dazedandconfused
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Posts posted by dazedandconfused
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The first port of call in any Mall or Department Store in SE Asia are the perfume and cosmetics counters where you wander around trying desperately to engage in eye contact with the LB's working there. Second stop are the small cellphone repair shops (If they have them) for same reasons as above....
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Yok............
I hope she never gets tits.
Fingers crossed a saviour doesn't appear with more money than sense to turn her into a caricature of herself.
Hi Mr Cox, I assume from the above that you may well have heard the whispers? I was told on Saturday by one of her mates (albeit at 05.00am and with several drinks inside her so please don't hold me 100% to the reliability / veracity of the info) that Yok was going to have a boob job early this week. If true it's a damn shame.
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Hey Randi, I'm (kind of) following your footsteps and wandering around Pattaya at the moment but head back to Manila at the end of the week. Drop me a line if you need any info / advice on Manila, where to stay, what to see etc. Will be more than happy to help - and meet up when you are over.
Cheers, d&c.
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Technically it's possible that I will move seamlessly from B through to D within the next 7 nights....!
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Internet Explorer is not working for me - pages don't load properly and it's a jumble of text, headings etc but I guess that you know this already. Thought it was just me that had the problem so quite relieved to know it's not (though not relieved for you and the IT team - that's a headache). G Chrome works fine though.
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Saw Skyfall last week. It's never going to challenge Citizen Kane or Battleship Potemkin in the list of Movie Greats but it generally runs along ok on most levels - lots of action, some nice atmospheric locations, light humour, a bit of pathos at the end and so on. Javier Bardem makes for a good 'Baddie' albeit with more than a passing nod to Hannibal Lecter. Film felt a bit bloated though and whilst Craig plays the Bond character very well it might have worked better still if the whole production was stripped down and a bit leaner. Lots of the film was shot in a gloomy light - a bit more of this and a darker script it could have become very much more 'edgy'. Anyways, I'm just a humble punter and and FWIW enjoyed it, as a Bond film, throughout....
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There is one on 19 also according to this poster
That's Good news. Have always wanted to go to one (fighting LB's not withstanding!) and I get to Pattaya just in time for this one...
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Hi Hefe, just a quick amendment re the Philippines. Greenbelt Mall is in Makati not Quezon City. That said it's just a 20 min taxi ride from Greenbelt to QC after the rush hour traffic has gone.. You are right though it's very much prime pick up territory though and it's a shoe-in to meet LBs there.
nymphssatyr: Can't imagine that you would have an issue with LB joiners in any decent hotel in Manila - they are all used to it. See if you can transfer your hotel over to Makati as it's easier all round. If not then it's no big deal. Take Hefe's advice and go over to Greenbelt if you have time. If thats difficult / you are time limited then you can also check out Manila Craigs List - lots of LB's advertise on there. Usual disclaimer some of them are good and some of them not so good...
Nice business trip you have lined up....
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Ken, you have a rare eye for the story and and paint pictures with wonderful words and phrases. Some of the very best stuff here on the forum. Looking forward to this report very much....
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Nice to see this up again Jimslim....
Here are 4 very different tunes guaranteed to get me happy and the feet tapping before a big night out! Apologies if the Laura Greene track is already in the Northern Soul thread......
1. The under rated Chi-Lites:
2. Superfly Curtis:
[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lus0wLOXvAc
3. Laura making a great racket:
4. Eddie and the Hot Rods - 'Do Anything you Wanna Do' Wish I was a teenager again:
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Jacky looks very errrr.....charming!
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Kahuna, you should be the LBR Sports Correspondent!
They reckon that NBC may get better than a 5.2 rating in the US for the Ryder Cup this year which mean it was watchd in 5.2% of all US households. Not huge in the general scheme of things but then not trivial either......
Seriously though it was gripping.
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I know that it might not be the best result for our BM's from across the big pond but what a monumental wekend of sporting endeavour. Certainly the best Ryder Cup I have seen in over 40 years. Astonishing golf played by both teams in the most incredible and emotional conditions. Loads of absolute heroes on the European side but special mention to Poulter (who semed single handedly to grab the damn thing and wrest it from the US), Rose for two unbelievable putts at the end and the much under-rated Lawrie. Credit to the USA for absolute dignity in defeat as well.
Am I the only one on here who watched it?!
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Hi everyone, thanks for the feedback.
