dazedandconfused

Low season tb?

Recently released or just about to be released are two new independent movies about ladyboy life in the Philippines: 'Shunned' came out last May and broadly follows the trials and tribulations of being a ladyboy in the capital City. It also had a screening at the Cannes Film Festival. The interesting thing for some of us is that many of the girls featured will be recognised by anyone who has spent any time at Mixed Nuts / Birdies Cage in Manila during the past few years. One of the main actresses (ahem) is Mimi Juareza who until relatively recently was the slightly strict Mamasan (aka Mama Mimi) at Birdies Cage. Her good friend, and also erstwhile Birdies Cage regular, Katrina is in the movie too. Here are a couple of links: https://www.facebook.com/Shunned http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3007422720/tt2826512?ref_=tt_ov_i Possibly of more err...critical interest is 'Quick Change' which gets released here later this month. Mimi takes the lead role and looks very fine. In the trailer link below she is the one in the leopard skin print dress, in the blue top and later seen administering the drugs. Mimi and Katrina have been on the scene for a long time. They are both cool ladies, good people and it's great that they are both getting some work outside of the usual grind..... https://www.facebook.com/QuickChangeTheMovieCinemalaya2013

I might join you! White Beach and Sabang are about 35 mins apart (Puerto Galera town lies between them) and although its easy enough to travel between them in the day it's likely to be a hassle at night-time - especially late in the evening. I am sure that there are absolutely no taxis there so transport is likely to be on the back of a motorbike or on a trike on small badly lit roads.

Hi Snick, its been about 18 months since I was last there so maybe someone else has more up to date info but here is what I know: PG is the main town in that part of Mindoro and is one of the main access points from Manila. In reality when people say they are going to Puerto Galera what they really mean is heading to one of a string of beaches along the coast from PG. Sabang Village (about 15 mins in a trike from PG proper) has the largest amount of bars, restaurants, accommodation etc. It also has the most professional Dive Centers in the area so it's a good place to stay for the diving. IMHO the two best operations - and they are excellent - are Atlantis in Sabang Village itself and Asia Divers / El Galleon Beach Resort which is a few mins walk around the headland on to another beach. If pushed I would say Asia Divers just take it in terms of nice resort, with lower rates and a friendly team. Diving in the area is very good with some great drift dives. Sabang is not a place of great beauty and it's mostly all about GG's but there are usually a few LB's hanging around at night. More popular with international tourists. White Beach which is further along the coast (about 20 mins on a trike) has a much nicer beach and is more popular with local tourists. There are a few Dive Centers there (a bit average compared to those in Sabang) but the overall emphasis is more on beach life rather than in-water stuff. This is where the LB's all hang out - quite a lot of them in fact - they work in the bars and restaurants, do fire-shows, run a few informal cabarets and generally cruise at night. I would say 5 - 7 nights in the area works best and maybe split your time between the two centers. DO NOT GO AT EASTER TIME, it's hell on earth. Everyone is travelling, half of Manila pitches up and you can't move for folks! To get there take a ferry from Batangas Pier - nearly all of them drop off at Sabang Village and some make drops at White Beach as well. Hope this helps.

Ernesto, that is a wonderful line. I may have to borrow it and use it myself some time.....with your permission.

Definitely a Hicky. Vinegar on the fish not the chips please!

Orange March? Jeez really? FFS - What's wrong with these people? DB's used to be owned by a couple of 'faces' from one of the main Chelsea firms from back in the day but I'm not sure they are there now - coincidentally I read yesterday that one of them is now here in the PI running a fish and chip shop in Subic Bay! Anyway, too far off topic. Thanks for breaking the news Misters Route and Cox. House looks like a very nice bar to visit...and presumably plays some tunes more to your liking Route65?!

Hi pdogg. Works fine for me (but tbf was OK before as well). I usually sign up via the Forum thingy rather than LR. Only difference I now see is that when I sign out a different 'box' pops up telling me that I have successfully logged out.

You should be able to throw some Goo Goo Muck around at (Hot) Fever on Soi VC...... Apologies!

Hi randi, I know that you've been into Cebu a few times and it's an ok place. I'm not sure though that I would nominate it as somewhere to retire to based on the quality of health care provision. There are however other benefits available in the City.... Huff Post does have it right about booming private health care here in the PI. There are two standout hospitals in the Manila area (St Lukes in Fort Bonifacio and Asian Hospital in Alabang) that provide above and beyond World class care with attendant facilities and reasonable prices. There are as well several others in town that are just a notch down the ladder. Dept of Tourism is heavily promoting the place as a destination for Medical Tourism. The concept of MT - especially in developing countries - always makes me feel a wee bit uncomfortable but the new Hospitals here are large corporate businesses and set up to make considerable profits. Cheers.

