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MARCH 2000 It’s a Sunday night and on Monday, at 3 AM I have to head to Manila’s NAIA to jump on a plane heading for Japan then onward to Las Vegas. I will be eating my oats in that town for around 30 days. John, at Beeline, insisted that I submit a few words prior to my departure and I agreed after he gave me a discount on my ride to the airport. My original intention was to depart around 15 Apr but the Airlines decided to start their high season rates in mid-march rather than April. The money I saved will go towards paying the ridiculously high exit -entry fees that the Philippine government loves to charge us permanent residents. I like good news and today I read that our flesh eating Mr. Manero has had his pardon revoked. I guess Manero got carried away with the Dr. Adkins Miracle diet in which you can eat all the meat you want. Speaking of eating meat, Mo’s steak house is reporting better than expected sales and the word is out that this is a great place to eat. Yes, it is a bit more expensive but you are getting quality food and big portions for the pesos you spend. True to my word though, I will wait until I get my first social security check before I eat there (Opens at 4 PM). I did not wait to try the Kokomo’s Mongolian Bar-b-que as it looked too good to pass up and I was hungry. I tried it and thought it was great and I liked the price as well. I was able to put on a rather big feed for only P100. This tasty feast is available on fri-Sat-Sun by the poolside. More interesting business coming up towards the Clarkview area. Now we welcome Kevin and Aurora, owners of the “Aurora Sports Bar and Steak House” at the location where the Bali Hai Restaurant was located (right next to the Good Times Bar). The outside area features a nice bar and three large TV’s situated in strategic locations. The steak house is closed in and air-conditioned. I checked out the menu and it featured some very nice meals at reasonable prices. I did not have time to eat but did enjoy talking to Kevin and will definitely put in a feed when I return from Las Vegas (if I still have money left). Wes Prentiss may still be in the old lock-up and trying to figure out how to pay off some high priced lawyers but he is still managing to have folks continue working on the opening of his new massage parlor. Going through the place it appears that it will have a bar and at least 5 or 6 massage rooms. Each room will have a bed and shower. As soon as I can find out what the prices will be, I’ll let you know. I am waiting for the return of Wes so I can get him to autograph the picture of him that I cut out of the newspaper. Isn’t it great to live in a country that treats foreigners so well?? Wes is in the process of building up a hotel in the premises of what used to be Randy Ram’s Hotel. This will be in the back of the Aurora Sports Bar. Well done Wes, keep spending that money before the greedy lawyers get all of it. In case you’re wondering what happened to Charlie Horne’s Armenian Airline and all the great service that was to be offered I can only report that everything is on hold at the moment. It seems like the aircraft and crews departed for Armenia or Russia to take on some charters for a month or so. After all, the crews had to be fed and someone had to make some money. Old Charlie is taking this time to try and sort out procedures and paperwork so he can, once again, try and get this very worthwhile endeavor off the ground. Regretfully, we will have to wait a bit longer. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for other charters that may be landing and taking off from Clark. Try to remain optimistic. The new Veteran of Foreign Affairs (VFW) building is fast becoming a very popular place for locals and foreigners to eat. They also feature a very large steak meal and daily specials. It seems that many of the Filipino customers who used to eat at the RHUMPA are moving over to the VFW. Who can blame them, some one needs to paint that place and do some renovations to brighten it up. I always called it the “Home of the Living Dead” because of some of the folks that used to sit around there but lately I have not seen them. Never-the-less, the atmosphere inside is just as depressing as ever. Still, why quibble when you can eat a good meal at a very reasonable price. Me, even though I am tight with the peso, I’d still rather pay a bit more for a clean place to eat. Lead me to the VFW. You know, if you wonder around a bit, there are a lot of different places to eat at locations run by ex-pats offering good food at low prices. For the budget conscious let me direct you to the Street Lights Tavern on Don Juico, especially on Wednesdays when they have a great Bar-B-Que feast; Hotel La Casa/Blue Boar Inn which features their super whopper burger, Hungarian sausage hot dog and dynamite omelet; Jerry’s Café – a good feed any day of the week featuring Jerry’s toothless smile; Thai food at the Swagman; Chantel’s (just next to the Highlander in Diamond Subdv.) and