HarryTheHorse - Angeles City Expat Newsletter for July 2005

July leads off with a big bang as many of the Clubs in town are having special parties but I believe that Mo's place is the only one that is going to have a big fireworks display on the night of the 4th. The American 4th of July is a day of celebration, with picnics, softball games, bar-b-q's and parades but it will not be a happy time for the family of US Army Col James Rowe who was shot to death in the back seat of his car as he was being driven to the US Embassy in 1989. I mention this now because it upset me to read on the front page of the Jun 19th issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer that one of the killers was to be released from the new Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa on June 28 after serving 16 years in prison. Originally Donato Continente was given a life sentence on Feb 27, 1991 for being a principal participant in the murder of Rowe. The Supreme court reviewed the case in Aug 2000 and reduced his sentence to 14 years when they decided he was only an accomplice. He was recommended for parole three times but was made to serve his full term, supposedly because of pressure from the US government. What upset me the most is how the Inquirer portrayed this killer in their article. They reported that he met his wife, Imelda while in prison as he was participating in a hunger strike waged by political prisoners. She offered her medical services to the prisoners, met Donato and they were married in the prison, two years later they had a son. Now, for Father's Day the Inquirer makes a bleeding heart story out of this man with a picture of him kissing his bride in 1996 and then writing about his 7 year old son and how he looked forward to the date his father would be released from prison. OK, he served his time, he married and had a son while in prison but he is not a man I feel sorry for or, in my opinion, should be recognized on Father's Day. On top of that an anti-American statement just had to be printed as Karaparan secretary general Marie-Hilao Enriquez said "While the US government may, as usual, release (him), the challenge is there for the Arroyo administration to follow its own laws and side with its own citizen even if it displeases a foreign power." So, a killer goes free, good enough, but to glorify him on Father's day is a disgrace and to include a slap in the face for the US Government was uncalled for. Maj Rowe survived tours in Vietnam only to be gunned down by cowards who are then imprisoned as "political prisoners" and one of the cowards, Donato Continente now walks freely without any regrets of what he did. His goal now is to dedicate his time outside fighting for his fellow political prisoners' release and I hope that he absolutely does not enjoy any success in that endeavor.

I am sure many of you are keeping track of the political situation in the Philippines as President Arroyo and her family find themselves under fire. I hope that this will not deter a drop in Tourism as the situation does not present any dangers to those that would like to visit the Philippines and particularly Angeles City. The good news is that whenever the Philippine government goes through their frequent political controversies the dollar rate against the peso is most favorable to those of us earning dollars. Presently it is P55.25 to the dollar where not too long ago is had dipped to just under 54 to the dollar. Right now there is a lot of uncertainty as to whether Ms. Arroyo will survive this latest crisis and I suspect that the month of July will be critical in determining which direction the Government will be going. See, never a dull moment in the Philippines, there is always something to catch one's attention. But, no matter what goes on, the lights on Fields Ave never go out (except for brown-outs) and the ladies keep on dancing. Hey, welcome to July, come on over and see us.

Would you believe that I just about missed all the food that was offered at the Hole in the Wall for their 3rd anniversary of the American Steel Motorcycle Club in the Philippines! I forgot about it because Knights of the Brown Ring (AH) Club met that day and my brain became numb. Even so, I went there at 10:45 PM and Garth still had some food left. I managed to scoff down some chicken, baked beans, potato salad, spicy rice, and my favorite, Thai chicken salad. I was so happy to be able to catch this treat because my objective was to get a picture so I could plug their 2 Jul 2nd Anniversary of the Hole-in-the-Wall celebration. Once again, Garth will be on cooking duty working his magic on the chicken and pork chops but alas, once again, it is the first Saturday and the Ass Hole Club will be in full swing but this time, I will post a reminder to my computer and make sure I head over to help celebrate the event and for sure, enjoy some of the best grilled meat in town. This event will start at 2 PM but as you can tell, 25 Kilos of chicken and 25 kilos of pork chops plus loads of trimmings can last a long time, plenty of food for everyone. See you there?

It looks like Mo has pulled out all the stops for a big blast to celebrate the Yank's fourth of July weekend celebration. I sure hope enough of you got the word in advance and made plane reservations. If not, well eat your heart out, start planning for next year! Here are the details that were posted on the AC Message board:

July 2nd: The Go2Phil Lock-In from 3 to 6 at Treasure Island followed by a barhop beginning in Lollipop and moving (I'm not sure of the order) on to Alaska (for their grand opening), Bar Hoppin and Wild Wild West (maybe more to be added). The Alaska bar has been open for a month already and is proving to be a popular watering hole.

July 3rd: Fil-Am Friendship Pool Party and Dance and Bikini Contest at Mo's Place Pool. The night of the 3rd, we have The Midnight Ramblers - one of the top rock and roll bands in the Philippines. They've been graciously loaned to us by Allan from Midnight Rambler.

July 4th: Fil-Am Friendship Day American/Filipino Buffet at Mo's. Around 9, we'll have another SPECTACULAR fireworks display that will last about an hour. This is an event you do not want to miss.

The local VFW hosted the Department of Pacific Areas 39th Annual Convention last month and must be congratulated for a job "well done". Special mention goes out to Bob Zaher who compiled and edited the souvenir book as it took a lot of work to prepare. In particular, I thought the cover photo was brilliant. Bob came to me looking for cover ideas but the more he talked about it the more I saw that he was putting a plan together as he spoke. He combined three different pictures into one and came up with a cover that is so appropriate and well worth saving. Great job Bob!

Where is Lewie Lewis these days? Have heard that he is in England driving a truck and saving up the pesos for a return here, maybe. Where is Richard, the cook who whipped up the Indian dishes that were so popular in town? Have heard that he is working in Makati, Manila at some restaurant named Heckle & Jeckle (Sp?).

