Angeles City

[HardDrive]

I had a Brain Fart. The dates for the trip report below is from March 31 to April 17,2024. I don't know where the October dates came from.

Sorry for the confusion.

[HardDrive]

I just returned from a 2 week plus trip to the Philippines. I almost cancelled my trip as I read many reports on numerous forums from travelers complaining about the Philippines, particularly the high cost of everything, specifically company and the lack of quality. One thing I did notice about all of these posts was they were mostly from Philippines veterans with many trips, mostly pre-Covid under their belt and they were making comparisons about now versus then. Since I already had the airfare purchased and didn't want to have to try to use a future $3 K plus flight credit, I decided to go ahead and make the trip.

Since I am a relative Philippines noob only having spent 4 nights before in Angeles City in transit to Thailand, this report will focus on what I found on this trip with no comparisons to how things were (or might have been) five, ten or more years ago. I will occasionally compare things to other venues I visit frequently like Costa Rica, Thailand or the Dominican Republic. This report is mostly intended for folks that are considering heading to the Philippines for the first time or returning after a long absence.

Money

The currency is the Philippine Peso. I almost exclusively paid for things in cash and got my cash from ATMs since I have a Schwab card that refunds all ATM fees. It looked like most ATMs charged a p250 fee and most limited you to a p10 K withdrawal but you could do multiple withdrawals. One ATM I found in a 7/11 allowed p20 K. My hotels were all paid by credit card through Agoda.com in USD. Exchange booths abound in the tourist areas I visited but I didn't pay attention to the rates or fees.

On average p10000 cost me about $175. So, when I was out on the town, I was quick calculating that p100 was about $2.

Transportation.

I got a good fare on United for Polaris class. Originally my itinerary had me going direct to San Francisco from my hometown and connecting to Manila. That was one of the reasons I decided to take this trip as I had never had a one stop itinerary to SE Asia before. Well schedules changed (as always) and I ended up connecting in Denver on the outbound and Washington Dulles on the inbound. All of my connections were so tight that I didn't have the opportunity to visit any of the Polaris lounges. I hear they are great but I'll just have to assume that is the case.

The service on the flight was good and the lay flat seat was comparable to Delta One and Singapore Air. The food was decent but not as good as other trans-Pacific flights I have taken. But for the fare paid I was happy. Total 24 hours outbound and 22 return.

My first stop was Angeles City so I had to get transportation from MNL terminal 3. Everyone recommended the Genisys bus as it is super cheap but that would have required getting a taxi from around Clark Airport to my hotel in Angeles City. I knew I was going to be tired and I was landing at 6 am so I scheduled a car from Beesway. It was p3500 and he got me there in 1 HR. 20 min. Since there was very little traffic. I also used Beesway for my return back to Manila. Same price Angeles to Makati.

In town I always took a trike for short runs. P100 and Grab (like Uber) for longer trips or if I had luggage. Grab gives you a very reasonable fixed fare unlike the metered taxis.

Hotels.

My itinerary had me 12 nights in Angeles City, 1 night in Makati and 3 nights in Malate / Ermita. Note all of the hotels were guest friendly. The only one that checked ID was the Regency Grand Suites in Malate.

Angeles City. Wild Orchid Lagoon Resort.

There are two Wild Orchid hotels. The Lagoon resort is a bit more upscale with two large and well-maintained pools. There is also a swim-up bar at the pool. It is also a bit more expensive.

I liked the Wild Orchid. While the hotel is definitely showing some wear and tear, the staff was always around fixing, painting, cleaning, etc. The entire staff was incredibly friendly. I had a Lagoon Balcony room and it was pretty large. Comfortable King size bed and the AC cooled the room well even though temperatures were approaching 100 degrees F.

The location is a short walk to Walking St (Fields Ave.).

Breakfast was not included in my rate though I could get breakfast in the hotel restaurant. All of the food in the restaurant was pretty good and very reasonably priced for a hotel. I was also open 24 hours for food and drinks. I would definitely stay here again.

