Manila

[QUOTE=Warbucks]New Years in Manila is Bananas.

It’s never hard to find company in Manila…
[/QUOTE]

For the one New Years that I spent in Manila (2006-2007) it was difficult to find female company. I had rented a room at one of the monger hotels in Ermita and went to LA Cafe about 8 pm. There were many more men than women there, and by 11:30 I had concluded I would be spending the night alone. About 15 minutes later a reasonably attractive woman walked up to my table, introduced herself as Lisa and asked me if I'd buy her a rum and coke. I did, exchanged a kiss with her as the fireworks in the street went crazy at midnight, and got her to my hotel room about 30 minutes later. She seemed very appreciative when I got her off quite quickly DATY and was okay for one night time shot of coffee for me, but proved very cool in the morning, although on my subsequent visits to LA she'd hunt me down and try to claim me. About the third time she did this I had already selected another partner for the night, but her attempt to interject herself into my evening ended quickly as she fell to the floor in a drunken swoon. I came to the realization that the reason she'd been available New Years Eve was because other men had picked up on her request for a drink as a sign of her alcoholism.

Warbucks may be right that there are places in Manila on New Years Eve where company is readily available, but I think LA Cafe is not one of them. The explanation I heard from one mongering veteran is that many of the freelancers return to the provinces for Christmas and New Years because of family obligations, and the girls that are totally without family commitment of this sort have either burned out their families or burned themselves out. I suspect Lisa was such a person.

If you know you will be in Manila for the holidays, it might be wise to make arrangements in advance for an extended hookup that makes it worth the while of some freelancer or internet date to stick it out with you.

Where is the Sogo Motel near the Manila airport?

[QUOTE=Skip Kost]For the one New Years that I spent in Manila (2006-2007) it was difficult to find female company.[/QUOTE]Perhaps try this: Cherry Blossoms and Filipina Heart have a "see who's online now" feature, maybe DIA does too? Fire it up maybe around noon to afternoon, and see who's on in Manila. Yahoo Members used to be good for this, but they ruined it.

[QUOTE=Sopwith]Where is the Sogo Motel near the Manila airport?[/QUOTE]

Depends on your definition of near. The nearest ones are in Pasay.
Either Pasay, EDSA Harrison just 2 minutes walk from EDSA or Pasay Rotonda 7 minutes walk from EDSA
[url]http://www.hotelsogo.com/[/url]

[quote=skip kost]
warbucks may be right that there are places in manila on new years eve where company is readily available, but i think la cafe is not one of them. [/quote]

you are probably right about la café not being the best place to see in the new year, skip. however sometimes it is still possible to meet a gem in there as i did on the afternoon of new year eve a couple of years back. her name was ashley, a 21 year old ‘student’ and we clicked immediately and had a good laugh and a few drinks together followed by a steamy hot session in sogo. i got her cp no, intending to meet her again (she said that she was a very infrequent visitor to lac) and promptly lost it …durrr! it was several months later that i came across her again in lac and in the intervening time she had trimmed off some weight and was much hotter. this time i managed to keep hold of her no and she became a regular afternoon sparring partner for a couple of months. she might not have been the prettiest girl that i have pulled out of la café, but she surely was one of the most playful and fun to hang with. and those bj lips that she sure knew how to use according to their design plan.:d. i think that she eventually went off abroad to work. had loads of photos of her but lost them all in a hard disc crash:(.

here’s one from that first hogmanay afternoon romp. wonder if anyone else remembers her and had the pleasure of her juicy young bod?

so you could try lac in the afternoon. maybe the odd amateur might be found in there, trying to scrape together a few bucks to enjoy the evening celebrations.

[quote=cunning stunt]so you could try lac in the afternoon. maybe the odd amateur might be found in there, trying to scrape together a few bucks to enjoy the evening celebrations.[/quote]the worst part about ny anywhere in manila if you haven't got your own transport is trying to find a cab after midnight. there are always girls around on ny eve, but as stated earlier, the fireworks used are really big and dangerous so you should be inside from 10 pm until 1 am. be very careful about being on top of condos viewing the mayhem below. people fire guns randomly in the air and you just might be in the line of fire without anybody knowing it. a friend's mother was hit by a stray bullet just a few years ago in this way.

just lie low but have a good time. it's very possible.

[QUOTE=Red Kilt] Just lie low but have a good time. It's very possible.[/QUOTE]

Nah, don’t hide but get out there and experience New Year Philippine style. It’s unique and the nearest thing to being in a war zone that most will ever experience! Being a Brit it reminds me more of a psychotic Guy Fawkes Night as it used to be many years ago. I never buy fireworks as they are all either locally made or imported from China and are cheap and lethal. But I’ll probably do what I did last year and sit in the front garden with a tumbler full of single malt and watch the neighbors try to blow each other to hell and back. It’s highly entertaining.

What pisses me off is the way the firework party starts about 2 days before Xmas and carries on unabated every night until about 3 January. For a poor country, they sure do burn away an awful lot of money on these munitions.

The best place to see a controlled New Year Fireworks Display is in Hong Kong. Now that is spectacular.

[QUOTE=Cunning Stunt]Nah, don’t hide but get out there and experience New Year Philippine style. It’s unique and the nearest thing to being in a war zone that most will ever experience! Being a Brit it reminds me more of a psychotic Guy Fawkes Night as it used to be many years ago.

