Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dulouz]

Stick with Thailand, especially if you are tight for time.

That being said... Its still pretty rough here. You have to push the touts and the beggars off just like Thailand but The PI lacks the tourist infrastucture and surprisingly costs more than Thailand. Thailand is somewhat saturated with tourism businesses so the prices for related things drops. Thailand can get you fed, laid, beached, bathed and drunk much much quicker and for less money.

Manila is very crowded and "overwhelming". The tourist spot is called Malati and Ermita. Its no Khao San Road but at night, after the traffic goes away its kinda nice. There are some good clubs and cafes. The decent loging is $20 per night. There are pensions available for $6. I do pensions when I get back late and don't have to spend too much time in the room. There is a good and popular pension but I haven't been there yet.

People dis KSR but I am quite fond of the place or at least the new road toward the river. Even after after 2 years in Asia, I still dig White chicks
and there are plenty on KSR however gamey it is and they are.

Travel is cheap, $2 for 4 hours of bus rides and the jeepneys travel between towns for $.50.

I'm here for health tourism so I get a few days between Dr. appointments. This weekend I'm visiting the ex US Navy base of Subic Bay. I'm at Barrio Barreta now, the famous beach resort where the sailors used to visit by the bucketful. Its much much more quiet now and its a decent place. The resorts that folded left plenty of empty beach. I was treated to a wicked-wicked sunset and a great cheap dinner.

Yesterday I went in for some eco tourism but the Philippine men are pushy-rude and hungry for money so I voided that opportunity. Eco resorts are surrounded by slums with lots of unemployed men. I ended up at some community with pool resorts, dozens of them.

I went to a pool resort owned by Jews. One of the rules posted on the instruction wall was "No religious ceremonies". Next to that was a picture of a Minura. There wasn't a rule a about pool urination posted however.

I also saw lake Taal, which is a large lake fresh water lake. Fisherman were net fishing right off shore and there are large clumps of surface plants floating on top of the lake.

I had lunch at a nice cafe (I say cafe becuase I can't spell "restaraunt"or at least don't like too.) I blind ordered a leg of pig and unlike in Korea, my blind ordering worked out well. The owners were two young female physical therapists. They entertained me for a 2 hours a made me sing karaoke.

The dentist is doing a good job. I'll get my eyes done for $1100 next Tuesday. An Indian Dr. in Delhi is advertising for $200 an eye. I have been advised to be careful while selecting my eye surgery so I'll compromise and go the the best eye clinic here instead of clawing my way though Delhi to the clinic and then perhaps having to claw my way back blind.

The Filippinos love malls. Great big malls. They even have hotels attached to these malls so you can nap for awhile and then go shopping some more. The rooms are rented by the hour but its not what you think. They have fast-foodized Filippino food bless their heart. Its very good.


Tomarrow I'll tour the Ex Subic Bay Navy, the Ex Clark Airforce Base or Mount Pinatubo.

[Tiger Beer]

How much time are you spending in the Philippines?

[dulouz]

I think 3-4 weeks. I'm semi wealthy and between jobs. This PC cafe is for sale. I could be here forever.

[Bulsajo]

What kind of eye surgery are you getting?
It's been a minor miracle for me, I used to have -10 and now it's 20/20
Don't let the smell of your eyeballs burning freak you out too much.

[dulouz]

I'm having LASIK done. You can really smell the eyes burning? You sound happy with the results.

[inexhile]

Assa, I never have the heart or lungs for manila too long, I have a great friend in marakina now, so next time i go i will spend a few days there. Please keep posting as it's one thing I really want to indulge in, but get fed up with the scams, pollution, beggars, crispy pata, etc.
What kind of surgery? lasik (sp), i am short sighted, but dead scared, from tales I heard, actually i saw my mothers deep blue eyes go grey in 2 months, and have never worn glasses because of it... wwah wah wah.
enjoy.

[inexhile]

oops on the re-read that looked negative. I wasn't talking about LASIK, but when my stubborn mother finally wore spectacles after many years of shortsightedness the lustre went quickly. I'm very interested in the results, and more so of your travels.

[Tiger Beer]

[Bulsajo]

[mercury]

[indytrucks]

Screw Thailand. If you're in the Philippines run, don't walk, to Palawan as soon as you get there. Flights go from Manila to Puerto Princesa quite regularly. You'll understand why once you're there.

[HapKi]

The Philippines can be a great place.
Its just a shame that you have to fly through the squalor called Manila to get there.

[Summer Wine]

You don't!, Go to Cebu and take a transfer to where you need to go. Moalboal is a nice place for diving or just to sit around and get drunk. For shopping try cebu city, for others, well a trip is not that far away.

[dulouz]

TY all for the tips. It seems I have been doing everything exactly wrong since I got here.

Part II - Subic Bay etc

I did visit Subic, it was worth it. I kept missing the gate, its pretty quiet now and I was hoping the traffic would show me where to go. The gate I needed was right north of town, I passed it 4 times. I went in and the guards waved me through. Its pretty dead now, some of the buildings are falling down. I am familiar with US Navy landsacaping and building design and the familiarity dug up some repressed memories of Point Mugu California and 32nd St. Naval Base in San Diego. It felt nice but I tried to repress it to be consistant to my Never Again Volunteer Yourself attitude.