Angeles City. ABC Hotel.

I spent the last 4 nights in Angeles here. I had heard so much about it I wanted to see it. First thing, the rooms are pricey. I got what they call the Aqua Suite and it was huge, really more than I needed. Also, I lot of the square footage was taken up by a fancy round tub that was the size of a backyard jacuzzi but it didn't have any jets. For me this was wasted space, I never used it as there was a nice walk-in shower and I'm too old to attempt carnal activity in a bathtub. Also be advised there was no balcony. On a super positive note, the room is stocked with six, incredibly large bath towels.

There was an extensive mini-bar in the room that even include bottles of liquor and wine. If you bring company up to the room watch their consumption as the prices are pretty steep.

The main swimming pool is large and located in an open-air atrium right by the main hotel restaurant. There are also two small pools located on the roof at the Aqua Club. The Aqua Club is a nice bar area where they have different themes every night. It can get pretty lively. The first night I went up it was Ladies Night and there was a ton of incredibly young, bikini clad model types hanging around taking photos / videos of themselves, probably for their Instagram feed. They were hanging around the tables where the guys were buying bottles and shots. I'm sure they were available but probably well out of my price range.

The location is on Fields Avenue about half way between Walking Street and the Perimeter Bars. Not a very long walk either way but I usually opted for a trike as it was very hot in the daytime and a little sketchy after dark.

The restaurant food was OK but quite a bit pricier than at the Wild Orchid.

If I had a travel companion (female) I would probably stay here again. But for a single traveler it was a bit too much.

Makati. City Garden Grand.

I only stayed here one night. It was quite impressive and a very short walk to P. Burgos St. The room was huge, it was a deluxe king and quite reasonable for the quality and location. I swear this room had the largest bed I have ever seen in a hotel. It was at least as wide as two queen beds side-by-side and longer than a normal king. The room was quite large but no balcony. Nice roof top pool and a roof top restaurant that was a little pricey but not outrageous.

You need to swipe your card to access the room floors.

I definitely would stay here again if I am in Makati. Breakfast was not included in my rate.

Malate. Regency Grand Suites.

This is not really a hotel but a bunch of Condos managed in Birch Tower. A few companies seem to manage a select set of condos and book them out as hotel rooms. The do provide daily housekeeping. The building is definitely showing signs of wear and tear. There were the usual amenities provided and a couple of smaller, somewhat thin bath towels. They were responsive to a request for more towels.

The room was just OK. Comfortable King bed and air conditioning in the living room and the bedroom but it really didn't cool the room of very well. Breakfast was not included but was available in the little restaurant on the ground floor right by reception. Security is good and you need to swipe a card to access the elevators to the room. The pool was well shaded but the water was a bit murky. Luckily there weren't many people when I was there since they only had a few not-so-comfortable lounge chairs.

The location is great. A very short walk to Robinsons Mall and a short trike ride to The LA Cafe and the KTVs.

Of all of the hotels I stayed in this trip, this is the only one I probably wouldn't book again.

Entertainment.

As a rule, I found the Filipinas to be incredibly friendly and most spoke passable to excellent English. Quite a few of them don't even think about mentioning a condom and a couple were a bit surprised when I put one on. Even though they are obviously working to separate you from your cash, their demeanor was a lot less transactional than their counterparts in other Asian or Latin American venues. They would nurse their "lady drink" so that they finished about the same time you finished your drink, not gulp it down quickly and ask for another like many places in Thailand.

I visited many bars and I am not going to try and remember each one and comment on it. I will call out some of the more exceptional (good and bad) places I did visit.

Angeles City.

There are two main bar areas, Walking Street and Perimeter Road which is maybe 1 K up Fields Avenue.

Walking Street.