I received an email from a lad named Terry last month and it qualified to make my "worth passing on" list. I have added my comments:

Speaking of "ugly" lets look at the ugly situation of the Doll House. Two lads came here from Hawaii

with tons of money at their disposal and very little experience with the trials and tribulations of this town. They spent a fair amount of money in buying out Wet Seals and then proceeded to gut the building and build a three story establishment with a Club on the ground floor. Ah, yes, it was also necessary to find a local that they could use as the "dummy" owner and get the license and permits in his name. Of course they found a great volunteer that they could "TRUST". The interior looked good, a bit overboard but what the heck, they had the money, millions of pesos can go a long way. Along the way they upset DMZ owner Tick for a while as they were fussing over some small encroachment problems. Then, they upset many of the local expat bar owners with the methods they were using to recruit entertainers and dancers. Being nice guys from Hawaii they decided to give their live-ins air-conditioned comfort, plasma TV, good food, etc. My goodness, who could resist such a good deal. Finally, they opened, and operated 24 hours a day and all appeared to be going well. As to whether they were making a profit is not known but the bills were being paid. They had the balls to introduce P3,000 bar fines for their special models who made brief appearances in between the breaks of the regular dancers; now, that was a new approach in AC but there were not many who wanted to spend P3,000 on a few ladies that were not all that great looking or special to begin with and the popular belief was that these ladies did not want to go out anyway. The regular dancers were a mixed lot, with the usual complimentary overweight lasses for those who like a bit of meat on their ladies. Then they are busted by the NBI for having a Cyber-sex operation on their third floor which everyone you talk to connected with the Doll House denies existed. Never-the-less, after an overnight visit to NBI Headquarters in Manila, they are released, supposedly for "lack of evidence". The word on the street is that this visit to Manila cost them quite a bundle of cash for "transportation" costs???? OK, so suddenly D & C are hard to find, they are resting their weary bodies and "C" departs for Hawaii to replenish his cash reserves. No problem, the Doll House was not closed down and the operation could continue; except for the very Dummy owner "Angel", who it turns out was not so dumb at all. Allegedly, he was paid an advance of P500,000 to put his name to the license that registered the bar as "Turla's Bar" but in fact was called the Doll House. On 30 May Angel, Operator, requested "that the Office of the Mayor, thru the Business Permit and License Division, temporarily close my said establishment because I do not want to be implicated or condone the use of the said establishment for illegal purposes." Naturally, the Mayor's office responded to this request by ordering the closure of the Doll House and it remains closed to this day. Sources have informed me that Angel would have a change in his moral stand if he was to receive two million pesos from the Doll House owners. So much for "trusting" someone! Supposedly Mr.T also holds the business permits for three CDC stalls as well belonging to Doll House. Now, an attorney contracted to the Doll House is mediating a settlement with the key players involved.

Somewhere here, there is a lesson to be learned. Regardless of what some people may think of D or C, they are investors who poured big money into Angeles City (Fields Ave) and employed many people. No one wants to see a fellow investor taken to the cleaners by a local national that was given a sweet deal out of trust and then became greedy and vicious when the opportunity to do so became available. The lesson to be learned by anyone coming to this town with intentions to invest in a business, especially a bar, is to do so slowly, allowing plenty of time to analyze, ask advice, and deal with a lawyer. There are ways to protect one's self from unscrupulous men or women that offer to allow their names to be used on a license to operate. No doubt this problem will be resolved, but at a cost, not only in pesos but in the negative publicity for Angeles City and future investors. The closure of the Doll House was not initiated by City Hall, in fact, it would be more beneficial for the Club to remain open and submit taxes and income to the City, regretfully, one person, Mr. T is solely responsible. I wonder, sometimes, why intelligent people come to this town and so freely invest money in ways that they would never consider doing in their home countries. Quite often an overactive sex drive aided by Viagra overrides the logical thought process. So, the Doll House saga will become part of the long history of "burps" encountered on Fields Ave; over the years there have been many. The Doll House investors are not the first victims and no doubt, not the last, but if by reading this, a future investor will take note and exercise due caution then he or she will enjoy success and add to the excitement of Fields Ave. A day after writing this I saw that the Doll House reopened and it was business as usual. No doubt, the lawyer, Mr. Timbol, was able to mediate a settlement suitable to one and all.

LATE NEWS- Yes, the Doll house did open again but the word from various sources is that it cost the owners between one and two million pesos to settle with Angel. Also, after talking to a source I learned why the owners trusted Angel so much. It seems that they had a long term relationship with Angel and his father and that Angel had business dealings with them in Hawaii as well. When D & C came to Angeles City Angel was their main contact and advisor. Now, another source that spoke with Angel one day when he was in City Hall informed me that Angel was a bit distressed because he felt that everyone was against him and did not want to listen to his side of the story. Well, the story is over, the damage was done, money was spent and the Doll House owners, a lot wiser than before, can go back to making money.

I finally got a chance to stop in at the "Crazy Horse" bar located on Perimeter Road, within walking distance of the Hotel La Casa and the VFW. Vegas Gary is the driving force behind this new bar and during the renovation process did a good job on space utilization. When I walked in I noticed that the air-conditioner was quite effective in providing relief from the outside heat and there were a bunch of dancers willing to expend all the happiness one could ask for. Now, the line-up was not spectacular, in fact there were a couple of ladies that would please anyone with a "fat girl" fetish but hey, different strokes for different folks. So, why take the time to visit the Crazy Horse? For one, the friendliness, Vegas Gary is a good host; two, the company, nice place to meet some of the local lads and enjoy some conversation where the music is not too loud; and last but not least, the prices which are pretty damn reasonable. Now, I am sure on one is going to run out of a big club on Fields Ave just to get to the Crazy Horse, but if you happen to find yourself up that way, stop in, relax and enjoy another no hustle, no pressure bar on Perimeter Road, where the customer is still King for the day! Oh yes, if you get hungry, just walk a few feet around the corner and stop in at the Blue Boar Inn for a drink and a feed. Sorry Gary, just had to piggy back on this one.

