Category Archives: General

Angeles City & Subic Bay Beauty Pageants

Posted on March 18, 2010 by wpadmin

No matter what country we come from the chances are we have heard about or seen a beauty pageant. All over the world beauty pageants are common place but when it comes to the amount of pageants and the importance attached to them, no single country can rival the Philippines. From the smallest Barrios’ in the remotest provinces through to localized events in metropolitan centers, then onto national and international events, beauty pageants are commonplace and form a significant part of Philippine culture.

To understand the importance of beauty pageants in Philippine society it is first necessary to examine their history. It is generally accepted that beauty pageants harks back to the 600 years of Spanish occupation in the Philippines. Within Spanish culture it was common place for the Spanish women to be paraded down the street in a sort of beauty parade. This parade would always feature lavish costumes, sumptuous food and generally celebrate the joy of life and femininity. From these elaborate beginnings it was not a big step to develop into the modern day concept of a beauty pageant.

Miss dreamland beauty competition.


The Spanish influence also defined the characteristics of beauty and these characteristics are still ingrained into Filipino society several hundred years later. For example what the Filipinos think is beautiful is often very different from what the foreigners regard as beautiful. The Filipino concept of beauty can be directly traced back to Spanish influence where they find beauty in characteristics such white skin, long aquiline noses, tall stature and even body hair. All of this is often accompanied by lavish ostentatious costumes and dresses. Foreigners on the other hand will mostly prefer the Malay look with darker skin and smaller bones. It is always interesting watching beauty contests judged by Filipinos as compared to those judged by foreigners. The two will normally have totally different results.

The frequency and importance of beauty pageants in the Philippines can be explained in many ways but I think the most generally accepted explanation is that women in the Philippines outnumber the men. When it comes to the ratio of women to men I have heard various statistics ranging from 5 to 1 down to 3 to 1. No one seems 100% certain what the ratio is but all seem to agree, here in the Philippines women outnumber the men. It is my personal belief that the greater number of women than men creates a sort of insecurity factor and as such Filipina women are well aware of the competition and at the same time relatively insecure about their looks. Entering a beauty pageant and obviously winning one offers great reassurance to anyone feeling insecure about their looks.


Traditionally contestants will parade in several categories including evening wear bikinis, casual wear etc. Pictured above are some contestants from the Maganda Filipina competition sporting their tropical attire.

It is my personal belief that mankind or in this case woman kind is competitive by nature and beauty pageants are a manifestation of this competitiveness. What better way to show your superiority over your fellow female than by being judged as more beautiful. In the eternal feminine jousting between females, beauty is a major factor.

The Filipinas have always been renowned for their beauty and femininity and these two factors are both emphasized in beauty pageants. Looking as an outsider it seems to me Filipino society like many others is obsessed with physical looks. Right from the start you will hear people commenting on a baby saying it is handsome or beautiful. This is a form of social conditioning and kids grow up inherently understanding the importance of physical appearance. For the women beauty contests are a chance to display their physical appearance and be judged against their fellow females. The beauty pageants in this regard provide a definition of female beauty as well as providing an affirmation that a certain person or a certain look meets the criteria of what is considered beautiful.

Beauty and feminine appearance have always represented big business and the acquisition of money. By far the most products sold in the Philippines even more than the basic food stuffs are female beauty products. From skin whiteners and nail polish through to silky shiny shampoo the latest fashion and women’s shoes the beauty industry is big business all over the world but particularly here in the Philippines. Beauty pageants are on one level a cultural event and on another level they are just purely a means of making money, they represent an entrepreneurial venture as much as they represent a cultural event.

Little miss no nose as she cleaned up in the Miss Blue Rock competition.


As a general rule of thumb the bigger the pageant or the more high profile the pageant then the bigger the money involved. On the small level the money will often take the form of a sobre collection. For example in many local schools a beauty contest is a means of raising revenue for the school. The children will be given a “sobre” envelope which is then passed around for people to put whatever extra or whatever spare change they have into it. Often the child that raises the most money wins the beauty contest.

In the bigger competitions such as Miss Philippines and Miss Binibining Pilipinas which are nationally televised the money aspect becomes very much more pronounced and the acquisition of funds goes to a whole new level. In the upper echelons of beauty pageants it is all about the sponsorship funds and these can amount to considerable amounts. Also it is not uncommon for serious amounts of money to be raised for charities. Like in America the charity business is big business especially when it comes to beauty pageants.



Contestants in the Miss Binibining Pilipinas Beauty Contest an event designed to raise money for charity.

As previously stated beauty pageants in various forms are a regular occurrence throughout most of the Philippines and on the lower level there are various cultural implications associated with each contest. For example they are nearly always political with the Barangay Captain his wife the local mayor and his wife all becoming involved. They represent both a chance for economic gain and a festive occasion. The beauty pageants give a sort of identity to a certain Barrio and the important people within that Barrio. All beauty pageants will have an organizing committee which is normally composed of the local power players and their various spouses. For the contestants the pageants represent both an affirmation of their physical appearance and a reinforcement of the cultural definition of beauty. The pageants also represent a chance to gain public exposure and maybe get an opportunity to move onto bigger and better things, the possibility of financial gain or perhaps just the simple enjoyment that comes from wearing a special dress for a special occasion.


Pictures from Miss Philippines 2008 beauty pageant


On the national level the bigger more prominent beauty contests represent the definite chance of financial gain and of course very valuable public exposure. In fact winning a beauty contest such as Miss Philippines is seen as a launching pad for a range of different careers including showbiz, politics, advertising, marketing, modeling, community leadership or even a career in big business corporations. Just as in the smaller local level the bigger competitions are intertwined with politics. For example there will be a Miss tourism and a Miss earth beauty contests.


Gionna Cabrera a contestant in Miss Philippines 2005 had her own web site.


As is clearly obvious the beauty pageant and its associated implications go right to the roots of Filipino society. They are off huge cultural and economic significance. In fact some enterprising foreigners have conducted their own beauty pageants with varying degrees of success but one thing they all have in common is economic gain. Two of the more successful pageants conducted by foreigners are the Miss Blue Rock contest and the Dreamland Leather and Lace competition. In both cases the beauty contests result in increased occupancy rates in their respective hotels and they provide the perfect social venue for foreigner men and Filipina ladies to mingle and have fun. Last but not least they represent a perfectly legal means of presenting available Filipinas to available foreigners. This is not prostitution and cannot be construed as such, this of course makes the girls a lot more at ease and if the truth be known many of the men as well. Another big event is the Maganda Filipina event which has even branched out into using other mediums such as press and the internet.

Contestants in the Miss Atlantis beauty pageant competing in the swim suit section.


Just like in American society beauty pageants work on several levels and are always a popular event. In the Philippines they are important on a cultural level as well as an economic level and when this is combined with the fact that women outnumber men in this country then beauty pageants take on significant importance which influences all levels of Philippine society.

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Valentines Day in the Philippines

Posted on March 9, 2010 by wpadmin




So another February has rolled around and with it comes another special Valentines day. Having lived in the Philippines for the last 18 years I have become all too familiar with their somewhat unique brand of Valentines celebrations, however, this was not always the case. On my first visit to the Philippines in 1991 I was quite literally amazed by the extensive celebrations Valentines Day elicited. Many Valentines Days have come and gone since then and over the years I have come to realize that Filipino culture is very different from the one I grew up in and a major part of that difference is the cultural significance of events such as Valentines day.
To understand what are the popularity of Valentines in the Philippines and why it is such an significant day in Filipino culture it is necessary to briefly examine the history of Valentines day.

