Subic City (Subic Bay)

[Erasmus B Dragin]

Everyone knows that "barfine" is a dirty word in Barreto. Instead, you might ask the value of the drink commissions your prospective amour du jour must earn before she can accompany you (to dinner)! Here's Mango's explanation of this ridiculous work around.

I recall being told a few years back that there was no more barfine. If I wanted company, said the mama, I had to buy the girl 10 drinks. No problem, I replied; I had already bought her 3. But those didn't count, I was told, nor could she drink the 10 drinks I had to buy her. By pure coincidence the value of the virtual drinks was exactly equal to the barfine of a few months earlier.

Speaking of Mango's, Tommo's 3rd project was sold to a Brit late last year. It has the look & feel of Blue Rock, Arizona, etc; similar menu, dive shop, even the rooms are reminiscent. Another Brit bought T Rose, previously owned by a German, about the same time.

[SouthEaster]

EBD thanks for the info as always. Could not recall the exact time Angel goes back to AC but it is cheap comfy and convenient. I wondered about the smoking because I recall a post quite some time ago where one guy was saying you couldn't even light up outdoors at Kokomos on WS. Seems worse than the west!

SE.

[Erasmus B Dragin]

In AC of all places. Good news I hope. Are they undercutting the non Grab greedy pricks (I hope so) or is it just the hailing convenience that sets them apart?

SE.

I haven't used Grab trike, so can't comment except to say the cars work well, in my limited experience, in AC. One driver offered his phone number when he learned I was heading to Barreto the next morning, offering me a better rate than if I booked via Grab.

It was announced yesterday that Uber is selling it's SE Asia franchise to Grab in exchange for a stake in the company. Pricing will likely be affected.

[Erasmus B Dragin]

...........As for "They never leave before their shift ends, (& there are 2 shifts, so some leave early). "? Um, which is it?...........

...I have used Angel from BB to AC and it was very good. They leave at 11 am I think..........

A personal question as I am (one of the despised) smoker. How has BB handled it? For instance CC versus an A/C gogo? Cheers. SE.

Charlie's girls leave when their shift ends. The girls who work the day shift leave in the early evening. Night shift girls leave when the bar closes (midnight? Or are they allowed to stay open later? Sorry, can't recall).

Angel's van to AC leaves the bakery at 2 pm (or a bit earlier if it's full).

I think CC's is exempt from the smoking ban since it's open air. I recall another bar (maybe 20/20?) had a glassed-in smoking room.

[Mogwai]

For some reason the contraction for "I would" appears as "I'the".

Yeah, thanks to the autocorrect software of this forum.

You can correct the autocorrect by clicking on 'Edit Post' after you have made a post. But you have to do this before you sign out, otherwise it won't be possible anymore.

[SouthEaster]

In AC of all places. Good news I hope. Are they undercutting the non Grab greedy pricks (I hope so) or is it just the hailing convenience that sets them apart?

SE.

[Erasmus B Dragin]

..........but I'the..............Either way I'the .......

For some reason the contraction for "I would" appears as "I'the".

[SouthEaster]

I wonder what it will be like when I get there in May. Hot as hell and dead? I guess time will tell. Maybe the Cheap Charlie girls will be hungry enough to give me a phone number! Your experience shows why it's always good to have a couple of numbers to fall back on. Just wondering if anyone has experienced (if you thought about it at the time) an end of the month greater willingness on the part of girls to go because of rent, bills etc. I have never thought of it but the 29th or 30th might be a good time to ask that really tasty girl that normally won't go?

Just a thought.

SE.

[Erasmus B Dragin]

My usual 2 cents regarding bussing from Manila to Barretto, which for the purpose of this post is not Subic.

E be Dragin's report about Genesis seems of more use regarding AC, as it seems unnecessarily complicated and it only seems to avoid being gouged by taxis at Manila airport, but being put in that position in AC. Plus, if it only operates from T3, it is little more convenient if you arrive in any other terminal.

If not dead yet he's surely close but, at the risk of incurring the wrath of the SPCA (has which an office in Manila), I'll beat this poor horse just a bit more.

I agree with your point that the major difference in the two bus services (Genesis vs Victory) is in where you must deal with the taxi, but I'the much prefer SM Clark to Dau (2. 5 km) in AC over NAIA to Pasay Bus Terminal any time. Either way I'the use GRAB (they've just rolled out GRAB Trike in AC) rather than taxi.

