While I had never been ANYWHERE besides various locations in Mexico and the US during my mongering ‘career’ before my recent 23 day SE Asia odyssey, I have always read the Asia reports on Clubhombre and heard the tales of my amigos and seen their photos and thought, MAN, going there looks like a really good idea. Of course, being addicted to Mexican hooker bars, I have spent pretty much every cent I have earned in the last 4 years chasing Mexican working chicas and could never manage to save even HALF the airfare I needed for a plane ticket, much less the scratch I’d need to spend once I might have actually reached a sex vacation destination.

But still, when I’d hear tales of the Philippines and tales of ‘20 bucks all NIGHT’, I’d do the math every once in awhile which told me that the $150 I’d usually spend in a night out in TJ or Monterrey would be a barfine for a WEEK in Angeles City. If only I could manage to save the airfare, maybe I could stay away from the bars in Mexico for long enough to save enough to have a good time on a trip. How much would I really need anyway? I figured if worse came to worst, I could survive in Angeles on 50 bucks a day and still have money for at least short time, which would beat any vacation I could think of in N. America for the same period of time.

In particular, the thing I remember about the Philippines was a conversation I had with Epimetheus a couple years back in TJ the first day I met him. He had been commenting on Gloria of Adelitas’ tits, and I pegged him for a board member and I introduced myself and found out quickly I had met a pretty sharp dude. But our little series of conversations that day kept coming back to how great the Philippines was. I couldn’t really relate to much of what he was saying, but I definitely paid attention. The points that kept hitting home in my mind were ‘SERIOUS GFE’, and ‘DIRT FUCKING CHEAP’. Probably the two things nearest and dearest to my heart!

I began to pay more attention to photos I’d see after that. Filipinas all seemed to have beautiful dark skin, a little boobage to them, very nice smiles, and even if they were a little chunky, they seemed to carry it in a voluptuous manner rather than by looking fat (like white girls). Many times I thought Filipinas looked similar to some of the Mexican chicas I knew. This was opposed to Thai girls’ pictures, which I thought to look overly thin and small and with a more exotic Asian facial look. But I had heard all the raves about Thailand too. I read D’art’s and Xenono’s report about Thailand on Clubhombre and pretty much cried myself to sleep every night knowing what I was missing. Surely, some day, I HAD to see this for myself?

But ah, the expense… Two weeks was about the longest I could stay away from Mexican bars, and that was usually after I was short on money after a big binge anyway. Saving the airfare would be impossible. But I’d always daydream about ‘what IF…’, and every once in awhile I’d actually try and save up. For about 4 days!

And then one day a pseudo-miracle happened. Remember the Monopoly card that said ‘bank error in your favor’? Well, somehow the money fairy did something similar for me and I all of a sudden had money from out of the blue, and the next thing you know I am shopping for tickets to Asia. After all the daydreaming it looked like I finally had the means to at least buy an airline ticket. And some serious vacation time coming up. But now it was time to decide where to go.

Honestly, from all the reports on Clubhombre, Brazil sounds to me like it would be the single greatest mongering destination. And every time I read a Brazil report I’d tell myself I HAVE to go there and experience the Rio termas before I die. But I also knew that Rio was expensive. I not only had to buy the air ticket, but I’d have to save virtually every cent I had for a couple months in order to have some money once I got there. And I figured I couldn’t do Brazil on less than $250 a day AFTER the airfare was included. This might be doable if I had a week or 10 days for vacation, but in my mind, if I could go to SE Asia and spend half of that money per day, I could probably have just as much fun and stay twice as long. And I had four weeks vacation…

So due to economic factors, I was leaning heavily towards SE Asia, with my realistic choices being Thailand and the Philippines, though I am very well aware of the cult of Cambodia that some of my oldest TJ amigos pimp every chance they get. In an ideal world I figured I would like to do ALL OF THE ABOVE, but since I had to choose, I ended up picking the Philippines because the reports I had read from there and the photos I had seen sounded like more my style and the price for girls was cheapest. And I knew that most people in the Philippines spoke some English. I speak ZERO Thai. So looking into flights showed me that despite being more expensive in July to pretty much all of SE Asia, a flight from LAX to Manila wouldn’t cost me too much more than a flight to Bangkok. Add to that the fact that I could probably explain a trip to the Philippines to my family a little bit easier than a trip to Bangkok, as to the average person Thailand is seen as primarily a sex tourism destination more than the Philippines. This is purely due to a lower profile in the PI, though. Decision made, I booked a flight through China Air for early July and set out to see if I could actually save enough money to have a good time there.