Hefe, I like Davao and it's an interesting place but I'm not sure that I would go out of my way to visit the City if I was on a relatively short trip. If primarily here to spend some time with LB's then time in Manila and Cebu is well spent. Possibly Angeles City as well (to be fair it is primarily all about GGs there but the LB's are literally and confidently beginning to step out of the shadows....).
Davao is quite big and sprawling and does not really have the kind of nightlife scene, or indeed the kind of tourists, that will generate a wildly active LB scene out in the discos and bars. They are deffo there but not all that easy to find.
Personally I would rather combine some city time with downtime on one of the islands. Boracay is the best known, has great beaches, lots of things to do and is busy at night. It's also popular with LB's - either ones free-lancing there or ones that you can take with you.
Plenty of other island / beach places to head to and explore throughout the islands. Check out Puerto Galera, Dumaguete, Malapascua, Moalboal, Panglao Island, Camiguin, El Nido etc. Some already have a fair sprinkling of LB's there and others are a lot quieter but no less enjoyable for that. If you find someone you are comfortable with and whisk her away to the beach for a few days then you are going to be much loved!
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Stealth, too much detail for here methinks!
Kind of all of the above. Am an expat doing my own thing and enjoying life in the PI
I'll send you a message with a bit more info.......
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Thanks for the comments Gents. Just one rider.....nightlife in Cebu, good as it is, is definitely a Fri / Sat affair with Thurs sometimes ok as well. The rest of the week there is relatively quiet - possibly deathly quiet. So do bear that in mind if planning a trip and assessing priorities.
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Hey Stealth
Am living in Manila and have been based in the Philippines for quite a few years now :)
Aside from the Oyster Bay I have only really seen Mandaue as I travel through it to and from the airport to the City. Seems to be the home of a lot of the Cebu based LBs though....
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Thanks SiamSam.
I'll wrap this thing up now....
The Sunday
Sunday daytime was a wash and was spent in a quiet, slightly fragile state, both poolside and in the room. We were dodging showers and welcoming the ac.
Ayala Mall, Cebu. Here you can dine, watch movies and buy anything that your lb girlfriend adds to the damn shopping list. Pic from cebucitylife.com
Sunday night was funny. Anyone who has ever spent any length of time with a Filipino girl or LB will tell you that on a fairly regular basis there is going to be an argument or a sulk or a small dispute. These can easily spill over into bitter recriminations that even the UN would baulk at trying to solve. Candy got hers in on night 3 – which was not too bad. I can’t remember exactly what sparked it but it was something really really trivial (it always is from our seemingly more sane perspective) that set her off. We were going to the Cinema and were planning to eat in the Mall beforehand. By the time we got there she 100% was not talking to me at all.
In my (lengthy and gloomy) experience of such matters I know that there are usually 3 ways to deal with this:
a. sulk back and don’t talk to them either until someone cracks. Trouble is that this can last for weeks
b. rise to the bait and assume that you can shout and holler some sense into the situation which is extremely tempting as the blood pressure surges but rarely works
c. and my personal favourite, chatter along amiably as if nothing has happened and you have not noticed anything wrong. Sounds great but after a while if the other person refuses to bend it becomes a one person discourse of gibberish.
I went with c. but eventually had to give up. So, after a very very quiet meal we went to the cinema separated physically by inches and a chasm of silence. However a brief tentative hand squeeze half way through from her suggested that things were possibly back on track and after the movie there was a cuddle and some tears. Never really got to the exact bottom of it but suspect somewhere along the line there was the emotional effect that a nice weekend as a ‘real couple’ was having – especially as it is only a temporary / occassional situation for us. We did recover though and went back to the hotel for great make-up sex.
Next day a flight back to Manila and to our separate lives.
So, Cebu was cool, as always, and it was good not to have to chase around but just enjoy the place with an LB who is a pretty special friend....
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The Saturday
Much of the next day was spent poolside. It’s an ok pool but has quite a lot of concrete around it. Depending on where you sit there is some wi-fi access. They also allow non-guests to use the place at a reasonable Php 300-00. Well worth considering if in Cebu and staying somewhere without a pool. Maybe avoid weekends though – it was a bit of a bunfight for the sunbeds…
The pool at night (or during an eclipse) Pic from ensogo.com
That night was Saturday which meant hitting the bars and clubs. Different modus-operandi for me – usually I am on more of a mission. This time I had a beautiful lb already in tow who was keen to show off so we hit the town determined to look great and have a cool time. First off though was dinner and ballast….
