Angeles City

[Pussycat123]

Some encouraging signs about bars in AC. A few thoughts:

-They should consider letting American into Ph. Most of the US is getting vaccinated and Covid is almost over in the US now. Lets hope.

-Subic (Barrio Baretto): Sounds like the bar scene in Subic is not bad. I have to say though that the biggest challenge in Subic is not becoming roadkill as you cross that awful highway that goes right through the town. Imagine if Walking St in AC had a busy highway with traffic zipping along at 50 mph with no sidewalk running through it. That's Subic.

[Crazy Ami]

Very exciting report man. We sense the horizon in the vicinity. Keep going.

My guess is that things will be open for another few weeks before infections start to rise in Pampanga again and they put the liquor / bar ban back in place. No idea when vaccinations will start here; the mayor's office has put up a survey for people to register online and have said they're doing a house to house barangay survey (they even said foreign residents would be included in the vaccinations), but in 3 weeks they have yet to reach Balibago, Malabanias, or Anunas (Walking Street, Perimeter, and Koreatown respectively).

We have door girls and everything outside in AC. Some of the bars take your temp, some make you fill out a "contact form", some spray you with alcohol, some do nothing. Once you get inside everything is just like it was, except for the occasional plastic on a seat highlighting "social distancing" which no-one follows. The contact form lists are hilarious, with names from the classic Ben Dover to Hugh G. Deek.

Bars are currently open from 1-10 pm on Walking Street due to curfew rules. Personally, I LOVE this schedule. I like heading out earlier and coming back home earlier. It's also a *great* advantage to get a morning sneak-out visit. Since girls have to get to work much earlier, they don't mind coming over to your place in the morning at say, 10-11 am for a short time before they head into work. Had a girl from a Korean bar visit me this morning.

Barfines are 3200 at Wolfpack bars, and either 3500 or 4000 at the Korean bars. Some of those bars have another system I found out about yesterday; 4000 for LT and 3000 for ST; I found this interesting; while I'm not a fan of the price, I do like the implied "guarantee" that the girl would stay the night. Not that I would pay that, though; all about getting their Facebook and inviting them over in the morning.

Wolfpack is actively advertising their Wolfpack Card (usually it's a word of mouth / ask the manager deal), which is a fantastic promo that pays for itself almost immediately. 500 p, two free local drinks, plus *all* of your drinks and ladies drinks are 20% off for the rest of the year. There's usually a limited amount issued each year, but I guess they feel like they're not going to have that problem this year.

There are quite a few more "local" (I. E. Pampanga) girls in the bars now; while many of them are quite attractive, it seems like most of the Visayan girls went back home during the last lockdown. I hope to see them start trickling back over the next couple of weeks.

Final thought (and small thread of hope for people outside the PI right now): the Covid Task Force here just released a memo today that said EVERY person coming into the country (currently only Filipinos and certain visa holders), regardless of visa / citizenship / vaccine status, MUST do 10 days in a quarantine facility (I. E. Specific hotel) plus 4 days of home quarantine. Previously it has been up to 7 days I think and you could leave as soon as you got a negative PCR test. Now you don't even get the PCR test until Day 7. It sounds onerous, BUT, it may be the start of a plan to slowly start opening up the country to tourists a la Thailand. If they can make sure that the system works with the current groups coming in, and infections don't start rising, they might start expanding it to selected amounts of tourists (especially if they can charge crazy money for the visa application). I think in the end it all boils down to what happens in India. They've already banned anyone coming in from India / Bangladesh / Nepal / Pakistan regardless of visa status while the variant is going nuts over there. If that variant spreads here, we'll be in for another year of lockdown at least.

[Thampi62]

So I decided to head down to Walking Street this evening for at least a drink and a nice dinner, and lo and behold. Bars were open with dancers!

Apparently the mayor (or his wallet) saw the light and allowed some bars to open with girls. Everything closes at 10 pm (Subic is still better!) but there are quite a number of bars open, including the Wolfpack Group bars and even some other smaller bars that were closed before.

Very exciting report man. We sense the horizon in the vicinity. Keep going.

[Crazy Ami]

So I decided to head down to Walking Street this evening for at least a drink and a nice dinner, and lo and behold. Bars were open with dancers!

Apparently the mayor (or his wallet) saw the light and allowed some bars to open with girls. Everything closes at 10 pm (Subic is still better!) but there are quite a number of bars open, including the Wolfpack Group bars and even some other smaller bars that were closed before.

List of bars I saw open tonight off the top of my head. Highlighting Wolfpack bars (my favorite) and Korean-run bars (higher prices for drinks but usually quite attractive girls; attitudes are much more hit or miss):

- Brown Sugar (now Korean-run).

- NB-1 (formerly Bunny Ranch, now Korean-run).