While visiting at the YATS Wine Club I met a friend of Chef Phillip who was to be the Chef at the new Crown Plaza Hotel in Ortigas, Manila that is scheduled to open on 1 Jul 05. It is a 244 room Hotel featuring the biggest ballroom in the Philippines. I was told that it will have a coffee shop, fine dining and also a food area with 7 different stations offering something different at each station, i.e., Chinese, Japanese, pizza, salad, Tandoori, noodle, western and desert. It is a unique concept put together by Chef Cyrille who was previously with the Prince Albert in Makati. I know the Horse will never be able to afford to stay at this hotel but who knows, it might be interesting and affordable just to stop by and sample the food. I could take Priscilla there for a special treat but don't expect a review here anytime too soon.

Guess I will have to get back with Mayor Lazatin and remind him that he told me I could quote him when he said the Friendship bridge would be open by end of June. It is my fault, I forgot to ask what year!

Once in a while I like to recognize senior citizen dads - those lads that came to the Philippines feeling old but after a few weeks or months here were convinced by the young ladies that they are "still young". So with this in mind, let me greet a devoted reader of this column, Ron Connell, known in New Castle, Australia as the "baby maker". If there are other HTH readers that fall in the 62+ category, married to a Filipina and are new Dads and would like their achievement acknowledged, just drop the old Horse a line. By the way, would like to say hello to Cob Jobbins and his wife Amy who are running a coffee shop in Launceston, Tasmania, an Island at the bottom of Australia. Cob and his Mrs were long time residents of Angeles City where it is always nice and warm. I hear that they are suffering right now from the cold Aussie winter. No problem Cob, just keep the hot coffee on the burner and bar-b-q a kangaroo or two. I wonder if he goes hunting for those Tasmanian Devils?

CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST FUND RAISER

Every year Mark Smith, owner of Road House, organizes an August fund raiser in support of the Bahay Bata Street Children's Center. The running of this Center that currently houses, feeds, clothes and educates 30 boys takes at least P250,000 a month to operate. The success of this Center has been made possible through the generous contributions of the many tourists not only at special fund raisers but all year long as well. Trance from PI Adventures sends the following message:

trance@piadventures.com

Include this full email (particularly the headers).

Message sent to you follows:

----------------------------------

All,

Now that the Invasion Barhop is officially over, something that I have been planning to do for awhile is upon us. As some of you know (that check in on a regular basis) I have been looking at things to do to help contribute to the community in the area that so many of us frequent (or would like to frequent)

Volumes of praise have been written about the Annual Christmas in August Fundraiser that is hosted at Roadhouse. In light of that, I have converted the frontpage (http://www.piadventures.com/forums/portal.php) over to have a write-up on the even. Additionally, I have set up a PayPal account so ANYBODY can donate. $5, $10, $15 etc, it doesn't matter. EVERY little bit counts and adds to the total, so don't be shy. Obviously with PayPal the transactions are SECURE and you get a receipt of it (it's marked under "Bahay Bata Childrens Donations").

Additionally, to try and help out I will accept payments for tickets for the big raffle. If some of you want to buy raffle tickets for your honeyko, you can set it up as a donation, give me her name and how to get the tickets to her and I will be happy to deliver them the weekend of the 4th of July. If she misses me and/or I can't find her OR she is in the province at the current time, I will leave them with HRJames at 4myhoneyko for her to pick up.

DONATIONS OF SPORTS MEMORIABILIA WOULD BE GREAT AS WELL. Also Mark Smith will be providing me with a list of medical supplies once the doctors at the center give him an update. If you would prefer to donate either of those three ways it will be GREATLY appreciated.

Like I said, the write-up is located at:

http://www.piadventures.com/forums/portal.php

PLEASE take a second to look at it. Remember, this is for the CHILDREN and the money DOES GO WHERE IT IS SUPPOSED TO! I'd like it very much if the members of PIAdventures could help contribute to this. Also, Mark is checking with Rick of Rick's CAfe to see if he is still accepting donations for the Childrens Center. If he is, then I will list that as well incase some of you have a good rapport there and would prefer to donate that way.

That is all, best regards always-

+Trance+

1. Just in case you would like to know. Mike Gimm died in a motorcycle accident in Thailand about two weeks ago. This is the first word that our family had received about him (other than your news letter) in 15 years. We were notified of his death by the US State Department Office in Thailand. We do not know more than that. Please inform your readers. (this message was sent to me by Thomas Gimm)

2.The American Legion sent me this notice - Leo Stewart has passed away, arrangements pending. Our condolences go out to his family. (Harry the Horse knew Leo for many years, going back to the days when we all bowled together at the MWR Bowling Center on Clark AB when the US Forces were still here. My sincere condolences to his family and when the taps play at the cemetery, I will, sadly, wish another comrade a reluctant farewell.)

3. For information only - the police investigated a found dead male foreign national at A. Santos St., Balibago, Angeles City wherein the body of one Stephen Taylor, 56 years old, single, Australian National, tourist and temporarily billeted at Villa Modesto Hotel, AC. No foul play on the death of Mr. Taylor as declared by Dr. Joven Esquerra. This was reported on 7 Jun 05.

The following story was forwarded to me by a reader of this column. My comments are in itallics.

