Salamat po Luisa ....Can I ask how many American bases are there now? Just Subic maybe? I heard that the old Clark AFB installation is now a golf resort...is this true?

My flight to Seatle has been cancelled and rescheduled to arrive Wed afternoon, 4pm or so.

I belive that Subic has been returned to Philippine ownership.

Most of our trips here have been in the southern portion of Manila. Maybe a trip out to Subic should be on the list of places to go visit and snap pics.

Here are some pics while I'm just sitting around waiting for the next flight.

This is Ramon Magsaysay.

He is thought of as the most popular Phils president. Admittedly was assisted into power by the CIA but was a very interesting man.

..

Hi Cicero,

All the US bases in the Philippines have been turned over to the Philippine government and were subsequently converted into resorts, golf courses, and shopping mecca's for the moneyed expats and OFW's, as well as the rich business men of the country. Subic also now has it's own yacht club and dolphin show as well.

I was able to shop at both ecnomic zones back in the 90's before it was turned into an exclusive area for the elite so I am not sure about how those places look at this point in time. Subic is said to be a nature lover's paradise and Clark is the golf mecca.

Slang was 15 minutes away from my house :D Had you told me that you were going to the north cemetery, I would have suggested that you drop by the plot of Manuel Roxas, another former president, FPJ- the actor presidentiable, and my own families mausoleum which is considered one of the simple yet elegant stops there.

If you find yourself near the CCP complex, you may want to hop on the boat for a ride to Corregidor Island, a focal point of the war with the Japs.

I've hit the ground and am getting settled in now.

My bike has survived the flight over with just a slight tear in the seat. Not bad considering all the rough treatment that it probably had.

It's HOT and raining slightly but everything is looking good.

More soon.

It's 3:30 am here now and I just woke up.

The first thing on the daily schedule is a bike ride. From 4 to 5 am there are not many people out on the street and the temperature is about the coolest that it will get for the day.

Most of the people that I see on the rides are delivery people. The most memorable of those delivery trucks are the pork trucks.

Their cargo area completely open with zero refridgerations, which doesnt surprise me at all, but being open to the outside without any containing walls.

These trucks are both funny and disgusting. The hogs are often not even secured in the cargo area and flop around back and forth as the truck turns corners.

This is the meat that the middle class Pinoys eat here. No, I do not and cannot eat these foods without going directly into the ICU ward of the ospital.

I'm taking a camera out on the ride today. Should have some pics soon.

Could I be successful with a dinosaur bbq franchise out there?

Surely, but only if those dinos can be euthanized with one of your fancy fencing swords. :)

Have to go. I'm late for Tagalog class.

These are from the bike ride this morning.

It's not a good promotion of the Philippines to show these photos but still, this is what things are like in the citizen's towns.

I think that I've shown this type of photo here before too. Just remember that this is the life for the natives and that life gets much better if you have money.

This is the business side of the front gate here at this apt. It's not particularly all that dangerous of a place but there are regular petty thefts.

Last week the neighbor had a (junk) bicycle stolen. All of our belongings are locked up inside the apartment and the windows are all boarded up.

The windows also have bars on the outside but are also closed to block the viewing from the outside.

The first sharp edge is basically a broad head arrow, though not nearly as sharp. The second protrusion is a much thicker steel but not nearly as sharp as the first.

We went out to Quezon city today and while there this sign popped out at me.

New Orleans (St) after the hurricane.

These puppies were playing out in the street in Q city today.

They thought that my camera was some type of dog food and came walking over as I bent down to take the pictures.