Dokkzilla LOVES Manila :)

[Rip Rokken]

Hey rip you can change your avatar and put the chilean flag with the Don Dokken face anytime!! he can rule our country no problem, we need more rocker presidents! LOL


rockito monito tienes un gran sentido del humor, no te preocupes más

Hmm.... I'm getting some inspiration as we speak. Too bad my Photoshop is at home.

[Rip Rokken]

Well , i love US, PHILS and HK and have no problem w/ Rip's AV

Speaking of HK, I'd love to go thru there next trip if possible.

Rip, next time go to Jolibee and try their " Pansit Palabok w/ shrimp" we have that here in HK and my chinese friends like it i heard about the grand EB on Dec, i hope i could make it this time, see you all there.

Jolibee!!!! I got some pics of a Jolibee sign and was curious, but never went in one. I'll be sure to try it next time.

[wildcat75]

Well , i love US, PHILS and HK and have no problem w/ Rip's AV

Speaking of HK, I'd love to go thru there next trip if possible.

Rip, next time go to Jolibee and try their " Pansit Palabok w/ shrimp" we have that here in HK and my chinese friends like it i heard about the grand EB on Dec, i hope i could make it this time, see you all there.

Jolibee!!!! I got some pics of a Jolibee sign and was curious, but never went in one. I'll be sure to try it next time.

Rip try Cathay Pacific Airlines w/ stopover here in Hk then to Manila, it's just an hr and 45 mins travel time, you'll gonna love it here, shopping, sightseeing, food and bar hopping ( lot's of filipino band too) and then sneak to Macau if you still have enough time but you need to bring extra luggage if you want to do some shopping lol. Hk plokkers will welcome you w/ open arms. btw, there's also a JOLIBEE here.

[Rip Rokken]

Rip try Cathay Pacific Airlines w/ stopover here in Hk then to Manila, it's just an hr and 45 mins travel time, you'll gonna love it here, shopping, sightseeing, food and bar hopping ( lot's of filipino band too) and then sneak to Macau if you still have enough time but you need to bring extra luggage if you want to do some shopping lol. Hk plokkers will welcome you w/ open arms. btw, there's also a JOLIBEE here.

Sounds like a cool plan! Thanks, Wildcat! Lamich got to go to Macau this last trip and if I'd thought to do it, I would taken a few more days and done it also.

[la michelona]

Well , i love US, PHILS and HK and have no problem w/ Rip's AV

Speaking of HK, I'd love to go thru there next trip if possible.

Rip, next time go to Jolibee and try their " Pansit Palabok w/ shrimp" we have that here in HK and my chinese friends like it i heard about the grand EB on Dec, i hope i could make it this time, see you all there.

I like that and the Batchoy (I think that's how you spell it).


Jolibee!!!! I got some pics of a Jolibee sign and was curious, but never went in one. I'll be sure to try it next time.

Rip try Cathay Pacific Airlines w/ stopover here in Hk then to Manila, it's just an hr and 45 mins travel time, you'll gonna love it here, shopping, sightseeing, food and bar hopping ( lot's of filipino band too) and then sneak to Macau if you still have enough time but you need to bring extra luggage if you want to do some shopping lol. Hk plokkers will welcome you w/ open arms. btw, there's also a JOLIBEE here.

The flights to Asia out of our region of the US are more limited, so most have stopovers in Tokyo.

Next time we come back, I bet the Cavern will be our first stop .


*one day I'll learn how to quote correctly like the big boys do.

[wildcat75]

Well , i love US, PHILS and HK and have no problem w/ Rip's AV

Speaking of HK, I'd love to go thru there next trip if possible.

Rip, next time go to Jolibee and try their " Pansit Palabok w/ shrimp" we have that here in HK and my chinese friends like it i heard about the grand EB on Dec, i hope i could make it this time, see you all there.

I like that and the Batchoy (I think that's how you spell it).


Jolibee!!!! I got some pics of a Jolibee sign and was curious, but never went in one. I'll be sure to try it next time.

Rip try Cathay Pacific Airlines w/ stopover here in Hk then to Manila, it's just an hr and 45 mins travel time, you'll gonna love it here, shopping, sightseeing, food and bar hopping ( lot's of filipino band too) and then sneak to Macau if you still have enough time but you need to bring extra luggage if you want to do some shopping lol. Hk plokkers will welcome you w/ open arms. btw, there's also a JOLIBEE here.

The flights to Asia out of our region of the US are more limited, so most have stopovers in Tokyo.

Next time we come back, I bet the Cavern will be our first stop .