The roots of Valentines day can be traced back to Ancient roman days where February 14 was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia. At that time young boys and girls would grow up separately however on the eve of Lupercalia the girls would have their names placed in a giant urn and each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and the young couple would then be partners throughout the festival. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and later marry.

Modern day St Valentines day can be traced back to the time of Claudius II or Claudius the cruel. The most generally accepted theory is that Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome in an effort to force men to join the Roman army. According to legend at this time Valentine was a Christian priest who defied Claudius and secretly married Christian couples. Valentine was eventually caught and was sentenced to a lengthy jail term culminating in being beaten to death by clubbing and beheading.

Yet another theory suggests that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

Legend further has it that during his jail term many people would come to visit the popular priest and one of these was his jailers daughter who it is commonly believed Valentine fell in love with and left a farewell note for signing it, “from your Valentine”.

Valentine was killed February 14, 269 A.D. and then in 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius named him a martyr and a Saint setting aside February 14 to honor him. As time marched on many cultures adopted February 14 as the official Valentines day and Saint Valentine became the patron Saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems, love messages and simple gifts such as flowers or candy.

In modern day western societies, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine’s Day greetings and in the 1840’s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines cards in America.


The standard Valentine Day card depicting red rose’s which symbolize true love.

The Valentines day legend is an intoxicating mix of historical mystery, religious connotations and the most powerful of all human emotions, love. Given these factors it is only natural that this day should be so popular in Philippine culture.

The Filipinas are renowned worldwide for their capacity to love and care for their men folk and they have a reputation as incurable romantics who are very much in touch with their emotions. Given this, is it any wonder that in a country where women supposedly outnumber men 3 to 1, Valentines day is so popular.

Filipinas are also recognized as being demonstrative and indeed the Philippine culture recognizes public displays of emotion as being totally normal as well as recognizing the importance of emotion as an influential factor in determining behavior. Given the Filipino acceptance of displaying emotions, Valentines day with its various products depicting love, and simple demonstrative acts such as holding hands and kissing, is virtually guaranteed to be a significant day in Philippine culture.

The predominant religion which is infused into nearly all aspects of Filipino life is Roman Catholicism. Religion is a key factor and a corner stone of Filipino culture and a major influence on peoples beliefs and behavior, as such, Valentines day with its religious overtones, was by definition, always going to be an important day on the Filipino calendar.

As is clearly demonstrated by their movies and by incidents that occur every day Filipinos have a natural flair for the dramatic. The most popular movies in this country will always have a certain percentage of drama and this drama nearly always takes the form of an emotional outburst. Valentines day primarily deals with love the most powerful emotion of all and as such it will always have a sort of dramatic element to it, very attractive to Filipinos.

Valentines day combines emotional mythology and religious mythology two very influential factors in Philippine culture.
What’s more this combination of religion and love is
expressed publically and in a slightly dramatic way thus
guaranteeing Valentines day a place of preeminence in
modern Philippine society

Last but certainly by no means least there is the commercial factor. Although Valentines day has its roots in Ancient Roman tradition Valentines Day has been appropriated by commercialism and today’s version is among other things, very much a commercial enterprise representing a chance to make money. Every year there are vast amounts of symbolic Valentines day products produced in many countries throughout the world and the Philippines is no exception. Here in the Philippines the whole gamut of Valentines day regalia is represented there are plastic hearts on a stick, heart shaped cushions and red Valentines day balloons with special love messages, through to valentines candy, valentines cake, roses, valentines greeting cards and of course Valentines jewelry.


Heart shaped candies and chocolate the classic Valentines day gift.

All of these products are important both in their symbolic value and also in their commercial value and to be honest Valentines day is traditionally a huge day for retailers across the Philippines directly bolstering the national economy. With the inundation of Valentines day related products, especially here in the Philippines, one could be forgiven for thinking Valentines day is purely an exercise in crass commercialism however if one considers the history and its true meaning together with how it relates to the Philippine culture, Valentines day, takes on a much more profound perspective, which goes way beyond commercialism and the power of the piso.


In short the St. Valentine’s Day story combines elements of religious myth, an emphasis on love and the chance to display ones love both mentally and physically and sometimes even dramatically. Given all these factors which are key to Filipino culture, Valentines day will always be a significant celebration in this country.
Ok, now we have established the importance of Valentines day on a cultural level the question must be asked, what does this day mean to the average Filipino.
During Valentines Filipino couples indulge in a number of quaint and simplistic practices designed to mark the spirit of the day and demonstrate their affection for each other. For example, during Valentines day, you will see many couples walking in the park and sneaking a lingering kiss or taking part in a group kissing competition. In Angeles every Valentines day they have a group kissing competition in Astro Park and in Manila they have a giant kissing competition where they strive to break the world record for the longest kiss.


As in other cultures during Valentines day Filipino lovers will exchange simple gifts designed to demonstrate their affection for each other. Mostly these gifts will be something symbolic and inexpensive like a box of candies or a bunch of flowers or a simple Valentines day card. Most Filipinos are hampered by financial restrictions and it is these restrictions that have to some extent made the Filipinos creative and inventive when it comes to giving gifts on Valentines day. Many Filipinos design their own jewelry utilizing whatever materials are at hand or purchase a Sampaguita flower or a cheap paper heart which they then decorate with romantic symbols and a special Valentines Day message. For those who have a bit more money at their disposal they will celebrate Valentines Day more lavishly. For example you will see them going out to an expensive restaurant or attending a special Valentines Day concert performed by Filipino celebrities.



The single rose which in many cultures symbolizes love but with the Filipinos 3 is the love number. This means a symbol for each word in the sentence, “I love you”.

Basically I think Valentines day relates on two levels in Filipino society. On one level it represents the mythology, religious connotations and a celebration of love, on another level it represents a chance for Filipinos to express their emotions in a fun and creative way and of course a massive bolstering of the Philippine economy. From a simple kiss in the park and the giving of inexpensive gifts through to lavish dinners at expensive restaurants and mammoth kissing competitions Valentines day in the Philippines is something truly special and an event enjoyed by all.


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Filipino Street Food

Posted on January 27, 2010 by wpadmin

Every country has its own culture and quite often the local food is both a reflection of that culture and a reflection of the physical environment that surrounds and influences the people. Such is the case with the street food available in the Philippines.

Throughout the Philippines, from the biggest cities to the smallest most remote provincial areas, there are street vendors and stall operators plying their trade. These vendors and the produce they sell invariably reflect ready availability of commodities from the local environment – specifically, anything that has a low initial purchasing price and the opportunity for a significantly marked-up end sale price. These vendors and their produce will to some extent reflect as well as create certain cultural aspects of Philippine society.

Perhaps the most famous or should I say infamous of all the products sold by street vendors is Balot. Balot is basically a duck or chicken egg with a semi formed fetus inside. For the uninitiated taste buds this tastes vile, and even the Filipinos whom I know that eat this do not claim it tastes nice.


The balut is normally sold by a vendor on his bicycle. The vendor will pedal the streets squeezing a little air horn and crying out Balut. Vendors such as this are a common site in most communities throughout the Philippines.


The vendor will have a basket with anywhere up to two dozen balot inside and there are two types of balot. Firstly there is ballot sa puti which is the egg with the line on it. In this balut the fetus is less developed. The ballot without the line is a larger ballot where the fetus is more developed to the extent where the nails feathers and hair are present.The basket serves to stop the balot from moving thus preventing breakage and also keeps the balot warm.