Most of the bars are gogos with a few KTVs thrown in to keep the Asian customers happy. Previous posters have pointed out that there are two types of bars, the Korean owned bars and the western owned bars. Many people diss the Korean owned places but I found really very little difference except that almost all of the Korean owned bars allow smoking inside while the western bars do not. I felt welcomed in every bar I stopped in to. A lot of the western owned bars seem to be owned by a consortium called the Wolfpack Group. They have a discount card that I believe gives you a 20% discount on your drinks and the drinks of a female companion that doesn't work in the bar. Lady Drinks not discounted.

It is also said that the Korean customers hit the bars early and barfine all of the good-looking talent. That may be partially true but I would still see stunners in the bars at night and I saw a lot of Koreans were walking around with their date of the day and those dates were for the most part nothing spectacular. It is also said that the women in a lot of the bars prefer going with Koreans over westerners. Watching the Koreans move I kind of understand why.

1) They seem to barfine them for a least the day. They are taking them to nice (er) restaurants and seem to treat them like a date or a GF.

2) I didn't see one Korean get overly drunk and obnoxious. I can't say the same for some of the westerners I saw.

3) In the bar they seem to treat the women with a little respect. I saw some western guys pretty much mauling bar girls after buying them a drink. The Koreans are a bit more laid back.

Note all of the above statements are generalizations from only 12 days of observation. I could be totally wrong.

Drink prices seemed pretty consistent with a San Miguel running p95 to p140 and lady drinks p250 to p300.

Some bars of note:

Midnight Rodeo. Not a gogo but rather a live music venue. Located just off Walking Street, down from Phillies restaurant near the Queens hotel. A very good Filipino band plays western music pretty much from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Though not a gogo you can buy drinks for and barfine most of the waitresses. The waitresses are incredibly friendly, attractive but most are probably in their 30's. Some are probably a bit older. This was probably my favorite bar to just visit and kick back. A San Miguel was p120 and I think the LDs were p250. Bar fine was p4000 but somewhat negotiable if the woman is willing to take a smaller cut.

Bacarra. A gogo on Walking Street that I visited late afternoon a couple of times. They had a pretty good daytime line-up including one absolutely gorgeous spinner. They don't really dance but just sit on stage only to get up when a new customer enters or someone calls them down for a drink. SML was p120 and LD was p250. Barfine p5000.

Champaign. Another Walking St gogo. Had a great time in this bar a couple of nights. The dancers / waitresses were for the most part pretty attractive and very friendly. Lots of customer interaction. On my second night returning to this bar the manager bought me a drink. Never had that happen before in the Philippines. Don't remember the exact drink prices but they were probably in the p120 / p250 range.

Mega Dance. This is a night club located on WS pretty much next to Phillies. I walked in about 11 pm one night and left quickly as the music was incredibly loud and annoying (to me). It was packed with women though and quite a few looked very good in the dark bar. I did talk to one woman that was outside grabbing a smoke and she was complaining that there were no guys inside, just women.

Aqua Club. On the rooftop of the ABC Hotel. I described it a bit above. Very good looking and young freelancers the two times I went up. Bring lots of cash though as these ladies looked very high-end and the drinks weren't cheap.

Perimeter Bars.

These are lower-end bars up Fields Ave from Walking St. I walked up one afternoon; it wasn't really too far but with the heat I decided to trike it from then on. Prices at these bars are much less than Walking St. San Miguels were regularly I believe p95 or so and p55 during some happy hours. LDs were p200 to p250. The women working these bars are for the most part a lot older than their Walking St counterparts though there were a few younger a good-looking one.

Most of the bars I visited were pretty similar. The customers seemed to be mostly western expats or long-term vacationers. Most served pretty decent food and one bar, Night Moves was packed around 2 pm and most folks were eating lunch.

One bar, Emotions, was only about a couple blocks away from the ABC Hotel. I stopped in one early evening and was pleasantly surprised at their lineup. Drinks were a little higher here, I think a SML was p120 and LDs were p250. Barfine was p2500 if you wanted to use a room onsite or p3000 to take them back to the hotel. I took one girl out from here and took up to the Aqua Club. She had never been there and was a little intimidated by the luxury and the hot young women running around.

