Makati City, Philippines

[slang]

Originally Posted by Elspode

My hectic life pace lately has caused me to overlook the hottest thread on The Cellar until lunch today. Slang...dude...you're a wild man. Great pics, and I hope you'll do us all the honor of stashing them somewhere online en masse so we can mull them over.

When are you coming back? Or *are* you coming back? How many of your camera recipients have you met face to face by now? Is the exchange rate for...um...escorts as good as it is for everything else? Not that you'd have availed yourself of one or more, of course, but I figure you'd find out just to add to the big sociological picture.

Thanks for the compliment Ep.

There are somewhere around 1500 photos of various places of interest (or non-interest) on her home machine now. About half are not clear or not centered etc and arent much to look at. The remaining, along with the MPEGs of street scenes and the TV programs here are cool to see and will be available somewhere when I get back.

It has been my goal to capture as much of the Philippine people doing all those same things we see and do at home. These activities range from going into market for food to seeing what the hospitals here look like.

I'm doing a study of how things are different and the same here in all aspects of life for a variety of people. A large part of the exercise is to show people in the US how things work here now and to show our common ground.

Once they are all catagorized as needed cellarites will have full access to the collection.

The official exchange rate is 54.something to one dollar. In Pembo just yesterday I changed some dollars into pesos and got the rate of 53/$1.

Now that I'm out of the city there are no prostitutes around. I dont have any idea how much they cost but could find out. If I can find a rate without getting into a hassle, I will.

They are drop dead gorgeous but I'm not here for that sort of fun. Many that I have seen would easily fit into a men's mag.

Some of them are aggressive and I've had to forcefully remove them from my path/ romove their hands from me.

A few have been polite at my reply of "you're very nice looking but no thank you, I'm not here for that" and quietly disappeared.

This is the first of my net pals that I have met face to face. This is the only woman that I've sent a camera out to and would expect to meet more in the future as the rest are western wise young men looking for honest friendship/opportunity.

I will return to the US and start working again once the military budget for fighter jet development rolls into the next fiscal year.

[slang]

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

Wow! Fantastic pics.

As you brought up the topic of drink - what's the beer like there? As in what size bottles/ glasses is it served in & what strength? I've been amazed at how much a common drink like beer varies country to country.


I know you had the one that made you sick - have you acclimatised, or is there something else on the table?

Good question SG.

The beer that I drink most often is San Miguel. It's not a great beer (not German) but it's common and cheap. It would be compared to a Budwieser here, the most popular but not the favorite. The bottles are small and I've been too drunk/distracted to compare volumes, sorry.

The SM is not very strong but after about ......a few, life is good.

I've had some Red Horse beers a few days ago and I like them much better. More bang for the buck, if you know what I mean. The RH is more like dark beer that I'm used to. Powerful.

The brandy is also ok but a very good deal here. I had some "15 year old" brandy yesterday that I bought at the drug store (!!). The cost was about a buck and a half for a flask which in comparison is about 8 bucks back home.

The beers from the first day that made me sick were not from the beer. I've had two or three ( ) here after that and all is fine with no praying over the throne.

The water dispensed as "mineral water" from the coin op is also fine.

The video card to both home computers went out today but we took a ride on the rail and got some good photos even though they cannot yet be posted.

We're going into Makati city tomorrow to buy another video card and should have some more photos soon. They are piling up in the time the computer is down.

[zippyt]

I can't speak for The Slangster , but from My experences in the early 80's as a stupid young drunk Marine .
The exchange rate when i was there ( early 80's ) was 18pesos to $1 on the street , but we had just gotten paid as we pulled into port in Singapore , so i walked in to a bank , the exchange rate was 30Pesos to $1 , I droped a $100 on the counter , 2 weeks of liberety !!!!!!! I don't rember much of it !!!
you could get a COLD beer for 7 pesos in a high class rock and roll bar with live bands , clean girls , etc,,, if you went to the dives I went to you could get a beer for 3-5 pesos , and if you were feeling REALLY adventures you could go to the corner stores and get a beer for 2-3 pesos , give Momason the bottle back and she woulg give you a peso back .

You could make a $20 LAST that way !!!!!

