News2008

The Philippines and Subic Bay have been going through a classic rainy season. It has been pretty much a non-stop, daily deluge since July. Torrential downpours have dropped buckets of water while Subic/Olongapo has escaped serious typhoon activity. Thus we’ve had a typical slow season. It’s been a good time to visit the area for hotel and restaurant bargains. In the bars and clubs tourists attain superstar status.

The Barrio Barretto area is going through huge growing changes. New clubs have opened almost weekly. Some have simply altered names but most are new or reopened structures. Old timers will recognize some long forgotten venues. Hadji Baba, next to Abrakadabra. Remember those? They have been closed or used for short-term leases to churches since the base closings in 1992. Hadji Baba is now called Bar Barretto and operated by Blue Rock. Abrakadabra is now called Honky Tonk. Nearby, almost across from Immaculate Conception church, is brand new Pirates Pub.

A new club called Lollipop was opened by Kokomo’s Group from Angeles City. It is located next to Escape in the one-time Dixie Bar area. Dryden’s Hotel and restaurant has also been sold to Kokomo’s Group. (more on Tom Dryden below) They are reportedly planning an outside beer garden. Indaba restaurant was sold to Kokomos and is now a full-blown go-go bar called Wet Spot. This venue was long ago known as Boodles.

The legendary massage parlor known as the Samurai is now the Sandcastle. It is a hotel and restaurant with a disco inside. The rooms were extensively renovated as they definitely needed to be.

Now we cross the highway to the beach side. The Sea Breeze Hotel was originally built by Marmont. It was never opened and has been an eyesore since 1986. This cement mausoleum has thankfully been knocked down. Rumors have Central Park from Angeles City rebuilding there.

Coconut Barn closed. Beachside is now called Down Under and has had widespread renovating.

Near Midnight Rambler London Underground opened in April with the first original fish and chips seen in the Subic Bay area. Made with Pangasius fish flown in fresh-frozen from the Mekong Delta they have captured the traditional flavor of the UK. The fish is also called Pacific Cream Dory and the best known and tastiest is from Vietnam. This hole-in-the-wall is decorated with all manner of local memorabilia. Named after the subterranean subway system of London it duplicates the fish and chip shops found outside all London station stops. Besides their signature dish they also have chicken and chips, pickled eggs and pickled onions, mushy peas, Savaloy sausages, fish cakes and Aussie beef and chicken pies. For the budget diner they even have chips and butty.

VFW has moved from their 15 year location across from the Marmont to Dream Plaza. They are situated across the bridge into Barangay Matain.

Dream Plaza is a shopping center that also houses a pre-school, doctors and dentist offices and a movie theater. In addition to the restaurant the ‘V’ has an outside garden area with full access to the Dream Plaza swimming pool.

The newest, swankiest attraction in the area is Wild Orchid Hotel. This was previously the Zanzibar located on Baloy beach. The location is all they have in common. The pool, bar and restaurant area are as nice as any in Pattaya Beach. The pool is 50 meters long. Wild Orchid is truly first-class. (Yes, it is part of the Angeles City Orchid group)

Speaking of Angeles City, long time local entrepreneur Mark Smith sold Road House. Tick the crazy marine from DMZ also sold his club. Also regarding AC if you are in the neighborhood, check out the calendars on sale at Gecko’s. They are professional quality and have some great pictures of lovely Filipinas. These are not X rated but along the lines of Stuff magazine. Nice, sexy but tasteful. The calendars are sixteen months long. I sent one to our webmaster in Texas and he promptly got divorced and is now in Angles trying to locate all 16 girls! (Just kidding). Here's some low resolution scans from the calendar along with a sneak peek at the back. You can check out their store at www.geckos.ph.

Some dates to remember include the VFW Barrio Barretto Beach Bash. This long running event will be held February 4-8, 2009. Mango’s will be holding a Bikini Open competition on November 21. This is a fund raiser for Masons Pinatubo Lodge 52. The Masonic District R3C will also hold a fundraising ‘sports fest’ in Mango’s on November 25

If you are into golf, The Love of Children Charity Foundation is holding a tournament on November 8 at Air force City Golf Course on the Clark Special Economic Zone. www.theloveofchildren.org

While on the subject of golf it is worth mentioning how much the San Antonio Golf Club has improved their course. This is the facility built by the Army Corps of Engineers on the former San Miguel Base. The military base itself is intact but a Philippine Navy training center now. The golf course is light years better than it was in 1992. The fact is it has steadily improved in the past few years. Walk-ons still pay just $14 for 18 holes. Weekdays it is never busy.