And not a bar but I have to call out Al Bacio Italian Restaurant. It's very close to the ABC Hotel. It was a little on the expensive side but the pasta was outstanding. It was an elegant setting and would be a great place to take a date.

Manila Bars.

I didn't spend much time in Manila, just one night in Makati and two nights in the Malate area. In Malate I went to the LA Cafe both nights. This is a 24-hour freelancer bar. A lot of people say this place has gone downhill but I was there mid-week and it was packed both nights in the around 10 pm. There are women of all shapes / sizes and ages but I was impressed with the overall quality. The women there are pretty aggressive in that they want to negotiate a deal right off the bat. It kind of reminded me of the Blue Marlin Bar at the Hotel Del Rey in San Jose Costa Rica in its heyday. Drink prices were reasonable, I think a SML was p140. No LD prices. I was sitting at the bar with a group of women and bought a bucket of beers for p700. Take out prices varied from woman to woman. I had one stunner quote me p5000. After I walked away, she wanted to negotiate but I never go with one that I've talked down in price. Most were asking p2500 / p3000.

In Makati I stayed near the bars around P Burgos. Most of the bars are gogos and drinks are pricey and the women for the most part were pretty attractive. One bar called Fyre stood out. The lineup was outstanding, rivaling a high-end strip club in the states. And a couple of the dancers actually danced. There was one dancer that was working the stripper pole like a gymnast and I called her down to buy a drink. She was absolutely phenomenal looking. When she got to my table, she smiled and to her credit said "you do realize that lady drinks are p850". I damn near dropped my beer. I smiled at her and told her that was way out of my price range and tipped her a p200 for being honest with me. She could have milked me for a lot of cash.

Outside of the bars, the streets are lined with freelancers. All of them vying for your attention as there weren't many tourists out and about. Some of these women were quite good looking. Probably a 50/50 mix of women and ladyboys. Prices quoted from p1000 to p5000. There are short time hotels in the area with p500 rooms.

All in all, I enjoyed my stay. I will definitely return but will probably spend more time in Malate as I like freelancer bars more than gogos. I am scheduled to go to Thailand for the month of October and I had carved out 10 days to visit Cambodia and Vietnam. I just might replace that with the Philippines.

[D Cups]

Is english your second language?

Napa's language skills are fine. It's a brain disorder caused by too much bacon slapping. Cheers.

[WestCoast1]

Some more finger pics. Better than pr*ck pix I'm told. Fingering the pulse of AC.

Get out there. Or in there.

[Goferring]

Have to agree with ThreeInches here, hard to accept but if you want a girl so so bad you might have the best chance of bypassing the girl and going right to the mamasan...

Or ask the girl early. I'd rather be down one drink than ten but lots of guys sit there all night plying her with drinks then get a shock when it's time to leave.

Enjoy. G.

[Breadman]

The easiest way to not waste your time on lady drinks and not to get turned down is to grease the mama its the best way to ensure good service and acceptance. Girls who are reluctant are made to see the bigger picture after I voice my concerns to the mamasan..

Have to agree with ThreeInches here, hard to accept but if you want a girl so so bad you might have the best chance of bypassing the girl and going right to the mamasan. Might not work for tourists though but for regular customers you can easily get a mamasan as your 'guide' on her new girls. A girl doing few barfines makes the mamasan little money, getting the mamasan to understand that you'll go to her first for her girls will help you get the girl and better service. The girls are afraid of mamasan in most cases, if they are not then they have too much experience. Its all about money, mamasan makes little off a girls drinks. She wants the big cut from barfines.

[ThreeInches]

Do you honestly believe that a mama, waitress or bar owner would actually tell a punter who a drinks only girl is? That would defeat the whole object of drinks only girls being employed to hustle drinks in order to make big money for the girl, the mama and the bar owners.

Sure, mamas / waitresses / bar owners can politely introduce a bar girl to a punter but have no power or say over a bar girls choices or decisions as to whom she will give attention to, drink with or fuck with, nor do they want power or a say, why, well read the very strict phills human traffic laws to see exactly why that is.

