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Welcome to AngelesMay 17 '06 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line If you happen to be going on a sex tour, then you'll want to plan a couple of days in Angeles. Otherwise, you should probably skip it. We ended up in Angeles mostly by accident. We flew into Manila Airport intending to go to Subic from there. The weather when we left Seoul had been a crisp 50 degrees, but we’d shed a layer of coats as soon as we landed commenting on the welcome heat and humidity after the cold Korean winter. Then we walked outside the airport and realized how much the terminal air conditioning had been keeping the heat and humidity at bay. We followed the advice of a friend and went to the taxi stand to inquire about taxies. Our friend had failed to mention that the ride to Subic was 3 hours long. We then decided to make a pit stop before engaging a taxi. When we tried to reenter the airport the guard told us we couldn’t take our bags back inside so one of us would have to wait with the bags while the other used the facilities. We also needed to show our passports. Talk about bathrooms for customers only! My husband went first and while I waited the guard changed. Dennis returned and I went inside. Dennis struck up a conversation with the guard who recommended that we go to Angeles as it was only 2 hours away and an easy transition to Subic from there. And that’s how we ended up in the red light district. One of the things that makes the Philippines a tourist destination is the sex trade. Another is the fluency in English. In Angeles, you find a lot of English speaking hookers. Of course, Angeles is also a town in it’s own right. It’s situated right outside the site of the former Clark Air Force Base, which was closed down after the eruption of Mt Pinatubo in 1991. There’s a little amusement park with a fun house and some pay as you go rides and games. Quite a lively little place and actually fairly family friendly. The rides tended to run between fifty cents and a dollar. There’s also a jeepney terminal there so you can look at all the fabulously decorated jeepneys. You can also purchase, if you dare, squid balls for a snack. The locals will gawk at you if you are a woman though. Western men they see all the time, but women? Not so much. It’s not all strange food and being stared at. The long American presence also means that American products are readily available, from Colgate to Oreos. (Or should that be the other way around?) And Filipinos are huge basketball fans. During our short tenure in Angeles we ended up watching part of a basketball game simply because it was in the middle of town. The players were all tricked out in professional looking uniforms, but the few bleachers were sagging and dangerous looking enough that most of the locals preferred to stand. The Filipino passion for decoration is very evident. The various bars are wildly decorated so that it looks like a perpetual fairground midway. Particularly memorable to me was the place with the Egyptian motif with the Sphinx heads mounted on columns staring at the faux polished marble façade of the bar across the street. The girls who work in these bars all wear uniforms too. We happened to be on the street when a crew of girls arrived for the evening shift wearing identical low cut black bellbottoms and black short sleeved blouses tied under their busts. Probably the most entertaining thing for a Western woman to do in Angeles is to look at the facades on the bars and the saucy uniforms on the girls. And that’s about all there is for a Western woman to do in Angeles, unless you happen to be entertained by annoying a bunch of guys. The men were all giving me sour looks as if I was representative of every woman who ever told them to buzz off. I felt much more comfortable being stared at by the Filipinos. But if you are a guy and want to go to Angeles… We stayed at the Orchid Inn and it was very nice. We didn’t discover the pool until the morning we were leaving and that was a real shame because the courtyard it was in was worlds away from the dirty seedy streets outside the hotel. The Swiss Chalet had very good food and good service. The Red Lion also had good food, but their service was slow. In these types of establishments, you can eat the salads. They cater to Westerners and wash everything to that standard. And a Filet Mignon costs about $6US at the Swiss Chalet. Didn’t try that, but I’m willing to bet that it’s good. Kokomo’s Lounge is pretty centrally located, has good drinks and 2 pool tables. We ended up sitting there for about 2 hours between the time we had to check out and the time our shuttle came to pick us up. Nice, friendly place, it doesn’t have walls on one and a half sides of the place so it’s very airy. If you’re married, you might as well stay home. Hookers they may be, but they believe in the sanctity of marriage. When my husband started talking to one, she pointed out his wedding ring and started asking questions about me. According to stories we heard from other guys they look for wedding ring dents too, so just taking it off won’t work. They will accept Lady Drinks. A Lady Drink is a drink that the guy buys for the girl. It costs a bit more than a regular drink, but that’s because she’s getting a commission. Angeles really is only for single males (and even the single males we talked to said it was only fun for a couple of days.) Married males will be thwarted by the ethics of the working girls and females single or married will only make the prowling men uncomfortable and be made uncomfortable themselves. Too bad really because the facades are wonderful, the amusement park is pretty fun and to watch a basketball game in that environment is a totally amazing experience (and I don’t like sports.)  |
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