What pisses me off is the way the firework party starts about 2 days before Xmas and carries on unabated every night until about 3 January. For a poor country, they sure do burn away an awful lot of money on these munitions.[/QUOTE]

One of the loudest local forms of fireworks is supposedly illegal in most of the cities of metro Manila. Has a name I can't remember. They cut a long piece of PVC pipe to which they somehow inject butane lighter fuel into the bottom and put in some sort of a fuse. Then they drop a potato down the chute, set it off, and fire the potato up into the air at a 45 degree angle or thereabouts. If stray bullets falling to earth pose a danger, just imagine a potato shot from one of these. It makes a horrendous noise, depending how much fuel they put in it, and it certainly raises CS's point about poor people burning up their money -- literally. It's a sort of a homemade grenade launcher.

[QUOTE=Skip Kost]One of the loudest local forms of fireworks is supposedly illegal in most of the cities of metro Manila. Has a name I can't remember. They cut a long piece of PVC pipe to which they somehow inject butane lighter fuel into the bottom and put in some sort of a fuse. Then they drop a potato down the chute, set it off, and fire the potato up into the air at a 45 degree angle or thereabouts. If stray bullets falling to earth pose a danger, just imagine a potato shot from one of these. It makes a horrendous noise, depending how much fuel they put in it, and it certainly raises CS's point about poor people burning up their money -- literally. It's a sort of a homemade grenade launcher.[/QUOTE]What you are mentioning is a potato cannon (or gun). Pretty easy to build and quite cheap. It does have some omph though.
Here is a simple manual how to build one :

[url]http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Original-Potato-Cannon/[/url]

Yes, I was young once (long time ago though.

[QUOTE=German Expat]What you are mentioning is a potato cannon (or gun). [/QUOTE]

Whatever it is called, it looks lethal. Accidentally get in the way of that thing when it went off and you would sure know about it.

All the temporary firework sellers have set up there tents by the side of the main road outside my subdivision. Was passing yesterday and noted that most of the vendors had fags on the go. Guess that is only to be expected same as the way most jeepney drivers immediately light up whilst waiting for gas:(.

[QUOTE=German Expat]What you are mentioning is a potato cannon (or gun). Pretty easy to build and quite cheap. It does have some omph though.
Here is a simple manual how to build one :

[url]http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Original-Potato-Cannon/[/url]

Yes, I was young once (long time ago though.[/QUOTE]

OMG! I wouldn't have guessed there were instructions available. So did some German with an excess supply of Kartoffeln and too much time on his hands invent that? I assume the guy who put the instructions on the web was just some Ami Arschloch following what he'd learned elsewhere.

[QUOTE=Cunning Stunt]Was passing yesterday and noted that most of the vendors had fags on the go. Guess that is only to be expected same as the way most jeepney drivers immediately light up whilst waiting for gas:(.[/QUOTE]

Of course, the fag offers the basis for ignition for each subsequent piece of fireworks. I usually end up burning my fingers when I use matches for igniting them. I'm close to the Alabama border, so your post reminds me to make a run for the projectile type and big ones I can't get around home. Problem is, there's a little AMP just another 45 minutes past the border. Should I or shouldn't I? What a difference the distance and price makes in the states as compared to the Phils.

[QUOTE=Skip Kost]OMG! I wouldn't have guessed there were instructions available. So did some German with an excess supply of Kartoffeln and too much time on his hands invent that? I assume the guy who put the instructions on the web was just some Ami Arschloch following what he'd learned elsewhere.[/QUOTE]Don't know whether it was invented by Germans or not. Wouldn't be surprised though, plenty of potatoes around in our country. Did see and shoot it first time with a Swiss friend.

[QUOTE=Skip Kost]OMG! I wouldn't have guessed there were instructions available. So did some German with an excess supply of Kartoffeln and too much time on his hands invent that? I assume the guy who put the instructions on the web was just some Ami Arschloch following what he'd learned elsewhere.[/QUOTE]

My brothers and I used to make those when I was a kid. But we used a combination of soda cans (the old heavy metal kind (telling my age)), duct tape, Zippo type lighter fluid, and tennis balls (instead of potatoes). The tennis balls were good for repeat firing, and kept us from getting in trouble for using mom's potatoes! :D We didn't need a manual to come up with this. Of course, we are half German on our mom's side! ;)

We also found that you could cut the white tips off of the old wood matches that could be lit off of anything. Place a nut about half-way onto a bolt, put the match tip inside the center of the nut, and screw in another bolt. Drop this contraption so that either bolt head hits a hard surface, and you've got a homemade fire cracker (and a bunch of ruined matches! :D )

Glückliches neues Jahr!
HW

[QUOTE=Hairy Wonder]My brothers and I used to make those when I was a kid. But we used a combination of soda cans (the old heavy metal kind (telling my age)), duct tape, Zippo type lighter fluid, and tennis balls (instead of potatoes). The tennis balls were good for repeat firing, and kept us from getting in trouble for using mom's potatoes! :D We didn't need a manual to come up with this. Of course, we are half German on our mom's side! ;)

We also found that you could cut the white tips off of the old wood matches that could be lit off of anything. Place a nut about half-way onto a bolt, put the match tip inside the center of the nut, and screw in another bolt. Drop this contraption so that either bolt head hits a hard surface, and you've got a homemade fire cracker (and a bunch of ruined matches! :D )

Glückliches neues Jahr!

HW[/QUOTE]Pretty cool.

Thick PVC pipe is what we use to make those potato guns here.