So we’re stuck and in a situation that we either lose P10k ($200) or just take a short little trip for a couple of days. We decided to take the trip. Hopefully, things will work out once we get back home moneywise. The trip out of the country we had to take last month and the trip this month was just too much for our budget. If I would have anticipated this dilemma faster, we could have avoided this whole mess. It won’t be a lesson soon forgotten that’s for sure.
On the afternoon of 5 Nov, we head for Angeles. We did get a little lucky because after we arrived there, Lita found an additional P3k in her passport, that she just happened to bring along, although we didn’t need it.
When we arrived at Clark IAP in Angeles it was pouring down rain. In fact, our outgoing flight’s arrival in Calbayog was an hour late due to the weather in Angeles. We had a ride from the airport, but things didn’t work out. We had to spend P500 to take a taxi to our hotel. It was almost 6 pm when we arrived there and since neither of us had eaten since breakfast, we decided to eat there at the hotel. We went light though. I just had a western omelet with a side of ham and water to drink. Lita had chop suey and milk. Yeah, I know, weird combo. We did also order Yellow Cab pizza to put in the refrigerator and have that for breakfast the next day. They didn’t have any jalapenos so I could not order my favorite. More on that later, probably a little post of its own. I just got the special they had running and left it at that.
After that, we went to the room to wait for the pizza. After it arrived, I went to sleep. I was tired. Lita stayed up and watched TV for a while. That is after they fixed the cable that was out. Sometime during the night I got up and took a “hot” shower. Them not having the water situation in Calbayog under control, it’s been a while since I’ve got to bathe with “hot” water.
The next morning was supposed to be our trip to the US Embassy, but since I had already canceled it and we didn’t have much money, we mostly hung around the hotel. We did go to the VFW for lunch though. The trip to the VFW did not go as planned either. They were out of steak. They were even out of chicken fried steak. I ended up getting the meatloaf, which was just okay and Lita got the grilled chicken breast, which she didn’t like. I didn’t have a problem with the chicken breast, but I had eaten enough so we brought it back to the hotel. If we go there again and they do not have what we want, we’ll just go elsewhere, like Puzzles or The Steakhouse.
We try not to travel around in Angeles too much because the trikes there are P150 per trip versus P10 per person per trip here in Calbayog. We did end up going to Pure Gold and bought a few things to bring back, but since we were limited on funds, it wasn’t much. Mostly we just enjoyed talking with the ladies at the hotel, the hot water and no brownouts.
On the 7th we got ready to come back to Calbayog. We took our 2nd Grab and arrived at the airport about an hour, 15 minutes before the scheduled takeoff time of 1 pm. While sitting there, a friend from Calbayog, Trevor, snuck up behind me. He and his lovely lady Sally were also heading back to Calbayog.
The flight was pleasant, I sleep part of the way, Lita slept more than half of the way, which she normally does on a flight. They do pass out little snacks on these domestic flights, just cookies and water mostly, but we just bring the cookies to the kids or sometimes the adults and just drink the water.
When we arrived in Calbayog it was the first time in a long while that we had check-in bags. We had the box of things we bought at Pure Gold checked in. We had to take a trike to the house but it was a nice ride. I wasn’t cramped.
So glad to be back, but dreading having to survive the rest of the month with very limited funds. We just need to hang on a few more months (until March) and then we’ll have additional income, my social security.
Salamat Y’all
UJ,
Holy crap that sounds like one cluster after the other hit you guys one after the next. But glad you guys made it home in one piece. I just went on Tinker AFb here in oklahoma and got the wifes ID renewed in less than 15 minutes, no appt was needed just walked in, office was empty and they took us right in and had her new card done pretty dang fast. It has changed over the years though. Use to be a complete Navy personal office staffed to hilt full of people for everything needed including ID cards. That closed and now it just a small office that does only ID cards with 3 ladies handling the entire process. I know dealing the Embassy there can be a pain in the butt requiring an appointment for every thing, just hope they don’t require an appt to use the latrine while there hahaha.
We did make it back, but that trip has had us in a hole every since. It seems that we are never got up anymore. Always short of money. We did get the passports and social security taken care of, but not the military IDs. I think that we also will end up getting the new IDs done in Texas during our next visit. The line to get it done at Ft. Hood is always long, but we just make a morning or afternoon of it. We had new IDs in Guam once at Andersen and that was done in less than a half-hour. Only because there were active-duty personnel in front of us. It looks like I will never get to the Embassy here in Manila. That’s okay though, I don’t like going to Manila. It’s just a big, nasty, crowded city. I don’t like big cities anyway, except San Antonio TX. That’s a pretty good big city.
