The last time I had gone to Angeles City was earlier on in the year and I had stayed at the Orchid Inn.

The Orchid Inn was generally a good experience. There was an armed security guard at each door. The pool was a nice touch, although, I never went in it. The service seemed adequate and the food was good, I never felt sick from any of it. The quality of the "deluxe" room was above my expectations for a 3rd world country. The worked well, the room was clean and it was about on par with a "Comfort Inn" back in the states. Do not get a "standard" room. From what I saw, these rooms were windowless, small and not worth spending the cash. The only drawbacks of the place were the Australian rugby types, too overbearing for my American tastes, the metal shower (my shower smelled like lead) and that its a short walk from Fields. The walk is short and not so bad, but you have to put up with all types of people who are selling some type of item or service. I would say that the walk is a matter of minutes, but you get hit-up from at least 5-10 different salespeople peddling everything from a trike ride to Viagra to some type of wooden flute.

This next trip I am planning on staying at the Royal Amsterdam. Everything appears to be good about the place from what I have read. The room decor appears to be an improvement over the Orchid. I figure it would be nice to have a larger (king-sized) bed (versus the queen at the Orchid), couches, internet access and a generally larger/newer room at a cheaper price. I paid $45 at the Orchid and will pay $35 for the Royal. I also see as an advantage that its right across the street from some of the main bars so my memories are not filled with the viagra salesman and trike drivers.

I felt relatively safe during my entire time in the Phils except towards the end of the trip. I have grown up in city areas in the states and know when I am in a bad area. I never got a bad feeling when I was in the Phils. The only thing that made me weary was seeing members of the filipino army hanging around in the lobby towards the last few days. When I got back to the states, I learned that there was a new travel advisory posted and I thought this was the reason. They (the filipinos) were hardening some of the more obvious targets.

I made a few mistakes that were noteworthy during my last trip. I let some of the girls hang around too long. In retrospect, I should have not spent more than one night with any of the girls or hung out with them during the daytime. Everytime I let a girl hang around, it seemed to detract from the one reason why we go to AC. Basically, to sleep around with as many women as possible. On a trip like this, there are so many available women that its pointless to hang around with any one woman for more than 4 hours. I was offended by the "runners" at first, but then realized that this was better in the long run. When a woman bolted after a few hours, I didnt have to pay for a breakfast in the morning and could go out and pick up another woman. The question is this, would you rather have 2-3 different women in one night or just 1? Well, I would have to choose 2-3 knowing that I have to go back to the states eventually and work my 2-bit job. If the woman finds an excuse to leave then I dont have to ask her to leave eventually.

Finally, here is something that you dont see on this discussion board, the word "condom". I am not a big fan of condoms myself, but I realize the need to use them. I just dont want to take anything back with me (disease) or leave anything behind (kids). On my last trip, I used "Durex Maximum" and was able to get a good price from www.condomdepot.com. These condoms seemed to be more comfortable then what I used in the past and indeed very durable. From what I understand, they are a little bit larger then others so you avoid the "choke the chicken" feeling when you have it on. I like to change out condoms every 15 minutes. Last trip, I used about 150 condoms. Usually, I have to admit, I dont use condoms with the girls I date in the states, so using condoms again was a different experience. It seems, though, that condom technology has increased in the last 10 years. I say go with the Durex Maximum.

So I was wondering if anyone has any observations about the Hotel Royal Amsterdam and the current overall situation in Angeles City?

Do not get a room on the back wall of the RA . There is a god awful karaoke bar back there somewhere with drunken filipina's howling until 5-6 AM. I have only stayed in the big suite room so my opinion of the place is somewhat skewed, but I thought it was great. The staff is friendly and gives good service.

I stayed at the Orchid in January and had an overall favorable impression. One question I have for guys who make the trip on a semi-regular basis is, have they ever bought Cialis on the street in AC? And if they did, was it any good? I had some older German guys on Santos St. tell me NOT to buy Cialis on the street in AC, as it may be counterfeit, made in China.

Of course, by the time I got this hot news tip, I had bought about four boxes of the stuff...

All drugs sold on the street should be presumed counterfeit. I think it is funny to bet how many guys will offer to sell you Viagra on the street or how many seconds will it take for you to be approached. In Thailand they build an airconditioned pharmacy. In Angeles a guy just grabs a few boxes and goes to work on the street.

RA vs Orchid-- As a fan of both, I think I'm failry unbiased...

Rooms:
RA rooms are a bit better in terms of modernity and furnishings. The beds are more comfortable as you have an actual matress.


Service:
I consider service at both places in the cat of "darn good"

Convenience:
I prefer the Orchid location, but both are at ground zero

Food:
american breakfast + RA, Fil. food + Orchid

Atmosphere:
Festive/lively + orchid, quiet, relaxing + RA-- depends on what yur looking for.

Intangables:
Both have broadband (Jasmine wing Orchid), RA is right on fields-- BAD for anonymous mongering, Orchid can have some unruly types (although I've never had a problem).


As for street drugs--- drugs in SEA are so cheap why screw around? Heat and humidity quickly erode potency even if it is not a psuedo drug... Also, buying from touts does nothing but reward them and encourage further pestering. Buy at the bar or pharma.


Condoms-- use whatever you want. I use a modified (longer) version of Khun_Mor's kryptonite sleeve, which works well.

The modified "longer" version?

Gregorio
He's just braggin again. Thinks he has Buddha's gift to women between his legs.

I have never tried the real "Cialis". I get mine from an on-line pharmacy and its made by a lab in India called "Richy Labs". It was very cheap and seemed to work well although I cannot compare it to the real stuff. I understand that Richy Labs in India makes good cheap knock-offs of the real thing. The Indian government permits this obvious copyright infringement (or whatever legal term it is) to go on. Its because the Indian people need a cheap source of drugs.

I think both of y'all generally keep a substantial supply of buddha's gift to bargirls somewhere in your pants.

Would those items you are referring to be green-colored Wink?