Angeles City

I was outside at NAIA last night at 1210. The yellow taxi line was the longest that I have ever seen it. And there were no taxis waiting to boot. Thanks to the poster who mentioned Uber the other day. Luckily, I loaded the app and made an account while I was waiting in Japan. I started the app but didn't really know what I was doing. I was able to order a car, but it was going to departures and I was at arrivals. I sent a couple of text messages to the driver but he didn't respond. Maybe it was because I was texting from my US number.

I pulled the phone out with my Smart SIM, to see if I had any load left from last time. All my emails and facebook shit loaded when I turned it on. Load and internet too! Unfortunately the driver had already cancelled; I guess because I was not where the Uber said I was.

I kept standing in the taxi line. There were no other Uber cars available. About 5 minutes later one popped up and I grabbed it. Immediately I called the driver and told him that I was at post 4 on the arrivals level. According to Uber the ride to Victory Liner is normally 103 p, but since there was high demand at that time I would have to pay a 30% premium for a total of 134 p. The ride was 13 minutes.

As soon as I got to Victory Liner the Baguio bus was ready to go. I gave them my scuba gear and a bag with my clothes to put underneath while I carried my back pack with my more important things on board. My usual back row was already taken by a family but there were plenty of seats open. I was able to get two seats to myself. The price was 150 p. We pulled up at Dau station at 2:43 am and I hopped in the first trike smoking. I arrived at the hotel at 2:53 am and handed the driver 100 pesos (because of my scuba gear and the late hour) and didn't look back. I checked in and headed to the club.

2 hours 43 minutes en route from NAIA to my hotel in AC 384 pesos.

[QUOTE=MrEnternational;1682659]We pulled up at Dau station at 2:43 am and I hopped in the first trike smoking. I arrived at the hotel at 2:53 am and handed the driver 100 pesos (because of my scuba gear and the late hour) and didn't look back. I checked in and headed to the club.

2 hours 43 minutes en route from NAIA to my hotel in AC 384 pesos.[/QUOTE]How did you manage to squeeze all your luggage, scuba gear, and yourself into one trike? Were you traveling light?

RG.

AC to MNL.

Fly-the-Bus has become a less attractive mode of transportation over the years. Last time I took it from AC to Swagman in MNL, I was in a cramped van. A couple guys were over powering conversationalists and I could not wait for the ride to end. The bus from Dau solves a lot of problems and saves some expense. However early one morning I was in the Dau terminal with lots of people looking to go to MNL. I could not figure out where to wait to secure the next bus. I must have seen 5 buses to MNL come and go and me running around with luggage trying to get on the right line. Next time things are like that, I will bribe somebody who looks official 50 pesos to get me on the next bus with a window seat.

MNL to AC.

When I arrive at NAIA, I exit the airport and go upstairs and get a taxi letting off passengers. I make sure the taxi puts his meter on. Sometimes I have asked the driver to drive me to AC for 1500 pesos and he pays the tolls which are maybe 40 pesos. Taxi drivers have usually accepted this. I have gone as high as1700 pesos. I tell the driver to go to the Dau terminal after he lets me off at my hotel and he can get passengers to take back to MNL and make some more money. Otherwise, I ask the driver to take me 5 star bus terminal and get a bus to Dau.

I have a friend who has been going to the PI ever since he was a serviceman in the VN war and he had little money to spend. When he exits the airport, he goes to the right and walks to a jeepney stand maybe 50 or so meters on the sidewalk as it curves out of the airport. For less than 20 pesos, the jeep will drop you off at the bus terminal in about the same time a taxi will take you.

To reiterate the recent posts about Manila AC transport that have been very helpful.

Went to Swagman to reserve a seat on the 3:00 pm bus in a few days time. You can't reserve I was told to just show up. It was just as well. I remembered reading something recently here so I checked it out and did the bus thing. Worked great!

11:00 am.

96 php, gave 150 35 minutes. Taxi from Century Park hotel to 5 Star bus station in Pasay.

Here you just get on the bus that is loading, there is no official place to purchase tickets. You pay once you are rolling. Your extra bag is put below. I paid the guy beside me 100 php to get his aisle seat.

11:30-2:30 pm.

150 php - 2 hours later, very cold AC, way too loud stupid Filipino movie volume being played and you are at the Dau bus station in AC (Except for the very much needed side-of-the-road [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] break the way through).

2:50-3:00 pm.

100 php 8 minutes tricycle took me and my luggage to the end of Walking Street. I walked along to Wild Orchid Resort.

The entire trip was worry free and very, very cheap.

Door to door 400 php, $9 USD, $12 CDN wow.

[QUOTE=RadicalGuy;1682665]How did you manage to squeeze all your luggage, scuba gear, and yourself into one trike? Were you traveling light?

RG.[/QUOTE]Trike driver magic. First I got in and put my backpack on the seat. The driver put my scuba bag in front of me then gave me my duffle bag to hold in my lap. If not for diving I can usually get away with just my Swiss Gear backpack.

[QUOTE=MrEnternational;1682715]Trike driver magic. First I got in and put my backpack on the seat. The driver put my scuba bag in front of me then gave me my duffle bag to hold in my lap. If not for diving I can usually get away with just my Swiss Gear backpack.[/QUOTE]That explains it. I'm a big guy, six feet tall, and I was traveling with my backpack plus two hard-case suitcases: One big, one carry-on size. I took two trikes. As some here have pointed out, I was fortunate that the trike driver carrying my suitcases didn't just make off with my stuff.

RG.

Doors of Nasty Duck are all locked up. I asked the guard next door and the girls inside and both said it was raided Friday.
Everything else is A-OK as far as I can see in AC.

