Thread: American firm buys Philippine shipyard on ex-US base by South China Sea

My first trip to PI was about 6 months long in 2017. Way past the heyday, but visits to Cebu, Angeles and Subic were still worthwhile for being instructive about those places. Still plenty of Americans still around, but the only thing that put me off was the extreme poverty among locals.

I got to Angeles via one of the early flights into Clark just as it had been civilianised. Like so many P4P places in Asia, it was going through a transition period from the days of US influences. Americans, Australians and quite a few Brits due to uk state pension rules there.

I suspect Covid has had a greater impact than losing American forces in PI and many other places in Asia.

I often wonder what these places are like today?

Originally Posted by Headworx

^The Philippines in the 80's (well Olongapo and Angeles City) made anything I've ever seen in Pattaya look like a Church picnic! It was completely lawless, and the night-life was off the hook

Way better than Pattaya.

Originally Posted by Switch

My first trip to PI was about 6 months long in 2017. Way past the heyday, but visits to Cebu, Angeles and Subic were still worthwhile for being instructive about those places. Still plenty of Americans still around, but the only thing that put me off was the extreme poverty among locals.

I got to Angeles via one of the early flights into Clark just as it had been civilianised. Like so many P4P places in Asia, it was going through a transition period from the days of US influences. Americans, Australians and quite a few Brits due to uk state pension rules there.

I suspect Covid has had a greater impact than losing American forces in PI and many other places in Asia.

I often wonder what these places are like today?

Well Angeles was full of Koreans last time I was there, but I'm sure by now the chinkies have discovered it.

24 hour gambling is a big draw in Asia as you know.

Originally Posted by Headworx

It was genuine wild West with no laws whatsoever to keep things in check, well their were laws of course but nobody took any notice of them. Under-age workers in the bars were rampant, you could have someone knocked for cheap with no fear whatsoever of ever facing repercussions if you knew the right people, if you wanted to carry or keep a gun in your car/home you did (bought from the cops obviously), everything was 24hrs as there was another shift finishing on the Bases several times a day (you could wake up at 06:30am and head for the Gogo bars if you wanted to), the gauntlet of local Sparrow gangs randomly shooting someone through the head was very real (more so if you had a crew-cut and American accent), and while I've seen more than my fair share of debauchery in Pattaya I've never seen it on anything like the scale of what went on there back then.

Two words sum it up, Nipa Hut. If you know you know.

I don't ever recall seeing a fisting bar in Angeles or Subic.

Re: the OP (sale or lease of the port to an American firm), the gossip/ negotiations about that have been on since last year.

As for Angeles City (and the infamous Walking Street), I was there in March 2020, around a week before the PH (or Luzon island) locked down. Area was mostly deserted. The few tourists who were there were mostly older white guys or Koreans. There were also a lot of Korean restos & grocery stores. We ate at a Korean resto - good food! My companion and I spent a day in Angeles then proceeded to Baguio City & Sagada. I made a short thread about it. The "working girls" on the streets didn't want to be photographed or videod and I felt uncomfortable too. (I was curious about the street).

As to what Walking Street in Angeles City looks like nowadays, I suggest to watch the vlogs of "Philly in the Phils", a US expat vlogger that Headworx knows about. (heh)

As for Subic, I've been there only a few times and not to Baretto or the seedy parts.

@harry - pre-covid, the Chinese tour groups were in Boracay, Bohol and Cebu city. Some of them (the expats or online casino workers also went to Puerto Galera (from what I've seen). Nowadays, no Chinese tour groups since they're not yet allowed to travel by their govt (and they face quarantine upon return).

Re: the Koreans, the PH govt is in talks w/ the Korean tourism dept to have chartered flights - probably in time for the Korean summer season.

Pre-covid, Chinese were the largest number of foreign tourists in PH, then followed by the Koreans (2019 data, accdg to the Tourism Secretary in an interview).

Originally Posted by katie23

As for Subic, I've been there only a few times and not to Baretto or the seedy parts.

All has changed I suspect as has everything in the 51 years I was last in the seeded parts.

^I can imagine.

I remember a story from the grandma of a friend. The grandma lives in the province, in one of the Visayan islands. When her grandma & grandpa were younger and had fights, the grandma would threaten/ say that she'll go to Angeles to find a Kano (short for Amerikano).

Hmm, 51 years ago, just about the time when Rosanna Roces and Apl d Ap (of Black Eyed Peas) were born. Both of them are Amerasians and were products of the former US bases. Rosanna Roces was a sexy star/ actress in her younger days (you can Google if interested).

Nobody mentioned the bands. The music. The dancing. Kick … ass … bands. Sounded so much like the original artists in many cases.

Pitchers of Mojo … best drunk fest ever.

Anybody remember when you had to be off the streets by midnight?

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

Nobody mentioned the bands. The music. The dancing. Kick … ass … bands. Sounded so much like the original artists in many cases.

Pitchers of Mojo … best drunk fest ever.

Anybody remember when you had to be off the streets by midnight?

Probably went to Subic 30X between 1979-1984. Ain’t been back since.

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

Nobody mentioned the bands. The music.

The bands were insanely talented in every genre. I wasn't even a C&W fan but would regularly go to a couple of bars called Midnight Rodeo and Powder Keg just to listen to the music, the bands were that good.

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

Pitchers of Mojo … best drunk fest ever.