UJ
Do you know if they are still using the Motel on Clark which was there when AF still had the Base? It was a pretty descent Motel when the Family and I stayed there while waiting for Milk Run Flight back to US after getting order back to state side. They even had small kitchenets where you could cook your own food if you wanted.
I have no idea if they are still using it. I was never stationed there so I wouldn’t even know where to look to find out.
Back in May 2013, drove through the old Clark AFB while on vacation for a month there. Most every original building there was destroyed when Pinatubo blew up with the exception of some old housing areas which were still abandoned when we drove through there. And the old airfield terminal building was still standing but had been changed as I had been to that a gazillion time when I was flying outta Cubi point for a few years. Saw the saw thing at the Navy’s old Cubi Point and Subic base, buildings still abandoned and being taken back over by the jungle. You would figure the Philippine gov would have moved their military in there and continued operations, but alas they let it rot away. Saw the same effect on the same vacation when I went on the old U.S. Navy Sangley Point base in Cavite which was the epitiome of a beautiful well maintained base until it was turned over to the Philippine gov. The Philippine military had taken possession of it in 1972 yet have let it slip away into a barely recognizable rag tag looking military facility.
John D
John D
Back in the days when I was Station in Subic at Service Craft on Harbor Tugs as Chief Engineer. We had to take barges to Sangley to remove everything which could be picked up by cranes and loaded onto barges and take it to Subic when Sangley was being shut down. The last time I visited Subic one of our daughters was with us and we took her up to Cubi Hospital to show her where she and her sister where born. It was like stepping back in time everything inside look the same down to even the green navy floor tiles. We also drove up through the old Enlisted housing which are still standing and which the Government is trying to rent out to people who can afford them We stopped at the office to see what they where trying to get for them and it was almost as much as in US.
George,
We did the same thing and stopped by the housing office in Binitican as the office is right across the street from the actual house we lived in while stationed there. Your right, cost as much as here in the states and most renters or leasors appeared to be Korean or Japanese and few auzzies thrown in for good measure. Found better cheaper facilities outside the old base instead of on it. Agree with it being a time capsule as well, went into my old barracks on top of Cubi Point the old floors were still ugly mil-spec tiles but had actual windows now instead of the wooden slanted plank windows we had as sailors back in the day. And the old enlisted Mariners Club is now an English school. If they only knew what went on in that club years ago, fell down those steps many a time crawling back to my barracks when I was young n dumb hahaha. Years later after making several stripes for not getting caught and eventually making Chief, got stationed there again with a normal m-f routine, I was certain there was some secret flagging in my service record that kept sending me back there on sea duty without going to sea hahaha.
John D
When we visited the Cubi Hospital it was the head nurse of the Hospital which showed us around. She said it was new Doctor group which took the Hospital over and was trying to get Certified from Tri-care to accept Expats for Medical care. From what I read the last Doctor group which had the hospital and was Tricare approved was Colluding with patients to screw Tricare out of 50 Million for care not received. The FBI is trying to track down Doctor which was in Charge. She also said that if they receive Tricare approval they where going to build Cottages around Hospital for Expats to live in like retirement homes which is ran by VA in US. As to getting resigned or staying in Subic when your time was up. I think there was a lot of Shady deals going on with Detailers back in the Days. I knew several persons who spent most of their Enlistments being rotated in and out of Subic why they and wife where running business out in town. My Enlistment was up 2 years after leaving Subic and I told them I would reenlist if they ship me back to Subic. They said no that I would have take orders to USS Ranger which was homeported across bay from Treasure Island where I was station at the time. Being on Base Security talking to SFPD they told me that when receiving call at Hunter Point at the time they would not answer call unless there was six of them in the car to cover each others back. I told Detailer that if they would not give me Subic I would not reenlist even if Navy had Shortage of Engineers. They would not give me what I wanted even if I had eight years. So I got out took 60 day vacation and Enlisted in USCG rate for Rate. And stayed for 12 years being stationed from East Coast, Gulf Coast to West Coast. Before retiring in 1985.