*one day I'll learn how to quote correctly like the big boys do.

Lami, if you can book for CATHAY PACIFIC AIRLINES , HK will definitely your stopover and you'll probably see ELMER/WALLBANGER perform w/ his band in Cavern , hope to see you all in the grand EB on DEC.

[la michelona]

Just checked them out. $2000 to Manila and $1500 to HK. Yikes! The Houston market sucks . I can do a round trip on Cebu from Manila for about $200, so the best bet would be getting a $1000 flight to Manila on another carrier, then hopping over, after I get settled, to see y'all. When I come your way again, I plan on staying longer, so I should be able to see a lot more than just the airport and Macau. Seeing Elmer play would definitely be part of the plan. He and his wife were really, really good to me. Oh, seeing you would be really cool, too.

[The Sushi Hunter]

So you really liked Manila did you? It must have changed since I've been there. I used to avoid it as much as possible back when I was residing in the Philippines. Grossly over populated, poluted, etc. Back when I was there, not sure if it's still like this, but red lights didn't mean stop, they just meant drivers need to proceed through the intersection with a little bit more caution or to "expect a collision" to occur. But that was about it. I would go there clean but after a few hours, take a white hand towel and wipe my face and the towel would be brown. But then again, things may have changed and the city may have cleaned up. Being there is where I learned the phrase, No Belchers.

We went to a few beach parties that were held at night, they burned a stack of old tires and tossed firecrackers in the fire for shits and giggles. There's a reason these parties were held at night, cause doing it at night made the black smoke a little less obvious. I'd only go there for a very few reasons, to catch the bus at Aurora Blvd on the EDSA either when I was going up to Ilocos from Pampanga or vise versa. I'd go to do band stuff or to renew my visa at the Immigration office.

Once we drove a small pickup there and it took us three hours cause the truck only had first gear, that sucked. We had to go because the new keyboard player didn't realize that my keyboard was set up for 110v and he plugged it directly into the wall outlet which in the Philippines is 220v. He forgot why I had the converter. So we had to bring the keyboard up to the certified Yamaha service center up in Manila to get it fixed. What a shitty day that was. Only good that came out of it all was that the only damage to the keyboard was four blown fuses.

So glad you had a great time in Manila, you should really consider getting out and really seeing some good places that are out and away from Manila. Hope that you were able to do that. If not, I think you missed out on some really good stuff about the Philippines.

[Arkansas]

... you missed out on some really good stuff about the Philippines.

Like Subic Bay? What a dump. Glad we got outta there.


later~

[la michelona]

So you really liked Manila did you? It must have changed since I've been there. I used to avoid it as much as possible back when I was residing in the Philippines. Grossly over populated, poluted, etc. Back when I was there, not sure if it's still like this, but red lights didn't mean stop, they just meant drivers need to proceed through the intersection with a little bit more caution or to "expect a collision" to occur. But that was about it. I would go there clean but after a few hours, take a white hand towel and wipe my face and the towel would be brown. But then again, things may have changed and the city may have cleaned up. Being there is where I learned the phrase, No Belchers.

We went to a few beach parties that were held at night, they burned a stack of old tires and tossed firecrackers in the fire for shits and giggles. There's a reason these parties were held at night, cause doing it at night made the black smoke a little less obvious. I'd only go there for a very few reasons, to catch the bus at Aurora Blvd on the EDSA either when I was going up to Ilocos from Pampanga or vise versa. I'd go to do band stuff or to renew my visa at the Immigration office.

Once we drove a small pickup there and it took us three hours cause the truck only had first gear, that sucked. We had to go because the new keyboard player didn't realize that my keyboard was set up for 110v and he plugged it directly into the wall outlet which in the Philippines is 220v. He forgot why I had the converter. So we had to bring the keyboard up to the certified Yamaha service center up in Manila to get it fixed. What a shitty day that was. Only good that came out of it all was that the only damage to the keyboard was four blown fuses.

So glad you had a great time in Manila, you should really consider getting out and really seeing some good places that are out and away from Manila. Hope that you were able to do that. If not, I think you missed out on some really good stuff about the Philippines.

YIKES!

[The Sushi Hunter]

... you missed out on some really good stuff about the Philippines.

Like Subic Bay? What a dump. Glad we got outta there.


later~

No, I'm talking going up to Ilocos and bagio or over to Cebu. There are also a few nice places in Pampanga as well like Tarlac and San Miguel Lubao. Subic Bay was a military town pretty much though. Subic Bay was right on the ocean so it seemed to have a stronger air flow coming off the ocean so the polution level there was much less there then in Manila. Manila seemed more out of the main air stream so polution seemed to pile up there. Sort of like comparing the air in San Francisco to that of Los Angeles. The air is nice in San Francisco because of the constant air flow off the ocean, but Los Angeles is completely smogged in with polution.