We both wanted fish and there is a fairly known fish restaurant in Cebu called the Oyster Bay. This is on the main road in Mandaue about half way between the Airport and Cebu City (about 10 – 15 mins taxi from the hotel). It’s actually set roadside in a small U-shaped Mall the kind I would guess you might see in the USA…
Anyway, very nice place with lots of seating and space so you have a bit of peace and quiet. It's a slightly funky place with a friendly knowledgeable team working there. Seem to be familys there early evenings and more couples / mates there from about 8.30pm onwards. Good value menu too with the Oysters being exceptional. Well worth a visit imho…..
Outside at Oyster Bay Pic from oysterbayseafoodrestaurant.com
Suitably refreshed we headed back to the hotel and got our glad rags on. Ms Candy in 5inch heels and a dress that seemed to stop somewhere just a few centimetres south of her waist. Me not in a dress or heels. First stop was a quick look at the Hotel casino.
Then on to the Penthouse / Loft which is just about the most trendy and fashionable club in town. It’s in the Technology Park near the hotel. Comprises of the 2 bars on different levels. The Penthouse is the upper one and the most popular. Crowd is a mix of some of Cebu’s (slightly older) finest (and wealthiest), upscale Korean and Japanese tourists and the occasional misfit like myself. I’ve been here a few times and it’s not really a place if you are solely looking to track down LB’s. That said a posse of at least half a dozen of them swooped in at some point during the evening and hung around for an hour or so. Some familiar faces amongst them for anyone who knows that part of the Cebu scene. Couple of DJ’s from Manila were playing and music was a decent mix of house and funk. We left around 01.30am when it was starting to get pretty full.
Next stop was Mango Square. You either get this place or you don't and getting out of the taxi there at 01.45am was like walking into a crowd scene in ‘Escape from New York’. There is the whole gamut of life that zooms in on nightlife in a city in the developing world – kids selling cigarettes and gum, hustlers, taxi drivers, cops, hookers, drunks, lbs and fbs, tourists, students, bums, bar crawlers, glam girls, etc etc. It’s got an edge and it’s fun.
Mindful of the fact that I was with La Candy I could not stare toooo long at a gaggle of FB’s who were making unsubtle eyes and so dragged her into J Ave 'Super club'. Formerly known as Julianas this has been revamped, refurbished and is now very big. It’s also very bloody noisy. Music was the usual mix of current, pretty average, mainstream dance music and a DJ yelling the usual tired old stuff ‘make some fucking nooooiiiissse’ ‘put your hands up in the air’ and so on. I stuck it for about 30 mins.
There are a whole bunch of bars and clubs in Mango Sq with quite a bit of seating outside so you can easily sit there and watch the world go by. No real need to actually go into any of the clubs and it’s an easy place for a pick up. Actually the main road bisects the Square and the other side is quieter with just a few bars and restaurants. Incidentally, located on that side is a branch of Zubuchon that is one of the Philippines very best places to eat. The lechon pork is great.
Final stop for the night was Pump 1 which is located at the back of the Convention Centre just 5 mins in a taxi from Mango Sq. It’s a bit weirder still but slightly less busy with the Crazies. A fair number of the workers from the GG bars come here after the clubs shut and there always seem to be a good number of LB’s around. It’s loud inside but loads of tables and chairs outside. I’ve always had a fairly good time there and one BM and myself struck the Leyte / Samar Island LB motherlode on a visit there a year or so back! A word to the wise... there often seem to be a few young un’s hanging around so take the usual precautions if in doubt ie pass and move on to the next table.
BTW all the above clubs have a nominal entrance fee and then give you a voucher that can be exchanged for a rum coke, beer or whatever. Most expensive was the Penthouse at around Php 300-00. I think but memory of the night is a bit hazy.
End of night we crawled back to the hotel, bit tired and already hungover but fueled by oysters, baileys (her) and rum (me) we were eager and ready to test that bed again. One final caveat - I'm far too old for that kind of night but when in Rome.....
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Just some notes on a few days spent recently in Cebu. Quick note, none of the photos are mine – they have been mainly lifted off official sites on the web and have been credited where possible
The Friday
So…. a few weeks back the current lb mrs dazedandconfused (I’ll call her Candy here, it’s not her real name but I like it for now and it was a good enough name for Lou and Andy!) and I went down to Cebu from Manila for a long weekend.