On the way in, I cound the Command Center and I went in and woke the guard up. Security is big business here, security guards are everywhere. I waved and said hello. He said hello back after he woke up. There is new shiny new mini-mart at the gate. I went to the beach and saw a few new hotels there. I walked along the beach and I found the momnument where the Filipino politicians were memorilaized for liberating their country from their from one of its largest employers. Then a guide attached himself to me. I found the the large industy sized pier where the navy ships were docked and I could imagine the 7th fleet being here. In the sunlight, its very lovely. I could even imagine the Spanish galleons here too.

The high hills across the bay are gently eroded and covered in waist high grass the looks from a distance to be neatly trimmed putting green grass. Throw in a a good sunset, some large clouds and blue sky and you've got a major distraction. I'd certainly want to chip deck paint here. The men that were stationed here loved it, they'd never really shut up about it. Everyday, every 15 minutes it was PI this, PI that. You didnt even have to be stationed here because you'd end up here for a cruise so their were plenty of sailors that came here. I even saw a few wandering around with a despairing look on thier face 10 years plus after the place closed.

I took a nap on a park bench to soak up some sun and the view. I was pestered by souvenier seller during my nap. He was selling watches and large mean looking knives. There was also some small sailboats ot on the bay. Yachtsman love commaradarie and I think I saw something called a regatta. There was one kind of boat. Something like 470's, Flying Scots or Lazers. The boats had had mainsails, jibs and spinnakers. I sailed alot as a kid and I think I still love. I recommend an afternoon with some friends, some beer, some sun and good stiff breeze. They had some today. I bet they will rememeber today for a long time.

I found the museum and it was worth a look for the $2 admission. the display started with the natives, then moved to the Spanish and then moved to The US "occupation". It seems there is 500 years worth of trash on the bottom of the bay since the Spanish also used the harbor. There are alot of wrecks at the bottom of the bay.

There was a display about WWII and Subic's history in that. Subic was attacked a day or so after Pearl. One display was about a Japanese prisoner ship that held 1600 Allied prisoners and all but 36 of them American. When the Allies returned the ship was straffed and bombed along with therest of the harbor and ships there and all of the prisoners were killed. The Japanese tried to show the ship was a prison ship by bringing the g-stringed skeletal prisoners up on deck but the message didn't get through.

One display was kind of kitchy but I got a kick out of it. There was a dozen model Zero suspened by coat hanger wire that emerged to simulate the Subic Bay bombing. They came out of a quiet corner and made a a slow turn while some adequate but low tech sensurround effect made plane of war noises. After the model planes went as far as they could, the went in reverse back to the corner. My guide was a middle aged woman with a good demeanor. I asked her to make the planes fly again and she complied.

I've decided The US never colonized the islands although the LP guide says we did. We were there certainly but the hundreds of thousands of settlers never followed. We had military bases here for 50 years and then we left. Thats not colonization, its something else. I asked my guide about her feelings about our presence and I got a genuinely mixed message. First there was cheering when Subic went away. Then the volcano blew and Clark went away, along with the jobs and the jubilation just wasn't there.

There are some hangers on here. The retirees are here along with their government support mechanism. I think there is a VA hospital here. there are some private retiree clubs too.

A good house here will cost about $25,000. You can rent a nice apt (2 bedroom plus) for $200 a month. I think you can do better with more experience here. Local houses are cheaper and very avaialable. If you want to move here, come first, visit the place you'll want to live in and shop around. My sense to avoid the middle man.

I also got that message from the Olongapo's perpetual sloaganeering. There was mottos and slogans everywhere. Oloangapo is the name of the city right outside Subic Bay. The Jeepney signs reminded everyone to "Aim High" and told us that "The Future is Bright". There is a very active anti-drug campaign with an equal amount of sloganeering. The fact that the mayor's nickname is "Bong" did not likely have a significant effect on the anti-drug campaign but it did give me a chuckle.

Toward the end of the museum tour, there was a large display of detritus of the American presense. Photos of sailors acting goofy, acting chummy and playing baseball. There were drink coasters from bars, unopened bottles of Schlitz beer, a copy of the base newspaper from the Kennedy assasination. If I owned this stuff, I would have tossed it but here it was displayed as a near national treasure. Its touching that that hammy picture of you and your buddies can have a value that you might have not realized or even dismissed.

I decided that I have been talking to myself my entire life mostly by muttering and chuckling. What I have been doing is writing the stuff above in my head. Thats was pretty revealing and pretty indugent.


PS - I didn't get back to the guy with the PC cafe yet. However, the rates are 30 P per hour and these places are usually busy. You need employees, PCs, connection fees, PC's and rent. Its also not a stretch to own 2 or 3 cafes.

I want to vist Palawan but its the rainy season. The water looks like mud. In SE Asian travel, rainy season means muddy water and good forests. The plants are at their peak so I would recommend going to the woods.

I'm ruminating going to India overland via Malaysia Palawan is close to Malaysia but you can't get to Malaysia from there. Last I checked there were no ferries betweeen the two places. I have to go south to Mindanao to "Zambogoa" (SP?) top catch a ferry. You aren't supposed to got here lest you get kidnapped by Abu Sayaf.


Part III - The Bataan Death Ride... coming soon

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Good luck, watch out for the Abu Sayyaf.