It is a commonly held belief amongst the Filipinos that eating balut is good for you and it will enhance your strength as well your virility. They believe that there are numerous vitamins and minerals inside the egg which are good for a person’s health. Whether this is true or not is hard to say without actually analyzing the egg but it is interesting that in nearly all cultures there is some sort of natural product that is believed to increase the male sex drive and general strength.

Male virility is an important aspect of Filipino culture and it represents an intriguing mixture of Spanish and Chinese influences. The ‘machismo’ and extroverted masculinity aspects come from the Spanish influence whereas the belief that a man’s potency can be increased by what he eats, is more of a Chinese concept. In fact I would hypothesize that the practice of eating of balut has Chinese origins and is a classic example of Chinese influence on Filipino culture.

Another food sold by vendors which clearly demonstrates the Chinese influence on Philippine culture, is chicken feet. I can distinctly remember the first time I saw these being served in a Chinese restaurant in Sydney and my reaction was much the same then as it is today, YUCK. However my reaction is far from common place in the Philippines as many Filipinos seem to consider barbecue chicken feet, barbecue chicken intestines along with barbecue pork as part of their staple diet.

Prior to arriving in the Philippines I always associated chicken feet with Chinese cuisine and upon first arriving in Manila in 1991 it was quite a shock for me to see them being sold on a street side barbecue stand. Over time I have gotten used to seeing them on a daily basis and upon reflection I realize chicken feet are another example of the Chinese influence on Filipino culture.


Paa ng manok. Chicken feet and example of Chinese influence on Filipino culture.

Apart from deep fried and boiled foods much street food is cooked by utilizing a barbecue grill. This is a very effective and cheap way of cooking but does not have the advantage of portability.

Pork along with chicken is very much the staple meat source in the Philippines. Again most parts of the slaughtered pig will be used for consumption including what is referred to as Tainga or pigs ear.


Where I come from it is common practice to pigs and chickens but only certain parts of the animal. Here in the Philippines nothing is left to waste as was clearly demonstrated by a visit to my local barbecue stand in New York Street Vila Sol.


Balat ng manok – chicken skin and puwet ng manok – chicken anus, just two of the many parts of the chicken that are sold at the barbecue stands. Other parts include the chicken intestines, chicken bowels, and the chickens neck.


Chicken neck and intestines. Virtually every part of the chicken is used in the barbeque stalls.

When it comes to street cooking the grill or barbecue is the qucik, portable and an inexpensive means of cooking. Best of all the raw produce can be readily purchased from the local market at very low prices and resold incorporating a significant mark up. These are high profitability items. The barbecue produce can vary in price anywhere from 5 piso through to 15 piso and it is often consumed in a social situation along with alcohol. When the food is served in this way it is referred to as Pulutan.

Chicken and pork are by far the most common sorts of meat consumed by Filipinos not including fish. The problem is pork and especially chicken are mostly fried which is not exactly the healthiest means of cooking. Upon walking the streets of Angeles you will often see street vendors with their portable stalls selling fried chicken. Normally this will be a piece of chicken wrapped in flour and a wok with cooking oil heated by a gas flame very much like an enlarged portable bunson burner. Each piece of fried chicken costs 20 piso and as you can see by the amount pf chicken he has pre prepared this is quite a popular snack and probably quite profitable.



The eggs of various birds and other animals seem to be considered a viable food source throughout the Philippines. For example you will see many vendors selling Pugo- quail eggs. These eggs are sold either hard boiled in a plastic bag of 4 or 24 together with rock salt or as quek quek where they are deep fried and covered in flour which has been dyed a light orange color. The Pugo are considered a light snack and sell for approximately 12 piso for a bag of four or fifty piso for a bag of 24. These are a very much sought after item by the Filipinos when traveling, as such, you will often see vendors plying their trade on the many buses that crisscross this country.


One part of the pig that is considered a delicacy is the pig skin or crackling as foreigners would call it. The pig skin is basically cut into thin strips then deep fried in oil. This is called Chicharon and served in a plastic bag with a vinegar and chili sauce applied liberally. The Pampanga area is renowned for its quality Chicharon and it sells for 20 piso per bag.


As you get into the poorer more provincial areas you will find both portable stores and stationary stores. For example on a recent bike ride we found this store which was almost like the Philippine equivalent of a local soup kitchen.


Again the primary meats were chicken and pork but utilized in a sort of soup concoction. Chicken joy would normally be a piece of fried chicken but when I asked the stores owner they replied with the by now standard phrase so common amongst the Filipinos, “aye sorry sir out of stock”. What they did have was a pork soup and a chicken broth soup with noodles. Both being composed of mainly the animal fat rather than any actual meat.

Pork fat soup

A chicken broth soup with noodles and pieces of chicken

Moving away from the meats and on a slightly healthier level, many tropical fruits and nuts can be found in abundance throughout the Philippines and often these will make the perfect produce for vendors as they are easy to find and cheap to purchase with a good end sale profit margin.

For some reason Filipinos seem to like a lot of their food stuff either raw or unripened. A classic example of this is the Green Mango. Vendors will mostly utilize a push bike with covered side car attached.


Some of the green mango are cut in half, skewered on a stick and placed in a jar of water. Accompanying the fruit there will be a jar of Bagoong (Shrimp paste) and or plain salt. A portion of Bagoong is served separately or applied to the top of the mango slice by the vendor.

I have often pondered why Filipinos like to eat their fruit raw and the only reason I can come up with is that in this country food can be a scarce commodity so if hungry enough you do not wait unti a fruit is ripe to eat it, on the contrary, you consume it as soon as possible. Secondly competition is fierce in this country and if you don’t consume the fruit when you have the chance, someone else will.

From eating raw fruit out of necessity I hypothesize that what started out as a necessity has slowly crossed over into mainstream culture to the extent where eating raw fruit is now considered totally normal. A second factor is that when eaten with the shrimp paste your taste buds are assaulted by totally opposite flavors which makes for an interesting eating experience.

Very often the Mango vendors will also have other types of fruit to sell including a local orange called dalandan which is picked and consumed whilst still unripe. Depending on the time of season there may also be oranges, mandarins and even apples.


One very popular and versatile fruit amongst the Filipinos is the banana and once again it is often served fried. When it comes to the vendors many will sell the raw product simply by having a bunch of bananas hanging of their cart or they will sell it as a type of banana fritter.

To make the banana fritter the banana is fried in a wok with raw sugar and cooking oil. The banana is very sweet and naturally filling which at ten piso a pop makes it a cheap way of taking the edge of your hunger.


The humble peanut is grown and sold just about everywhere in the world but here in the Philippines it takes on a special significance as it provides a food source and an income for a large number of people.
Depending on the season you will see street vendors with a variety of fruits ranging from Bananas and Mangos through to pineapples, oranges, mandarins and apples.

Slowly but surely as the Filipino taste buds become exposed to outside influences a number of different fruits are finding their way onto the streets of Angeles. For example on my way home after work I stopped at my favorite fruit stall on Fields Avenue only to be confronted with a variety of fruit including Kiwi fruit. Coming from New Zealand originally this was somewhat of a pleasant surprise for me and I asked SWMBO to ask the vendor if they were grown here and she received a definite yes. Somewhere around Angeles there is a kiwi fruit farm or maybe it’s in Bagiou, either way the point remains it is now finally possible to get a greater range of fruits in the Philippines.