[wednesday's child]

... you missed out on some really good stuff about the Philippines.

Like Subic Bay? What a dump. Glad we got outta there.


later~

Gee, I wonder just what/who turned Subic into a dump?

[etcetera]

So you really liked Manila did you? It must have changed since I've been there. I used to avoid it as much as possible back when I was residing in the Philippines. Grossly over populated, poluted, etc. Back when I was there, not sure if it's still like this, but red lights didn't mean stop, they just meant drivers need to proceed through the intersection with a little bit more caution or to "expect a collision" to occur. But that was about it. I would go there clean but after a few hours, take a white hand towel and wipe my face and the towel would be brown. But then again, things may have changed and the city may have cleaned up. Being there is where I learned the phrase, No Belchers.

Manila is still a picture of stark urban contradiction...a showcase of celebration and struggle...you know, wealth and affluence existing side by side with abject poverty.

(Hey TSH, weren't you supposed to have seen Journey in Japan...in your CalJam shirt? )

[mdaemon]

... you missed out on some really good stuff about the Philippines.

Like Subic Bay? What a dump. Glad we got outta there.


later~

Gee, I wonder just what/who turned Subic into a dump?

nice one!

Should we give them a hint? I'll make it very very difficult. Eeerrrmmm they have a US Navy?

[stevew2]

Well , i love US, PHILS and HK and have no problem w/ Rip's AV

Speaking of HK, I'd love to go thru there next trip if possible.

Rip, next time go to Jolibee and try their " Pansit Palabok w/ shrimp" we have that here in HK and my chinese friends like it i heard about the grand EB on Dec, i hope i could make it this time, see you all there.

I like that and the Batchoy (I think that's how you spell it).


Jolibee!!!! I got some pics of a Jolibee sign and was curious, but never went in one. I'll be sure to try it next time.

Rip try Cathay Pacific Airlines w/ stopover here in Hk then to Manila, it's just an hr and 45 mins travel time, you'll gonna love it here, shopping, sightseeing, food and bar hopping ( lot's of filipino band too) and then sneak to Macau if you still have enough time but you need to bring extra luggage if you want to do some shopping lol. Hk plokkers will welcome you w/ open arms. btw, there's also a JOLIBEE here.

The flights to Asia out of our region of the US are more limited, so most have stopovers in Tokyo.

Next time we come back, I bet the Cavern will be our first stop .


*one day I'll learn how to quote correctly like the big boys do.

If you need some help with that and spelling, please ask

[wildcat75]

... you missed out on some really good stuff about the Philippines.

Like Subic Bay? What a dump. Glad we got outta there.


later~

Gee, I wonder just what/who turned Subic into a dump?

nice one!

Should we give them a hint? I'll make it very very difficult. Eeerrrmmm they have a US Navy?

lol!! I thiought they're already left when MT. PINATUBO erupted. ( just kidding)!

[wildcat75]

Just checked them out. $2000 to Manila and $1500 to HK. Yikes! The Houston market sucks . I can do a round trip on Cebu from Manila for about $200, so the best bet would be getting a $1000 flight to Manila on another carrier, then hopping over, after I get settled, to see y'all. When I come your way again, I plan on staying longer, so I should be able to see a lot more than just the airport and Macau. Seeing Elmer play would definitely be part of the plan. He and his wife were really, really good to me. Oh, seeing you would be really cool, too.

That's too bad, anyway, i think Cebu is a better choice coz a lot of foreigners who visited the country keeps coming back there, they have also a nice beach, shopping malls and the people are also genuinely friendly. But if you want to visit Hk, just let me know so i can show you around and then we can also drag Elmer and his wife to come along too.

[la michelona]

Well , i love US, PHILS and HK and have no problem w/ Rip's AV

Speaking of HK, I'd love to go thru there next trip if possible.

Rip, next time go to Jolibee and try their " Pansit Palabok w/ shrimp" we have that here in HK and my chinese friends like it i heard about the grand EB on Dec, i hope i could make it this time, see you all there.

I like that and the Batchoy (I think that's how you spell it).


Jolibee!!!! I got some pics of a Jolibee sign and was curious, but never went in one. I'll be sure to try it next time.

