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Angeles City
News |
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| August
2005 |
Margarita
Station |
I was in the USA for a few months so this is
the first newsletter in quite a while. Hopefully we will be able
to send this out in email form through a new system developed by the
webmaster.
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One of biggest changes occurring in Angeles bars
is under way in the Blue Nile Group. The introduction of slot
machines will begin with an area behind Chicken & Ribs
(adjacent & accessible from Blue Nile Club). Shortly after that location
is up and running you can expect to see slot machines in most, if not all,
of the groups clubs. And that's not the only changes in the Asian Fields
Group. They have |
| connected Blue Nile
Nero's with a big tunnel. And plans are under way to
connect Nero's to Cambodia Club. The group is also
getting ready to build a 3-4 story club where TOP HAT was
located. This new club will tentatively be called GOLDEN NILE. |
| RISING
PRICES: The second COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) in
less than a year went into effect in Central Luzon on the 16th of July.
This equates to about a 20% increase in salaries for the businesses like
Margarita Station that actually pay the minimums or higher.
Additionally, electricity has gone up significantly in the last
year. Our July 2005 electric bill was 51% higher than our bill for the
same period last year. Very few things have stayed the same, but
other significant price increases occurred in the last 2-3 months for
all the essentials of life: beer, rum, sodas, ice, and other important
things like bottled gas. I decided to take a look back in my
records and found the following increases from 1996 to the present:
shrimp up 71%, Squid up 52%, pork & chicken up 50%, and beef
up 48%. The good news for tourists is that these increases are in
Pisos. In 1996 the dollar bought a lot less Pisos, so although
almost everything has increased in price, the net effect isn't that bad when
you figure out how many more Pisos you get for each US Dollar. |
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CHEAP
FLIGHTS TO CLARK: There are still "no frills"
airlines flying into Clark from Singapore, Malaysia, & Hong Kong,
but the prices have escalated almost to match the regular airline
tickets to those destinations. One expat reportedly was recently
quoted $165 for a one way flight to Singapore (a long way from the $39 a
few months ago). |
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SPEAK EASY:
Located where Silk Stockings and Shafto Lane were in the past. A
fraction of the size of the two former clubs. It appears that some
of the space that was used before in Silk Stocking has now been
incorporated into Bananitas. Clean and shiny
inside. A very different looking club with an "L" shape. Time will tell if this one
will survive. But, it is already better than Silk Stocking! |
I didn't believe the rumors
that "Beeline" had an interest in this club, but then
I saw his photo in the CR!
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| The DUKE OF
YORK: Has opened in one of the CDC stalls very close to where the
stalls split from fronting Fields Ave and are on the new road behind
Lancelot, Champagne, etc. This brings up an interesting question -
- since this bar is located on CDC property is it exempt from
inspections from the city of Angeles? |
| PRIVATE DANCER
is now BOYS NIGHT OUT. The club has the same owners -
management.
The booths that were there in the Illusions/Private Dancer days
have been replaced with round tables. This makes the club
seem a little bigger, but I think I preferred the booths. |
| LAS VEGAS has been
sold to the Korean owners of Agayasa. It is currently
closed and renovations are expected. A sign on the door says all
the staff from Las Vegas is in Bunny Ranch. |
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The JUNGLE
closed last week and will be renovated and open as the CLASSROOM
under the same owner. The staff of the Jungle is currently
in the KITTEN CLUB. All these extra dancers gives the KITTEN CLUB a
great lineup. The interior of the KITTEN CLUB has been given a
new look too! Definitely worth a drink stop!! |
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| Lingerie Dance Contests
Every --
Thursday & Saturday at the KITTEN CLUB -- Wednesday & Friday night at the
FLAMINGO CLUB -- Monday & Saturday at the VIPER CLUB. Extended Happy Hour, Free BBQ at the end of the
contest, Raffle draws, No cover charge. |
| RHAPSODY closed
for 11 nights for renovations. They got rid of some of the red curtains
and built a new dance stage closer to the door. It now looks much
more like a bar and a lot less like a karaoke. |
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 |
Got a bad case of CRS (Can't
Remember Shit)? Then stop into the DMZ
and see Tick. He isn't pushing tequila shots or Buy 1 -
take 1. No, he will give you a GINKGO BILOBA. Take it from
me, it must work because I remember that treat. :-)
