I went to the "girl's dormitory" again, a place I mentioned in my last Manila report in September. It is a speakeasy-style place in a residential neighborhood where you knock on a steel door and someone looks through a peephole before letting you in. Inside, the girls are sitting around in corsets and nylons. I noted the location for you this time: it is in Makati at the corner of Bautista and Edison. There were thirty-three girls there for take-out. (I got an exact count for all our swell CH readers.) There were none that really interested me this time. Bar fine = 3500 PHP.

Makati's expensive compared to elsewhere in the Philippines. It's sort of like the Century City of Manila.

This driver then took me to another such place at the corner of Bautista and Casino, only a couple of blocks away. After entering, you meander through a labyrinth of small rooms and corridors until you get to the big room with the girls. (If you've ever seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre you might have some unnerving alarm bells going off as you meander your way through these places.) There were about two dozen girls here, but again, none that interested me. This place had some other customers, so I didn't feel alone with so many pairs of hopeful eyes staring at me in anticipation of my choice.

I relaxed, took my time, and was not the least bit tempted to go with any of them. I had already seen better looking girls in the clubs on Burgos Street.

Sorry, but there was no way to take a photo inside one of those places.

The driver then offered to take me to a place with "young girls" that was more expensive. He kept repeating that it was expensive, which had me wondering just how young the girls were. Was it something illegal? I worried that they might be innocent, doe-eyed teenagers sold down the river by impoverished parents. I had heard such things about the Philippines. It was my duty to at least check it out for you.

He took me to a place just outside Makati in Pasay City (central Manila). Maybe ten minutes out of our way. It was called East Asia (CH Link). It turned out to be just another noisy club, albeit a big one. It's one gigantic room, about the size of a home improvement store, with couches and a pole-dancing stage. A manager greeted me with her business card, which is shown below with the address. She sat me down on a couch and introduced me to a girl who was undeniably cute and in her early twenties. This was about as young as they got there, so this was nothing illegal. The manager explained "the deal": there was the cover charge of 500 PHP that I paid to get in. Lady drinks (get this) are 980 PHP --ouch! 8000 PHP for the girl includes bar fine and everything. (It should for that price, geez.)

This girl was definitely do-able, but fully clothed. Only the girl dancing on stage bared more so that a "client" could get a better idea of what he was buying. At this club the girls dance one at a time on stage, like at an American strip club. (As opposed to Thailand, where you get a bevy of girls dancing on stage together.)

I sauntered around a bit checking out the other girls that were not taken. There were some nice ones, but none I was willing to spend that much for.

So I passed and went back to Burgos Street.