The peanut is cheap, in abundance, easy to cook and an easy to transport food source which can generate a healthy profit margin when sold. The Filipinos have a number of ways of cooking the peanuts but the most common are steaming and deep frying in oil.
The vendors who steam the nuts normally have a bicycle with a large iron pot in which they place water. A wicker tray with holes in it is then placed on top of this and the nuts are placed on top of the basket to cook by steaming.


The nuts are sold in small paper bags and will cost 20 piso per bag.They also come sprinkled with fresh rock salt.


Steamed peanuts are also sold by the plastic bag full for 20 piso and these are also mostly sold by vendors using a bicycle with attached side cart.

Another way of selling peanuts very common in most of the bars is to sell a plate full of deep fried peanuts for 20 piso. For this the vendor will go the market buy the peanuts and other merchandise in bulk then resell them as smaller portions.

Being composed of numerous islands it is only natural that a major component of the Filipino diet is seafood and fresh water fish. In terms of the vendors this will normally take the most abundant and therefore easily accessible and cheapest product to sell. For seafood this will normally be a small fresh water fish called Tinapa. These fish are about the size of a sardine and are smoked by the vendor who then sells them raw and smoked. The cost is 25 piso for 3 pieces. Once the smoked fish is purchased it is then stir fried in cooking oil and eaten with rice.



In most cultures there is the stable starch based type of food group. Here in the Philippines the dominant form of starch type food is white rice, however, there are also a number of bread based products which are popular especially among the vendors. Of these the most popular is siopao


The closest equivalent I can think of to Siopao would be a dumpling. The siopao was originally a Chinese delicacy but is now very popular in the Philippines. It is composed of cooked meat wrapped in a sort of white bread bun and the meat is flavored by a special source.


It took me a long while to try siopao because the Filipinos used to joke that it was cat meat inside. I have since cottoned onto the fact that this was a joke and now quite enjoy it on an the occasional basis. I am still not quite sure what the meat is inside but I am leaning towards pork.

As you get into some of the more provincial areas the food types and the means of selling them become more basic. In many cases for the older and more traditional Filipinos you will not even use the bicycle but instead they will balance the food on their head and sell it like a door to door sales person.


Often these foods will take the form of a delicacy but always the emphasis will be on ease of preparation and low production cost with a decent sales profit margin.


There are many other products sold by the street vendors so many in fact that it would be impossible to mention them all in this article. What I have tried to do here is present the most commonly sold products and examined their link to Philippine culture and explain why these particular items are selected by the both the vendors and the customers.

A lot of street food are products which come from the immediate surrounding environment. Generally speaking these products are cheap to grow and can be sold for a handsome markup. One example of this is corn or maize as the Filipinos call it. The corn is sold on roadside stalls and also by mobile vendors who trail it around in a hot tub. Normally the corn ears are precooked and sold to purchasers with butter and a sprinkling of salt. The corn ears cost twenty piso each.


Some other items commonly seen being sold by the vendors are pusit barbecue squid, fried squid balls, taho which is soybean curd with caramelized sugar, buko, green coconuts which are supposedly very good for a persons kidneys and ice cream served in a bread bun.

The Philippine street food is both basic and diverse as well as being a direct contributor to, and reflection of, Philippine culture. It is nearly always plentiful, cheap, and ready to be consumed with minimal preparation. For us foreigners there is literally a whole new world to be explored complete with some very nice and some not so nice, taste experiences.

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Angeles City Showgirls

Posted on January 19, 2010 by wpadmin

Part of the changing face of the Angeles bar scene is the prominence of more and more show girls. In this article I will examine the concept of show girls, both the good and bad aspects, citing specific examples along the way.

The concept of show girls acting as an individual specialized dance group separate from the bigger body of normal go-go dancers has been around for a long time however the first bar to actually make their dance troupe prominent and try to attract customers utilizing a dance group, was Jools in Makati.

With their emphasis on show girls and specialized dance troupes, Jools was singlehandedly responsible for the emergence of showgirls and professional dance troupes into the mainstream girlie bar industry. The shows came about primarily because they saw the opportunity to cater for a sizeable niche market, that of local business men and their international clients.

Secondly the shows were perceived purely as entertainment. Rather than selling sex, the bar was seen as selling entertainment.The issue of bar fines has always been contentious in Makati and the shows basically took the emphasis away from bar-fines and placed it on entertainment. Lastly the shows were professionally choreographed and offered something different from the norm. At this time the majority of bars simply offered rows of bikini clad girls standing on stage hardly moving or the old fashioned Filipino style where a solo dancer would perform one or two numbers either removing articles of clothing or at the very least gyrating her body in a sexually provocative way. When Jools came along with their emphasis on professional dance troupes they raised the level of the bar so to speak and developed a whole new facet of the girlie bar industry.

The second stage in the evolution of dance troupes particularly those composed exclusively of female members was the emergence of the “sex bomb dancers” on mainstream television. In approximately 2003 -2004 the “sex bomb dancers”, who performed on a local afternoon show “eat bulaga”, suddenly became famous and a role model for every female from age 5 to 45. The sex bombs represented a celebration and the public aggrandizement of female sexuality. This was a sort of girl power movement taking the form of a dance troupe and complimented by a hit single. The Sex Bombs represented the slightly naughty and sexually provocative aspects of femininity as such it was only a matter of time until they became role models for females across the country. With their constant exposure through a national television station and airplay of the sex bomb song, it was in some ways inevitable that they should come to define certain aspects of femininity in the Philippines. Indeed, it was not uncommon to see female kids in the slums of Manila and in the remotest provincial areas gyrating their hips to the sex bomb song and directly mimicking the sex bomb dancers. Their popularity was to some extent ground breaking and it wasn’t long until rival groups such as the Viva hot babes came into existence and between them they paved the way for the emergence of all female professional dance troupes within the girlie bar industry and even within everyday Filipino culture including in the provincial fiestas.

Over my years of working in the bars I have seen numerous dance shows and so called professional dance troupes. I have made my own observations and talked to numerous customers and as such have formed definite opinions regarding dance groups. Basically I see more disadvantages than advantages but for the purpose of this article I will simply highlight both and let the readers form their own opinion.

(Picture of Blue Nile showgirls)
Angeles City bar show girls

The Blue Nile show girls during their seventh anniversary show.


In AC bars the Blue Nile Group was the first to introduce an individual group of dancers and they were called the Blue Nile Executive Cultural Dancers. Initially this group performed cultural type dances which reflected aspects of Filipino provincial culture. In the beginning the cultural style dancing was somewhat unique and was seen as different from the show girl groups that were later to dominate the scene. This however is no longer the case and now the only difference between the cultural dancers and any other group of show girls is the name.

One major advantage of a separate group of show girls, or cultural dancers, is that they break up the monotony of just more bikini clad girls standing on stage looking bored. When they first started in AC they were something different from the norm and helped distinguish the Blue Nile Executive from its competitors.

A second advantage was how the Cultural Dancers were perceived. As in the case of its Makati predecessor Jools, local business men would take their friends and business clients up to the Exec and watch what was perceived as a politically correct show. There could be no innuendo or allegations of sexual impropriety bought against cultural dancers whose dance reflected the cultural values of Filipino society. The cultural dancers helped the owners position the Executive so as to appeal to an affluent niche market and a more up-market clientele in general.

(Picture of Blue Nile showgirls)
Angeles City bar show girls

A third advantage is that it appeals to the guys who are already committed to a relationship with a girl and are looking for someplace acceptable to take her. Basically Filipina wives and long term girlfriends do not appreciate the girlie bars where bikini clad dancers make eye contact and flirt with their husband, however a show bar where the emphasis is on entertainment via a professional dance group, is a lot more acceptable and less threatening to them.