Hello Mr. Harry:

Thank you for your free monthly newsletter that gets posted online. Since discovering it, I read the back issues up to June 2004. (Dear Prisonmate - now I hate to deal with nick-names but will let it slide. Your comments are a bit long so I have used editorial license to try and shorten it. After reading your comments I tend to think that you did not make too many good choices when selecting ladies to be with. It seems your trip was taken up with trying to get a good nights sleep and finding "that special lady", both of which seemed to elude you. I strongly recommend that you return for another visit and forget the "chat ladies" who are usually knee deep in bullshit and just enjoy the many Clubs that can offer you a wide selection of companions who will not be shy and can be fairly talkative).

I am in Angeles now but will be leaving tomorrow. I know you love this town and I thought maybe you would like to hear one of your thousand reader's viewpoint on Angeles.

I arrived early last Thursday morning around 8AM and checked in to Central Park Hotel. (Excellent Manager Rose and Front Desk Staff, if they were barfineable, I would never have had to visit the bars, LOL) To get rid of the jet lag, I tried to sleep but could not (maybe it was due to the excitement of being here) so I went out to visit one on my Chat mates I met on 2matchu.com. She works in one of the Short Time Bars on Santos Street. Very sweet girl but very shy when she saw me face to face. (I know it's hard to believe a girl on Santos Street being shy, LOL, but she is a sweet girl). (you're right, it is VERY difficult to believe - please provide name of bar so a few hundred readers can check to see if she is still "shy".)I realize now it is different when chatting online versus seeing people you know face to face. Without any conversation as she could not face me, I felt uncomfortable making her uncomfortable so I just told her I'll be back later to see her again. For some reason, I never did. (Good decision)

However, the heat and humidity was getting to me and I returned to the hotel. Back in the hotel room, I still could not sleep so I went online and saw another chat mate online at 2matchu.com. Told her I was here and she was shocked I am really here so we make plans to meet the next day when her sister is also available. Now this girl is also very sweet but not a bar girl so I understand we had to be chaperone. Thirty min later she text she can not meet the next day but can we meet now. Her sister was not available but it was okay with her to meet alone. (the chaperone bit was bullshit - believe me, she had a plan). So she meet me at JJ Market and I took her to Chow king that was next door. Nice sweet girl but not talkative. I can tell she is shy but don't know why, am I too old for her? Decided to cut lunch (just had halo halo) short and say good bye. Was surprised she said yes when I asked her if she likes to go to hotel room with me. Same thing happened in room, no conversation, (Man, this is getting boring) so I cut the visit short and escorted her out and said good-bye. (Ah Hah, another good move)

Two in a row, shy girls. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but I am losing patience. Tried to sleep again and still can't. Decided to try walking and making myself tired by going as far as I can. I went all the way to the Blue Boar Inn. I asked to see you but you were not in. (Damn, I missed a drink and conversation). The walk was good as it gave me a perspective of the distance on Wayne's ACmap. Man, what a walk. Good exercise but the humidity was getting to me. Won't do this again. By the time I got back to Hotel I was ready for my second shower of the day. Maybe I can sleep now.

NOPE, now it is the construction noise coming from across the street where they are building an extension of Swiss Chalet Hotel. I can not live like this. So I got up again and started looking at hotels around the area for another hotel if available. Try the Royal Amsterdam and Natalie Apartelle and a few others. Only Royal Amsterdam has LAN in room. (Not true, there are others, including the Hotel La Casa/Blue Boar Inn). After informing Central Park of my plans to move out, Manager Rose was very nice and offered to move to another room. I told her I will wait and see how the noise is tomorrow. Ended up not moving after all as I figure Rose was so nice to check me in early without charging me. (Hey, they were not stupid, no way did they want to lose a customer especially since the construction noise was not under their control - most hotel managers in town will do their best to keep a customer happy - Rose did a good job, Roselle should give herself a bonus).

By 6PM, still no sleep, but it was getting closer to night when the bars started opening. Did not want to rush things so I started going to bars on Real Street. I would go in and look around and see if anything attracts me and then leave without buying a drink, takes only a min or less doing this (you are fast). By the time I got to my sixth bar, it was the Geckos. I had planned the same routine of going in and out BUT this time this one girl grab me and hug me rubbing her body against me. How can I say no to that? Not only that but she looks like a co-worker I worked with. She was one fun and sexy thing. No shyness from her. Bought her a lady drink and things were going good. All the other girls were encouraging me to barfine her so I did. (just think, if she had not tackled you when you entered you could have made a clean escape)

Now I consider myself a great body language reader and I noticed she was not as happy as before I barfined her. It was not obvious for other layman (believe me, it would be obvious to 99% of the visitors here) but I could see a slight change in her attitude. I realize now she was a little fearful, nervous, and unsure cause I called her bluff and barfined her. Think, if you were her, she was safe in the bar but now she is going out with a stranger (surprise, surprise, that is her job). Depending on her past experience with other barfines, this could be a good or bad thing.

Went back to the hotel and had a good session with her. We talked and I asked her about her family and life. I wanted her to feel comfortable with me. After our session, she turned on the TV and translated some Tagalog show she wanted to watch. I am not as young as I used to be so it was fine with me as I could not go another round so fast. Plus I don't take drugs like Viagra, maybe I should (LOL) but I just don't. Then she said she is leaving because she cannot sleep in a strange bed (Hee - Hee, excuse me while I laugh my ass off at this one). I don't consider this as a runner as nothing was agreed upon on length of stay. Plus if she did not want to stay, I did not want her to stay either. She is not a slave and free to go whenever she want (Mate, after paying an EWR it is kind of understood that it will be an all nighter but all too often this is not the case).