Further to my earlier report, I believe the bar with somewhat less desirables was Bar Nana, while the okay upstairs bar was Sweet Dragon ('s Den).

RE comments about the Swagman bus, there were only 3-4 passengers on both my journeys (beginning of Feb this year), while the Victory buses we passed had faces at all the windows, so somewhere between 50% and 100% I guess. The Swagman drivers were okay except for their insistence on going down back alleys and side streets in some ill conceived notion that it would be quicker. It wasn't. Well, obviously I don't know for sure, but I do know that doing 3-point turns down several streets in a row isn't getting us anywhere fast. As for the Swagman hotels, I only saw the lobby / bar of the Manila one and was put off by the flies, and as I described earlier, the AC one was pretty grim too.

Just finished my 4th trip to AC in 2 years. Heading back for my 5th shortly. Here are some brief notes:

1. Learned to control my alcohol intake. Previously a somewhat heavy drinker, I cut out all daytime drinks and limited night time drinks to stay at optimal performance levels. I used to be a frequent at high soc but I decided that going there not only doubled my alcohol intake, but cut my sleep in half. Switching to bar fining increased my outlay for women, but generally ended up with higher quality, and surprisingly ended up being not much more expensive overall. Didn't save any money substituting soda waters for beers but felt a million miles better. I realize this isn't for everyone but I don't need alcohol to talk with the girls.

2. I realize that some punters take the attitude that they are paying, and so therefore as long as you have the cash nothing else matters, but looking around me sometimes and listening to stories from the girls, I will argue that mileage varies greatly. These girls are always sizing you up as a customer and the bar is so low. A little hygiene, clean clothes, shave, dress respectably and be nice and you will have a much better time. I routinely take the superstar girls from the bikini contests etc, I never buy any beads and rarely get anything but a lovely attitude from them simply by being and looking respectable. I get them for 3-4 pops, great performances (mostly) and most don't mind hanging around until the next afternoon. They know they can be comfortable with me and that I am not going to give them a bad experience. They don't ask for much really.

3. Be careful in High Soc. THey do not check IDs and there are quite a few [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord902][CodeWord902][/url] girls floating around in there. Be smart and if it looks very young, I would stay away, no matter what they say their age is.

4. The chicken sisig at Gilligans in SM is fantastic. Highly recommend.

5. Nothing good comes from being cheap. I'm not saying you need to be making it rain, but being cheap will get you mostly poor experiences IMHO. Be conscious of your reputation, especially in bars you frequent. The girls talk and share much more information than we do on these forums and you can quickly get pegged as a certain type of customer. Something as simple as drinking a few times in a bar and not buying any LDs can get you written off as a non customer. Same with not tipping the girls- if you become known as a guy who doesn't tip, next time you return in the bar, expect them all to know this about you.

6. A reality check is a good thing. Its sometimes easy to have your perception of reality thrown off by spending too much time in a place like AC or Pattaya. I am 34 but easily pass for 25, and so I always bend the truth on my age (hey the girls do it so why can't I?) I sometimes find myself forgetting that I am not actually 25. Get outside the fantasy world that is AC, to a normal city, away from any working girls and notice that the cute 20 year old stunners are not all lining up for sn evening with you, or chasing you down the street. In fact most good girls won't even look your way for half a second. Puts things into perspective about what's really going on in AC. Sobering yet refreshing experience, and I think, a healthy reminder of reality to make sure you don't lose yourself.

Just my opinions, take it or leave it. I am a long time member here and been mongering a long time now in quite a few locations, but I haven't made many posts, so I thought I should contribute something. .

Cheers,

Dg1980

[QUOTE=Free2;1683016]Doors of Nasty Duck are all locked up. I asked the guard next door and the girls inside and both said it was raided Friday.
Everything else is A-OK as far as I can see in AC.[/QUOTE]I heard from a girl that had quit working there 3 weeks ago. Apparently quite a few girls had quit there 3 weeks ago because, according to them the owner was a jerk. According to her, at the time of the raid they had 3 younger than 18 yo girls working there.

[QUOTE=Oosik;1682332]After reading the Fly-the-Van business I tried to check on the Southern Cross bus. Only once daily, but it seemed a nicer vehicle when I rode it a couple of times. The SC website is for sale, but they are still taking bookings through reservations services. Can anyone verify that the bus still runs?[/QUOTE]I saw an SC bus in front of the Orchid Inn this morning. The bus said Wild Orchid on the back window.

[QUOTE=Dg1980;1683092]6. A reality check is a good thing. Its sometimes easy to have your perception of reality thrown off by spending too much time in a place like AC or Pattaya. I am 34 but easily pass for 25, and so I always bend the truth on my age (hey the girls do it so why can't I?) I sometimes find myself forgetting that I am not actually 25. Get outside the fantasy world that is AC, to a normal city, away from any working girls and notice that the cute 20 year old stunners are not all lining up for sn evening with you, or chasing you down the street. In fact most good girls won't even look your way for half a second. Puts things into perspective about what's really going on in AC. Sobering yet refreshing experience, and I think, a healthy reminder of reality to make sure you don't lose yourself.

Just my opinions, take it or leave it. I am a long time member here and been mongering a long time now in quite a few locations, but I haven't made many posts, so I thought I should contribute something. .

Cheers,

Dg1980[/QUOTE]Excellent report DG, very descriptive.

Somebody has informed me that I'm probably wrong about Bar Nana. Apologies if so. I don't know what bar it was then!

[QUOTE=Dg1980;1683092]1. Learned to control my alcohol intake.[/QUOTE]Saw a guy (porriner) at the end of Raymond st. Standing, with his pants at his knees, drunk out of his mind. Girls were calling each other to come and gawk at him. His friend was trying to get him to move, but his legs seemed cemented to the ground.

Seriously? In AC?