Is english your second language? You seem to have a hard time understanding what I post. You may just be trying to be argumentative for the sake of it or just don't understand the post as a whole (in which case that isn't your fault) I'm not sure which. Having a good relationship with the mama san can open up a reluctant bar girl. Mama's do tell me who only is there for drinks because they know I would just stop coming to that bar due to a bad experience and since I spend about 1. 5 million pesos on bar fines annually give or take (which the mama's directly benefit from) not counting drinks. They would lose a lot more than drinks. I've known these mama-sans and the more wizened waitresses for many years, so some random bargirls fate pales in comparison to what profit is to be had if they treat me well which they understand, and like I said before which you must have not understood. I also hear what the girl I barfined last night said about me from the mama-sans, if the girls is trying to play me they have told me this countless number of times and introduced me to other girls. May just be a language barrier issue for you if you are running into tight lipped mamas.

[Goferring]

Hi Vic, my experience has been that if any girl in the PH tells you that you're the first, or the best, they might be telling porkies...

I find it best to just play along. Sometimes I think that they have lied for so long that they actually believe the stories themselves.

Of course, of there is something in it for her, then she will soon come around. This is a fairly typical conversation:

G: What are you looking for?

Her: Oh, I'm pure as the driven snow. I'm looking for a nice boy who will watch the sunset with me.

That's nice but I'm married with 97 kids so am just looking for someone who will gargle my cum after I piss all over her face.

Wow that sounds nice. I guess we can be friends.

Sure. How about we meet at Mall X at 7:30.

Oh. I'm shy to meet foreigners in public. We meet at your hotel? Can you help with my books.

Sure. 4 k if you stay the night.

Can. 😍.

Its a modem day Romeo and Juliet.

Enjoy. G.

[NapaSlapper]

The easiest way to not waste your time on lady drinks and not to get turned down is to grease the mama its the best way to ensure good service and acceptance. Girls who are reluctant are made to see the bigger picture after I voice my concerns to the mamasan. Jokingly asking the mama san why they don't want to bar fine will get the ball rolling. The mamasans have also pre-saved me the trouble by telling me who was waiting on a "boyfriend" and who wasn't feeling well. They know all of that information you just need to not be meek and ask. Mama-sans have also served me up some cherry girls as I enjoy cherry girl juice as a delicacy. They know that I'm not going to break the seal but I am sure going to rub my dick on it vigorously which they seem to be fine with. You might even ask who the habitual runners are or if they had problems with other customers. The girls come and go but I've known these mamas for many years. Since I have a good relationship with the mama sans they all flag me down not usually the girls themselves to offer me "snacks" I have voiced that I like in the past. Mamas have even helped me to dodge clingily bar girls so that I could bar fine girls from the same bar after they leave they can be very good allies indeed. The older waitresses are also good sources of intel.

Do you honestly believe that a mama, waitress or bar owner would actually tell a punter who a drinks only girl is? That would defeat the whole object of drinks only girls being employed to hustle drinks in order to make big money for the girl, the mama and the bar owners.

Sure, mamas / waitresses / bar owners can politely introduce a bar girl to a punter but have no power or say over a bar girls choices or decisions as to whom she will give attention to, drink with or fuck with, nor do they want power or a say, why, well read the very strict phills human traffic laws to see exactly why that is.

[PhilJoy]

She said she had never given a BJ until me. I don't know if I believe it.

Hi Vic, my experience has been that if any girl in the PH tells you that you're the first, or the best, they might be telling porkies.

I worked with a guy a few years back who went to Manila for the first time aged in his mid-forties and after his marriage break-up.

He fell for a girl who told him he was the best she's ever had and he truly believed it. He was boasting that she'd told him he was first guy she'd swallowed. There's one born every minute I thought. But I knew he was just happy again, and let's face it, everyone has emotions.

He bought her jewelry (which she sold) paid for a plane ticket and sorted out her passport application for her to visit him in Australia (she never fronted at the airport) and he was sending her money each week via Western Union.