While online I checked my Yahoo IM, and another Chat mate was also online (how many of these flaky chatmates do you have?). Now I was desperate (I can imagine) to talk to someone so I asked her to meet me. She was agreeable and I met her at 2matchU Café and we walked to a Live Band Show on McArther Highway but the music was too loud to talk so we took a trike to Chow King (Again! Next time try Spencer's). We talked for three hours there and it was good for me. Would of talked more but my throat was getting tired (See, you talk too much) so I walked back to McArthur Highway and made sure she was safe taking a jeepney (did you give her jeepney fare?). Went back to hotel and finally fell asleep even if it was for two hours.

Memory lapse here now so I think all I did was surf the net, ate lunch at Red Sea (finally, a good choice) and walked around the bars planning my attack for the night. By the luck of fate, my next barfine was a Cherrygirl at Confettis (oh boy, I'm beginning to get sick). Now I thought I would never barfine a Cherry Girl, but as long as I can do everything I want except full intercourse I was okay with that. Now these Cherry Girls were very cute and I picked the curtest. First Mistake there. She was not talkative (here we go again, man these girls are not even high school graduates and you want to talk). But my little head was thinking and not my big head. Treated her like a girlfriend but after our session, I can tell she was not comfortable being in the same room so I offered to take her back to the bar. The next night when I went to see her to say hi, she did not even acknowledge me. Like I was no one. I guess I was no one to her. Lesson here, don't expect them to return any feeling toward you. It's a job and only a job for some of them. (It could be that she just did not like you or hated your conversation or maybe the word was out that you only take the ladies to Chow King to eat).

The next day I had Lunch at Magarita Station. If you like flies and no A/C, then this is the place to go (Actually, Margarita Station is quite popular and has good food, well, a fly or two may be seen but it adds to the ambience). Went to Robinson Mall in the afternoon. They had a talent contest there. And the music was blasting everywhere in the mall. Poorly design mall as clean and cool it may be on the inside, it's not that impressive. Looks like most of the stores are food related. Looks like 90% food related. (Don't complain, they have a Chow King there).

At night I meet a Chatmate I did not attend to meet. She was working at one of the clubs but decided she did not want to dance anymore. How true this is, only she knows. Oh well. She saw me online and chatted with me and I gave her my cell number. We met at Chowking (Gee, what a surprise) and I offered her the amount of barfine I would of pay the bar if she was still working there (Want to bet the bar never saw their share?). She accepted it and I guess she needed the money (no shit!). After our session, I walk her to Fields to make sure she was safe. Sweet and shy girl, hard to believe she was a dancer (She just finished an acting class).

Now before meeting her, I was already sleeping because I was not finding the bars all that enjoyable for my own reasons. So I was calling it a night. But since she texted, I said why not, maybe this is the one. She wasn't the "one" but she was a sweet girl.that was out of work. The next day she text me again. I text her to meet me at ChowKing (I notified Chow King and they are sending you a letter of appreciation). It was 2PM and very hot. She ordered a halo halo. Her English was limited so we did not talk much. I was not going to boom boom her again. But I wanted to help her so I quietly gave her 1500 pesos (how sweet, she will treasure the memory for at least 12 hours, until chatmate number 35 shows up) as a token of our friendship and left it at that.

The next day I lost all memories except I tried to catch up on my sleep. I did go out a few times to the bars and drank water while buying a few ladies drinks but just no excitement. Went back to the hotel alone, realizing how poor these people are and wondering if I am not contributing to their fate. (boy, am I sorry I did not get to meet you, maybe I could have advised you on how to change your modus operandi. I hope you will have a better time on your next visit. Better still, stay home, buy a book teaching CONVERSATIONAL TAGALOG, study it and then try a repeat visit).

Prisonmate
Member of PIadventures.com

Another Philippine agency has figured out how to get money from foreign investors here. This time it is the Telecommunications Agency and they have been going around looking for Satellite dishes being used at hotels, bars, etc. So far the Phoenix Hotel and Mo's place have been targeted. According to this agency anyone with a satellite dish is required to have a license and this license will cost P7,500. Of course, no one knew this before so now, they are made to pay up. OK, once the fee is paid they now hold the license until you pay the penalty for the illegal use of the satellite that will cost another P6,500 to P7,500. The Phoenix paid up but Mo is holding out because of one little point he is making, the fact that the dish is not in use because the American FEN Network cut the signal and the dish, now, is useless. But, according to this zealous agency that does not matter, hey, you have a dish, whether in use or not, you have to pay.

Here's another one for business owners to be aware of. A representative from the Dept of Labor (DOLE) is making rounds to the hotels checking for compliance of regulations. Here are the violations that were noted by one Hotel on Fields Ave: 1. Under payment of wages under Wage Order #9. 2. Non-payment of COLA under WO # 10. 3. Non-payment of unworked regular holiday pay. 4. Non-payment of special day premium on May 2 and May 7 2005. 5. No payment of 10% night shift differential. 6. Non-payment of rest day premium. Now, she went into another category which is Occupational Safety and Health Standards violations: 1. No registration under rule 1020. 2. No drug-free workplace policy/program under DO 53-03. 3. No safety committee. Now this 1020 rule and drug-free policy/program are relatively new and not everyone is aware of the requirements. Recently at an ACTA meeting the subject was discussed and also one Victor Torres, an Expat living in Angeles City, is well versed on the requirements and is working with DOLE in advising businesses on how to comply with the Drug program. Anyone seeking advice on this subject can contact Victor at 09185115257.