As of my recent visit Uber does not seem to serve AC (but is rumored to be coming soon), nor are they allowed to pick up at NAIA, but for those who'the like another layer of complexity, you can take the free shuttle from NAIA to Resorts World, where Uber picks up.

In this last trip I arrived at T4, which is the furthest by shuttle from T3. Even so it took only 20 min. I lucked out as the shuttle bus had just departed as I arrived, but it was moving slowly among exiting traffic so I was able to run it down. Otherwise I would have had another 20 min or so to wait. I've had good luck with the terminal shuttle at NAIA in recent years, though I can recall a time or two a few years back when I turned around and headed for the taxi que rather than brave the crowd.

Otherwise, Genesis' buses are newer & cleaner, and the WIFI is another bonus. They stop in Quezon City as well, so it's a convenient option for those going to / coming from the north side of Manila.

Last fall I took Victory to Olongapo but had them drop me off on Quezon Highway just before the bus turned into town. I'the tried to order a Grab while still on the bus but no luck (they have few cars in Olongapo, apparently). I hailed a taxi within minutes though, saving the 10 min or so ea way through crowded streets to the bus terminal.

RIP, horse.

[Goferring]

Subic has been very quite since I've been here for the last week. On the nights I went bar hopping, there was generally only one or two other customers in the places I visited. I didn't see any truly stunning girls anywhere. The best I saw I would rate as a 7 ish.

Luckily I had numbers for girls I met last tip so I made use of them for most of the stay. One was free the other was 2 k per night.

The exception was a spinner I picked up from a small bar across from The Pub (sorry, forgot it's name). She had a tight little body but a totally lacklustre performance for 2 k all night.

I also staggered into T Rose one night on the way back from a bar hop for supposedly one last beer. That turned into a double header BJ in one of the booths for 1 k each. It was about 10 pm and they close early at 11 pm. Supposedly I was the only LDs bought for the night. I tended to believe this as the crowds were so light that night and the bar is off the main strip.

[Chris Long]

New bus service.

Convenience should be a major factor, but you didn't mention from where you planned to travel in Manila. You've gotten good advice from other posters about Victory & Fly the Bus. Southern Cross also has a daily bus from Ermita, which stops in AC then continues on to Wild Orchid in Baretto. If you're in Makati / Malate / Ermita any of those might be preferable.

If you're just arriving in PI at NAIA, however, there's a better option; Genesis is a new direct bus service to Clark airport in AC from NAIA T3. Buses are scheduled every hour on the hour from early morning (6 am, I think, but best to check on website to be sure) till evening (don't recall hour of last bus). The buses are new & clean (plastic seat covers) & feature free WiFi, which was only a bit slower for me than my 4 G SIM card. In my experience (only one trip) the bus was very punctual, arriving at T3 at 1:55 and departing exactly at 2:00 pm. Travel time to AC was fastest I've ever made it, just slightly over 2 hours, but traffic was uncharacteristicly light. I got off on the road in front of the SM mall, just across from perimeter, where most passengers get off (few continue on to Clark) since I was spending the night in AC. I then took Angel's 7 am van to Baretto the following morning..

Thanks this is great information I will be leaving from Ermita.

[Soapy Smith]

This is one of the most detailed explanations I've seen for getting between any two (or three or more) places in the Phils. Chris Long and the rest of us owe you thanks.

[Shining Wit]

What are the options for getting from Manila to Subic.

Thanks.

My usual 2 cents regarding bussing from Manila to Barretto, which for the purpose of this post is not Subic.

E be Dragin's report about Genesis seems of more use regarding AC, as it seems unnecessarily complicated and it only seems to avoid being gouged by taxis at Manila airport, but being put in that position in AC. Plus, if it only operates from T3, it is little more convenient if you arrive in any other terminal.

As far as I can work out, Victory Liner have the franchise to operate from Manila to Zambales province. They have 4 terminals in Metro Manila.

Pasay. Most convenient for airport and possibly Makati.

Cubao. Possibly more convenient for Makati as I think that Pasay services might well pass here on EDSA.

Sampaloc (also called Earnshaw) and Caloocan are both on the north side of MM, so are more convenient for Ermita and Malate.

Services to Olongapo require taxi / jeepney / trike to get to Barretto. Trikes are easy to find in the bus station, and the blue jeepney stop is around the corner.

Services to Iba or Santa Cruz continue through Barretto, and will drop you off wherever you want on National Highway. You may have to remind the conductor that you want to get off.