And the drinks were cheap, under a dollar for pretty much anything and way less in happy hour! There was about 10 bars in Angeles owned by the same guy (known as the Murphy group) and you could buy a 6hr pass to have as much local drinks (including Mojo) as you could get down your neck in any of his bars for about USD $12.00. No chance of not getting smashed and making some regrettable decisions with that drink card in your pocket

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

Anybody remember when you had to be off the streets by midnight?

Yes during curfew and martial law. I remember times when nobody from Clark was allowed on the streets period unless they were going to/from work on Base and home, this happened a few times when Sparrow's had killed servicemen. But for the rest of us living there who weren't GI's, the bars were all still open, they were hungry for customers, the doors would get locked so we couldn't get out, and we'd get shared around like a good magazine in prison

Some of the bars guys like BLD and I were familiar with, but there was a lot more. Pattaya in its peak days of the early 2000's had perhaps 65 to 70 Gogo bars as a comparison.

I once got a raffle ticket when I ordered a drink in a Murphy bar and won 10 hours drinking spread between the 10 Murphy bars. Fuck that was a big day out.

Originally Posted by Headworx

It was genuine wild West with no laws whatsoever to keep things in check, well their were laws of course but nobody took any notice of them. Under-age workers in the bars were rampant, you could have someone knocked for cheap with no fear whatsoever of ever facing repercussions if you knew the right people, if you wanted to carry or keep a gun in your car/home you did (bought from the cops obviously), everything was 24hrs as there was another shift finishing on the Bases several times a day (you could wake up at 06:30am and head for the Gogo bars if you wanted to), the gauntlet of local Sparrow gangs randomly shooting someone through the head was very real (more so if you had a crew-cut and American accent), and while I've seen more than my fair share of debauchery in Pattaya I've never seen it on anything like the scale of what went on there back then.

Two words sum it up, Nipa Hut. If you know you know.

Yep. That was definately debauched .there repertoire stretched far and wide figuratively and literally. I saw girls do things with there cats that even a vivid imagination couldn't even come up with. And always amusing to spot the band of TDY that were usually called upon to actually join in on the stage shenanigans.

The nipa hut. Fond memories. And I even ended up living on the same shitty street 200m for it when it moved to Mt view. I do recall the Tagalog speaking Kano that ran it was indeed a victim of a smith n Wesson to the forehead. No doubt his sexual peccadilloes had pissed someone off

Infact running a bar or even a resort got a few folk offed .in what can only be described as contract killing
Either by rivals or jealous boyfriends of there "girlfriends"

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

Nobody mentioned the bands. The music. The dancing. Kick … ass … bands. Sounded so much like the original artists in many cases.

Pitchers of Mojo … best drunk fest ever.

Anybody remember when you had to be off the streets by midnight?

Oh fuck. Your right I was distracted by the pussy bar discussion..yeah. olongapo was world class for live music and lots of it. Back in the the day I would base myself in Angeles and every month or 2 a group of us oiks would jump on a philippine Rabbitt via San Fernando and we would hit the area with an almost military precision.we would base our hotels in the middle of the action in Barrio Barretto then First night. Bar hop in Olongapo. Second night night we would ride the jeepney to subic . Third night was bar hopping in Barretto. Then back to AC or rinse n repeat. Later on I got sick of Angeles and moved to Barretto.

Originally Posted by sabang

Did you explore the delights of Ermita back in the day norton? Some fond memories there.
Both Olongapo and Ermita fell victim to that unique Filipino ability to stuff things up, sigh.

Courtesy of the chinese mayor lim. Who wanted the real estate

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

Anybody remember when you had to be off the streets by midnight?

I was on permanent SP duty on one cruise so I sure do. Was like hearding cats. Big drunk cats!

The first time I went to Angeles and the subic region I was 18 years old. The epitome of young dumb n full of cum. My last visit I was about 50. Wouldn't swap those memories for anything. Reading this thread has brought a few good memories back. Hell, if its bar stories ya want pull up a chair. Like that time I was found, stark naked ( except for quite an expensive Seiko watch I got in Dubai)out the back of the Canned heat bar squeezing a hamster and singing barry Manilow songs at the top of my lungs.

Originally Posted by Headworx

I would imagine they do. There's a ton of retired Americans there, many of whom were stationed at Subic at some time or another and they're married living quite lives. But the biggest bar owner in Barrio Barretto is American, and they're his core client base.

From.what I can gather there's thriving community of the same guys I used to knock around with in olongapo/ subic except now they moved out to pundaquit, San Marcelino, iba etc. Kinda quiet but not that far from subic if you need yer pipes cleaned

Hafta say. Pretty chuffed the American outfits moving in. A good result for the locals to I would say. Even though Hanjin were a serious player

Apart from all the fun stuff, Subic is very big, deep water bay with decent beaches and hotels.

Fuck, this thread went way off the OP.

Originally Posted by bsnub

Fuck, this thread went way off the OP.

But but ….. some people are actually enjoying themselves. Don’t be so miserable snubby.

Originally Posted by bsnub

Fuck, this thread went way off the OP.

And rightly so snubby

Originally Posted by Switch

Apart from all the fun stuff, Subic is very big, deep water bay with decent beaches and hotels.

Oh I wouldn't say decent. Adequate more like it..Luzon has the volcanic rock beaches so you are never gonna get like boracay standard of white sandy beach. Having said that the waters clean and warm. Don't fret