Girls were cheap ( sorry ) $9 for the night( but they could be had for cheaper , actualy once for a cheap Timex watch ) , hotel rooms were cheap $5 for the nite ( no fan , no radio , community bathroom down the hall ) up to about $20 a night ( AC , TV , pool , room service , full bath room with a NICE shower and tub , etc,,,,,)

As I said i was doing the stupid young drunk Marine thing around So East Asia , I wish I had kept my self togather better and seen some sights , gone to some intresting places .

Oh well ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the follies of Youth !!!!!!

[slang]

Originally Posted by zippyt

...you could get a COLD beer for 7 pesos in a high class rock and roll bar with live bands , clean girls , etc,,, if you went to the dives I went to you could get a beer for 3-5 pesos , and if you were feeling REALLY adventures you could go to the corner stores and get a beer for 2-3 pesos , give Momason the bottle back and she woulg give you a peso back .

You could make a $20 LAST that way !!!!!

Sorry Zip, I've run out of time.

SM beer15 peso
hotel room with private shower/bath (no hot water), no TV, ceiling fan that rotates like a Huey with a fire escape that doubles as a terrace - $6.36 night

I bought a half gal of ice cream today for 99 pesos ($1.80)

Tricycle ride from her place to the hotel - 20 pesos $.37 (it's about 3/4 mile)

sorry man, got to split...more later.

[zippyt]

Oh and the drink of choice when you got tired of beer was mini pitchers of mixed drinks , CHEAP , i don't rember the prices , but i do rember my fave , it was called a bull frog , rum , vodka , black berry brandy , and hell i don't rember what all else , they were GOOOOOOD !!!!!!!

[Undertoad]

1. Have you heard the President Arroyo corruption proof tape?

1a. If yes, have you heard it as a ring tone?

[slang]

Another great topic of discussion here.

Many of the locals are critical and or suspicious of president Arroyo. These people tend to be older working class people that see her as a corrupt elitest. This older group has heard all the hype from Arroyo about moving forward as a country and seen this society stagnate or regress.

Foreign investment is increasing sharply. More filipinos have jobs. My guess is (that means I havent seen any numbers or paid close enough attention to say with confidence ) that the fast food jobs and the imported (junk) shops are giving people here the most jobs.

The more people that have jobs, the less critical they are of what the president does. This seems to be a universal human truth.

Back to your original question, no I havent heard the tape. There have been a few Filipino news programs that have talked about it though. Most of these news shows are in Tagolog so clearly most of the footage is lost on me.

If I talk politics with someone here I ask about where they stand on Arroyo and the corruption case. The educated young working people could care no less about it and see it as total folly. These people are building condos, selling computers to a growing market or own some type of money making business. They're too busy to care.

Those not directly involved with the "new economy" or the increase in the standard of living are most critical.

I'm not in a position to be critical of the president here or even have any desire to dig into the details of the "proof" tape but the case seems weak, irrelevant and only an issue with people that need to crucify someone for their lack of progress here.

Sounds much like another little situation that we're all a bit more familiar with.

As for the ringtones.......

Have not heard the proof tape ringtone but the cell phones are so common here that it's beyond annoying.

The younger people dont talk on their phones as much as they text message one another. Now the new thing is sending photos over the phone. There's something that can keep my attention for more than 20 seconds.

You see people holding cell phones in front of them with both hands, playing games and texting at every turn here.

Slang: Hey! it's a cell phone...talk on the God damned thing already! Kids today.

I butchered that reply but hope you got something out of it.

My back and ass are killing me from this kindergarden chair.

[slang]

Originally Posted by slang

More filipinos have jobs. My guess is (that means I havent seen any numbers or paid close enough attention to say with confidence ) that the fast food jobs and the imported (junk) shops are giving people here the most jobs.

Not fast food or imported goods jobs. This was a major oversight on my part. The large employers must be the building trades and contractors of every sort. Buildings are going up in large numbers.

[slang]

These are two examples of the many choppers and commercial planes flying all around here. If you sit on the roof of the hotel and watch, you can clearly see the planes taking off and landing.

The frequency of big commercial planes coming and going is about one every hour or so and I always wonder what the natives here really think about all these foreign people coming and going. My guess is that only a very small amount of Filipinos are in these planes going to far off places.