I was immediately thrilled with my decision when I found out that Epimetheus was going to be in SE Asia at the same time and he offered to arrange things so that he’d be in Angeles City (my preferred destination after all the research) to show me the ropes on my ‘cherry’ trip. I have never really thought of myself as someone that needed a guide, but I had read his emails from SE Asia and knew that he always had what sounded like incredible times there. And he had raved about Angeles that time in TJ like he was preaching the gospel.

My goal financially for the trip was to have at least $100 a day to spend. I figured that in Angeles that would give me $25 a night or so for hotel, $40 for two long time girls, $10 for a short time girl, and $25 for drinks and food and stuff every day. My calculations and goals seem a little silly now, but in reality, I stuck very close to that $100 a day budget though I ended up spending more to send the trip totally over the top (taking a side trip to Thailand).

When I booked the ticket, I knew I had a 4 week window of vacation time, but knew it would take me time to get to LA from my home in Mexico, and that I’d lose a day traveling and would need time to get back home after that. And that if I booked too many days and ran out of money, I’d be one sad motherfucker! But then again, I figured if there’s anywhere in the WORLD where a monger might be able to cut corners and do things on the REAL cheap (maybe cut back to just ONE girl a day and keep her for a few days if money was low?), SE Asia would be the place to do it. So I ended up booking the ticket for 23 of what I was SURE would be fun-filled days and nights. I’d leave on a Sunday night just after midnight and arrive in Manila early Tuesday morning. I’d come home on a Friday and have the weekend to make my way back home before work Monday morning. The final ticket price turned out to be $713 including all taxes for the flight from LAX to Manila.

Then I just had to save $2000 or so, and I was set. A ‘mere’ 2 grand… And I make my meager living earning pesos, not dollars… So this was definitely a challenge. But I figured that I spent almost that much in two months in the Mexican bars as it was, and that I would be getting my vacation pay lumpsum right when the vacation was due to begin. I figured if I could just stay away from the bars for SIX WEEKS or so I could have plenty of money for my trip.

And I was pretty good. Sorta. I’d slip up and hit Monterrey once every 10 days or so and do it relatively cheaply instead of in my usual excessive manner 2-3 times a week until the $$ runs out. But I also figured I’d ease the money pressure on the trip a little bit if I financed part of the vacation, and once I made that decision my daydreams suddenly started turning into concrete plans. And it looked like I may even have enough to do what I never thought possible and see BOTH Thailand and the PI on the same trip. Actually, since I had booked my stay in the Philippines for 23 days, I HAD TO do SOMETHING, as 21 days was the visa limit for tourists,meaning I’d have to either get a visa extension, change my ticket, or take a side trip somewhere. When Epimetheus offered to show me around Thailand after a couple weeks in AC I got very excited about that possible option and was determined to make that happen.

So with the number one concerns about money apparently falling nicely into place (and I even won some scratch from ClubHombre for a Mexico trip report!), it was time to do some specific research about AC. There was quite a bit of information on Clubhombre already, but I also checked the links there and the AC2 message board for info. I also got some great advice to questions from the vets on the Clubhombre board like Epi, Progman, Bingo, Blazers, Goceltics, Bigballs and many others. Bingo was another email amigo that had caught my attention when talking about Angeles in the past, and was probably the first person that ever planted the idea of doing both Thailand and the PI in the same trip. And he had walked me through a realistic budget for both places a long time back when going to SE Asia was just a pipedream for me. Just another round of thanks to all of the guys who participated in putting all the info on the SE Asia side of this board and took the time to answer my dumb questions and share their experiences.

When Epimetheus told me something I always paid attention, and though I really had NO idea at the time the degree as to how right he was going to steer me (I think we share the same tiny brain… SCARY!!!), he offered to get me into the Orchid Inn during my trip and raved about the place to me, as almost every other person had in trip reports I had seen. But I knew the Orchid was popular and had raised their rates because of it, and I was conscious of the budget thing, like always. The newer wing ($45 rooms) at the Orchid sounded incredible, but the biggest selling point I saw there was ‘net access for laptops, and of course, Porker the pauper would have long since pawned his laptop if he was ever lucky enough to have one ‘fall off the truck’ for him to begin with. So I figured that for $29, I’d try the smaller, older rooms and still be able to take advantage of the great location, chick magnet pool and friendly staff that Epi raved about. Plus Epi would be staying at the same place at the same time. A no brainer. Epi booked me into the Orchid for the whole stay in AC, but said it would be no problem if I decided to try and stay someplace else after a few days there either and/or go to Thailand in the middle of my stay.

