17

Chapter 16.

Back to Reality. New Man, New Technology, and Bar-Girls.

Showering, dressing and making tea distracted him, but once on the tube, sitting with nothing to do but avoid the eyes of other passengers, Trevor closed his eyes, and his mind was free to review the events of the past three weeks. He was dazed by the enormity of his transformation, and shocked by his conduct. Sitting amongst the commuters he had travelled with for decades he felt ashamed and soiled.

Rather, he felt he should feel ashamed and soiled - but the appropriate response did not materialise. His intellect told him he should feel shame, but his moral reflex refused to cooperate. The memory of Allyza, excited him. He had set off in search of a dream, not expecting it to come true. Allyza was the fantasy woman he yearned for, young, sexy and loving. He loved Angeles because Allyza was there, but he hated it because it sold her as a whore.

No matter his contempt for the people and the girls of the city - except, of course Allyza, who was trapped there by her circumstances - he felt a longing to be back there, and his next thought; how soon could he return? As a long service employee, he had six weeks annual leave, with three weeks outstanding for the year. Before he reached the station he decided he must book it.

He wanted, desperately, to communicate with Allyza, but had no computer and no internet connection. Born in 1942, from a generation raised with slide rules and manual typewriters, the computing revolution would have passed him by had not his work environment moved from word processors to computers, then to self servicing on the network, and data entry. Computers were a work tool, not a facility for recreation and communication. Now, he must buy a computer and rent an internet connection if he wished to communicate with Allyza. Off the plane less than sixteen hours, these seemed to be his most pressing tasks; maintaining a link with Angeles, and planning his return.

After three weeks in the tropics, he had yet to re-acclimatise to the cold, and entered his office, shivering, grateful to be back in the temperature-controlled, conditioned-air.

Each greeting he received was accompanied by expressions of surprise.

"Hello Trevor. It IS you. You look so different. A suntan suits you."

On his desk, paper overflowed his in-tray and spread across the work surface. It was the same old paper, same old problems, with the same old solutions. In three days, on auto-pilot, he would reduce it back to his allotted daily work-flow.

Deirdre, a team leader in his management line, brought more paper.

"Welcome back. We can get everything back on the rails now. Did you have a good holiday? Where did you get that suntan? You're looking so good."

"I've been taking flying lessons."

"Flying lessons!" Deirdre's eyebrows rose with her tone. "You're a dark horse."

"It was my sixtieth on the fifth, so I treated myself to something special."

"Well, belated Happy Birthday. Are you a pilot now?"

"Oh no," Trevor said modestly, "I'm only a beginner. But flying is great fun. I'd like to try and get my licence, but it will take some time."

"Well, where did you get your tan. Your white streaks make you look so distinguished."

"I can't afford to fly in England, but there's a place near Manila where it's really cheap. Local rates I suppose. It's tropical there and I spent a lot of time in the hotel pool."

"Ohhh, Manila. That's a long way. You do have an exciting secret life."

"It's been my first trip abroad for fifteen years. Dennis's death and my sixtieth reminded me to enjoy myself."

"Yes, get it done while you're young. No man knoweth the day or the hour. I must start taking tango lessons. I'd love to be able to tango," said Deirdre.

"Do it now, before you have to enjoy yourself sitting down, like me," advised Trevor.

Word spread through the office, and the whole day he received birthday wishes, compliments and admiration for his ambitious new hobby. Though this lifted his spirits a little, when not distracted by his paper, his mind turned to Allyza, and he longed for her and hated his work. Checking his watch at midday, he worked out the time in Angeles.

About now, Allyza would be being bar-fined, and taken for enjoyment by some sex-tourist, probably without a condom. He wondered if, already, she could have forgotten him, or if she longed to seed him again.

His first day back was busy as he shrank back the accumulated paper, but on the tube home he closed he eyes and thought again of Allyza, and replayed the highlights of his holiday. He wanted to be in touch, and had only the contact details for Rick's Cafe. With no computer and no internet connection at home, his priority, now, was to buy a computer and connect to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Sleep did not come easily that night, notwithstanding his residual jet lag.