A further advantage is that when done properly a dance group can create an energetic atmosphere in the bar. In Neros it was not uncommon for the majority of girls to gather round and cheer on the show girls especially when they had a new dance routine. The newness of the routine was not necessarily appreciated by the customers but the atmosphere created by the girls cheering on the dancers, certainly was.

For every girl there is always a limit to her bar life longevity. All girls go through what I call the “barizing” process and after a while they are either too old or jaded to be dancing in a bikini however these same girls will often make excellent show girls because the emphasis, in their mind, is on dancing and providing entertainment, as opposed to dancing so as to attract a man for sex.

One major advantage is in terms of the image the showgirls portray. The professional show girls take away the emphasis on bar fines and sex for money replacing it with an emphasis on professional entertainment. This is a particularly relevant point considering the political environment at the current time.

The saying states, competition is a wonderful thing, and when it comes to show girls this is certainly true. Now that there are several different groups of bars providing show girls and competing for the same market, the standard of the dance routines has risen considerably and a new level of professionalism has come into being.

(Picture of Neros showgirls)
Angeles City bar show girls

The Neros cultural dancers in one of their constantly changing formations

Another distinct advantage is that show girls attract the better looking girls. Generally speaking the better looking girls, or the class A girls as they are often referred to, will work in the bar as a show girl as they see this position as being above the normal dancer. These same girls will not work in the bar as a normal dancer as they see this as being beneath them.

A final advantage is that when the show girls are on stage this gives the normal dancers a chance to mingle and communicate with the customers. It allows them time to approach the customers on the ground level and talk to him rather than having to make eye contact from the stage. When communication occurs between the girls and the customers everyone wins.

Perhaps the major disadvantage of having show girls is that it creates a division between the girls who work in the bar. As already discussed it is often the show girls who see themselves as being better or more important than the normal dancer when in fact the opposite is true.

The Filipinas who work in the bar often have what I call a clannish mentality where they like to form their own little gangs and in my experience having a separate group of so called show girls very much panders to the gang mentality.

(Picture of Bad Influence Dancers)
Angeles City bar show girls

Traditionally the showgirls see themselves as being better than the normal dancers and this falsehood is reinforced by the bars that try to charge more for the show girls to go bar fine with the customer or for her ladies drink. Indeed many times I have seen customers ask the showgirls to go out with them only to be told the bar fine is significantly higher because the girl is a show girl not a normal dancer. A perfect example of this is the Dollhouse spotlight dancers. In short I think the concept of show girls is often misused by the bar owners as an excuse to charge higher prices especially in terms of the bar fine and ladies drinks.

In many cases there is an over emphasis on the showgirls and a classic example of this is the Bad Influence Dancers. They are now being promoted as a major attraction supposed to entice the customer into the soon to open Golden Nile. The Golden Nile is a rather large building which will incorporate two floors of poker machines and other gambling activities with a large show bar on the third floor. In this bar there will no doubt be numerous dancers and yet the promotional banners outside the club only feature the Bad Influence dancers. Personally I think an advertisement stating that they have over 100 beautiful dancers would be a much more powerful enticement for me to visit the bar than an advertisement for the Bad Influence dancers.

Angeles City bar show girls

The Bad Influence dance group. They are performing in Cambodia but being advertised outside the Golden Nile.


In economic terms the show girls do not make sense. Basically they cost the bar more because they draw a higher salary and yet they do less wok than anybody in the club. Take for example the Neros show girls who get paid more than the normal dancers and yet they only dance for five to seven minutes out of every hour. The normal dancers in Neros get paid less and have to do a solid 25 minutes of dancing every hour for a nine hour shift. The showgirls on the other hand only have a 6 hour shift and are on stage for a maximum of 7 minutes every hour.

One big negative for me is the fact that the so called show girls often exist at a cost to the normal line up. A classic example of this is Tropix Bar. Here the mamasans have created a showgirl group by taking the best girls out of the normal dance lineup. As a result the normal dance line up is severely depleted of good looking girls.

The lack of variety in the shows is a big problem. Most often they will have a bakla dance instructor and the dance moves are just so obviously choreographed by a male trying to look feminine. When the real females copy these moves it tends to look ridiculous. What’s more most of the baklas have very similar dance moves so it looks like the different groups in different bars have all been choreographed by the same dance instructor. Here I must give credit to the Bad Influence at least their show is original and different from the show routines that exist in other bars.

The lack of variety is also a problem for the all female professional dance groups such as the Bad Influence. The Bad Influence originally came from Makati the spawning ground of professional showgirls and even though they have been working in the Blue Nile Group for over one year, I am yet to see a new dance incorporated into their routine. They are doing exactly the same dance numbers as when they first started.

Angeles City bar show girls

Far from dying the Bad Influence group is in fact expanding.


One very negative aspect for me regarding the showgirls is their lack of friendliness and interaction with the customers. Too often show girls develop an attitude that they are better than the normal dancers and this attitude is passed on to the customer in the form of aloofness. It is almost like they adopt a different perspective and see themselves as above going bar fine. In their minds they are now professional entertainers as opposed to normal dancers that have to go bar fine to make enough money. Indeed this attitude is reinforced by the bars who pay the show girls substantially more than their normal dancers. To often I have found the show girls attitude is one of aloofness and superiority. They think they are better than their fellow dancers and it is rare for them to smile at customers make eye contact with customers let alone interact with them in a friendly way. Lastly and perhaps most importantly these shows often become almost A sexual as the emphasis is placed on so called professional dance moves rather than flaunting female sexuality.

(Picture of Atlantis showgirls)
Angeles City bar show girls

From the bar operators perspective shows are not actually profitable because it is a well established fact that whilst the show is on the customers do not spend as much. Rather than drinking themselves or buying ladies drinks the customers tend to simply watch the show and not spend any money. Having said this Cambodia bar is persisting with the Bad Influence dancers and by all accounts they are the top money earners within the bar. So much so that management have now started a second Bad Influence group composed of local Angeles girls.

Personally I cannot see how groups such as the Bad Influence make money but obviously there must be an angle here that eludes me because if they were not a profitable option they would no longer be in existance. At the end of the day they like everyone else working in the bar are part of a business and as such are there to create money for that business.

For the customer who wishes to date a lady from the bar the show girls represent a major inconvenience. In most cases their bar fines are more expensive and even then the girl cannot leave until after a certain time as she is part of the show group. For example the Neros show girls are encouraged to wait until after midnight before they can leave with a customer. To me this is clearly a case of placing an emphasis on entertainment at the cost of customer satisfaction.

Because the show girl position is seen as being a better position than a normal dancer it is valued and a much sought after position amongst the girls. Because it is valued, so too is everything that goes with the position, including the dance moves. These girls literally see their position as a source of pride and whenever they get the chance they will revert to the dance moves they have learnt. In the local disco Skytrax it is not uncommon to see groups of show girls actually dancing to a particular song utilizing their dance moves incorporated in their show. The same scenario can be seen when a customer takes a show girl bar hopping, many times the girl will be in another bar and when she hears a song which is incorporated in her show she will start doing the exact same dance moves as she would when performing a show. Personally I find this slightly annoying and inconsiderate.

(Picture of Atlantis showgirls)Angeles City bar show girls

The Atlantis showgirls.


Overall it has been my experience that people like to see a large volume of girls on stage and that a large quantity of girls generates a much more positive, festive and fun atmosphere. The point here is that the show groups by definition are composed of fewer girls which will in turn influence the atmosphere in the bar.