From my experience, all services use NLEX to San Fernando. SCTEX continue to Dau and SCTEX to Olongapo. Others use the old road across the top of the Bataan peninsula, and make a comfort stop of 20 minutes or so at Lubau, which to my mind is much more pleasant than Dau. On the old road, they pick up and drop off at the roadside, but not frequently enough to make a major delay.

If you have never tried it, the 'in flight entertainment' of videos on a TV screen is a novelty.

Time to go back to sleep until the next time this topic is raised.

[SouthEaster]

EBD, thanks for the info update. Always nice to have some. As for Cheap Charlies, I found it to be much as you said. Not sure how much need there will be for an "upscale" one (oxymoron maybe? But I guess time will tell. As for "They never leave before their shift ends, (& there are 2 shifts, so some leave early). "? Um, which is it?

Probably doesn't matter to me anyway. My "personality" was apparently not even good enough to warrant a phone number!

I have used Angel from BB to AC and it was very good. They leave at 11 am I think. 7 am the other direction is a deal breaker for me! I think there is one more minibus outfit that does the route that leaves at 10 am. Most AC hotels will have the info.

A personal question as I am (one of the despised) smoker. How has BB handled it? For instance CC versus an A/C gogo? Cheers.

SE.

[Erasmus B Dragin]

What are the options for getting from Manila to Subic?
Thanks.

New bus service.

Convenience should be a major factor, but you didn't mention from where you planned to travel in Manila. You've gotten good advice from other posters about Victory & Fly the Bus. Southern Cross also has a daily bus from Ermita, which stops in AC then continues on to Wild Orchid in Baretto. If you're in Makati / Malate / Ermita any of those might be preferable.

If you're just arriving in PI at NAIA, however, there's a better option; Genesis is a new direct bus service to Clark airport in AC from NAIA T3. Buses are scheduled every hour on the hour from early morning (6 am, I think, but best to check on website to be sure) till evening (don't recall hour of last bus). The buses are new & clean (plastic seat covers) & feature free WiFi, which was only a bit slower for me than my 4 G SIM card. In my experience (only one trip) the bus was very punctual, arriving at T3 at 1:55 and departing exactly at 2:00 pm. Travel time to AC was fastest I've ever made it, just slightly over 2 hours, but traffic was uncharacteristicly light. I got off on the road in front of the SM mall, just across from perimeter, where most passengers get off (few continue on to Clark) since I was spending the night in AC. I then took Angel's 7 am van to Baretto the following morning.

If you don't care to stop in AC (I wouldn't have, but was meeting friends) then you can use the other options to continue on to BB; Victory from Dao, Southern Cross from Wild Orchid, etc. The advantage of SC (& Angel's Van) vs Victory is that they will drop you at any hotel on Manga Beach, BB. Angel's goes only as far as their bakery (next to Alaska, western end of Manga) while SC goes down to Baloy. Either way, anything in Baloy is a short walk / trike ride away.

Angel's though, has only one van daily to Baretto & its at 7 am, not likely an option if you're coming from Manila by bus. Also, there are only a few seats (7?) which can be sold out during busy times. The van departs from their bakery on Perimeter and is fast & comfortable; easily the best option, IMHO, IF (& that's a big IF) scheduling fits your agenda. Angel's Bakery is very small & easy to miss, but right on Fields directly across from SM mall.

Southern Cross also has only one bus daily, but it's later (9 am) so may fit your schedule if you've caught an early morning bus from NAIA. It departs from Wild Orchid & picks up at the Brass Knob Hotel (Fields, across the street from where the Genesis bus can drop you). Again, the SC bus goes straight to Barrio Baretto, Subic.

If you arrive later than 9 am (as most everyone will) & wish to continue on to Subic, end of the line for the Genesis bus is Clark, so not advisable to go that far unless you're taking a flight. From the SM Mall stop, you can catch a taxi / trike to Dao bus terminal, then a Victory Lines bus onto Olongapo. They leave frequently (every 20-40 minutes) so are the most flexible schedule-wise, BUT, they only go as far as Olongapo. From the bus terminal in Olongapo (or on the highway a bit closer to Baretto) you've still got a 6-8 km trip, by trike / taxi, to Barrio Baretto, Subic. This is the issue as it means longer trip time (min 90 min vs 60 min) and simply extra hassle. It's not a big deal, mind you, but a minor inconvenience to get off the bus and find a taxi / trike for the last leg of your journey, more so since they'll usually try to gauge you. I'the recommend Grab or Uber as better options for the safety & convenience.