Fair play Ernesto - very very few non-Filipino tourists currently make it down to Zamboanga (and possibly with good reason) so to head there on a LB safari is above and beyond the call of duty! It's been interesting to read all about your experiences

Hey Soc999, good to meet you, albeit briefly. Looking forward to hearing and seeing more. Enjoy Cebu!

Thanks! Last couple of trips I have ended up standing in more or less the same place there and thinking 'Oooh the huge plant pots are nice'. It's a bit worrying that one of my abiding memories of Pattaya, of all things, is the flipping garden displays

Central Festival, Beach Rd side?

So…. I saw this earlier today in Manila and my immediate thought was 'cool, pdogg and bumblebee are really on top of things, have already moved on from Hotels (in just a few short days) and into Transport and are, as I drink my coffee, rolling out the LBR brand into new markets in the Asia region'. Or something like that. Then I thought 'that's a nice touch as well, an LBR taxi dedicated to shuttling around itinerant BM's in the sometimes chaos that is Manila' Finally I sat back and thought, 'the little tinkers, they didn't open up the franchise and give a piece of the action to those who live here'. I interrogated the driver at length but he flat denied knowing either a bumblebee or a pdogg. Insisted that his Boss was called Lito Cruz.

Coracao Tambor by Ian Pooley. Just one from his fantastic Since Then LP - by far my favourite 'summery' album of all time, it's full of latin beats, beaches and a super happy feel. Lovely. http://youtu.be/6YophSf5ApE

Great tale DC and a killer final paragraph

Time was that I would have entirely agreed with you but....last time back in UK I stayed with my brother and family. They were on a temporary boycott of HP for having changed the century old recipe (First World problems eh?) and had switched to Daddies. Can't emphatically say it changed my life - that would be a wee bit sweeping - but hey, it's great. Daddies all the way for me now... Great thread idea as well. Looking forward to a few breakfast blow-outs later in the year with you my friend.

Aus / NZ release date is set for July 18 US release date is July 19 UK sometime early August Can't find any release dates for Asia region yet. Not sure about Thailand but in PI films are quite often released a few weeks ahead of the US - gives the distributors a chance to reflect on opinion from an English speaking market sector before opening in the US....

Sam, I originally wrote a long winded reply about drugs here in the PI but have just deleted it because a. it was dull and b. it trampled over Ernesto's piece. Simple answer to "drugs........in PI it is damn risky on all fronts?" YES it bloomin is! Be cautious. I do like reading your stuff though Ernesto and seeing what you get up to - it's definitely edgy!

So......Drive by Nicolas Winding Refn was a great movie, beautifully shot and bathed in colour, cool music and some great performances. And it was violent. And he has done it again with his latest film, only it seems increasing the violence levels further still. Apparently its been dividing critics / audiences at Cannes this week - they more or less seem to fall into the love it or hate it camps. Anyway, Only God Forgives has Ryan Gosling, again, a fascinatingly blonde Kristin Scott Thomas as the mother from hell and some famous local Actors. It's set and shot in Bangkok which no doubt makes it doubly interesting for many of us. Probably best to suspend disbelief about the story line and sit back and enjoy the ride, it should be wild. http://youtu.be/HEFCN4qaYt4

I have pretty broad tastes in porn but some, in fact many, of those featured in the links posted by JaiDee over on the Femboy thread are particularly lovely. Thank you Sir!

Part 1. Somewhere in Mandaluyong, next to Makati, in Manila is a beautifully installed shower tray......years and years ago on my first travels here I met a GG. Later, filled with love and lust and and struggling with a streaming cold, I used air miles to fly from Europe to Manila for a long weekend stay with her. She was living with 3 other girls (courtesy of a range of sponsors) in a small and fairly run-down apartment. First night I realized that the shower floor flooded each time it was used. No idea what possessed me but I volunteered to fix it all. Fuelled by Sudafed, jet-lag, rum, some weird male machismo and the possibility of multiple grateful BJ's I spent all weekend buying a new tray, removing the old one, finding new tiles, grouting, putting on sealant, adding an extra overflow outlet and so on. I barely left the bathroom - I was completely obsessed. I finally finished about 3 hours before my flight was due to depart. It looked lovely. Didn't receive the ultimate oral thanks from the residents though. Some three weeks later the first e.mail arrived requesting help with college fees / rent / clothes etc. Never saw her again. The strangest thing is that rarely before had I done anything that could remotely be described as DIY and to this day I still can't work out how I managed it all.

Hi xyzzy Flat rate on trikes in AC tends to be around php 100-00 which is a usurious charge! If I can't be bothered with the argument then this is what I always seem to end up paying. The hotel is fairly near the Hosto bars up on Fields / Don Juico and it's normally 100 to get up there. As well you might recall

Course, I am biased but easily the Philippines for me.