There are some advantages to having showgirls and professional dance troupes however there are also many disadvantages. As the Angeles bar scene evolves I can see a much greater emphasis on show girls and professional dance group type of entertainment. Could this be the future direction of Angeles bars, are we looking at a future scenario where the bars are strictly entertainment like in Vegas? I guess only time will tell but I certainly hope this is not the case.

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Buying Land or a House and Lot in the Philippines

Posted on December 26, 2008 by wpadmin
Buying Land or a House and Lot in the Philippines
by Rickcafecom.

Over the last year I have been looking at houses to purchase and have realized at the current time, it is probably cheaper to buy a plot of land and build the house rather than buy a used, already constructed home. If you are buying thru a real estate agent, they are normally getting 5% to 10% off the top of the purchase price, so it is of course cheaper to purchase straight from an individual seller. Even if you try to transact the deal thru a Filipino neighbor there is usually a percentage of the purchase price that goes to the finder that you’ll never hear about, usually 1 to 2%. Land is currently going anywhere from P4,000 a square meter on up depending whether it is a corner lot, and which housing development or area it is in, and of course prices are going up steadily with the development of the airport and the finishing of the Tarlac, Angeles, Subic highways, which is why you see corporations like Robinson’s Land Development purchasing large tracks of land for development.
As a side note, it is true that foreigners cannot own land in the Philippines, but real estate sellers and lawyers of course have found a way around the legalities with foreigners being able to own condominiums or have a Filipino buy the property and in turn fill out an Irrevocable Deed of Conveyance of Beneficial Ownership with special power of attorney from the Filipino to the foreigner for the property, thus allowing the foreigner to virtually have the same rights as a land owner, being able to build, lease or sell the property.
Here is a summary of my first attempt to purchase a lot which explains the age old phrase, “Buyer Beware”. I was informed of a 300 square meter lot in a secure subdivision xyz for P4,300 a square meter, and thru an office intermediary made the deal to be closed a week later, with all parties to be present to transfer the money and title at a local bank for the safety of all parties concerned. The intermediary, who works at the housing office of Subdivision XYZ, went thru all the motions of preparing the transfer of the title, receipts, powers of attorney, checking the land title in city hall to insure there was no mortgage on the property (as did I) which was bought by the owner/seller, Mr. Iggie (we will call him) whose name is on the property title, in 1985 as an investment for approximately P600 a square meter (not a bad investment).
On the day of the transfer everyone shows up at the bank on time, me with the money, the Subdivision Representative with all the papers, and Mrs. Iggie and her son (both from Bulacan, 90 minutes away rom Angeles City). I then asked Mrs. Iggie (whom I have never met), “where is Mr. Iggie”, whose name is on the title. She replies, “Mr. Iggie is sick and cannot make it to the appointment but he has signed all of the papers,” and then she presents me with the signed receipts and a xerox copy of his passport, drivers license and a copy of their marriage license. I said to Mrs. Iggie, “Whereas Mr. Iggies name is on the title, I would feel more comfortable talking to him before we close the deal, and does he have the flu or what, and we can complete the deal in a week when Mr. Iggie is feeling better”. Mrs Iggie replies, “oh no its not the flu, he has cancer and can’t travel.” “OK” I reply, “well can we call him and verify it is him on the phone by asking him personal questions from his identification cards?” “Oh no” says Mrs. Iggie and son, “He has cancer of the throat and can not talk.” The light is really coming on now there is a problem with this sale and I ask Mrs. Iggie, “Can I drive to Bulacan and visit Mr. Iggie at his house to verify the sale of the property?” Mrs. Iggie replies, “well it would be difficult as he is home some days and other days he is in the hospital”. Now pretty much realizing I am dealing with Mr. And Mrs. Grifter, I said, “Well call me one day before, when you know what location he will be in, home or hospital and I will come down to verify the sale.” Mrs. Iggie and her son agreed to this and departed the bank with the housing representative. I stayed in the bank to conduct some other business which took approximately 30 minutes and when I exited, the housing rep approached me in the parking lot and said, “Do you have time for Mrs. Iggie to talk to you again, she has something to tell you?” “Sure” I reply and Mrs. Iggie and her son get out of their van and approached me. Mrs. Iggie now tells me, “We didn’t tell you the entire truth, Mr. Iggie died last month of cancer and signed all the property sale receipts before passing away, as he didn’t have a will prepared. We are now trying to sell the property without going through the long, and expensive process of probate court, to have the titles changed, to pay his medical bills.” I politely thanked them for providing the rest of the story and explained there would be a problem purchasing property from a dead man, especially 6 weeks after the date on the death certificate, which they had volunteered to now show me.
So there you have it, example one, of purchasing property in the Philippines, stayed tuned for the next chapter.

By Rickcafecom.


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Interview With A Filipina

Posted on April 9, 2008 by wpadmin

Interview with MARYANN

1.) Why did you come to Angeles?

I come to Angeles because I want to help my family and to have a

better life. I want to find a foreigner boyfriend, and they can support

me what I need. Because we are a poor family and I really want to give a

better life to my parents .

2.) Why did you get job in Chatroom?

I not want to work in a bar dancing. I get job in chatroom because my cousin worked before in chatroom and she tell me about the job.

3.) How long before you found a boyfriend?

I find a boyfriend in chatroom after more than 3 months. And I realize its

really hard to find a boyfriend, because I don’t know who is serious to

me. And a lot of guys doing bola bola to the girls all the time.

4.) Why did you choose that guy and what was he like?

I choose that guy because I feel in love with him. He has always time

for me and understand my job. And nice person, then after a couple of

months he suggest me to stop working in web site. And he decided to

support me for not working in chat. He say he like the Filipino woman because they are sweet, kind, and understanding.

5.) What happen when you meet him?

When I meet him its hard for me because I hear that first he go to the province to meet his old girlfriend. It hurt me to know he was in the province with his old girlfriend. This girl is already married to another foreigner. He just said they only a friend. But I didn’t believe what he

saying to me when we meet. Then he come to Angeles with his old girlfriend and we meet. She tell me that her husband know she is with my boyfriend and he OK because he think they are just good friends. Then he get me a computer so I can work in Chatroom from my apartment.

6.) What happen after he left Angeles?

Until he go home on his place until now were still together and I don’t

know if his old girlfriend and him has still communication each other.

I’m just happy working in web site again, I’m trying to find a new boyfriend even if I’m working on my other boyfriend business because it hurt what

he done to me. But I will move on and someday I can find a right guy

for me.

7.) What did you do when you find out he bola bola you?

When I found out he bola bola me of course its really hurt and hard to

forget because I really love him. I want to kill him because I hate

him so much for falling me down. After a few weeks I realize that I need

to survive and make a new life again. So I go back to work for him but na I look for new boyfriend as well.

8.) How is your life now?

I’m still working in web site for my first boyfriend and he give me P15,000 a month include my salary for webchat. My second

Boyfriend send me P10,000 per month. My 3 rd boyfriend send me

P10,000 a month but I said each of them I have only one boyfriend every time they ask me

9.) What happen if 2 of your boyfriend come to Angeles at the same

time?

If my 2 boyfriend come here in Angeles I will meet the one who give

Me a big support. And I will stay with him, of course I will stay with

Him because I love him as well. While my second boyfriend I will lie

To him, I will tell him that I’m going to Manila or province to have a

Short vacation and visit my family .

Thank you MaryAnn.