Rip try Cathay Pacific Airlines w/ stopover here in Hk then to Manila, it's just an hr and 45 mins travel time, you'll gonna love it here, shopping, sightseeing, food and bar hopping ( lot's of filipino band too) and then sneak to Macau if you still have enough time but you need to bring extra luggage if you want to do some shopping lol. Hk plokkers will welcome you w/ open arms. btw, there's also a JOLIBEE here.

The flights to Asia out of our region of the US are more limited, so most have stopovers in Tokyo.

Next time we come back, I bet the Cavern will be our first stop .


*one day I'll learn how to quote correctly like the big boys do.

If you need some help with that and spelling, please ask

Awwww, you're such a sweetie. Thanks!

[Rip Rokken]

So you really liked Manila did you? It must have changed since I've been there. I used to avoid it as much as possible back when I was residing in the Philippines. Grossly over populated, poluted, etc. Back when I was there, not sure if it's still like this, but red lights didn't mean stop, they just meant drivers need to proceed through the intersection with a little bit more caution or to "expect a collision" to occur. But that was about it. I would go there clean but after a few hours, take a white hand towel and wipe my face and the towel would be brown. But then again, things may have changed and the city may have cleaned up. Being there is where I learned the phrase, No Belchers.

We went to a few beach parties that were held at night, they burned a stack of old tires and tossed firecrackers in the fire for shits and giggles. There's a reason these parties were held at night, cause doing it at night made the black smoke a little less obvious. I'd only go there for a very few reasons, to catch the bus at Aurora Blvd on the EDSA either when I was going up to Ilocos from Pampanga or vise versa. I'd go to do band stuff or to renew my visa at the Immigration office.

Once we drove a small pickup there and it took us three hours cause the truck only had first gear, that sucked. We had to go because the new keyboard player didn't realize that my keyboard was set up for 110v and he plugged it directly into the wall outlet which in the Philippines is 220v. He forgot why I had the converter. So we had to bring the keyboard up to the certified Yamaha service center up in Manila to get it fixed. What a shitty day that was. Only good that came out of it all was that the only damage to the keyboard was four blown fuses.

So glad you had a great time in Manila, you should really consider getting out and really seeing some good places that are out and away from Manila. Hope that you were able to do that. If not, I think you missed out on some really good stuff about the Philippines.

Hey, Bro! So funny you mention this, because a friend had played a joke on me and told me to expect some things that match up with what you were saying regarding the pollution and stuff, but I had no problems. Weather was humid, but not overbearing and I didn't have any problems with the air. I did find I liked to take a shower again before going out but that was mainly for the humidity. The driving is exactly as you describe when it gets busy, and I have video of people running thru the red lights -- I'm putting some stuff together when I have time and will upload it to YouTube -- it's a hoot.

We did get out of the city for the first few days and saw some really cool places. I'll keep the others in mind for the next visit. TONS of great stuff to do there.

See ya, man!

[Rip Rokken]

Manila is still a picture of stark urban contradiction...a showcase of celebration and struggle...you know, wealth and affluence existing side by side with abject poverty.

That is a good way to describe it -- there was plenty of both, depending on where we were. It's also the only place I've seen where the front entrances to a couple of very nice hotels were in the alleyways (the Kabayan was one) -- that confused me for a few days when trying to find my way back to a few places.

[wednesday's child]

You stayed at the Kabayan?
The one in Pasay (EDSA/Tramo)?

Holy shit. That's just off young hookers-and-weed central.
Ya been a naughty boy, Rip?

[la michelona]

So you really liked Manila did you? It must have changed since I've been there. I used to avoid it as much as possible back when I was residing in the Philippines. Grossly over populated, poluted, etc. Back when I was there, not sure if it's still like this, but red lights didn't mean stop, they just meant drivers need to proceed through the intersection with a little bit more caution or to "expect a collision" to occur. But that was about it. I would go there clean but after a few hours, take a white hand towel and wipe my face and the towel would be brown. But then again, things may have changed and the city may have cleaned up. Being there is where I learned the phrase, No Belchers.

Manila is still a picture of stark urban contradiction...a showcase of celebration and struggle...you know, wealth and affluence existing side by side with abject poverty.





Considering how depressed and unattractive my own home town has become, I'm not about to cast aspersions at anyone else's. Plus, since this is not my first experience in an economically developing country, the socioeconomic issues were not surprising - the only thing that was unexpected is how strangely familiar they were. For me, the people are what made my trip so special. The surroundings, therefore, were much less important overall.

[mdaemon]

You stayed at the Kabayan?
The one in Pasay (EDSA/Tramo)?