Korean-Filipino company Hanafil Golf and Tour Inc. has taken over the former Binictacan golf course on old naval base. They want to fast-track the redevelopment of the former Subic Bay Golf and Country Club with a committed investment of $48 million. We’ll see how this development goes. No one seems to have any luck with this golf course.

Surfing has long been one of Zambales province best kept secrets. But more and more local Filipinos and foreign nationals are flocking to our beaches. This year has seen a huge influx of surfers. During and after storms cars stream through the barrio toward Northern Zambales with boards on car roofs. Manila TV has run extensive coverage on the subject. The best waves are near San Antonio, in the Crystal Beach area. This is a 45 minute drive from Barrio Barretto. The Philippine National Championship was held at Crystal beach in 2007. Either side of this area for 6-7 kilometers have excellent waves. Two web sites give you information on surfing Zambales and the local conditions. Check out http://www.surfline.com/surf-report/san-antonio-philippines_7314/ and http://swellwatch.wetsand.com/.

Tom Dryden has had the most popular eatery in the bay area for the past decade. He recently sold the restaurant to return to San Diego, spend time with his sons and get some needed medical treatment. Having landed with McArthur at Leyte he is now in his 80’s but more active than many people half his age. He may be back.

The newest family oriented tourist attraction on SBMA is Jungle Joe's. Before we visited I asked a father who had taken his children how it was and he answered, "It was hot and they don't serve beer." While both these observations are true it doesn't do the facility justice.

Located deep in the Naval Magazine rain forest it is near Zoobic Safari. We arrived at opening, 9 AM, so we could beat some of the inevitable summer heat. The price is 280 pesos a person regardless of age. This included three free coca-cola products at the many kiosks spread throughout the park. In fact Coke seems to be intimately linked to the Jungle Joe operation.

Located over several hectors a toy train takes you on an overall trip to acquaint yourself with it's many facets. There are multiple outdoor play areas interspersed with air conditioned attractions inside the former ammunition bunkers the Navy used. The outside play areas have the big toys. Logs, ropes, tire tunnels, swing sets, tree houses, playhouses, tunnel labyrinths, climbing walls, forts, slides, hideaways, gym sets, all designed to keep kids entertained and busy. There are also areas with the outdoor inflatables. The climbing walls, springing moon bouncers, jump'n dodge balls, bounce houses and castles. The soundtrack to High School Musical plays continuously throughout these locales.

Another outdoor inducement is the Jurassic Trail. It is a hike along a jungle trail, thick with foliage and old growth trees, spaced with concrete dinosaurs. There are invisible speakers making dinosaur noises. Kind of creepy and kind of cool. Scared our 6 year old.

Spread among all these outdoor play spots are the former ammunition bunkers. All are air conditioned. One has more bouncing toys and trampolines. (make sure your children bring socks) They must take their shoes off and if they don't have socks mom or dad buys Jungle Joe socks. There is also a raceway in a bunker. There are gravity bikes that go round a runway. The building mercifully has places for parents to sit. One is called Winter Wonderland and does it's best to recreate the North Pole with Santa and his helpers but was not all that interesting. But the Playhouse Theater was. Inside this bunker is a movie house. Disney movies play continuously. The chairs are all beanbags and it's not hard to fall asleep. They do sell popcorn. Several other attractions are under construction. There is a disco and a huge castle under way.

The day involves lots of walking. (they rent bikes) We spent a total of four hours at Jungle Joe's. Unlike the 23 story Hanjin employees dormitory monstrosity being built in the middle of this sacred rain forest, Jungle Joe's is exactly how this gorgeous area should be utilized.

Karl Welteke posted three new photo albums online. Brings back some serious memories for those who were stationed here in the U.S. Navy:

On a high note Art Allegar recently celebrated his 69th birthday. We had a special happy hour in Mango's for this occasion. Art's email is allegara@yahoo.com

On a much lower note Mario, the pool stick maker died October 31st of a heart attack. As Filipino men went he was squared away. His quality pool sticks graced our clubs including Whiskey River and the old Rock Lobster. He was a friend and we'll miss him. I drove to AC shortly afterwards to visit his family. He had eleven kids by four women in his life. If you're the proud owner of a Mario pool stick hold onto it - there won't be any new ones made.

President Arroyo opened the new Subic/Clark portion of the expressway for Holy Week at 1 PM on Tuesday. Tues morn we drove the back road to AC. At 1:30 we got on the freeway. At 2:05 we were in Subic. 35 restful minutes. We drove 80 kph while others were going 160 kph. Anyone, regardless of era, who has ever labored this route has to be impressed. No bikes, trikes, busses, trucks, horses, children, goats or chickens. It's a gorgeous, scenic drive too. All rural and agricultural. It's built way high so you are looking down. Rice fields, rivers, jungle, all in the shadow of the mountains with Pinatubo closer than ever. They still have some work to do. Signing was almost non-existent. Painting remains to be done. So it closed after Easter Sunday.