Other hotels that got my attention from posts on the boards were Blazers’ pimping of the Apartelle Royal and the balibago.com write-up of Kokomoz hotel which supposedly included a COMPUTER with net access in the room – a MAJOR selling point if you ask me. And both of these places seemed like a better value than the Orchid. I ended up making a reservation for Kokomoz ($24 per night) for three nights after arriving in Angeles. I figured if I loved the Orchid I could just continue to stay there, and if I didn’t like Kokomoz or just to try something new, I could try and get into the Apartelle Royal ($23 standard room, $32 deluxe) after I arrived. Despite Blazers’ posts and seeing photos, and reading a little about Kokomoz online, I had never heard anyone say anything negative about the Orchid except about their prices, and I heard rave reviews from Epi (and Progman’s reports) about the place, while the other places were newer, smaller, lower profile, and without much first hand pub. So in my mind it was worth the extra 5 bucks or so for a few nights just to see what I had heard was the grandaddy of them all in AC. Well, at least the budget version! As it turned out, the standard room at the Orchid only ended up being $25 a night, not $29 as I had read on the ‘net, so the price was virtually equal to the basic rooms at the other places.

I re-read the trip reports about AC and bar reviews before I left, and while they conveyed a certain flavor that seemed very attractive to me about AC, I couldn’t really get a feel of the place or process all of that information without seeing it for myself. Brown Sugar and Voodoo and Blue Nile were just names to me before I got to town, as I couldn’t really process the differences from reading the reports. Well, or retain the information in my tiny brain upon going nuts upon arrival! I figured I’d play the barhopping thing by ear once I arrived, and better yet, follow Epi around like a lost puppy until I got the hang of things. One thing I was pretty sure of way before I booked the ticket: Beautiful women would abound, and they would treat me like a king for just about $19 a night.

As the weeks passed I got more and more excited about my upcoming trip. I found out that a LOT of people I knew from TJ or who posted on the boards were going to be in town at the same time I was. Part of what I always loved about TJ was sitting around and discussing the hobby in between the endless chica searches and beer tipping. This was looking to be one HELLUVA trip. And it exceeded my expectations all the way around.

But I was DYING from anticipation. Blazers was posting reports live from AC while I was still counting down WEEKS ‘til my departure. People on the boards and in the CH chatroom were teasing me about all the time I had to kill before FINALLY starting my trip. The Mexican peso was fluctuating against the dollar making me wonder how it would affect my budget. The days at work were shorter than usual as we wound down before vacation, but that meant more free time to fill after already having a big hole in my life from not going to the bars in Monterrey. FINALLY July arrived and I could count down the hours until my looong journey to SE Asia would begin.

Packing was a breeze, as basically all I was bringing was clothes and cash (as many have correctly reported, ATM’s are scarce in AC). I did buy a cheap new backpack, some film and a new pair of swimming trunks for the trip, but I think all of that crap ended up costing less than 20 bucks. Oh, and then a portable CD player. My big preparation in the final days before the trip was to burn some music CD’s for entertainment for my looongass journey coming up.

My last work obligation finished on Friday night, July 4, and 2 hours later I hopped a bus for the West Texas border, 14 ½ hours away, where I would end up catching another overnight bus to So Cal. I know all of you are laughing at dumbass Porker for not flying to LAX and saving some serious time, but when I could save 150 bucks and see some family and friends before my journey by doing it this way, not to mention having already made these plans before I bought the ticket to the PI, I was kind of stuck with this course of action. And besides, if I am in a bus moving towards my dream trip, it beats waiting another day at home pulling my hair out, or stuck in an airport somewhere in a layover. And I am very used to long bus rides living in Mexico. In fact, I thought that compared to the 14+ hour bus rides I endure 6-8 times per year where the bus stops every damned hour, a non-stop 12 hour flight to Taipei would seem like NOTHING! It didn’t turn out quite that way, but the flight from LAX would end up being just fine.

