Smoke free city in Philippines
[QUOTE=RCA Knight;1403821].I also like to point out that after all these years, the AC gogo bars are still like chimneys. .these chimney bars are almost gone in Thailand, AC and Philippines probably won't follow for many more years.[/QUOTE]We have got something in the Philippines you have not got in Thailand, a totally smoke free city, that means totally, and everywhere, except perhaps outdoors.
Name: Davao City. Been like that for some time now.
My 2 cents about Cuba Cuba
[QUOTE=Chris Long; 1402851]Chris Long in Angeles City.
You will also find Cuba Cuba sports bar and casino on Santos.
I DO NOT LIKE CUBA CUBA.
Sorry I had to get that out, BUT I HOPE THE PLACE CHANGES ITS PRACTICES; Cuba Cuba employs some very attractive waitresses and guest relation girls who give the impression they are available for takeout. To me this is a SCAM they put themselves out like they are available for takeout only to find out that they are just there to get you to buy ficha drinks for them and run up your bar tab, in the end they refuse to go with you, YOU CAN FORGET CUBA CUBA. I had a dismal success rate there less than 10. From my experience the girls are just there to get you to buy them lady drinks and run up your tab and they rarely go with you. To me this is deceitful business, places like Kokomos and Phillies higher attractive waitresses but it's understood that they are not for takeout. Just like any bar / restaurant in the states if you have game and looks you could probably pick them up maybe even a little easier than in the states but they are not giving the illusion they are for takeout. Cuba Cuba does try to give you that impression the girls are available, but the girls are just there to run up your bar tab and rarely will they go with you, personally I would avoid this place.
I hereby place my Chicago Cubs Billy Goat curse on Cuba Cuba and hope the place either changes its practice or goes under. LOL. Chris Long[/QUOTE][QUOTE=Kitie Carson; 1402894]Great TR Chris. I have followed your TR's on various boards and enjoyed them all. HOWEVER, I must strongly oppose your statement on Cuba Cuba. Respectfully that is.
I just left AC last weekend, and was also there the 1st 2 weeks of February and the Cuba Cuba is my bar of choice. 65 peso house drinks and local beer, A great poker room with good tourneys, good food at reasonable prices, nice seating areas, and of course GIRLS. You are correct, they are not all going home with you, but that is where you have to do a little weeding out. I found some GREAT 1's and HOT that went with me for 1000 LT. Yep that's right 1000 LT! That's the good thing about this bar is there is no set price on your gals. You get what you can get.
I enjoyed bullshitting with the girls, and they were NEVER pressing me for LD's. If I wanted to get them some I did otherwise we just sat around talking. THe sports were always on, and I was there for the ACC tourney and they found my games when I wanted.
I LOVE CUBA CUBA![/QUOTE]Chris, I too have enjoyed your trip reports and have often found them very informative as well as a good resource, but I agree with KC on this one and I oppose your harsh criticism of Cuba Cuba. I understand we all have own opinions, especially when it comes to the bars / clubs in AC, and it sounds like your experience at Cuba Cuba (CC) was not a good one. But how often did you visit? How much time did you spend there? Could your negative experience be the result of just having a bad day?
As I was staying in the Bourbon St Condos (right above CC) I frequented this place quite often and at various times of the day. I was there in late Jan and again in early March (same time as you) for total of about 19 days. Sorry you didn't have a chance to call me, I probably would have suggested we meet there, LOL. It proved a good meeting place and a good place for me to hang out sometimes while I was waiting for my girls to get ready before going out. In addition, I ate there several times too. The food there is good and not too expensive. I chatted with several of the GRO's and waitresses. I also had the chance to observe them when customers came in and how they interacted with them.
Most of the time the girls never even approached customers, they would wait until they were called over and never did I see any pushy behavior or witness any of them aggressively asking for LD's. For the most part the GRO's hung out at the corner by the grill or inside at one end of the bar and waited for customers to approach or signal them to come over. Most of the GRO's don't start showing up until about 3 or 4pm, but it seemed like there was always a few of them hanging out.
One thing I did find out that I thought was peculiar in way was that you could buy a LD (150php) for a waitress, but they could not sit with you at all. They were there to serve food & drinks only, however some of them will go with you after their shift is over. All you have to do is ask.
As a point of reference, most of the waitresses wore club issued T shirts with "waitress" printed on the back and the GRO's just wore simple T shirts with CC printed on the front. There were also a few girls, possibly FL's not affiliated with CC, in plain street clothes as unescorted ladies are also welcome.
There is no structured bar fine here and no mamasan to deal with. You work out your own deal with the girls, but I did notice they tended to be pickier on who they did approach and perhaps who they will go with too. The LT prices that were quoted to me ranged from 800p from some of the more homely looking ones to 1, 500 for the cuter looking ones. I did over hear one of the hotter girls (a spinner and a solid 9 in my book) quote a Korean guy 3, 000p for ST only. He had bought her a few drinks (on own his accord, she never asked) , but he left alone.
On that particular day, I was there having a late lunch with my gf (JJ) and another girl (GF3) ; JJ and the CC girl had been making eyes at each other. After the Korean left JJ cracked a joke with her; saying that she would not have gone with the guy for twice that (JJ doesn't like Koreans). The CC girl told JJ that she didn't really like Asian guys in general, but when it was slow would go ST with them if they agreed to her price. JJ asked me if she could invite the girl to join us; I quipped that at 3K for ST then she might be too high class for us. JJ, GF3 and the girl then switched to a hushed rapid fire Tagalog exchange. JJ turned to me and, barely able to contain her laughter, simply said "free for me, but 1, 200p for you". I later found out that this girl will usually try for 2, 000p, but will quickly drop to 1, 500p or even lower if she really likes the guy and wants to f*ck him.
Needless to say the girl joined us, I voluntarily bought her a LD and we subsequently went upstairs. We had a nice long session that night and I popped her twice again the next day; JJ, GF3 and the CC girl stayed in bed most of the day and played for hours. If we didn't already have plans I would've asked her to stay for a second night. As it was she stayed until about 3pm, then she went back to work at CC. I gave her a generous tip and bought her a late lunch on another day with the intent of a repeat, but she had just gotten her period. JJ and her had hit it off,"friended" each other on FB and still text each other, so I'm sure I'll see the CC girl again when I return.
For anyone reading this, I wouldn't write off Cuba Cuba based solely on Chris's report. As always YMMV, so go there and see for yourself. If for no other reason it's good place to eat and watch the street action on Santos St. They also serve breakfast. I recommend the pancakes with fruit; two good sized, light and fluffy pancakes, topped with a half of a chopped banana and half of a chopped mango, warm maple syrup and a dollop of butter for 190p.
They also have a decent live band there on Friday and Saturday nights (no cover charge) ; I think they start at about 5 or 6pm.