The re-opening is supposed to be last week of April. Everyone one will be able to enjoy speedy access to Pampanga and Manila and vice versa. It will alter Olongapo/Subic/Zambales/Bataan much like the Pinatubo volcano eruption and the base withdrawal did. A metamorphose style change. More tourists, more business, more traffic. Rental, land and home prices are already escalating.

Barrio Barretto has some alterations too. Here are some of the most radical ones long-time visitors will recognize.

	This was formerly Gringo’s, Last Two Dollars, Rose Garden or Sportsman’s depending on the era. A club is going beneath. Apartments above.		This is almost recognizable as the old Samori massage parlor. It is being remodeled into a hotel. The name is the Sandcastle which is appropriate.

	This is the corner where you make the turn to Baloy Beach. Crazy Horse once sat here. This will be an office building.		This will be called The Pub and be club/hotel. It is the Swiss half of the old Midnight Rambler.

	This is corner where you turn to go to Marmont or VFW. Formerly Dixie Bar, a hotel will reportedly be built.

An excellent new restaurant in the barrio is London Underground. Opened by Steve Hickmont and Mickey of Harley's it has classic fish and chips served English style. They are located between Bart's an Night rider.

We continue to recommend Bay Area Realty if you have any real estate needs in the area. They are constantly updating their listings. They do other things such as title searches or helping you secure titles to tax paid real estate and consultations. www.bayarearealty.com.ph

We also mention once again this site for serious Subicphiles. These guys come up with good information although it is at times sporadic. http://subicbulletin.blogspot.com/

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) The old base area are going through some radical construction scenes themselves, some of which are questionable. The green areas are rapidly disappearing. Three restaurants are now on the lawn between the old post office and Spanish Gate. An office complex is being constructed on the lawn behind the former chief’s barracks. A hotel, cynically called a sports hotel is going up on the primary baseball field near Remy Field. Yes, the one across from the main gate. The other adjacent ball fields are tennis courts two or three of which are sometimes in use. These are just a few examples of grass and trees and ambiance being replaced by concrete.

The President’s Cup Regatta was recently held with over 30 sailboats and 300 sailors participating. It was organized by the Manila Yacht Club and jointly hosted by The Lighthouse Marina Resort and the Subic Bay Yacht Club in conjunction with the SBMA.

This year the 16^th annual VFW Beach Bash surpassed all previous ones in participation, fun and revenue. Beach Bash coordinator Seth Hendricks stated, “We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support the community gave us this year.”

Held February 13-17 it included numerous competitions spread out in various barrio venues. There were men, women and mixed 8 ball tournaments and a 9 ball tournament. Four separate dart tournaments were held. There were horseshoe, table tennis and trivia competitions as well as children’s games. New this year was Texas Holdem card games.

Hosting and sponsoring these events were Arizona, Islanders, Sea Pearl, Lagoon, Playa Papagayo, little Wheel, Indaba, Midnight Rambler, Johansson’s, Dreamland, Blue Rock, Scuba Shack/Aqua Sports, Friday’s.

The main stage was behind Mango’s, Islanders and Little Wheel. On Valentine’s night there was a battle of the bands. Friday night was the Mrs. Beach Bash competition. Saturday night had separate singing and dance competitions. Sunday afternoon the Little Miss Beach Bash was held and the ever popular Miss Beach Bash closed out the long weekend.

The shows and singing and dance competitions and beauty contests were absolutely spectacular. The stage shows on Saturday night were way off the scale. A dozen players in costumes, with stage props worked their way through theme shows. There was an Egyptian show and a Spiderman show and a native show and several blatantly gay shows. They went through costume and set changes. The perfectly synchronized dance moves were beyond impressive.

The dunk tank was a popular daytime diversion as Griff’s bar in Calapandayan provided a bevy of bikini-clad beauties to dump from the rail to the tub. Other stage fillers included a magic show. There were martial art’s demonstrations and even a knife throwing display. Did I mention Elvis was there? No kidding.

No Limit DJ Productions provided the music and lights as the Beach Bash moved toward a higher level of sophistication. The VFW Post 11447 wishes to thank all who sponsored, donated, helped or participated in this year’s event.

Winners of the various competitions will be listed at the end of this update. Special thanks also to Wayne Gordon and Michele who took most of the pictures. You'll find all of the pictures on our Beach Bash page, and a select set on our home page.