It took him a little while to realize she was on her back most of the time, while he was back in Australia planning his next visit to meet her.

In the end I took him aside and explained how it all works. He now goes back regularly and has a great time with other girls. He said to me, "Don't ever fall in love with a bar girl".

My reply. "I probably should have told you that".

[WestCoast1]

"Can't seem to put my finger on it": Said no man who's been to Philippines. Get out there gents, take the local's temperature. Finger the pulse of Angeles.

[NapaSlapper]

You missed the whole show. Raffy Tulfo was behind the raid. He is the one pressuring for a close down. Bar Nana is connected too. Viking is still opened.

Vikings bar still open? Not a chance, was closed down and remains closed down and padlocked.

Word from those close to the bar and in the know tell me that new management are set to take over vikings and try to get licenses passsd to reopen at some time.

Maybe making a recent visit will have you posting correct info instead of guessing as to correct info.

[Turgid]

I didn't say that. LOL. But oral sex isn't sex sex. She said she had never given a BJ until me. I don't know if I believe it. I asked her if a guy had ever gone down on her and she got quiet. So that's a yes. So guys are eating her out but not asking for a BJ? Or she just rejected them? Who knows.

I was with a 19 year old in Makati that said she had a GF. I asked how she lost her virginity to a man and she said with a chinese customer. He must have paid up.

Virgin girls are fun as they are young and hot and not too experienced. Its like High School. But I am not dropping 500 usd to take a cherry. It's not that important to me.

Glad to read further details. Did you CIM then in that case you the man!

[ThreeInches]

While in some bars (western) its fairly straight forward to get laid by some of the girls there are still girls that are drinks only girls, cherry girls, constant excuse not to barfine girls etc, I find in the western bars the few better looking girls are the ones that want to stay in the bar, girls that can't get many lady drinks bought for them are good to go.

This is more so in the korean bars, although the girls here are younger, slimmer and more attractive there are more obstacles in a punters way, the same drinks only girls, cherry girls, excuse girls, are still to be found the worst problems is that many of the girls are show girls, as in they are there to do their show and many times exit the stage to either rest in the back room or to move on to another bar where they have another perfomance to make, the biggest problem in the korean bars is the amount of girls that are asian only girls in as much they only give attention and maybe some pussy to asians.

The easiest way to not waste your time on lady drinks and not to get turned down is to grease the mama its the best way to ensure good service and acceptance. Girls who are reluctant are made to see the bigger picture after I voice my concerns to the mamasan. Jokingly asking the mama san why they don't want to bar fine will get the ball rolling. The mamasans have also pre-saved me the trouble by telling me who was waiting on a "boyfriend" and who wasn't feeling well. They know all of that information you just need to not be meek and ask. Mama-sans have also served me up some cherry girls as I enjoy cherry girl juice as a delicacy. They know that I'm not going to break the seal but I am sure going to rub my dick on it vigorously which they seem to be fine with. You might even ask who the habitual runners are or if they had problems with other customers. The girls come and go but I've known these mamas for many years. Since I have a good relationship with the mama sans they all flag me down not usually the girls themselves to offer me "snacks" I have voiced that I like in the past. Mamas have even helped me to dodge clingily bar girls so that I could bar fine girls from the same bar after they leave they can be very good allies indeed. The older waitresses are also good sources of intel.

[VicVeg]

C'mon man, are you serious? You just looked at the meal and admired it without eating?

I didn't say that. LOL. But oral sex isn't sex sex. She said she had never given a BJ until me. I don't know if I believe it. I asked her if a guy had ever gone down on her and she got quiet. So that's a yes. So guys are eating her out but not asking for a BJ? Or she just rejected them? Who knows.

I was with a 19 year old in Makati that said she had a GF. I asked how she lost her virginity to a man and she said with a chinese customer. He must have paid up.

Virgin girls are fun as they are young and hot and not too experienced. Its like High School. But I am not dropping 500 usd to take a cherry. It's not that important to me.