Holy shit. That's just off young hookers-and-weed central.
Ya been a naughty boy, Rip?

You may have gotten RIp in trouble with the missus

[Rip Rokken]

You stayed at the Kabayan?
The one in Pasay (EDSA/Tramo)?

Holy shit. That's just off young hookers-and-weed central.
Ya been a naughty boy, Rip?

You may have gotten RIp in trouble with the missus

LOL! No, some of the other plokkers were staying there and we drove by a few times. I was closer to the Mall of Asia because I wanted to be closer to the venue. I wasn't anywhere close to hookers that I know of but we were on the go the whole time so I was barely there. Wouldn't have been interested in them anyway.

[wednesday's child]

Oooops.
Didn't really know you were married, Rip...
else I wouldn't have made the risqué joke, hehe.

FWIW, those silly vices aren't necessarily something one just runs into:
often, apparently, one has to be actively seeking them out.

I think many countries have their juxtapositions of poverty and wealth.
In the U.S., LA's skid row and parts of Manhattan (pre-Giuliani) come to mind.

-wech

[The Sushi Hunter]

(Hey TSH, weren't you supposed to have seen Journey in Japan...in your CalJam shirt? )

That was on the top of my wish list of things I wanted to do. But I had too much going on already. You see, I set plans to go to Japan next week from now, a few months back. I am going because I got some business to be taking care of. So at first when I started thinking about going to see Journey, I began my attempt at changing some dates around and what not. But too many other people are involved in my plans and I was completely unable to change all the dates from April/May to March/April. This left me with two options, 1) Fly to Japan just to go to the Journey concert and then jump back on the plane and come straight back (I'd actually only do that if there was some pussy involved), cause I'm in the middle of a lot of a lot of projects right now in the U.S. 2) Drop what I'm doing and go to Japan for the concert and then just stay there from March and then in April and May start to do the planned business. But I just had too many projects going on right now in America to do the second option. I sat and thought about it for a while and the first option was also a bit out of the question. Flying back and fourth from Japan to the U.S. twice back to back one month after the other, seemed a bit too much for me. Plus arriving in Narita, it takes a three hour train ride one way from the airport to where I would be staying. Going to Japan is really an involved journey. The worst part of my trips to Japan is that fucking train ride back and forth and I never look forward to it. Drillions of people in the train at the same time and if you got luggage, that's an extra added fuckyou. A friend of mine who also goes to Japan frequently like I do swears that when the day comes he's standing in front of God on judgement day, he says he's going to kick God square in the nuts for creating that bottle neck in the Japanese train system and making him go through it every time he goes to Japan. That's why I can only go there every few months and no sooner really.

So I didn't get the chance to throw on the ol' CalJam t-shirt and go to the show. But like they say: What will be will be, and me going to that gig in Japan was not part of the master plan. There will be another chance someday I hope.

[stevew2]

Oooops.
Didn't really know you were married, Rip...
else I wouldn't have made the risqué joke, hehe.

FWIW, those silly vices aren't necessarily something one just runs into:
often, apparently, one has to be actively seeking them out.

I think many countries have their juxtapositions of poverty and wealth.
In the U.S., LA's skid row and parts of Manhattan (pre-Giuliani) come to mind.

-wech

Dont worry, I took care of his old lady for him while he was gone

[wednesday's child]

Daaaaaamn, Steve...
You really are a bastard, you know that?

[Rip Rokken]

Oooops.
Didn't really know you were married, Rip...
else I wouldn't have made the risqué joke, hehe.

FWIW, those silly vices aren't necessarily something one just runs into:
often, apparently, one has to be actively seeking them out.

I think many countries have their juxtapositions of poverty and wealth.
In the U.S., LA's skid row and parts of Manhattan (pre-Giuliani) come to mind.

-wech

Hahahaha... No problemo, man. I need to visit Skid Row the next time I'm in L.A. Too bad Sebastian Bach doesn't want to reunite with them.

[etcetera]

... you missed out on some really good stuff about the Philippines.

Like Subic Bay? What a dump. Glad we got outta there.


later~

Gee, I wonder just what/who turned Subic into a dump?

nice one!

Should we give them a hint? I'll make it very very difficult. Eeerrrmmm they have a US Navy?

lol!! I thiought they're already left when MT. PINATUBO erupted. ( just kidding)!

Yes, that calamity...what crossed my mind with the mention of "dump." Arkansas could have meant the eruption that smothered Subic Naval Station under tons of volcanic ash and debris, forcing American service members and families to flee.

Maybe.