Tossing and turning, when he started to drift off he would find himself back in Angeles, in the bars. Sometimes Allyza would come to him, sometimes she would ignore him. Sometimes he was in Niftys cavorting with Analyn and Boxi, receiving blow-jobs, fucking them on the stools, and these dreams were accompanied by a full night-time erection.

Un-rested, he found the following day particularly hard to endure. During the lunch hour, he posted a card to:

'Allyza, C/O La Bamba, Fields Avenue, Angeles City, Philippines.'

On the front was a picture of Tower Bridge. On the back he wrote:

'Hi Allyza,

I really enjoyed your company and hope to see you again soon.

Look out for my emails.

Best wishes.

Trev (the English guy you pinched in Rick's Cafe).'

He checked the magazines in the newsagent for the 'best-buy' computers, and looked up the recommended ISP's. He decided on a Viglen desktop computer and America-On-Line (AoL) as his ISP, and he noted some phone numbers. That evening, credit card at the ready, in a few calls, everything was arranged. The computer was dispatched by courier, and a Welcome Pack by Royal Mail parcel was posted from AoL .

On Thursday, when he arrived home, he found in his mailbox a slim package from AoL, and a card from the couriers telling him how he could arrange re-delivery.

Trevor no longer took paperwork to read on the tube, as an excuse not to meet the eyes of his fellow commuters, but instead closed his eyes and teleported to Angeles, and Allyza, and the bars, and the flying club, and the poolside parties. Reliving conversations with Grant, and the retired guys, like Clark, who lived there with their girls, he planned to be like them, to retire to Angeles and live with Allyza in the eternal sunshine.

That Saturday he did not lie in. By half-past-eight, as the courier's depot opened, he was there collecting the box, and before eleven the computer was unpacked and assembled on his living room table, and booting into life. The operating system, Windows Me, was unfamiliar; he used Windows 2000 at work, but playing around he found it easy to navigate.

Using the CD ROM, phone adaptor and patch cord from the AoL Welcome Pack, and following the instructions, with only a couple of calls to the Help Line, Internet Explorer connected to the AoL portal, and he was online, browsing at 56 kbps.

Taking out the contact details for Rick's Cafe, he considered for a very long time. Then, opening WordPad, he drafted his first, very carefully worded, email to Allyza.

It would be premature and juvenile to express love. Trevor knew that what he was experiencing was teenage infatuation, not love, but be believed, or hoped - or, was it, fantasised - infatuation could become love. Nor could he express his juvenile lusting for her body, merely hint at it, since this email would be passed through other peoples' hands. Nor could he promise a future together, he could not even promise that to himself, but he wanted to leave open the possibility, curious to see how she would react.

He began:

'Allyza (La Bamba)/ C/O Rick's Cafe.'

-then felt foolish that he had not asked her surname.

'Did you get my postcard; I sent it by airmail. Let me know your surname so I can be sure you get my letters. Thanks for coming to my birthday party. It made my birthday. I remember our time together, especially the day we stayed in the room all day. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. With luck, we will be able to do it again. It seems so long, but I'm coming back, probably in November and, if you haven't met Mr Right, I really want to meet up again. I'd like to take you with me on a trip somewhere.

It's cold and wet here. I sit in the evening watching TV. No bars to hop in. I envy you the sunshine, the fun bar-hopping and the excitement of Angeles. I wish I was back there, especially with you.

Keep safe, and keep in touch.

Trevor.'

After reading it through several times, he cut and pasted it into an email, and sent it to Rick's Cafe.

Then he began to wait in tense anticipation.

On Sunday morning, first thing, he checked his email - nothing.

In idle curiosity, he browsed, and began to search for "Angeles City, Philippines" using several search engines. An unsuspected world opened up to him.

Following from link to link, he soon found that there was a large community on the internet communicating about their travel experiences, and some web sites were devoted entirely to sex-tourism, some even to particular ethnicities.

He found himself browsing the experiences of other travellers around the world, in particular to the Philippines and Angeles City. Soon, he was subscribed to the World Sex Guide, a web site which included a forum on Angeles City, and ASFIL, Alt Sex Filipina, - the successor web site to a news-group devoted to the admiration of Filipina girls. Information about travel costs, hotel rates, bar-fines and the expected tip, were exchanged. He bookmarked them.