I arrived in El Paso on Saturday, July 5 in the mid-afternoon and ended up only having a couple hours to have dinner with friends and family there before hopping another bus to So Cal. I had hoped to have time to shower and clean up a bit before the next bus leg, but it didn’t work out, so when I arrived in So Cal Sunday morning I was feeling pretty damned grungy in addition to quite tired. It’s not easy to sleep on buses that always seem to keep stopping, and on both legs I had some dude sitting next to me so I couldn’t stretch out.

I had arranged to meet up with some friends that day to kill the 12+ hours I had before my late-night flight out to Asia, and it was good catching up with them after more than a year of not seeing them in person. It was weird hanging out in California, though, and THAT was a bigger culture shock for me than arriving in the Philiippines, which in a lot of ways reminds me a bit of Mexico. 6 foot blonde boob-jobbed chicks, gleaming Mercedes everywhere, $8 appetizer prices, jammed packed mall parking lots, fancy ass coffee serving bookstores… Ahh, the land of consumerism and credit!

After a VERY EARLY DINNER (Macaroni Grill, nice choice and left me with plenty of leftovers to consume at the airport) my friends decided we should beat the late Sunday afternoon holiday weekend traffic to LAX. They obviously confused that traffic with the nightmare coming back from Vegas, as we breezed to the airport with no trouble and they ended up dumping me there FIVE HOURS EARLY!!! Now while my favorite ride to the airport is a FREE RIDE to the airport (and they bought me din din too…), and I wasn’t about to get there late and do anything to put myself in danger of missing this flight I was DYING to get on, getting to the airport FIVE FUCKING HOURS EARLY is pretty damned excessive. But I bit my lip when they dropped me off, said my goodbyes and headed for the upstairs lounge at the international terminal to try and pass a shitload of time. I was so early for the flight that it wasn’t even listed on the departures board yet. FUCK!

I ended up passing the time staring at all the exotic looking Asian women roaming around before their flights. While I grew up in So Cal and went to school with many flavors of Asians, it was sort of fun trying to figure out just by looks what country these chicks were from. Well, not FUN, but it kept me from banging my head against the wall for 5 hours.

Finally 3 hours before departure I could at least check in for the flight, and as I was one of the first people in line, everything was a breeze. I was at the gate 2 ½ hours early and once I finally was at the gate the anticipation for this trip began to bubble over in earnest. I WAS ACTUALLY FUCKING GOING TO SE ASIA!!! This WASN’T just a dream. My bus HADN’T crashed on the way to So Cal. I HADN’T been detained by airport security for meeting some terrorist profile. I HADN’T overslept and gotten to the airport late… I WAS ACTUALLY FUCKING GOING TO SE ASIA!!!

After awhile I got even more excited when the plane showed up at the gate. Then the crew arrived, all the China Air cuties (I told you… very excited!!!) in their purple and royal blue unis. Then pre-boarding… Then 1st and bidness class boarding… Then CHEAP BASTARD BOARDING!!! YIPPEE!!! LEMME ON THE GODDAMNED PLANE!!!

Thanks to what I presume is a lingering effect of the SARS scare, the flight on our huge 747 was I would guess only 40% full. I had a window seat with no one next to me, so stretching out was easy. One kiwi guy, though, took things to extremes. He had the whole first middle row of our cabin to himself, so he threw 4 blankets and 4 pillows on the floor in front of the big TV screen and sacked out there! And I mean PASSED OUT! The dude slept for at least the first 9 hours of the flight. Whatever he took to do that, I want TWO for my next trip!

The guy next to me was a middle aged filipino guy returning home for vacation. He ended up talking my ear off during the layover in Taipei, but slept to some degree for most of this flight, which was good because I was daydreaming of the yet unknown Angeles the whole time. With the help of about 5 glasses of red wine and 3-4 Taiwan beers (not bad), I was able to sleep for awhile, but I ended up playing a lot of music (What exactly ARE the words to Yellow Ledbetter anyway?) and trying to think about what things would be like in AC – trying to figure out what I was expecting from Fantasy Island before I actually saw it for myself. The thing I kept coming back to is that I really couldn’t go wrong there… It was a sure thing. I was an American guy under 40 and I had enough money to pay 100 bar fines if the mood struck, so what possible problems could there be finding a girl to keep me company??? But would I find girls with big tits, little tits, medium tits, FAKE TITS??? keep them long time, do them all short time, have to kick them out in the morning, find two that liked each other?, etc.