The Viper Club ran into a problem last month when Police officials entered the Club based on a tip that an underage girl was employed. After checking ID's, indeed one lady was discovered to be three days short of her 18th birthday and she had only been working for two hours. The girls and the two Mamasan's were carted off to the Police station. The Mamasans were charged and are now out on bail. It is suspected that this whole situation was a set-up by a syndicate for the circumstances were too coincidental. Now, the problem is that the Mamasans knew that this girl was underage and still allowed her to work, which I am sure many other Clubs would have done the same thing. But, even if the girl is only hours away from being 18, if employed, she is working illegally and the Club owners are at risk. Somebody or some group is out there looking to cause some trouble for the Club owners on Fields Ave and the only way to stay safe is to make very sure that no underage girl is allowed to work. Owners must double check who their Mamasans are hiring and make sure that they are not cutting corners. Two Mamasans still have to go to court because of this incident and it is regrettable, no one is happy about it but Club owners, take due care, check each and every girl working for you NOW, especially those that claim to be 18 or 19. If they look young, run a thorough check on them. Stay safe, stay legal, stay out of trouble, don't let some assholes get in a position to hurt your business.

LOOKING OUT FOR YOU

The ACTA Tourist Police volunteers are working hard to try and keep the tourist area crime free and to assist any persons requesting assistance. I have extracted two incidents from their 24 Jun daily report that I think are of general interest to the readers of this column. The Tourist Police numbers have risen to 50 volunteers and another training session is being planned that when completed, will add approximately 35 more personnel. The objective is to have 24 hour coverage of the Tourist Area and deep enough to patrol all applicable locations. This increased visibility should go a long way towards getting rid of the hustlers that prey on the foreigners coming here and meet the goal of Peace and Order Director, Richard Agnew of having a completely crime free week in the Tourist area by Christmas.

A certain Tim Harter, 45 years of age, Single, American staying at the Natalia Apartelle reported to the Tourist Police that a HUSTLER approached him around 11 A.M. near the Hotel, befriended him and took him by jeepney to an undisclosed place near Marisol Subdivision. Upon arrival at the said suspects house, the victim was forcibly robbed of over P10,000 and later left at a location near the Robinson Mall, Balibago. Regretfully, the victim was still in a fearful state and could not identify the culprits nor could he specifically remember the area he was taken to. (The tourist police have made it very difficult for the card scam hustlers to operate in the tourist area as many have been identified and chased away. Their success is measured by the fact that these volunteers have received threats against their life and in one instance, had one motorcycle stolen and burned in retaliation. But, despite warnings, tourists still fall prey to this scam. Folks, please, please do not allow yourself to be taken in by these street maggots who try to befriend you while you are walking along Fields Ave or on Perimeter Road. Quite often they operate in the morning when tourists are not expecting foul play in broad daylight. Thanks to the ACTA Tourist Police the number of incidents have been reduced, dramatically, but complete success can be achieved only when newbie tourists are made aware of this scam and exercise due care.)

A certain Mark James G., 44 years of age, Australian and Jason S., 38 years of age, British and both billeted at Perimeter Hotel complained regarding a HUSTLER who approached them near their Hotel, which latter befriended them and took to an undisclosed place near Marisol. Upon arrival on the said suspects house the 2 foreigners were invited to play cards after which they were asked to pay money. The complainants stated that they did not have money in their pockets and then the suspects searched them to verify if they had money or not. When the suspects saw that the two were telling the truth, they drove them back and dropped them in Balibago. TPD Office called COMPAC 42 to refer to their office the case of the two foreign national. TP Operative Aristedes Jose assists the latter and brought to COMPAC 42 for proper disposition.

(This incident took place on 25 Jun, and once again, the area they were taken to was in Marisol. Please folks, whenever you are approached by a Filipino claiming to be a friend, or wanting to show you a good time, if possible get to a phone and call the TP hotline - 625-9999)

A certain Vivian Romero, Desk Clerk of America Hotel called TPD Hotline regarding a guest who refused to pay his hotel accommodation and room services who was identified as Allan K. TP Operatives Albert Lumba and Eugene Castro proceeded to said location to verify complain, The latter talked to the said guest of the hotel after which the foreigner paid the account amounting to 1,906 pesos. (Note here folks that there are instances where the tourist himself is the problem. This is the second incident at the America Hotel where a tourist had decided not to pay his room bill. In both instances the Tourist Police were able to mediate an equitable solution without bringing in PNP assistance. Before the advent of the TP this gentleman might have had to pay a lot more than just the room cost. Be advised that in a similar prior incident, the America Hotel staff tried to give the TP personnel a cash award for their assistance and it was refused. Instead a letter of appreciation from management was forwarded to the ACTA.)

A certain foreign national identified as Phillip J. G. appeared in this office (Tourist Police office) and reported that money was stolen from his friend while he was having a massage at the Faces Spa located on MacArthur Highway. The TP desk officer directed TP volunteer Rolando Torres to proceed to the said location and to verify the reported theft. Initial investigation disclosed that the friend of Phillip Golding whose name was not identified phoned him via cell phone and reported that his 5,000 pesos was missing and cannot be found while being treated at the Faces Spa. As TP Operatives arrived an employee at the Spa reported that the missing money was discovered in a trash can. The Face's staff who were on duty, identified as Evelyn Lansangan and Evelyn Montillon Tapnio had no idea how the money found its way to the trash can. Both ladies denied any complicity and the money was recovered and returned to the victim. TP volunteers Rolando Torres and David Fausto witnessed the proceedings and the turn over of the alleged stolen money. (The Horse strongly recommends that resident expats and tourists avoid the Face's Massage or if you do go there, watch out for those thieving trash cans!)

A few months ago Bananitas Club opened its doors to the public after being closed for a while. I took a couple of pictures but failed to put them in the June column. I enjoyed my visit to this bar, it is not exceptional nor do they offer anything more than most of the Clubs in town. But, that should be enough for most folks as the ladies were friendly, many were in the upper part of my 1 to 10 scale and the management was friendly. There is absolutely no reason not to visit this Club and since its opening I have not read or heard any negative comments so I can't be wrong. It is hard to compete with the bigger clubs in town but I think that the management works hard to do just that and that can only benefit the customer.

