It was a happy moment when I learned I would meet up with the ship that was pulling into the Philippines. The plan was for me to fly to Manila from San Diego and then to take a van to down the country about 200 miles, where I’d be tying up the ship. Six other men and I were traveling to the Philippines in an Air Force cargo aircraft.
The truck was loaded full of pallets filled with cold merchandise and headed for the Philippines. The passengers in the car were not our responsibility. They felt comfortable in the temporary net seats they provided. These seats were made of net and faced backwards. This is similar to how you might sit in a plane. The airplane was facing forward when it took off, so you had to face the back and bend forward. You could see the freezing cold inside of the plane. It looked just like sitting in a fridge. This was a 17-hour flight.
When I arrived in the Philippines, I was only 19 years old. It was by far one of the most fun countries that a guy can visit as a serviceman. You will enjoy it if you are looking for a fun time at bars and with some pretty Asian girls.
Most of the Navy’s guys have never been to famous destinations like Thailand or Korea or Hong Kong. They want to verify what they hear from others on board. It is impossible to really explain another country to everyone. They just have to go there sometimes.
It was only about 1/2 mile from where the ship was moored, and was next to Olongapo (the party centre town). It was huge when you arrived at the base. You could wash your laundry on the base’s laundry mat. There were soda machines that dispensed beer while you washed your clothes.
There was a casino at the base with slots machines. You could also rent horses and play on a golf course. There were wild monkeys that lived up there and would throw anything at you if they got too close.
Clothing and other services are very affordable in the Philippines. All your laundry could be washed and pressed for a very small fee. In town, it was similar. It was possible to make your money go further. There were many out-door markets that sold clothing at dirt low prices. It didn’t matter how ugly you are, as long as you get a girl. Not if you can get a woman, it was whose girl you wanted for the evening.
As you approach the main gate there’s a small bridge which has a stream underneath. This was the name that all men used to call it. “shit river”It is. Raw sewage could have been there all along. However, that didn’t stop 4 to 5 boats from sitting in the river, often with young women dressed in white and holding cups asking for money. Pesos would be thrown down to the boat by people, which was located about 100ft from the main gate at the base. The entrance to town was only a few steps away.
There were many bars in the town, each with a different theme. Many bars, restaurants and souvenir shops were found everywhere. It was funny because there was so much to see in this town.
There was an office bar where many of our guys would go on a frequent basis. We would go there on weekends or after work every day. It was our favorite hangout spot. They didn’t try to force you into joining them. It was just a place where you could have fun and enjoy cheap drinks.
Our names were written on the bar’s window just as other bars that featured special ships and departments. Cindi Bar is the nearest bar to us.
Some bars looked smaller from the outside. It might seem small from the outside, but it may be huge when you go inside. To attract more people, most bars featured bands and acts. At night, it was an exciting place. It was not the modern era of AIDs and other deadly diseases. Every night it was one huge town party. Young sexy ladies were everywhere. And there was lots of cheap beer.
The majority of us, the admin staff, would get together after work. We would all start at the same bar to have drinks. The better, older bars with more beautiful girls were our favorite. We would go there later on in the evening to choose the girls that we desired, without spending too much time drinking. The best thing about going to a bar was the girls there.
For a normal Joe in the Philippines it is very simple to have 2 or more girls. The United States would make you the luckiest person in the world. You could do whatever you want overseas.
Once, I put together a division party. The party would be shared by our supply and department. I was responsible for ordering the drinks and reserving the town bar. A two-story bar was reserved that overlooked the street below. The pig was roasted by the group, with all kinds of other foods brought in. They have a fund to host parties in the Navy. The Navy has a party fund. I asked for more money from everyone on the list and requested money to the Navy so that we could host a better party. We had everything we needed, so I put together the money.
You could be single, married or an officer at this party. A lot of Asian beauties were usually with you at the party. There was a general rule: everyone out in town is free, most men go to bars with women, but that’s just how it works.
I would end up in prison for this party, even though it was a great time. The entertainment was provided by a Philippino chief who was onboard the ship. Entertainment consisted in a man giving darts to anyone who would like. One man let you wrap a rope around the neck of his head and pull it as hard as your heart desired.
Many girls would also do acts such as sticking banana’s in their vaginas. Then they’d sit and eat the bananas from anyone that wanted it. Some guys would place money in front of their faces and let the girls pick it up. It was an ongoing division party that started to get wild. Later, I was detained and brought back to the ship because of being drunk, disorderly and having had too much.
The language was one of the most important lessons that I took with me to the Philippines. It was also embarrassing. The word Benny Boy was it. I was pickpocketed 3 times during the entire 9-months I had in the Philippines.
A group of children picked pocketed me once. I was approached by several small children who began to poke my fingers with their hands. After they left, I realized I had been pickpocketed and that the money I carried in my pocket was gone. I realized that my cash was not in the exact same spot, so I kept it separated.
A few years ago, as I was walking along the main road, a beautiful lady standing by a dark entrance suddenly approached me and invited me to meet her. To see her desires, I crossed the street to meet her. She got very close and began to squeeze my penis. She seemed to be too dirty. I got up from my chair and moved away. Later on, I found out that she used my right hand fast to grab my arm and one of her hands went straight into mine. It happened in less than 4 seconds.