You are welcome Miss Sinag

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What Brings Us Back

Posted on March 24, 2008 by wpadmin

What brings us back to the Philippines again and again????

A question we probably all have struggled with before. It has taken me about 4 or 5 visits to come up with my list of reasons. Maybe some of you will agree and maybe some of you will not, or some of you may even have more personal reasons. Aside from the obvious; puki, pek pek, nookie, pussy, gash, trim even pwet if you prefer…….there are many more deeper and and meaningful reasons.

I fall under the spell of the filipinas for many reasons, not the least of which is the following:

1. I love the way they eat. The way the hold the fork and spoon (never a knife) reminds me of a small child eating with utensils for the first time. They way they mix any sauces of meat juices with their food always makes me giggle and wonder why……they dip their over sized spoon into the sauce and dribble it on a spoonful of rice and eat it, then they repeat. Why oh why cant they just pour it all over their rice is not a question they can answer or even understand. They are expert and pulling apart a steak or ribs or chicken with a spoon and fork (something I have neither the patience nor dexterity to master). Always at the end of the meal they will hoard a little bit of leftovers for their friends back at work, even though they may still be hungry. They are true eating machines if you just let them go, but they do it so gracefully.

2. I love the way they sleep. I think next time I will try an experiment, I will bf a girl at 6 pm and then let her go to sleep right away and see just how long she will sleep. She will wake up, with no alarm, always about 1 1/2 hours before she has to be back to work, allowing time for a shower and a shit (even they wont admit to that). The way they hold you close, as if to make sure you don’t leave them in the middle of the night. The little noises (I guess you could call it snoring) that come from them as they enter deep REM sleep. Sometimes they wake in the night just to stroke your head and cheeks as if to make sure your comfortable, and then they drift off again. In my opinion the are the very definition of CUDDLE.

3. The way they act in public when they are with their man. Always holding your hand, or putting their arm around your waist when your walking…..as if to say to the whole neighborhood “I’m with him, don’t even try to get between us”. If you give them an umbrella in the rain, they will make sure you fit under it as well. If you go shopping they like to hear your opinion, and they try their best to make sure you don’t get cheated and are treated with respect from salespeople. They like to stop and say Hi to their friends at the internet cafes or clothes stalls or beauty shops all the while pulling you along to “show off”, and encouraging their friends to say how “guapo” you are.

4. I love the way they worry. If you don’t feel well, they don’t feel well. If you are sick they want to take care of you. If you are injured they want to heal you. If you are sad they want to make you happy (they can at times tell the funniest jokes and stories). A side note here: One day I caught a cold or some bug from a dancer at ROADHOUSE, I told her I would not be in that night. Several hours later a knock on my door found her standing there with some BIOFLU and some liquid medicine and a guilty look on her face. How can you turn that away, we went back to the bar and I barfined her for the night, she took care of me.

5. I love the way they say goodbye. When it was time for me to leave, they made it so hard I started trying to work out a plan in my head of how I could stay just one more day. They hold on tight and bury their head in your chest, when you pull up their chin, the tears won’t stop. I assured her I would be back, as I have been back for the past 5 years. She smiled and seemed to understand I was not bullshitting her. I wiped her tears and sent her on her way, always turning to wave just one more time.

6. Last but not least. SEX. I don’t believe the term LBFM does these girls justice. When they get “passionate”, there is nothing, I repeat, NOTHING they will not do to please you…..if they like you. They don’t just fuck you then roll over to sleep, they enjoy to the fullest the whole experience, and try to make sure you do also. When the act is complete, you couldn’t pry them away from your arms with a crowbar, once again, the very definition of CUDDLE. This is a tricky one for some people cause I said before “if they like you”. If the girl(s) really like you, then it becomes their mission to make sure you enjoy the sex, and they expect the same from you. If you bf a girl, and you both don’t really enjoy each others company, then don’t bother taking her to bed, your better off grabbing a freelancer for that.

All my reasons are true for me, maybe also for some of you. Some guys just want to have fun, in my opinion they will miss out on the little things that make the trip so much worth repeating year after year. Some things I didn’t bother to list, the food, the people you meet, the different events (CIA – SOB – LOCKINS – POOL PARTY). They all contribute to the ultimate experience for sure, but what I have stated above can be all rolled into one acronym GFE (Girl Friend Experience). I have had girlfriends here in the states, but never the TRUE GFE. It’s a gift native to the Philippines (maybe Thailand also). Some times I think these girls are born with the need to please encoded in their DNA. Whatever the reasons, I’m glad I have met the girls I have met, I’m glad I have been coming here for 5 years and will continue, I’m glad I have met some of the board members and administrators and bar owners and restaurant owners and mamasans and papasans and Expats and foreigners (you ARL guys crack me up all the time).

As a famous general said one time “I will return”, so it is true for me again, and again, and again, until the day I move here or die whichever comes first.

- Kregg

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Deep Thoughts

Posted on March 24, 2008 by wpadmin

The other day I was sitting in my den playing TIGER WOODS (2006) as I have done many times, and I noticed that on the 9th hole at St. Andrews my score was abissmal….how can that be, I consistantly score in the mid 40′s (per 18 holes) on this course. First I thought my controller was sticking, then I thought my swing was off, then I checked the wind gauge…….all to no avail. I remember thinking “what the hell are you doing wrong, you need to get your head in the game”, as it was a Tournament and of some importance. Then it struck me, my head WASN’T in the game.

I caught myself thinking about DADDY JERRY’S B-DAY BASH at the Alaska Club, what kinda games for the girls did he have planned. I was thinking about the CIA event at Roadhouse, and how much would they raise this year. I was thinking about the SOB at Confettis, what kind of bacchanalian events would they be holding. I was thinking if the Flamingo has gotten any better since the last time I was there last, as I am staying at the Orchid (as usual). I was trying to remember where exactly ACTION TRAVEL is so I can get my new AE Membership card when Im there. I was wandering if I would actually meet any boardmembers during my barhops. I was wandering if I can still get a bananaque mmmmmmmm.

The common theme is, I was thinking about my upcoming trip to AC (10 days and counting down). Normally I would be unwinding in my den after another drone like day at work (grocery manager). Playing a few rounds of golf on the good old PS2 keeps me from despair in the work-a-day world. For the past several days it has become increasingly difficult to concentrate on anything but “THE TRIP”.

It almost feels like my “cherry trip” all over again. The anticipation is almost unbearable. I actually look forward to boarding that plane and the 4 hour flight to LAX….the 2 hour layover….the 17 hour flight to GUAM….the 1 hour layover….the 5 hour flight to MANILA…..the 2 hour layover (waiting for luggage)….the 2-3 hour drive to Orchid Inn. OMG Im drooling now just thinking about it.

For those of you who live there (in paradise), you may not understand (or maybe you would). How can a trip to the Philippines make a middle aged man feel like a kid again???? Could it be that for a week (in my case 2) he can get away from everything for awhile and relax and do absolutly nothing, no thinking, no decissions, no problems, no nagging, etsc…. Could it be that he will have a chance to experience new culture and see new places and people, try exotic food, etc… I SAY NO. Its because he can go somewhere in the world, other than where he’s at now, spend time with beautiful young girls, drink to his hearts content, meet new friends (hopefully) that have some things in common, eat the same food he gets at home (for the most part). In short my friends, what draws him to the phils is LBFM’s….noone can deny.

I think I’ll go to bed now and have LBFMs dancing in my head. I will try to dream up some new position they have never tried before. I will go over my travel itinerary again. I will wash my clothes I am going to bring and iron my shirts and pants….again. I will make sure all things fit to 2 bags, because there is an extra charge for 3. I must remember to mail the Orchind Inn and make sure I get my AE 10% discount.