Nico and his band of followers gathered at the Butterfly Rock to celebrate the Club's 1st Anniversary. The evening reflected the "Rock" part of the name as the dancers were in high gear, the customers were in a festive mood and the snacks provided by Nico went down well with the booze. I could not believe that a year had gone by so quickly but then time does seem to accelerate once the senior citizen years kick in. Maybe next year Nico could play some Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin music for me instead of the Rock. OK, OK, I know, I should just stay home and go to bed at 10 PM, but that would not be any fun at all. Thanks for a nice evening Nico and I am glad that your Club is one of the success stories in town, despite being just off of Fields Ave.

It was a full house at the Limited Edition Club last 24 Jun as 2001 world pool champion Mika Immonen took on all challengers who wanted to test their skills against one of the best in the world. Mika Immonen was accompanied by another professional player, the personable Marcus Chamat. The game of choice was 9 ball, race to 2, withe the challenger being spotted the 7 ball and the 5, 7 for the women. The challenger got the first break. By golly there were a few who rose to the challenge and took the lads to the limit. Melvin "Lolo" White beat Mika and got P1,000 for the effort. Two other winners were Ron Manim and the beautiful Bianca who no doubt had Mika distracted by her good looks throughout the match. I believe three other Filipina's won but I did not get their names. Both Mika and Marcus signed autographs, pool sticks, shirts and one lady had him sign his name to her short shorts. It was festive and Dave Baker was there at the registration desk to make sure all went well. The Limited Edition was a perfect location for this event as there was plenty of room inside and best of all, plenty of space to park outside. This is not the first time Mika has brought his talents to Angeles City and we all hope it won't be his last visit.

I would like to welcome SEAIR as an advertiser with Harry the Horse and also thank Ken Norman, Manager, for the tour of their base of operations at Clark Air Base. The SEAIR operation has been around for a few years now and I know that the many tourists coming to this area make use of the flight services offered. Regretfully, since I seldom leave Angeles City I have only flown with SEAIR once, and that was using their L410 19 seater for the flight to Manila from Clark. Needless to say, I was impressed to see, close up, the Dornier 328 (Speedliner) Turbo Prop, 2 engine aircraft with a 32 passenger seating capacity used for their Clark-Boracay-Cebu destination. I did not realize that it only takes 45 minutes flying time for SEAIR to get from Clark direct to Boracay and this route is offered twice a week. Two additional Dornier's are on order with expected delivery dates in mid-October and the second one the first week of November. Once these new aircraft are flight checked then the Clark to Boracay/Cebu route will be increased to three times a week, and possibly, if all goes well, four times a week. The round trip fare to Caticlan (Boracay) is P7,170, one way is P3,585; the fare to Cebu (via Caticlan) is P6,930 round trip. A lot of folks might not be aware of the L410 daily flight that SEAIR offers to Manila for the low price of P2,130.

The trip only takes around 25 minutes and the cost is inexpensive when you consider that renting a car to get you to Manila from Angeles City will cost you over P2,000 now because of the increased tolls when using the North Luzon Expressway. OK, enough about the flights, you can read the ad and call the numbers listed for more information. I want to write about the Operations Center which is quite impressive and you can see by the picture what I mean. It is a first rate, professional set-up, looked over by Ken Norman, I was impressed. But the heck with Norman, I lost interest in him as soon as he introduced me to Liza Javier, the attractive 24 year old, single Assistant Supervisor Clark Operations Center. This lady is amazing, she started 2 years and 7 months ago with no experience and after on the job training plus some classes and dedication she has developed into the key all-around employee in the Center. She handles Flight check-in, dispatcher, load controller, aircrew scheduling, aircraft scheduling for special charters and planning analysis as well. She lives in San Fernando, has no boyfriend and has a very pleasant personality. This is one lady that any young man would be proud to be courting. I have no idea how you would manage to meet Liza but if it was me, I would find out when she is scheduled for one of the familiarization flights she has to take once in a while and book a ticket on that flight. I'm not sure how helpful Ken Norman would be in providing any information since, no doubt, he does not want to lose this talented lady.

Not only did Liza fascinate me but learning about Iren Dornier, SEAIR's chairman and the grandson of the aviation legend himself is an interesting story. I will save this for next month's column as this bit has gone on long enough already. Let me just say that I think of Iren as today's Howard Hughes because of his dream to restore a certain aircraft and fly it around the world. By the way, as I write this he is making that dream come true as he is halfway through with his around the world journey.

A couple of lads dropped by to visit me and told me that I should feature Nelsa as my special girl of the month in July. I was told to get to Limited Edition to meet her but had to get there early as she is a very popular lady and gets to leave the Club early every evening. So, I made a point of meeting Elsa and found that she is 5'8" tall, a very nice figure (34-27-34) and pleasant to talk to. In order to get her picture I had to pry her away from a customer for a few minutes. She is 21 years old and is a high school graduate. She told me that she is very available but her maximum age bracket for anyone interested is in the fifties. See what I mean about coming to the Philippines, how many 21 year old women in the States like dating men in their fifties? Oh, the good news is that her sister will be joining her at Limited Edition in a month or so and she is 5'7" - OK stop there - I already know what you are thinking. Nelsa's Email address is: sweetnelsa@yahoo.com. A message for Mark Allan, don't worry mate, Nelsa might still be around if you ever get back to Angeles City, but you better hurry!

Brian Boland and John Liddy are from Melbourne, Australia and when I met them at the Limited Edition they were in very high spirits. I believe this was John's first visit but Brian has been coming here since 1996 when he read about Angeles City in my column. I am happy to say that Brian is a member of the Blue Boar Inn's Knights of the Brown Ring (AH Club) and really looks forward to the monthly meetings. This is his third trip and when I left the two lads, they were holding court with Nelsa but I am not sure if they meet the age requirement. No doubt, Nelsa would give them a waiver if they asked nicely. After being here, life in Melbourne has to be boring for these two energetic gentlemen but I bet they have a lot of tales to tell, eh, and maybe even a few pictures?