For the 3rd consecutive time I had lost my watch. In the middle of the afternoon, I was at a table drinking a beverage. Outside a bar was where I was sitting at a table. After talking for some time, this girl sits down and asks me about my watch and if I can wear it. She later tells me she must go to the toilet, but she doesn’t come back. One of the women working at the bar asked me where I saw the girl sitting next to me. The girl said she was Benny Boy. That was my first thought, Benny Boy. So I asked the girl next to me whether she’d seen Benny Boy. The next girl that came over to me asked if she had seen Benny Boy. She looked at me, and then said. “No,”She had a bizarre look on her faces.
As I ventured outside to find the woman who had just taken off with her watch, I realized that it wasn’t a very expensive watch. It was the first time I’d owned an expensive watch. However, I wanted my watch back. As I was going up and down the streets, I asked people questions. “Do you know where Benny Boy is?”A girl I asked said: “Why you want Benny Boy, when you can have me?”She said it and I was puzzled.
People would always give me strange or unkind looks if I asked them. A shore patrol vehicle was visible ahead. When I reached it, I inquired if the crew knew anyone called Benny Boy. The watch was stolen by the woman from just around the corner. The two of them just glanced at one another, but I didn’t know that I was still new in the Philippines.
One asked me: “Do you know what Benny Boy means?”I was told that by him. “Benny Boy, is the Tagalog name for ladyboy, or shemale, or man in woman’s clothing.”It was embarrassing. These guys didn’t ask me, but other girls. They thought Benny Boy may have been a friend of theirs and they now think I was searching for Benny Boy. You find it funny.
Most of the activity at the base happened in the mornings. Taxis were plentiful and everyone was returning to their jobs in the morning. Although the ship is located overseas, half the men are single and half are married, almost everyone who can stays in town, even though they are on the other side of the world.
Most people find a girl who has a room. You can rent hotel rooms for a night at a very affordable price almost anywhere. Most bars call this a bar fine. For the privilege of taking the girls out to the bar, you pay the bar. The girl and you will decide together what the plan is for the rest.
The majority of girls want to leave their job and travel to another bar to meet up with their friends and take you along. After all, the girl usually has all the money. You can make your own decision if the girl asks for money. You should never be asking for money from other girls. They are often the most fun to have a good time with and can make you laugh.
Almost all bars display the bar’s price right on the walls. Prices are higher in larger bars with models-type dancers and bar girls. The highest prices are usually for areas where ships only stay for a short time. This is why the boys splurge on the finest products they can afford.
The girls at most bars are wearing bikinis. It is easy to see the items you want. The corpsman was busy giving VD shots every morning in the mornings because the medical section was located within our department. On some days, there were 30-40 guys waiting in line for shots.
The Philippines had a custom of confiscating military ID cards from people so they wouldn’t be able to go into the town and make any kind of spread if they were convicted. It was a chaotic time for the medical staff. It was supposed that the girls had been seen by regular doctors, those who worked at large bars, and that the Navy also had people to check on them to ensure that they were getting the best care.
One battle group might consist of 15,000 soldiers, but there may still be 3 to 4 women, one for every soldier, who are hot, in bikinis, as well. It was the perfect place for 19-year-olds.
There would be a lot more parties on the ship than cook outs. Grande Island was one of our favorite spots. The island was located just offshore, about 1 mile by bonka boat. They were small wooden boats that floated on large wooden beams. They would be taken to the island in the middle or late of the night. We stayed in many of the cabins available on the island for the evening. This was where the Navy party went. It was a place where we could all have fun, drink and roast pigs.
Many of them preferred being in town where there was all the fun and excitement. Even if a ship is only going to be there for a couple of days. Many men would spend hundreds to have someone stand for them or to take or trade their duty days with them. This was just to make sure they could get out and about every day they were in port.
As I was responsible for secret message traffic and would be able to tell when certain ships were coming into port before the rest of us, I knew it would happen before they did. Many bars would have new signs on their windows welcoming any ship that might be passing through town. We didn’t know the schedule of ships better than they did.
I felt safe walking along streets or hanging out in bars throughout my time in the Philippines. When I traveled to Pakistan or other countries, I never felt like there was a chance of me being attacked or robbed. Philippinos are friendly and all speak English. This is a fun area to visit.
You could go out on a night with $20. The bar fine would amount to $10, which is quite high given the 50 pesos per 1 dollar peso exchange rate. Bar fines could be as low as 300 pesos (less than $10), for some cases. For $7 per night you could rent a hotel room anywhere in the world. For $3 you can get some beers and some food, with the remaining $3 being tacos. For $20 you can eat, drink and then get a woman to share your room. While you could pay more to get the best, some men could afford to spend less.
A lot of office staff ventured out to the Philippines one night as usual. A LTJG, our division officer, decided that he would go with us on this night. His name was rhymed with “feel good”, and all the men called him that. However, no one has ever called him that. If you were writing something up, he would get up behind you and lay his hands on you. Then, after looking at your work, he’d give you a massage.