The flight was rather uneventful. The stews got more attractive with every drink I took, but when I got off the plane in Taipei they definitely looked worse for the wear. Gee, 12 hours in the stale air of a plane can do that to you! The food was OK on China Air, and as I mentioned, I took full advantage of the free booze option. The movies were lame, X Men 1 (seen it, and not my genre), and ‘Down with Love’, some crap romantic comedy set in the 60’s. The little TV shorts were quite annoying. The music channels not that interesting. The booze was OK! The trip monitor was kind of cool, but kept reminding me that we always had a looong way to go before landing.

I remembered a line from Dart and Xen’s trip report where they kept singing ‘O! We’re going to eat Pizza!’, and I had to laugh because I’d start doing that too, and actually got the song out and played it a few times. I finally could FEEL the giddiness they must have felt on that trip to Thailand.

Finally we landed in Taipei at dawn and 15 minutes later I was at the gate for the final flight to Manila. Where I had a 2 hour layover… Taipei airport was plenty boring in mid-afternoon on the flight home, but at 6 AM the place is DESERTED! But as I mentioned, a Filipino guy kept me company during the layover and he was full of pride for his country. He gave me his number in case I needed anything in Manila. I didn’t say a WORD about going to Angeles.

After 5 hours waiting for the plane in LA, 2 hours in Taipei with Manila right around the corner after that didn’t seem so bad. In hindsight I should have taken advantage of the free showers in their public bathroom upstairs, but I didn’t have a towel with me (or my shaving kit/toiletries), the showers were full when I first arrived, and though I think it’s MOSTLY hooey, this was right across the pond from SARS central… Upon landing in Manila I was REALLY kicking myself for not showering!!!

The flight into Manila literally FLEW by, and before I knew it I was getting off the plane and handing the SARS check questionnaire to the health people on the way in. Right around the corner from the gate was a little band with a sign saying welcome to the RP, and these guys were picking and grinning so happily that I couldn’t help but crack a HUGE smile!!! Look at all the friendly mofos in the Philippines!!! And honestly, I have to say that this was a theme throughout the trip: Filipinos were some of the friendliest people I have ever met – even the ones that KNEW exactly why I was there and what I was going to do. And the vast majority of those people were extremely poor according to our standards of living. Must be something in the water!!!

I cleared immigration, got my first ever passport stamp in my passport (pretty damned cool!), my suitcase was the third off the rack, and 10 minutes after landing I am trying to remember the Orchid Inn’s instructions as to where to meet my driver. I remembered something about walking straight past the people with the taxis out front of the airport and going DOWN a level, but it was kind of surreal hearing all those taxi drivers yelling at me as I came out into the heat from inside the airport.

I did manage to find my way across the street to the lower level, and once there saw the signs for which letter of the alphabet your last name was for pickups. Epimetheus had arranged the transportation for me from the Orchid and had volunteered to get up at 0dark30 to meet me at the airport, and luckily the CLEAN SHAVEN EPI called my name as I got to the bottom of the steps, as I wouldn’t have ever looked over in that direction. He led the way to the van and to my incredible surprise, had THREE GIRLS (all from Camelot, as it turned out) in the vehicle waiting for me, including a chick in a white dress that had the most INSANE natural teeenaged tits that were just popping out all over the place.

He introduced me to them while we waited for the driver (eating, I guess), and I was just dumbstruck by all the attention I was getting from three HOT girls. I turned red as a beet and started sweating even MORE profusely than I had from carrying luggage through all that humidity to the van to start out. And I became profoundly aware that I was one FUNKY looking dude at the time! I hadn’t showered for 30 hours, had drunk a little on the flight from LA, hadn’t shaved in the same period of time, had been sweating quite a bit after landing… And this hot girl in an obviously special dress for her and wearing plenty of makeup was sitting across from me and trying to signal her friends how good looking she thought I was… Yeah right! Meanwhile, her not at ALL shy friends were flirting with me incessantly and Epi was encouraging them to stand up and show me all their, umm, ASSets. NICE welcome to the PI, dude!!!

We finally got on the road and traffic started out HORRIBLY. My girl in white (already dubbed Airport Girl) sat across from me in the back of the van, and we’d constantly catch each other staring at each other. She was VERY shy about speaking English, and would almost whisper her responses to any questions I had which made conversation impossible. I felt VERY self-conscious about being so grungy, and actually told her several times to please don’t think I’m weird because I feel so dirty right now.