I had never heard of the Leisure, Entertainment, Recreation & Tourism (LERT) organization before but they had a very closed, private meeting at the Yats Wine Club last month. It was encouraging to know that there is a group of people that have come together to look at ways to bring more activities to Clark and to this area in general. The names of those at the meeting were impressive: Ludwig Riedec, Asia Pacific Projects (Guest of Honor), Nariga Lim, CDC Tourism, Benny Ricafort, CDC Director, Mr. Ian Packham, General Manager, Philexcel, Mr Denny Wang, CEO Yats International, Noel Manankil, LERT Action Officer and N. Lim representing Mr. Tony Ng, President of CDC. I tried to wait until the meeting was over to interview the participants and to get a picture of the group but the meeting was still going on past noon and I had to leave for another function. For sure I will be interested in what future plans LERT has for Clark and hope that they will be able to bring Clark up to the standards enjoyed by Subic (SBMC).

Some fun loving pool players from England, once a year, pop over to Angeles City to challenge the Aussies

and Yanks to a pool challenge. This year it was hosted by Clive, Roys Pub and Restaurant. It was a round robin format, six singles and three doubles. I arrived at the tail end of the event as I had to attend a Rotary Year End Review first but I was in time to see the battle for second place between the Aussie and British teams. Yep, the Yanks won first place, was there ever any doubt! The fight was well fought but the Aussie Team came out in front and the Brits had to be content with third place. For full details check out www.UKPool.info. Pictured here are the team members for each country and at the end of the day, it was all about camaraderie, drinking and just a lot of plain fun. (Pictures - top left, the Aussies, top right, the Brits and to the right are the Yanks)

On 1 July the Wild Orchid Resort will officially be open to the public and this has to be one of the best hotels in town. There are 53 rooms, 18 of which have a balcony overlooking the pool area. The prices are $59, $69 and $79 (US) with 11 rooms having connecting doors to another room. There are two Jacuzzi rooms & three veranda rooms for $79 with the Jacuzzi rooms being a bit more spacious. Each room has a personal safe, 29" TV, DVD player, internet access plus WiFi access in the garden. The lobby is beautiful, so spacious and well laid out. Marble Mark is to be complimented on the work he did on the check-in counter and also for the bar counter top in the lobby. The bar seats 22 people and there is a pool table available. The pool is spectacular and the pool bar seats 10 in the water and 10 out of the water. A travel agency and Sari-Sari store will occupy spaces in the lobby.

The 24 hour restaurant is glassed in and faces A. Santos Street. An Australian chef has been brought on board and, previously, he worked in top restaurants in Melbourne. Scott Rogers will be the resident manager and I am sure he will be kept busy with a high occupancy rate. Last 30 Jun the owners had a dry run by inviting 40 guests and their spouses/girlfriends to an overnight stay with free accommodation, food and drink starting at 5 PM. The idea was to have these people enjoy an overnight stay and take note of any discrepancies/problems that they noticed and to submit comments the next day. It seemed like a good idea to me especially since Priscilla and I were included in the invitations. Regretfully, I had already submitted my column for this month so my impressions will have to wait until August. The Wild Orchid Resort portrays the trend of more upscale Hotels being built in the entertainment area. During this year we have seen the opening of the Royal Amsterdam, the Orange Lion, the Swiss Chalet and the Central Park Hotels but according to Dept. of Tourism Regional Director Ronnie Tiotuico, many more rooms are needed in Angeles City and he applauds the completion of these new Hotels.

Last month the Businessmen's luncheon was held at Nero's Club and I thought it would be nice to show two very different views of how serious these lunches are. Now, no matter how hard I tried I could never get a beer bottle to balance on my head like the lady shown here. She definitely had some gymnastic skills on display. The other lady caught my eye because she kind of stood out in a bit of a classy style. These lunches are a lot of fun but they also serve to bring together various Expat business people in town and give folks a chance to get to know each other. At this particular meeting Richard Agnew was the guest speaker and he briefed the attendees on the mission of the newly formed Tourist Police. After describing the costs involved Pat, from Iraq, reached in his pocket and donated P25,000 to the operating fund of the Tourist Police and this was followed up by a matching donation from the ACBC At each meeting there is a raffle with some rather interesting prizes but Des from Magic Moments Club got the best prize - a free subscription to the Harry the Horse column! There might be some bumps in the road but doing business in Angeles City can be fun as well.

In coordination with City Hall and CDC elements of the PNP and the Mayor's monitoring team the temporary closure of the Karaoke Stalls located along the street behind the Royal Amsterdam Hotel were served with closure notices last month. Residents in the area and especially the owners of the Royal Amsterdam hope that the closures will be permanent because of the loud blaring music emanating from these establishments. The noise has kept people awake as late as 0500 hrs when finally, the drunks and so called vocalists finally have to rest their throats. The management of the Royal Amsterdam had to shell out P750,000 pesos in new split air-conditioners, double paned windows and extra heavy curtains to try and keep the noise level down as guests would not stay in the back rooms. Karaoke music should be kept indoors, not outside where the general population is disturbed. Regretfully, in the Philippines, consideration for others is not always a high priority. NOTE: After I wrote this I found that after the Mayor's team left the stalls opened up again, the same night. Reason - the Mayor's people did not have padlocks with them. A couple of days later, when padlocks were provided the Mayor had changed his mind and indicated that he would take the issue to court. You know what that means, five more years of loud music. Some things just don't work out too well in the Philippines, it is part of the culture and you learn to live with it but some days are more frustrating than others.