- Centauro (formerly Carousel. Now part of Wolfpack).

- Q Bar (Wolfpack).

- Owl's Nest.

- Gecko's.

- La Bamba (they called it "soft opening," no dancers, just waitresses).

- Avalon (Wolfpack).

- Legendz (formerly Kings Landing / Lancelot, Korean-run).

- Monsoon (formerly Typhoon. Wolfpack).

- Voodoo.

- Shooters (Wolfpack).

- Champagne.

- Bar Nana (Korean-run. Had a drink there, local drink prices are normal 120, but LD is 350 instead of standard 300. Didn't ask BF price).

- Leopard (Korean-run).

- Level 3 (formerly Golden Nile. Wolfpack).

- Arabesque (for a day, it was Sensations, before raided and closed for nudity. In half of former Hiso building. Korean-run).

- Baccara (formerly Bamboo / Cambodia. Korean-run).

- Giant (inside the little complex across from Paradise. Korean-run).

Did not ask BF prices anywhere. I was not expecting to see girls and was not in the mood / prepared haha. Sorry for the lack of intel.

Restaurants I saw open included:

- Margarita Station.

- Phillies.

- Envy.

- La Milieusese (or something; that's wrong, but it's French. Coffee shop bakery that a lot of women hang out in the tables in front and smoke shisha).

- Pizza in front of Carousel.

- Kokomoz.

- some small Korean place across from former Club Asia building.

- Korean restaurant in lobby of W Hotel Balibago.

- Paradise (formerly Bretto's, formerly Paradise before that).

- There's a new restaurant called Texas Smokehouse, in what used to be Genesis bar (and what even longer ago than that was Bourbon Street restaurant. Dating myself a bit). It's obviously Korean-run, but I tried it anyway as I'm a sucker for BBQ. Baby Back Ribs with all the side dishes (including "mush potato") were in the little metal Korean side dish bowls. Meat portion was a little small, but nice and soft, and sauce was decent and side dishes plentiful. 350 p promo for the meal.

Also including some pictures of the entrance to Walking Street and just inside Walking Street at 7 pm on a Friday. It's still a ghost town, but we're waking up again. Here's hoping!

[Goferring]

.

But I haven't had a problem with LT. I just make sure to ask them before I spend the LT money.

Sure. I'd agree that there never were a lot of runners in subic and the girls who couldn't stay were always upfront about it.

Sounds like you are having fun👍.

[Crazy Ami]

Crazy Ami, thanks for the great report. Way back when Subic was a great fun and relaxing place to visit. Here's hoping that's on the return.

At the barfines quoted, were the girls happy for an overnight LT or was it one and done? Admittedly a few years ago now but when I was there last many were reluctant to stay.

Thanks again. 👍.

It's quite relaxing right now without the influx of massive amounts of tourists. :D I might go there again in a couple of weeks.

LT is actually a benefit of the midnight curfew. While the tanod (barangay patrols) and Pulis are a little more lenient if you're just going back to your hotel at 12:30 or 1, they set up checkpoints between Baretto and Subic City / Olongapo City, where a lot of the girls actually live; they can't get far after midnight. So if you LT a girl at 11:00, chances are she's stuck with you until morning.

But I haven't had a problem with LT. I just make sure to ask them before I spend the LT money (I don't mind buying drinks for conversation first), and generally the bars that offer ST understand that if you pay for LT you're expecting them to stay overnight. I think it all boils down to how decent you are to the girl; they seem to have a bit more freedom in Subic and it's more whether they like you or not rather than a particular girl is "always a runner. ".

[Thampi62]

Crazy Amy, great report. Thank you.Now it is clear that no body can predict the future profile of AC in the present scenario.

[Gunners1]

Hot Zone. My favorite bar at the moment. Bar well managed, girls are very friendly once you call them down. ST available upstairs for 1500, barfine 2500. Some cute ones here, and if you sit at the booth on the left as you enter, you can get the "VIP" service from some of the girls (bottom of the high table is curtained off) just by buying normal double ladies' drinks. Opens at 4.

Great Post. Thanks a lot.

I love the curtained off tables. Reminds me of the hay days of AC when they used to service you right at bar and. The girl used to get loads of laughs and giggles from her colleagues when she went back to clean up.

Ooh. Those memories.

Thanks again for the update.

G.

[Goferring]

Crazy Ami, thanks for the great report. Way back when Subic was a great fun and relaxing place to visit. Here's hoping that's on the return.

At the barfines quoted, were the girls happy for an overnight LT or was it one and done? Admittedly a few years ago now but when I was there last many were reluctant to stay.

Thanks again. 👍.

[Free2]

Crazy Ami. Much appreciated, that is some super input. Sadly, by the time the rest of us mongers get there, it may be way out of date.