Happy mongering all………

Kregg

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Thoughts on Tipping

Posted on March 23, 2008 by wpadmin

Tip: A small sum of money given to someone for performing a service; a gratuity.

In the ‘good old days’ in the hospitality industry, a tip was precisely that and most often around 10% of the service cost. It was the catering trade who wrecked the system in the UK, behind the scenes support staff felt waiting staff should share tips with them thus ‘tip pools’ evolved. Once things became organised the bosses adjusted pay rates downward as the staff were making good money from the tips provoking the staff into demanding a ‘guarantee’ on tip income, thus the ‘automatic gratuity’ was born and somehow, in restaurants at least, managed to grow to 12.5%.
As in most things the USA went further, the ‘automatic gratuity’ there seems to be around 18%, ouch!

Thus, what was once intended as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for being particularly nice/efficient/prompt etc has become an expectation merely for performing the task.

Clouding the issue further is the huge difference in the cost of living between our world and that of the Philippine people. A quick example here, the girl sat at the checkout in the supermarket for 10 hours a day, 6 days a week is lucky to have the job yet she takes home UNDER P200 a day. Contrast this with your ‘bride de jour’ who has already received P5-600 from the ‘EWR’ – 3 times what she would earn in a ‘regular’ job. In 2005 the average pay of newly qualified nurses in the RPI was no more that P6,000 a month (P250 a day), a data entry operator managed just over P6,000 a month whilst the elite Systems Analysts averaged a whopping P23,000, yes, still under P1,000 a day. Armed with this knowledge, a ‘customary tip’ would be around P100 to P200 (10 – 20% of the service cost) and that’s being generous as we’ve included the ‘barshare’ in the calculation. Remember, that P200 ‘tip’ is more that the cashier ears a day ‘gross’! Our new member ‘boeby’ talks of the costs of a shag in Amsterdam, some $100, and feels that P1,000 plus is a reasonable tip in Angeles. I wonder if he ‘tips’ his Amsterdam girls $200 after paying $100 for the service?

I would argue that any tip should remain no more than 20% of the service cost AND be given for good service rather than automatically. I would go further by suggesting that gross over-tipping is in fact unkind. We all know how difficult it is to live on a reduced income, whatever your income level you become accustomed to it. Consider for a moment what we are doing to these girls, sooner or later they will be forced to leave the life, what happens to them when they have to get a regular job?

Not only are we making the girl’s life difficult we are also distorting the local economy, we all have our favourite Papasan, an expat often eking out his pension by managing a bar for under P1000 a night. If we visitors have trained the girls to expect P1,000 plus a night for their ‘charms’ we will eventually price the poor guys out of the market!

Tips for EWRs should be tips not ‘Golden Handshakes’ and unless an additional service has been rendered a tip should be no more than 20% of the service cost based upon local pricing

Waitress tipping is also a minefield as using the 10-20% rule here can be a little silly. Lets take the example of a group of 3 or 4 guys out barhopping, one bill could easily be P1000 plus, particularly if there are a few LD’s. Is P100 – 200 realistic as you’d be giving her an extra day’s wages in one hit! I tend to work on the basis of P20 – 50 max.

In restaurants I work on the basis of ‘persons served’ between P20 & P50 a head so a luxury restaurant with a party of 4 it would be at least P200 as tips are often pooled with the ‘back office’ i.e. kitchen. I’d be interested to hear Chef Chris’s comments on this one.

Remember guys, a tip should be a ‘thank you’ not a poisoned chalice.

- Binro

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Seduction Devices ….. Tickle Your Fancy ?

Posted on March 23, 2008 by wpadmin

Nope, I’m not talking of ‘pocket rockets’ or MP3 players, but about devices used to entertain/amuse/seduce bar girls.

kregg6483′s comments about carving a face on a cucumber and taking it into the bars and talking to it were so interesting it seemed worthwhile expanding on the theme. Whilst on first reading you might think his idea is completely ‘cuckoo’, it is actually not as many old hands will tell you. Think about it for a moment, these girls stand on a stage up to 10 hours a day shuffling their feet to the same old music being leered at by older guys. The only break they get is being called down for a drink and maybe a stilted conversation which always seems to follow the same lines, what’s your name, how old are you, where are you from?

Most of the girls have had a rudimentary education, have never travelled abroad and have only a basic grasp of English, certainly not enough to grasp anything beyond the simplest joke. Worse, the newer girls, having had little experience of foreigners are slightly frightened of us.

As we all know, laughter is the best ice-breaker there is so how do we make them laugh? Simple, with visual humour. Benny Hill was a master at this along with Eric Sykes and more latterly Rowan Atkinson with his ‘Mr Bean’. Lets consider Mr Bean for a moment, he has to be the dumbest guy around with the situations he gets himself into yet he is funny. Thus a guy who walks into a bar and plonks down a cucumber with a face on it and talks to it . . . . well he is ‘dumb’ as well. The magic here is that it IS a cucumber rather than a glove-puppet that makes it work so well.

Over the years I’ve used many ‘ice-breaking’ devices as have my friends. I remember about my 2nd or 3rd trip to Angeles I had a ‘malibog meter’, in truth an illuminated bow tie. A guy wearing a tie is odd, a bow tie is odder and one that lights up is plain crazy. Thus on entering a bar, the tie was noticed and the girls would get curious. Eventually a waitress or whatever would ask what it is/why I’m wearing it and I would reply “It’s a Malibog Meter”, when I get malibog it lights up.

Of course if they wanted a demonstration they would have to make me malibog. At first just a flicker thus they started to compete with each other to get a brighter reaction. Needless to say in 9 cases out of 10 I’d have a dozen girls around me all thrusting their susus in my face and their hands down my trousers.

At one time in Thailand I stuck an 18″ long balloon inside one trouser leg. Most Thai bar girls grope the “crown jewels” within 2 minutes of sitting down, and obviously were shocked to discover such a monster. Some would even run away but within minutes a crowd would appear all eager for a grope!

Little clockwork ‘Willies’ are always good value, a titi walking across the stage really cracks the girls up. Pretty well anything works as long as it’s different and novel, in other words don’t all turn up with the same gag!

Uncle ‘Haniball’, an occasional contributor here, was a past master at amusing bar girls, he had an uncanny ability to maintain a dead-pan expression whilst telling the most outrageous stories. I’ve seen him reluctantly confess to being a Consultant Gynaecologist and allow himself to be persuaded to conduct an on the spot examination, another time he had injured his back sky-diving and so on. We once photographed each other wearing clerical collars (dog collars), printed business cards with the picture calling ourselves ‘Bishop’ or ‘Monsignor’, and explained to Thai Bar Girls that we were travelling ‘incognito’. Thus we could avoid being pestered for barfines if we wanted or allow ourselves to be ‘corrupted’. I fondly remember sitting in Rose Bar in Nana Plaza, (a small bar with a reputation for orally skilled ladies) with a couple of girls desperate to ‘corrupt’ a priest right there in the bar.

Another chum of mine would pull the ‘blind-man’ stunt, thus being allowed to get very ‘bold’ with his hands (even with cherry girls) whilst ‘seeing what they look like’. Stunts like this do, however, require straight-faced companions.

Whatever you do, try and be original and if the gag/stunt requires a team select them carefully, one snigger at the wrong moment and it’s blown. The rewards that come later back at the hotel room are always, in my experience, worth the effort.

- Binro

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