Another group involved with sponsoring the Beach Bash was a newly established Philippine Retirement Authority. They have been very aggressively pursuing potential foreign retirees. Their presence is everywhere. They have held seminars and spoken to all groups remotely related to ex-pat activities. Their newsletter is impressive. Their website is www.pra.gov.ph

Another thing to do in Subic Bay we recently discovered is the Olongapo Museum. Located on Hospital Road next to the Olongapo Convention Center it was opened in 2004. Going in we expected little. But an hour and a half later we came out going, “Wow.”

It traces the city from ancient times as a small fishing village inhabited by Aetas. The focus continues with the discovery by Spanish Conquistadores in the early 16^th century followed by the Japanese invasion during World War II. It continues with the administrations of the Americans after the revolution at the turn of the century to the historic turnover of self governance in 1959. It covers the years of Martial Law under Ferdinand Marcos. Then there is the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 and the successful military bases conversion and economic independence that followed.

The written information on wooden boards accompanying the pictures and displays is first rate. There are a series of rooms that are like stage sets. One has American and Japanese soldiers fighting over the zig-zag pass on the old highway leading into the city. The soldier/dummies actually move and fire weapons. Another is of the assignation of Mayor James Gordon in 1967 with a similar enactment. There are base turnover reenactments and Pinatubo volcano dig-out reenactments. Our personal favorite was a room depicting Magsaysay Drive in its navy-liberty heyday. There is a go-go girl in glass case dancing while a sailor watches. Then a hallway is painted so as to be looking down the fabled street..….with signs reading, Cal-Jam, Sharks Cove, Florida Club, Far East Rock. The museum is open Monday through Friday 9AM to 6 PM. Admission is 50 pesos.

MSC tankers and supply ships continue coming into Subic Bay on a regular basis. We also had two submarines in as many months. These were the first subs to visit since the attack on the USS Cole several years back. First the Pasadena and then the Topeka came in for several days each. The ‘bubble heads’ had a blast and were great guys. The USS Frank Cable is currently in port right now making their first visit in years.

After more than 6 years the MV Doulos returned to Subic Bay in January for a 10 day stay. It is the largest floating book fair carrying a half million books. Built in 1914, it is only two years younger than the Titanic. Note the similar shape. The ship has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest ocean going passenger ship. It was packed daily as schools ferried students to this worthy attraction.

We hate to pass on so many death announcements but some of these people have been in the area forever and it is worth noting their passing to faraway friends. In the last year Rick McGowan owner of Islanders Bar as well as Island Girls during the base days passed on. Gary Hudson a fixture at FRA San Antonio died. He was joined by Thomas (Andy) Anderson. Gene Gann, twice post commander of the local VFW also died. And just a few weeks ago Chester Gross who founded and ran the Retired Affairs Office since the base departure died in February.

One day I was talking with some people after a dart tournament at the Midnight Rambler. It was late afternoon and there were still children on the beach. On the table was a small green box, the same shape but half the size of a pack of cigarettes. It said JOPE on it. Now Hope is one of the most popular brands of smokes in the Philippines. This was a perfect replica, green color and all except for the name change. They were candy cigarettes. I found the nine year old kid who brought them and ask, "Where did you buy these?" He goes, "In the canteen at our school." Today at one of the Duty Free stores on SBMA there was a man promoting a new brand of cigarettes. He was giving cigarettes away for free. The Philippines can still amaze.

1st	Mary Ann De Guzman, 19
2nd	Ana Margarita Milan, 18
3rd	Lealyn Alico, 18
Best Talent	Joanne Bessarra, 22

1st	Haydee Otenburg
2nd	Isabel Ketunuti
3rd	Dianne Damasco
4th	Lorna Encarnation
Mrs Photogenic	June Christine Gaw
Mrs Popularity	Haydee Otenburg
Best Bikini	Haydee Otenburg

Trivia Contest Winner - CRS (Can’t Remember Shit!)
Members: Bruce Duck, Jeff Duck, Tom Sturkie, George Laughlin

1st	Power Puff Girls
2nd	Lovely Girls
3rd	New Star
4th	Weslayan Dance Group
5th	Charmes

1st	Aaliyah Jershey Arevalo, 4
2nd	Ashley Nicole Villamor, 5
3rd	Princess Jessica Picardal

1st	Perlas ng Silangan
2nd	Tribong Gala
3rd	The Original Golden Beat

1st	Marjore F. Pangilinan
2nd	Miles Cameron Taylor
3rd	Jane Herman
4th	Mary Louise Wash