[Crazy Ami]

Positive news from Subic Bay is encouraging to mongers. Send some field reports to keep the AC forum lively. And for the starving mongers.

Since the Subic / Olongapo forms seems deader than here, and AC girls are in Barretto now, I'll post a quick report here; feel free to cross-post or move, mods, if needed.

All of the hotels seem open for business, although supposedly at 50% occupancy for "social distancing" purposes (ha).

Go-Go bars currently open, going down the highway starting from Baloy Beach:

Rosie's. Opens at 4 pm, 6-7 girls, very friendly, with some very cute young stunners who are either cherry or hesitant to go out unless you 'woo' them for a couple of days (LOL). Double ladies drinks 300. Girls love to play pool for drinks. One of the bars that has Connect 4 now. This apparently has been imported from Thailand as a "bar game" in a couple of bars here. Ugh. Also Jenga.

Thumbstar. Nicely decorated bar on ground floor of hotel. Great promo. Buy-one / take-one for your first drink of the day, no matter the time (I. E. Don't have to make it for happy hour). Opens 2 pm, if not earlier. Girls currently imported from Q Bar in AC, some nice quality. Double LD is 300. ST is available upstairs (not sure price).

Alaska. Opens at 2 pm. I was never in there early, but by 7-8 pm the quality of girls was quite low, though friendly.

Voodoo. In the old Lollipop location. Good pool table. No bands anymore (COVID). Girls are very aggressive for drinks but may or may not go out depending on their mood (Subic seems to be much more permissive of girls saying no in the bar, which I like from an ethical standpoint, as long as you make it clear at the beginning). Bar fine 3000 I believe. Opens at 4.

Wet Spot / Green Room. Connected on the inside. Only go-go left in the large complex that used to have 4-5 bars (Bar Celona is upstairs but is just a sports bar with GROs). Promo here is that ladies drinks are all 180, even the bottle drinks, so it's cheaper for LDs than other places. Good number of girls here (in Wet Spot, Green Room is more sports bar), very aggressive waitresses / mamasans. BF also 3000 I believe. Opens at 4.

Hot Zone. My favorite bar at the moment. Bar well managed, girls are very friendly once you call them down. ST available upstairs for 1500, barfine 2500. Some cute ones here, and if you sit at the booth on the left as you enter, you can get the "VIP" service from some of the girls (bottom of the high table is curtained off) just by buying normal double ladies' drinks. Opens at 4.

Bottoms-Up / Crazy Horse. Bottoms Up is in the old Voodoo location I believe. Neither of these were any good the 2 times I stuck my head in, but I could have come at the wrong time. A buddy did say he found some girls there, so YMMV.

Coco Lips /50-50 Bar. These appeared closed every time I went by. May be done for.

Non Gogo Bars:

Whiskey Girl. This is in the old location of The Office. I didn't go in, but I was given to understand that it's just a "bar" with GROs, not a go-go. Could be mistaken. Most GROs are available for take-out in Subic though if you treat them right.

Adam's Sports Bar: same concept. Saw some cute GROs outside, but did not go in.

Bar Celona. On top of the old Wet Spot / Rum Jungle complex (3 F). 49 p beers from 2-5 pm which is a great deal. Best maintained pool table on the strip, and they do tournaments twice a week (Monday and Thursday I think). AC pool tables are still "not allowed" to operate per Mayor. Very friendly / funny bartender, with waitresses and GROs.

Cheap Charlies. Across the street from Bar Celona. Same concept, open to the air on a high (for Subic) floor. Nice places to spend the afternoon / early evenings if you're not on the beach or trying to get in to the gogo bars the minute they open.

Overall / additional thoughts:

- The lockdown in AC really seemed to help business in Subic. There were a LOT of AC mongers there every time I went there myself. Admittedly, none of us are tourists who spend like water, but it's keeping them going, and I have heard that some of the big players in AC have been visiting (I. E. Owner of ABC hotel, some younger rich guys who have big yacht parties in Subic with many girls, etc; you know, things I'm not invited to haha).

- Unlike AC where a number of hotels have gone out of business / put up for sale (Galaxy, Queens, America), I only saw one hotel in Subic closed down / for sale (Gum Leaves on the highway).

- Blue Rock floating bar is not operational; I'm not sure if it was running before, but it seems like it was damaged and is sitting out there roofless. Treasure Island's floating bar is open, but I've never been a fan of it.

- Shockingly the beach vendors are not overly pushy / desparate, and the jetski / boat operators are not overcharging either; they seem happy for any business.

- There were none of the tourists of particular nationalities who were destroying the laid back Subic vibe pre-COVID. You know, the ones who would go to the bars in large groups as soon as they opened, bar fined anyone halfway decent without buying drinks, and leaving nothing in their wake. I found this very refreshing.