More seriously, this is another club that is often overlooked by
most tourists. Some walk on by, others stick their head in for a
peak and move on down the road. He has a friendly staff and
reasonable prices. Stop in and have a drink or two. You may be
pleasantly surprised in what you find. |
| LIMITED EDITION
now has an upstairs bar with two pool tables and a dance floor
between the bar and the pool tables. It is a big open room
with several large windows looking out at Perimeter Road &
Clark. They also have 3-4 computers which were busy with
the female staff surfing the internet when I visited. With
P40 local drinks this will be a popular hangout for pool
players. It has hotel rooms on the same level (above the
old LIMITED EDITION which is currently closed for renovations). |
| LA PASHA
is reported by many to be one of the best clubs on the strip
right now. I do like the layout and the music, but I suffered
a little "sticker shock" when I got hit for P70 for a
local drink right after they opened the doors at 7PM. |
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BANANITAS has
expanded by about 25-30%. For some reason I seldom see
many people in this club, but IMO this is a great club with a
big staff. I always have fun when I stop in here for a
drink. |
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| PINK LADY THEATRE
SHOW CLUB: This club has been mentioned is several local
forums. It is located in the Oasis compound is not
really a bar that many foreign tourists will want to visit. It is orientated toward Filipinos in
the model of Juliana Music Lounge (reportedly the same
owners). |
| The POWDER KEG has finally closed it's doors. I have many
fond memories of the Powder Keg's live band in the early 80's. But in the
post USAF days it was a quiet shell of the old days. Word is the
employees pushed for minimum wage, 13th month bonus (which is required
by law for all employees - despite what was reported in another
newsletter), and other benefits required by The Labor Code of the
Philippines. The small volume
of business at the Powder Keg just couldn't support the required
minimums imposed by law, so they closed the business. |
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In one of my last newsletters I reported about
the removal of the shacks on Real Street. Well just when you think the
city is making progress, the little guys show they are not gone yet.
They are not as well constructed as before, but almost all the shacks
are back! |
| The August issue of
GQ (Gentleman's Quarterly) Magazine had a ten page article that
was mostly about the bars of Fields Avenue. It was a
pretty negative article and it has already been mentioned in the
Inquirer newspaper in Manila under the headline: "Sense and
Sensibility: The Laughingstock of Asia." Sadly, this
article in GQ is likely to have some negative impacts on Fields
Avenue if more of the national newspapers follow up on the
article and the Inquirer's story about the article. |
| Recently the ROADHOUSE
held an annual charity night to raise funds for the local children's
center. In one night they raised a record P
1,000,000! (approx $18,000+) This center is strongly supported by the Clark Centennial
Rotary Club and extensively by the owner of the Roadhouse Club (http://www.roadhouseclub.com/rh/default.htm). For more on the center go to: http://www.angelesstreetkids.org/
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| A little over a year
ago the long talked about project of constructing a drainage
system for Fields Avenue was
finally completed. Then this year the CDC removed all the
squatter stalls and built nice standardized stalls from the
railroad tracks all the way to Mc Arthur highway. When
they finished building the stalls they cemented the parking area
between the stalls and Fields Avenue. Am I the only one
that noticed that the CDC cemented over ALL the drainage grates
on the north side of Fields Avenue?? To
make matters worse almost all the grates on the south side of Fields
Avenue are 90% blocked with packed dirt and rocks. |
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| 2005 Monopoly T-shirts
are available now! As is typical of Angeles City, one club
has already changed it's name, one has been sold and is being
renovated (may reopen with the same name), and two others are
rumored to be changing their names any day! |
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| Construction of the SHOE MART MALL
inside of Clark Special Economic Zone is well under way.
This huge shopping complex will be located immediately inside
the old main gate on the right hand side of the
highway. |
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It is all to often that I have to
pass the news of the death of another Angeles City EXPAT.
Sadly this week we lost Shane Ricky
at the young age of 47. Reportedly he had been ill for
over a year and he finally succumbed to his illness. I
have seen three different reports on what his illness was, but
whatever it was, many of us will miss his gentle manner and coy
smile. RIP Shane! |
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