Angeles City...................... ???

Well it's 12.30 am Sunday morning, I write this as I sit at a table in the restaurant of my hotel, behind me is the swimming pool and my room is directly above there overlooking it.

Well I never thought that I would ever visit Angeles as it's reputation is very poor and not the sort of place that I like to visit.......... well why am I here I hear you ask....... well.........

I was going stir crazy spending so much time in the condo so on Friday I got myself up and visited the travel agents around the corner, what you have got to realise that travel agents here are a bit like they probably were in the UK in the 50's or 60's.

What do you expect when you enter a Travel agents......... probably like me to see brochures so you can choose were you want to go and pick an hotel in that area that suits your budget.......... well not in the Phils......no..no..no........... no brochures whatsoever..... you have 2 choices.. first one is that you know where you want to go and they will try to find you somewhere to stay there........but you won't be able to see where you are staying etc... it's just pot luck....... secondly they do write some offers on a board outside, you choose then they try to see what sort of package that they may or may not be able to do !! They were using telex machines for goodness sake...... I thought they went out with the ark... anyway I digress................

I contacted a few of the parents that I know.... my brief to them was that I wanted to get out of Manila for a few days, nowhere too far away but somewhere interesting.... the popular choice was.......Angeles city !!!!!! Now all I know of Angeles city is that it is full of girly bars and all that entails.... so I was quite surprised and told them so, they said that there is a lot more to the city than that.............. so here I am.

I wanted to fly........... no flights available.......... my only other choice was a bus that leaves from a well known Australian hotel here in Manila which goes to its sister hotel in Angeles, I looked up the hotel online, it looked ok so I booked both, the bus and my room.
I got to the hotel at 10.30am for the bus which leaves at 11.30am, gets on the bus with all the other passengers...... they are mostly fat, balding, in their 50's or 60's westerners with tattoos etc all on their own.............Oh Nooooooo...........just what I thought all these old geezers going to Angeles for alcohol and girls............. then I realised....... hey I'm in my 50's, fat, and a westerner..... I fall into this category....... there maybe someone else on the bus thinking the same as me but including me on his list !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I felt dirty at that point.

Anyway the trip was fine, the room is ok. I arrived at 2pm and had a late lunch after settling in my room, I spent the afternoon resting then had a nice evening meal, the food is good as it is an Australian hotel, it is full of of Aussies, Brits and Americans, during the afternoon it was packed but come 7pm they all disappear to the bars. I stayed in watching TV and online, I came down for a late drink and to do some emails that I had to reply to.
It's now 1am and some have returned from the bars to continue drinking here, it's amazing when we men get alcohol inside us, some think it makes them into sort of young Adonis, they are trying to chat up the young bartenders and waitresses, shame that their language is so poor, the swearing is coming from the Brits as usual. Why do the British swear so much as if it doesn't count and as if it's part of everyday speaking.

The best thing of this hotel is that I can get online with their wi-fi anywhere, so it means I can be online in my room, in the restaurant by the pool or wherever else I choose.

I haven't left the hotel today but a change is good as a rest so they say. Tomorrow during daytime I will investigate the city and see what touristy things that I can do, I believe that they have some sort of micro lite flying so I may try that.. even though I get vertigo on a thick carpet.

I hope your weekend is going well... my next post may be interesting or not..........