahem, really sucks.The first stop on the bar crawl. The gals weren’t too cute but there were lots of them, 50 or more. And they did dance routines that were quite impressive. Rather enjoyed the show.The bar also featured those gender neutral comfort rooms I’ve been hearing about.A Walking Street street scene. Still a big Korean influence here.The second stop on the bar crawl. This is one of the bars from my old tourist days that still exists. Nothing special, a few bored dancers doing a lackluster shuffle. Service was good though and I bought my waitress a lady drink.I was hungry so bailed on the bar crawl and came here–one of my favorite restaurants in town.I’ve been jonesing for some decent Tex-Mex for quite some time. These chicken enchiladas were done up right!This morning I took a walk in search of some breakfast. Saw the Hotel America was shut down. I’m not sure what this sign says, but it was displayed prominently on the side of the building.Found a place to eat and got a chuckle from this advice at the bottom of the menu.Loaded up on carbs with this serving of French toast. Figured I’d need them for today’s trail.And my Corona Hash anniversary shirt.
And that brings you up-to-date. Time to get rolling for today’s ordeal hike. Look for a full report on that adventure here tomorrow.
2 thoughts on “The AC is not working”
That Korean sign contained a lot of real-estate-related vocab that I had to look up, but it basically says that property-related transactions are to be done directly with the property’s previous (current?) owner, with no brokerage fee. Is that as sad as the famous six-word sad story, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn”? Probably not, but such a sign is still kinda sad. The fact that the sign is in Korean seems to imply a desire that the next owner of the property be Korean.
Good luck with your walks!
Thanks. And thanks for letting me get away with “up to day” instead of the intended up-to-date. I wrote it wrong and then read it right when I hurriedly proofed it. Saw it right away when I went to the comments this morning. Damn, I may have to hire an editor!
That Korean sign contained a lot of real-estate-related vocab that I had to look up, but it basically says that property-related transactions are to be done directly with the property’s previous (current?) owner, with no brokerage fee. Is that as sad as the famous six-word sad story, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn”? Probably not, but such a sign is still kinda sad. The fact that the sign is in Korean seems to imply a desire that the next owner of the property be Korean.
Good luck with your walks!
Thanks. And thanks for letting me get away with “up to day” instead of the intended up-to-date. I wrote it wrong and then read it right when I hurriedly proofed it. Saw it right away when I went to the comments this morning. Damn, I may have to hire an editor!