We don’t get together all that often and have to snatch some brief time when we can. I really enjoy her company though so it was time to throw some money at it and have an overdue silky, romantic kind of weekend. We booked into the Cebu City Waterfront Hotel and Casino (not to be confused with the one by the airport). It’s an institution in Cebu and is one of the largest hotels around. Probably now the third or fourth best in the City but it’s in a good location, has decent facilities, a very impressive lobby and a whole bunch of in-house restaurants that meant that we did not have to wander too far from the room if and when in lazy mode.
Got a deal via Asia Rooms that worked out around $90-00 USD per night. Hotel is definitely lb friendly and if on a monger trip there is no problem with joiners. Decent buffet breakfast as well. If you get up in time.
Deluxe rooms are big and spacious and have huge beds to roll around on. Good wi-fi signal as well. Bathrooms are a bit small and cramped though.
The Hotel (not as ugly as it looks) Pic from checkcebu.com
First afternoon was as most here would anticipate – I went out to get some decent drinks and snacks for the mini-bar, and was provided with a shopping list of a whole range of stuff for her. These were the very things you would expect the traveling LB would bring with her but they never ever ever do ie hairbrush, sun-block, make-up remover etc. Go figure.
The main Ayala Mall is just a few mins from the Hotel. Got back and La Candy was tucked up and fast asleep in bed – no big surprise
The Deluxe Room - big enough to swing.... Pic from waterfronthotels.com.ph
She later surfaced and spent just the one hour 30 mins getting ready for dinner – located 6 floors below us in the Italian restaurant. Nice place with the added bonus for the smokers that they have indoor and outdoor seating. Food was very good but Jeez, it’s not cheap. Had a bottle of wine that we did not finish but was later sent chilled and on ice up to the room for us – nice touch. Ended the night fully testing that bed suspension and the pillow strength...
The lobby - before the arrival of KE631 from Seoul Pic from asiabet.co
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Thanks pdogg (proving it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks)!
This one was popular out here in the PI a few years back...
Perfect timing with the sound of the cockrel in the background at the very end of the clip
[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44rvmGHNJqE[/media]
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How do I embed a You tube clip on here? There's one I would like to post and I'm not up to speed on how to do it.
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Thanks for the feedback SiamSam, that's pretty much pushed me in the direction I was already heading. Looks like it will be the August Suites. Unless I have to change my flipping dates again! I'm 99% sure of being there Nov 18 - Nov 25.....
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My fault.... am heading over to Pattaya mid-late November and had a room held at the Evergreen at Areca Lodge. I dithered around, chopped and changed dates, lost my option date at Areca and now they are fully booked on the nights I need and I'm a bit sad!
So, am just trying to work out next best options. I want a new-ish place, a swimming pool and need to have reliable wi-fi in the room. I kinda like Page 10 but it's just a bit more lumpy than I want to pay this time round. At this point I'm juggling with either August Suites (probably the first choice) or April Suites and as a possible wild card the LK Royal Wing.
Anyone got thoughts / comments on the above?
Thanks D&C
Next Stop Manilla
in Philippines
Posted
I hear that sasquatch! There is a kind of perceived wisdom that the only way to do the Philippines is to set up a network of contacts in advance. For sure it doesn't do any harm and certainly stealth, randiuno and thaibound would support that view - it clearly works well. However, as I've said before, if you are not on a mission to secure 100% certainties then you can just go with the flow. I've always had success hooking up with LB's in Cebu with absolutely no advance planning. This was with mixed results to be honest but is part of the fun of looking around.
On a Thursday, Friday and Saturday night the area around Mango Sq and J Ave disco in particular is a shoe-in for LB's. You should also wander over to Pump 2 at the Convention Centre sometime from 01.00am onwards. Earlier nights in the week are less promising - it's quiet out there - so you might then want to look at alternative strategies. Wost case scenario - jump onto Date In Asia, there are a host of Cebu based LB's hanging out there every day.
On all the PI dating sites you will see phrases such as 'looking for love', 'love me for who I am', 'God-fearing', etc etc. Don't wish to be overly cynical but these are generally to create the impression that they are charming girls with the long stretch and monogamy firmly in mind. Truth usually is that once you have stressed you are just here on holiday and for a good time (see randi's comments above) the desire for long term romance quickly gets dropped in favour of the short term fun / renumeration option. And who can blame them?
Sound advice above as well on e.mail addresses, phone numbers etc. Pick up a SIM card on arrival and use that number exclusively for the LB's. Once they have you they are likely to bombard you with SMS messages day and night - my favourite being 'have you had your lunch / dinner yet?' which must be a default setting on the various cellphones.
Have fun.