Epi filled me in on a few things the best he could with airport girl wide awake between us (his girls passed out asleep on his lap in the seat in front of me… they had gotten about 2 hours sleep that night), but I was more than a little curious to know what the deal was with airport girl but too shy to ask. Airport girl kept looking a bit annoyed when we were stuck in traffic and all the jeepney drivers would stare directly at her MASSIVE cleavage in that ultra-revealing dress. Finally I took pity on her and told her to come sit next to me, and the next thing you know, she was curled up right next to my funky ass, and we held hands all the way back to Angeles. I didn’t know what arrangements Epi had made with her, but it was becoming apparent that she was quite happy to spend at least some time with me that afternoon upon arrival in AC. I would find out a little later to what degree Epi had set me up to start out my trip, and all I can say is that he single-handedly made my first couple days in the PI an incredible experience beyond my wildest dreams. Dude, I owe you like SEVERAL THOUSAND FAVORS for hooking me up like you did to start that trip.

I know all of you are probably cursing me right now and yelling WHO GIVES A SHIT, PORKER, GET TO THE GOOD STUFF, but it’s my story, DAMMIT, and I’ll tell it as it played out. And there should be plenty of good stuff to come.

And YES, I found some nice fat girls in SE Asia to play with. Some skinny ones too… And some were even kind of cute!!!

Stay tuned!

You got a terrific writing style!! Cannot wait for future installments. Keep up the good work.

BTW-- I take three 10 mg Ambien tabs and am out cold from LA to Tokyo.-- The only way to fly !
Who needs movies and lousy food.

Porker, I've been waiting for your report since I know what a great writer you are. This one has already started out with an A+.

Porker,

That was a great beginning to what everyone will soon find out was a great trip. You were indeed lucky to have Epimetheus as your wingman. I was his wingman on his cherry trip, however, I soon realized that this man only needed help in finding his way from LAX to MNL. Once we got to our car and arrived in AC he was like a duck on water. I soon realized he needed no help whatsoever. Anyway, back to you. Writing this report will actually help you with the PPD. I look forward to your upcoming reports. Glad you found your house keys and "where are those pics you promised me"?

...(prog)

Porker,

You are a very talented and gifted writer. I am looking forward to the rest of the report.

Awesome start to what is going to be one of the best reports of the year. You should think about supplementing your income with some by-the-piece writing gigs - your writing keeps the reader wanting more - not easy to do.

Wonderful! I laughed, I cried, I howled, I.... am looking forward to hearing more about Ms. Airport's cleavage!

Oh yes, this should be good. Let 'er rip.

Even if your pictures are horrible, your report will be so well written that people will soon forget every report I have ever written...all 15 of them. Your writing more in a novel style than most people who write point by point. Great meeting you the other day....by the way, the name Porker doesn't suit you, you're a small guy.

Have to reiterate what Blazers has just said. Little did I know I was sitting next to Pulitzer material at the Pollo bar after the Fiesta last Saturday.

You guys are too nice. I know this will all be too long for many of you. Maybe you'll like the pics to make up for it. Don't worry, the fat girls come a little later.

Yep, novel writing style, cant stop reading. Wasn't I one of those who said(to you if I'm correct):save up the dough.

Dig your intro big guy!!

E

Just started reading your report, great stuff, kind of edgy. I don't usually read the Asia reports, but I'm starting to, and might have to start saving my pennies.

I know all of you are probably cursing me right now and yelling WHO GIVES A SHIT, PORKER, GET TO THE GOOD STUFF, but it’s my story, DAMMIT, and I’ll tell it as it played out. And there should be plenty of good stuff to come.

Personally, I like it when they are cursing and yelling WHO GIVES A SHIT.

Porkster,

I expect to be in AC for a full week this time and hope to catch some of the famous PI GFE! Any comparison of the attitudes and playfulness of Thai vs. PI girls?

Indiana, I'm not sure I was in Thailand for long enough to generalize like that. I had very good times in both places, but thought things just seemed more 'real' in the Philippines.

Just made my plans. Leaving int he morning and will be in the PI for a week starting Saturday. My plans are full the later half of the week, so who will be in AC Saturday, Sunday or Monday?

I've been to Rio twice since i've joined this board. Each time i told myself upon my return i'll write a report to attempt to give back to the board in some small way. But after reading just your introduction, I know for a fact that i'll never get the nerve to write a report on this board. Keep up the good.., no, the EXCELLENT work