- Prices have not jumped in the typical SE Asian "Business is down, we must charge more" mentality. Things have been stable, which is promising.

Angeles City observations:

I fear for the future of the AC scene. High Society is gone for good (building has been parceled up and demolition / construction ongoing). More and more bars are being bought up by Korean groups on Walking Street who are massively raising prices on drinks and bar fines. Back in January this year when the bars were open for a couple of months, the former Bunny Ranch bar (now a Korean bar, NB-1 I think) tried to charge me 220 pesos for a White Castle whisky (the local Filipino whiskey, which is 180-200 for the entire bottle at the grocery). Barfines at Korean bars are 4-5000 now, and you'd be super lucky if they were not starfish or runners, or both. Possible to get phone numbers and meet for sneak-out, but with the death of Hi-So, it's not as easy to pick up girls on their off-time anymore.

Wolfpack Group is still holding the fort as the last line of defense for Western-managed AC entertainment. Lollipop, Q Bar, Monsoon, Level 3, and Shooters were all open January-March. XS Bar is gone because Wolfpack took over the old Salambo / La Pasha site and renovated as "Avalon" and moved all the girls there. Owl's Nest (which has been there for decades and isn't part of any "group") opened in the same period with a very nice selection of girls. It's the last real "old-time" AC bar on Fields.

Everything else that was open (and may / may not reopen upon lifting of restrictions) is Korean. Baccara (in the old Bamboo / Cambodia bar) had some great talent (at 3500 barfine) for a while. Then they tried to open a bar in half of the old High Society building called Sensations, and was raided and shut down within a day because they tried to get away with nude dancing on stage. I've heard on the Bamboo Telegraph that the Korean owner had to pay a MASSIVE bribe to get out of jail / keep his businesses (we're talking potentially tens of millions of pesos).

Dollhouse Group bars have been closed since the bars first shut down in March 2020. Not sure of their future either. Club Asia, Pony Tails, and Crystal Palace were all shut down before the pandemic, only leaving Dollhouse and Atlantis remaining. From what I hear from my sources, the owner may be trying to get out of the bar business completely and focus on hotels (Score Birds and the ever-under-construction Palladium), since apparently he is making more profit by leasing his bar buildings to Koreans than running them himself.

Hope this keeps everyone interested hahaha. If you have any particular questions for the people here on the ground, as it were, I'll see if I can help. It's either surfing this board, drinking, or going back to Subic to keep me occupied!

[Thampi62]

Liquor ban in AC was rescinded May 1st. However, bars are only allowed to open if they are "resto-bars" (i.e. Serve food). Thus the majority of the bars on Walking Street are still closed. AC is still a non-entity in terms of nightlife.

Subic / Barretto is much more lively, with almost all bars open, no liquor ban, dancers, bar fines as normal, etc

Positive news from Subic Bay is encouraging to mongers. Send some field reports to keep the AC forum lively. And for the starving mongers.

[Crazy Ami]

"SULLIVAN'S IRISH PUB BALIBAGO, PHILIPPINES" is proclaiming AC coming back to life saying liquor ban is off, karaoke still banned. Too soon or is this true?

Liquor ban in AC was rescinded May 1st. However, bars are only allowed to open if they are "resto-bars" (i.e. Serve food). Thus the majority of the bars on Walking Street are still closed. AC is still a non-entity in terms of nightlife.

Subic / Barretto is much more lively, with almost all bars open, no liquor ban, dancers, bar fines as normal, etc. Some of the AC girls even moved as an entire bar to another bar in Subic (all of the Q Bar girls in AC went to Thumbstar in Barretto until the bars reopen in AC). Midnight curfew in Barretto but bars open much earlier (between 2-4 pm) and you're ready to go back by then anyway usually. Mask / face shield required outside, but in the bar you can take them off and there's no real "social distancing" inside unless the Pulis comes by.

If you're driving, no real checkpoints between AC / Subic on the SCTEX. Sometimes the SBMA guards might ask you where you are going / where you're coming from, but I haven't had any issues. Not sure if it's more strict if you go by bus.

(Source: me. Have been in AC the whole lockdown, went to Subic / Baretto the last 3 weekends hahah).

[Member #4794]

"SULLIVAN'S IRISH PUB BALIBAGO, PHILIPPINES" is proclaiming AC coming back to life saying liquor ban is off, karaoke still banned. Too soon or is this true?

[Dg8787]

Apologies. I didn't realise you thought my post was serious. I wasn't being so at all.

I'm sure that you and anyone who cares to is getting all the pussy they want in AC and will continue to do so.

Enjoy. G.

No apology needed. Believe me, I do not take any post here seriously. I have been locked out of PH since March, 2020. Thus plenty of blue bills saved up. Good news is plenty of girls turning 18 the past 13 months! Bumper crop.