As a good guy and division officer, he never stopped. We were out when we saw a new Yeoman. This was his first time on board the ship and had just started working at the office. That evening, he also went with us.
Another night would pass and I would find myself locked up at the end. The bar had a bull riding in it. The bar had a mechanical bull in it. We all drank and bet on which one could ride the bull longest. It was a memorable night. I can remember how I rode that bull. I managed to stay on the bull for a good 2 days, and my legs were still hurting.
It was a strange turn of events. The new yeoman had taken his shirt off and was now sitting on the lap of our division officer. We are surrounded by the most gorgeous girls on the planet, and this is what these men are doing. The truth is that the officer in the division had had too much and had taken off the shirt from the enlisted man and placed it on his lap. These were discovered by other men, who broke up the fight.
We ended up all on the street in front of the bar and several of us got arrested for drunkenness and disorderly. The division officer of our unit was taken and put in jail. The division officer was in another cell and was throwing up. He could be heard saying to the yeoman who was having his shirt taken, Don’t Say Anything, Just Don’t Say Anything.
It turned out that our division officer had been transferred immediately from our ship. This led to us all thinking he was expelled. He was seen by one of our guys about a year later and told us that he was now a LT on another ship. He was promoted to a different duty station and was then transferred.
This was the main area of bars, with the most beautiful girls and bigger dancefloors, in the center of town. It also had the best bands. You could find at least 100 smaller bars along the 2 miles radius.
There were wet t shirt bars and bars where girls could oil wrestle. I remember one of my favourite bars and many others’ favorite bar was named “The Bar with the Most Famous Guys.” “Begger’s Banquet”This is. The place was full of girls and had an interesting twist. Here, a girl could bring something to the stage and others would put pesos. They would then do various things with the objects and ask for money. You would see more of the bizarre things you did with money.
Amazing feats were made by some of these girls with the ability to stretch their bodies and make up their own cunnilingus. Amazing things were found in their vaginas. That was one bar, but there were many more on the strip and side streets.
One of my travels took me with a friend to another small town about 10 miles from home. We were headed to a town famous for playing a game called “smiles”This is the best. It is when several men are seated around a table, drinking and one of them goes below the table. If someone smiles they must drink. One can only imagine what that girl does under the table.
Most people in the Philippines travel by jeepney or on a 3-wheeled motorcycle called a trike. Both are busy with lots of honking and horns, as if they were big cities. When we arrived at the next town, we saw the small circus that was set up along the side road. The jeepney driver agreed to take us there. The circus was amazing. We had to pay for admission. The half-man, half-women person was there, but they also had very small numbers.
The man was 8 feet tall and only had one pair of shorts. He didn’t even try to trick us. The cage was probably his home for many years. They also had plenty of people with deformed faces. It was one the most bizarre circuses I’ve ever seen.
A few days ago, as I was walking along the main street of the Philippines (they call Magsaysay Avenue), I heard someone shout. “Brandon”It is. It was actually the name of the high school I attended. The man I was looking at was also in the Philippines. He had also joined the Navy, I spoke to him. His stationed shipmate was in the Philippines at the same time as me.
Cindi Bar was the name of the bar where we hung out, played pool and just sat around. The majority of the girls were young teens and early twenties. One girl or woman was in her thirties. The seasoned girl was she. She was a familiar face in San Diego and had been there before. Our parents always said that a girl who came from abroad shouldn’t be brought back to America. She just wanted to go into the United States.
It is okay. It’s okay to search for one in the States, as they already exist there. However, if you do find one abroad, it is best not to bring her home. According to our sources, she will marry your and then get rid of you after she files papers to reside in the United States. The goofy guy who was looking to marry the girl he met there might not have known her well. Because of the requirements for marriage paperwork, they tried to dissuade people from getting married.
A girl older than her would have her own place and invite everyone over to make spaghetti. Her house was also home to some girls who had come from the bar. Every one of us had, at one point or another, spent time with Maria. She was the oldest of the girls and the owner of the house.
Nearly every guy in the office was her boyfriend for a short period of time. We all enjoyed our time together and all of us liked her. One of these occasions I was taking a few days off. Maria was my host, so I decided to stay a couple of days on the ship. Well, during my leave something happened to civilians working at the base. So the base called all military personnel home and cancelled any liberty in town.
Fear was expressed by them that the civil population might riot due to an ongoing contract dispute. It seemed that there were more civilian workers on base at all times than military personnel. Base in the Philippines. Many Philippinos lived on base and all of them seemed to enjoy riding their bikes to work. The traffic would become a snarling commotion, followed by a sea of bicyclists.
Except for some girls, there was no one in the town. There were also no civilians who worked with the Navy and did not need to comply with military guidelines. Although I knew everyone needed to return to base by the time you received notification from someone, it was not mandatory. It was an enjoyable feeling to have the entire town to myself. There would not be any guys in the bar but there were all the women there. It felt almost like Hugh Hefner.
I was eventually spotted by shore patrol and informed that I needed to report back in to the base. It was only a matter of days before everything returned to normal and the atmosphere was again Mardi Gras-like.