The following week, each morning, before he left for work, he checked his email. It was also the first thing he did on arrival home. In the evenings, after dinner, he sat at the computer, watching the TV with one eye, browsing the internet with the other. At 56kbps, pages loaded slowly, and he would check his bookmarks for new posts.

By the following weekend, he was growing familiar with the screen names of some of the regular posters on the forums. Familiar themes began to recur. There were strong views on where the prettiest girls were to be found in Asia, the quality of the experience in Thailand versus the Philippines, the approach to the girls, but notably absent was any consideration of the morality of sex-tourism. Only the quality of the experience was examined.

Some would post accounts of their sex-tourism experiences in vacation reports, which were then followed by a flurry of follow up posts. Digital cameras were becoming a tool of the well-equipped sex-tourist, and some illustrated their reports, not only with photographs of the pretty girls, but of girls naked in their hotel rooms, even engaged in sex acts.

Trevor's internet connection was slow, and large files such as images downloaded slowly. He would click on a file, and wait expectantly as the picture gradually assembled on the screen, guessing whether it would be street scene, or a girl engaged in sex. Like a rat in a laboratory, he found the sometimes rewarding, sometimes not, experience, addictive.

Chapter 17.

The Internet, Forums, Sex-Tourists and the Horn Dog Ethos.

Trevor read and learnt, and studied the ethos of this virtual community of anonymous people, whose tastes, in the street, were considered taboo, and with whom he could never imagine coming into contact, other than at a sex-tourism destination, or on the internet. He began to spend so much time online that it became his principal spare time activity.

When, for yet another week, no reply was received from Allyza, the words of those posters who expressed the cynical view that sex-tourists were the victims of the girls, who would beguile them, then milk them for money, found a resonance.

'Why would I be any more special to Allyza than Jake? She will have moved swiftly on to the next punter as soon as I left, as she'd done when I overslept. It was, after all, the 1000 peso note that had impressed her, she had said so; and, if I hadn't paid her bar-fine in advance, I doubt I would he have seen her on my birthday.'

One evening, he stumbled across a re-post of an old Bustler article, titled "Filipina Cuties" and read it with care, picking out the highlights.

'FILIPINA CUTIES

BUSTLER journalist ELLI ANTON continues her survey of sex-tourism hotspots. This month, Angeles City, Philippines, famed for its "cherry-girls".

The Philippines has been a premier destination for single men seeking exotic girlfriends for decades. Westerners flock to Manila and Angeles City in their thousands, to sample the delicious Asian Girlfriend Experience provided at fire sale cost. Manila is famous for its go-go bars, but Angeles City had over 20,000 "licensed entertainers" in its many bars, originally attracted to entertain the US Clarke Air Base servicemen.

This Sex Playground was adversely impacted in 1992 when Mt Pinatubo, near Angeles City, erupted resulting in the destruction of a large number of bars. The US then closed its air base which resulted in the closure of many of the Angeles City girlie bars.

The sex entertainment industry, thankfully, has proved remarkably resilient and in last two or three years many bars have reopened to service the throngs of ex- servicemen who remember it as a wild holiday destination and the community of US service retirees who choose to live there.

In fact, for the single tourist Angeles City is where it's all happening now, with more than 50 bars open, employing over 1000 girls, and able to employ many more as new girls arrive to find employment every day. I would advise you to spend little time in costly Manila. Take a cab to Angeles City.

Fields Avenue is where the resurgent bars are located, and you can stay in the immediate vicinity at the TROPICANA, CHICAGO PARK or ORCHID INN, enabling you to walk to the bars, without working out how to use and how much to pay for tricycles or jeepneys, which provide public transport.

The quality is variable, with the water supply not being drinkable, and slightly smelly, but these hotels were extremely popular with the gentlemen I interviewed because of their closeness to the action - so book early.

The bars in Angeles are not yet as slick as their equivalents in Thailand, but a number of factors make them appealing to single tourists. Although the shows in Thailand are more organised and explicit, the Filipina women are a lot more friendly and extremely affectionate and will oblige with explicit entertainment at your request for just a few pesos. Their English is much better than the Thai girls which allows them to chat and joke with you providing the authentic girlfriend experience that many tourists seek.