the place next to the Iron Horse run by an Englishman (sorry, I forgot the name and am too lazy to look it up). Now, a bit more up-scale in prices but worth a visit are the Zapata Mexican Food Rest. on Don Juico and the Cottage Kitchen right next to Street Lights. You know, for a treat or if you want to really impress your Mrs or date of the night, try the buffet at the Oasis Hotel. Shucks, now I’m hungry again and here I am Happy Birthday Harry Gee Whiz, the Balikatan is just about over and all those terrible GI’s that are ruining the Philippines will have to go home. What a load of bull----! These folks want a Mutual Defense Treaty to help them if they get their ass in a sling but heavens forbid if a soldier will walk their streets. They welcome the money, the aid, the Civic Action projects, but not the people who have to leave their families and life style elsewhere to come here for a few weeks, just to suffer verbal abuse, rudeness, demonstrations and bad press. God forbid that some worthwhile mutual training will enable the US and Philippine military to work together and bond as a cooperative fighting force so that less people will be killed. The only thing that the likes of Susan Pineda are concerned with are our “poor women” will be abused. Tell me Susan, who are the people who are abusing these young ladies when they are growing up in the Provinces? Gosh, a place where there are no GI’s at all yet they are being raped, seduced and left pregnant by who? It couldn’t be a sex starved Filipino lad could it? Anyway, as long as there is a Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) exercises like Balikatan are necessary. Now, not many people in the States would care if the MDT were scrapped, but if that happened, they better add Chinese to elementary school agendas as the Chines could walk in here as easily as the Japanese did back in the 40’s. Picture left: scenic view Iba Zambales Someone told me to ask “is it true that Robert Sullivan’s brother went to school with the King of Thailand?” Speaking of Robert, I saw him yesterday and I asked him if I could say anything positive about his shopping center project. He kind of smiled and told me to tell one and all to watch out for June, things will be happening at that time. Guess what folks, he has found some new investors that are going to put some pesos into the project. Stand by for news!! Welcome to the Philippines. One ex-pat was telling me his woes in trying to get some money. He wanted to open a dollar account at a bank but was told the minimum deposit was $100 but this could not be in cash. He was told that a check would be OK, but he did not have one. He asked what would they take, the answer was “a travelers check would be ok”. Fine, could they sell him one – “yes!!” He purchased the travelers check and then deposited it and was smiling happily when the transaction was completed. His smile faded when the teller told him that it would take 21 days to clear!! Ain’t that amazing – but to long time residents here, it doesn’t surprise us at all. Going to Barrio Barreto – check out the Siam Angel Thai Restaurant and Bar. John Gamber, a Denver Colorado man is the genial host. He has plans to renovate the place in the near future but right now he is ready to welcome one and all. Never send Jim Button of Tahitian Queen out on a motorbike to find a suitable picnic spot. Like a good scout Jim traversed the terrain, high and low and not even a small river would stop him – oops, actually, it did stop him halfway through. He got stuck and had to seek out assistance to extricate the bike from the quicksand like mud. That elusive picnic spot is yet to be found. What friendly Australian puked all over the well-known Don-Don while he was sitting in Valentine’s bar? Don-Don did not get mad until the guy smiled at him, thinking it was pretty funny. Don’s physical answer to this caused him to leave quickly before the coppers arrived. Heard a rumor that Charlie Horne was trying to get into the fight promotion game featuring Tyson and some heavy weight contender out of New York. Wanted to bring in some high rollers and VIP’s on his plane! No doubt just a baseless rumor as nothing has been heard officially. What is this Charles, yesterday – charter planes – today – fight promotions – tomorrow – the world? Picture right: Scenic View of Fields Ave This old horse has to get ready to depart in 3 ½ hours so my weary fingers will bring this column to a close. Probably won’t be able to update it until sometime in May because of my stateside visit – until then – enjoy life, but remember, be kind to horses. |
Dave Donney since leaving the Flying Tigers Restaurant/Bar has moved to the Park Hotel and is promoting that location as a place to stay when visiting Manila. It appears to be a nice alternative to the Swagman which does not even have a swimming pool and the rates are reasonable for Manila. It is located at 1032-34 Belen St., Paco, Manila, tel: 521-23-71 to 75. Their e-mail address is 
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