Is there attitude one of hope that all this development here will lead to better things for most Filipinos or just seen as a bunch of people that dont belong here and dont really care about anything or anyone in the Philippines, just taking advantage of the strong exchange rates and warm weather?

[slang]

This is my funny tricycle ride. It's only a 100 cc motor trying to cart me and a sidecar, a driver and 3 passengers up a hill.

"tell him to give it HELL or we arent going to make it"

Must be something was lost in the translation because he just wouldnt rev it up enough to get us all up the hill.

[Tonchi]

OK, Slang, by mutual agreement Luisa and I will not be making any further comments on this thread. I thought your decisions were "strange" in the beginning, but now it has moved through "weird" and gone to "surreal". Because I choose to believe you are actually an intelligent man, I have to say you are doing all this as part of a deliberate plan


Luisa says:
Crap! Bonifacio city! What was he doing taking pictures at a military camp? ?He wan'st int he comemrcial district. He was out of bounds on military proeprty. That was no cop. That was military police!
Tonchi says:
what did I tell you
Luisa says:
Of course nobody else would be telling you this.
Luisa says:
I now believe he took those pictures for a reason.
Luisa says:
That is the entrance tot he camp
Luisa says:
Jesus christ!
Luisa says:
I am inspectign the photo he took where the cop approache dhim.
Luisa says:
He was at PACES. That is our rapid response Kidnap team.
Luisa says:
They are called in for immediate action on terrorist threats.
Tonchi says:
Accidentally there, of course
Luisa says:
What in the blazes!? If he weren't american he would have been hauled in for questioning and beaten to a pulp at the very least.
Tonchi says:
maybe he was, or at least arrested
Luisa says:
No. he said he wasn't.
Luisa says:
American's don't get arrested here.


BTW, you don't have to kill us now, we're already on the same side

[slang]

Originally Posted by Tonchi

....gone to "surreal". Because I choose to believe you are actually an intelligent man, I have to say you are doing all this as part of a deliberate plan.

The plan is what it always is when I travel. To understand and be able to fairly compare that country in all aspects to those things in the US. For understanding of those people and that culture as much as possible in the short time that I'm there.

That's always the prime directive although most everyone thinks I'm with the CIA or some spook BS.

Not true. I'm just curious and have a camera with a large memory card.

To capture all those seemingly insignificant things that I see that are somehow different but are of little or no consequence.

I've got over 2 gigs of "common" photos of all sorts of uniquely Pinoy sights and things.

There's only been one man at the barangay that's even asked a single question about the numbers and sorts of photos that have been taken aside from the nice lady on the motorbike.

After an hour of conversation and a few follow up chats, he's comfortable with me hanging around now.

Still dont have a photo of him though.

Originally Posted by Tonchi

Crap! Bonifacio city! What was he doing taking pictures at a military camp? ?He wan'st int he comemrcial district. He was out of bounds on military proeprty. That was no cop. That was military police!

And what a lovely military cop she was. Not great with English but very pleasant.

That shot was taken 100 feet away from "market! market!" and there were exactly zero signs on site or on the net that no pics should be taken there.

A truly lovely area I might also add. The most "fun" and pleasant area that I've seen here so far.

Originally Posted by Tonchi

BTW, you don't have to kill us now, we're already on the same side

No doubts about that. Aside from some wiseasses, people here take good care of me. And when ever possible we stop to chat and answer questions people might have.

[Luisa]

Originally Posted by slang

That shot was taken 100 feet away from "market! market!" and there were exactly zero signs on site or on the net that no pics should be taken there.

Okay Slang, just so you know, Market ! Market! is located within the "demilitarized" zone of FORT BONIFACIO. It is located within a military camp and right now, nobody really knows where the boundaries stand. Long story, has to do with some unpaid real estate taxes and idle military property and stuff. Too boring to tell. It really seems to me that you found yourself within, if not too close to, the military zone. Be glad you are a tall, well built American, the cop did not dare try to shake you down for a "picture taking fee" or anything. He probably figured you could hurl him into the place he was guarding with one hand tied behind your back and cut his losses before you got wise to him .

[slang]

I should have taken a photo of the military cop asking me questions but I take that sort of inquiry much too seriously to fuck around.


It surely would have been a keeper.

[wolf]

Only because it's true.