Subic Bay. Angeles slums. Pissing razor blades.

I escaped Angeles for four nights in Barrio Baretto. I took a jeep to Dau where I caught a bus to Olongapo. From Olongapo you take another jeep to BB. BB is a small beach village next to the former US Navy base at Subic. A room 5m from the sea - yeah. A snip at 500piso = £7.50.



Standards, as ever, are always exceptional in the Philippines. Look at the wiring here. Fine workmanship. Needless to say neither the TV or fan worked. Luckily a sea breeze blew through the room but you had to leave the door open.


I was chuffed to see a western bog. However my happiness was soon eroded as the toilet seat fell apart in my hands. The white plastic pipe was the shower.





Eating unripe sour mango with a pink fish paste - nice. In this bamboo beach hut we ate many Filipino rice dishes with our hands. One night we sat drinking Tanduay Rum as the sun went down.


Nice sunset over Subic Bay.




This is Dave who runs jungle survival courses. I wish I could have done one but I had no time. Here he is showing me a traditional cross-bow, bow n arrow and blow pipe.

I want a motorbike like the one this guy has.


I like this. Demonstrating how political correctness has yet to reach Asia. Only the beautiful need apply. GRO = Guest Relations Officer = prostitute.

After Barrio Baretto I stayed at Gemma's place in Angeles for the last four nights. I love going native. When I saw the dozen or so roosters housed a few feet from the bed I knew sleeping might be a problem and I was right. The constant noise from these things is unreal but the locals seem immune. These birds are purely for cockfighting. Whole TV channels are devoted to this here. I felt like strangling them after the first night.


Here's a pic just outside the house. I don't think the feng-shui is working too well here.

The entrance is next to the tree. Mind you don't step in the gutter on the way in - I did when I was drunk. My foot was literally covered in shit!


This is the scenic route in from the main dirt road.

My young neighbours around the corner.






33piso for 1kg of rice - extortion!

Here's a typical Sari-Sari store close to my place. You can buy single cigarettes for 2 piso each but you have to hand the money through an almost impenetrable wire cage conveniently located at knee height.


Here we are at Sub Delicious watching all the shenanigans on Fields Av. This is Geir my mate from Norway with his lass Rose. His friend Hennen is also from Norway. I got very drunk this night and the hangover was awful. I really thought I was dieing.

On a more sedate alcohol-free stroll around the place I got some more pics of the crazy women here at the Dollhouse.

More of them willing you in for a beer.


It's not all slums in Angeles. This is my feet at the Sunset Garden resort.

I noticed more superstitions. After I'd opened the Tanduay rum at the beach, Gemma poured some into the sand. She claimed throwing some away avoids hangovers. I'm here to clarify that this is absolute bullshit.

Lazy

On the bus from Dau to Olongapo I was amazed at the amount of people doing absolutely nothing. It's truly staggering. Sleeping, playing cards, sitting around chatting, basically deeing nowt. Why they can't read a book or something I'll never know. I'm beginning to think a tricycle is only for sleeping on.

What?

If you ask a Filipino a direct question you may not elicit a verbal yes or no. A mere twitch of the eyebrows is enough to answer in the affirmative. They aren't ignoring you. This takes a little getting used to.

Greed

Some Filipino's greed knows no bounds. While I was staying at Gemma's place, the landlady got wind of a foreigner there. Even though the monthly rent of 2500piso had been paid, the landlady demanded 1500piso from me for four nights in her slum! Bear in mind this is to sleep three in a bed next to a dozen roosters with a shared toilet/shower. Gemma told her to piss off and luckily for me she did. We were laughing that she wanted the same as a hotel. Had I been Filipino she wouldn't have tried this.

Malaysia

Alas, I headed to Clark airbase to catch this plane back to Malaysia. I was surrounded by a loud group of Indian men on this flight. I got a bus from KL to Penang where I listened to a fat bloke snore for five hours. I arrived in Penang at 2300 at the wrong bus station and had to take a taxi 15km to my regular hangout. The petrol in Malaysia is £0.34/litre!



Pain

I had to sleep on a mattress on the floor since all the beds were full. When I went to the toilet it was agony passing urine. Today I walked to Penang General Hospital. I did a piss test and was diagnosed with a Urinal Tract Infection which sounds absolutely wonderful. I'm on antibiotics.

Anyway, despite an afternoon in the hospital it's great to be back in Penang again. I missed the easy going vibe and food. I was going to stay one night in KL but I simply couldn't face it.

Bilik = room