I am told they easily get attached to their regular customers, and tend to be really affectionate. Most hope to meet Mr Right to sweep them off their feet, and on to a land far away from their own. For a single man looking for a wife, I would recommend Angeles City, the girls are very marriage minded and the traditional Filipino values make them desirable spouses.

Aside from the quality of the girls, the Philippines is really inexpensive compared to Thailand. Drinks in the go-go bars are only 20 -35P, I was amazed to find that for a total of 600P you can spend a night with the beautiful girl of your choice. The girls I interviewed in the bars said they will spend the night with a customer for 500 p (paid to the bar) and offer an unlimited "fuck and suck" service until 10am the next day! In general, most customers required 1 suck and 3 fucks and the girls said they expected a tip if they provided good service.

This is easily the most cost-effective arrangement I've yet found! Many of the men had breakfast with their girls in the poolside restaurant, and I interviewed about 20 of these couples over a week. Every single couple was very satisfied with their experience and intended to do it again.

GIRLIE BARS

The operation of the bars in Angeles City will be familiar to those who have travelled to Thailand. On entry you are expected to order a drink for around 30P. You then sit and watch the dancing girls. Officially, the girls are not permitted to dance nude or even in g-strings, so most wear shorts and tank tops or minis. Nonetheless, some very attractive girls will dance naked to ensure they get bar-fined, and most girls will dance naked if specially requested. You make your interest known to any girl you like by smiles, winks, even waving. The fewer foreigners in Angeles means competition is less than in Thailand. I saw men mobbed by girls before they sat.

But, beware, this is in pursuit of lady drinks, so chose carefully the girls you give drinks, otherwise your bill can become dramatically inflated. Select a girl you really intend to fuck, and buy her a drink. Wave away friends who come to stand by your table or you may find their drinks on your bill. Make it clear to the waitress that you are not buying the "friend" a drink as well. Window-shoppers should make this clear to girls who try to engage them.

If you meet a girl, don't be shy to discuss your filthiest, most perverted fantasy. Most of the girls told me the will do their best to accommodate their customers, but they like to know of any additional services beyond a "suck and a fuck" before you pay their bar-fine. You give the 500P to the waitress The girl then changes into her street clothes and leaves with you when you are ready. If nothing has been said, you now have roughly 12 hours with her. You can fuck her and demand any agreed services an unlimited number of times in this period.'

La Bamba was given a special mention amongst the "Roll of Honour" bars

'LA BAMBA

My vote for the friendliest bar on Fields Ave - I got a complimentary drink from the management on my first visit and was told this was customary! The girls are talkative and available, some are real cute, even a few model types. About a third are "cherry-girls" or virgins, most of who told me they would include a blow-job in the bar-fine. Some were keeping their cherry for their husband, some were asking a hefty cherry fee. Cuties, models and cherries, all available for 500p.

TAHITIAN QUEE

was the sleaziest. No cherry-girls here. The Mama-San told me she has a compulsory bar-fine rule. Her girls must go with any customer and provide satisfactory service. On both occasions I went in, there were three or four girls dancing naked except for their boots. They were quickly bar-fined, but not before one of them shaved her pussy on stage at the request of her customer.'

Roadhouse was among:

'BEST OF THE REST'

Also mentioned was:

'MARGARITAVILLE

A popular24hr bar and restaurant opposite the old Main Gate to the airbase, it's a hangout for tourists, and off duty bar-girls and freelancers seeking customers. You can eat reasonably priced meal, drink and play pool while listening to rock music.

It is definitely not a girlie bar, the waitresses are really cute but not on the "take-out" menu. However, they are as "marriage minded" as the bar-girls, but make any approach discrete to avoid embarrassment. You can pick up any one of the many girls who hang around the pool tables or bar, targeting customers with fuck-me-quick eyes, but caution, they may not have health tests and they may be scammers

I found it a great place to meet people and make friends, and I recommend it to the single traveller. Many of the patrons I chatted with gave very positive ratings to the Girlfriend Experience they had received in Angeles. Pool players will have no problem meeting other tourists to chat with! Some of the freelancers are accomplished pool players also - and for 300p they will play pool with you for a couple of hours and then give you a suck and fuck.'