2017 Vacation !

[6pt-sika]

Bought my tickets over the weekend !

Philippine bound March the 9th and return stateside April 9th .

Hurry up hunting season and the holidays get over with I'm ready to go NOW !

If it weren't for my pop I would ditch hunting season and go in December . But can't very well leave him here with no family on the holidays . But I cannot wait to get back and see our little man he'll be a year old by then

Dullus to Seoul to Manila . Few days in Manila with brother in laws family then on to Cagayan de Oro stay there a couple weeks and then to Bacolod to visit my wifes cousin and his family . Maybe go to a cock fight or two while there . Hang out 3 or 4 days then back to Cagayan . See my nephew graduate college and then on to Gingoog City to visit some of my wifes old school friends and see my other brother in law and his family !

Somehow four weeks doesn't seem to be quite long enough .

[AJMD429]

Sounds fun. Good times with FAMILY are even better than plain 'ol regular good-times...

[wolfdog]

They don't have a porch you could hang out on for a month? Sounds like a lot of running to me, but I am a homebody.

[TraderVic]

I spent a lot of time in and out of Subic Bay ( and Olongapo City ) many years ago. Beautiful country.

[6pt-sika]

They don't have a porch you could hang out on for a month? Sounds like a lot of running to me, but I am a homebody.

If I wanted to sit on the porch I would stay at home !

[6pt-sika]

I spent a lot of time in and out of Subic Bay ( and Olongapo City ) many years ago. Beautiful country.

I've not been to Subic or Clark so far . My brother in law in Pasig , his wife is from Pampanga which is where Clark is at . I had always heard Angelas City and Olongapo were well like any other military town , pretty much a total red light district in near proximity to the base .

My oldest friend was in the Navy from late 1979 until 1986 and his ship was docked in Subic for a month or so one year . He told me a few stories . I might add he was the one that got me started on going to the Philippines ten or twelve years ago . It started out as we were both looking for places to live after we retired that had a cheap cost of living . We had pretty much narrowed the choices down to the Philippines , Thailand and at the time central Mexico .

[Sixgun]

That's what I call a "mega vacation". Are the Phillipines a relatively safe place to go to....unlike hanging around Syria?

I've often wondered how some people (like you) can spell all of those foreign names of cities. -----6

[6pt-sika]

That's what I call a "mega vacation". Are the Phillipines a relatively safe place to go to....unlike hanging around Syria?

I've often wondered how some people (like you) can spell all of those foreign names of cities. -----6

Well "safe" is a relative thing anywhere in the world these days for an "American" . My wife lives on Mindanao which is the island with the largest amount of muslims . That unto itself isn't such a good thing , but Cagayan de Oro is i the north eastern part of the islad and the muslim/ abu sayef strongholds are in the southern and western parts of the island . Mindanao is the second largest island in the Philippines so where most of the problems muslim related take place are a pretty good ways away from where I go .

As to the spelling I really don't go that many different places each year so the spelling isn't that hard to remember .

This will be my ninth trip over there . The first time I went for two weeks , two weeks is not cost efficient when related to the airfare . The longest I ever stayed was seven weeks i 2009 ever since then it's either been 3 weeks or 4 weeks . I will say this my funds for ticket cost this year for the wife to meet me in Manila us to go back and forth from CDO and my wife to return to CDO after I'm gone as well as my big ticket from Dullus to Manila are $8 more then I paid just for my ticket from Dullus to Manila for my trip earlier this year . Thats a savings of about $500 !

I still need to buy tickets for the two of us to go to Bacolod which will be a smidge less then $500 but thats no big deal . And when we go to Gingoog to visit her old friends and her brothers family bus fare for the two of us plus my daughter , son in law and the little man will be about $25 each way . To "us" meaning Americans travel there is relatively inexpensive . But a good bit of travel there is either air of boat , which kinda irks me sometimes .

[TraderVic]

[i]I've not been to Subic or Clark so far . My brother in law in Pasig , his wife is from Pampanga which is where Clark is at . I had always heard Angelas City and Olongapo were well like any other military town , pretty much a total red light district in near proximity to the base .
[/i]

My first tour over that direction, I flew on a MAC flight to Clark AFB, then the notorious bus ride through the mountains to Subic Bay Naval Base.

Your perspective of Olongapo City is correct as it was anywhere - around any kind of military base, about anywhere on this planet.

I served on destroyers, two tours......and while on my second ship was in dry dock in Subic Bay ( unplanned ) for about six weeks.

Safe ? .........it's all relative to country, and/or the region/province within a given country. Back when, the communist rebels in the Philippines were a threat and the Philippine military had armed guards stationed around - off the bases. Marcos was the dictator back then and the country was under marshal law.

[Sixgun]

Thanks 6 point....have a great vaca!-----6

[Rusty]

How long be fore you'll be able to bring her to the states?

[Ysabel Kid]

Sounds fun. Good times with FAMILY are even better than plain 'ol regular good-times...

+ infinity!

[6pt-sika]

How long be fore you'll be able to bring her to the states?

Well at the moment she's busy looking after her mother and our nine month old grandson . So I suspect those two will delay her a couple years .

[Rusty]

My wife works with several people from the Philippines. One who calls me dad. All of them send money back home to help support family. They are a very family oriented culture from what I see. I admire that since I have no family. I hope you will be together again soon.

[Griff]

Yep, I served on a destroyer and we put into Subic Bay a quite few times over the two years I spent on her. Olongapo City was as described... Yet, there were sections that were not very different than places in the US... away from "downtown". There was quite a few things to do on the base... a rental stables, motorcycle rental, golf, baseball fields, bowling and the "Exchange"... I bought almost all of my camera gear there... Good memories... mostly!

Enjoy your trip.

[6pt-sika]

My wife works with several people from the Philippines. One who calls me dad. All of them send money back home to help support family. They are a very family oriented culture from what I see. I admire that since I have no family. I hope you will be together again soon.

Most all of the Filipino folks I've come in contact with wanna come here or Canada or Europe or where ever to work and get ahead at home . None that I've met wanna stay here until they die although I am sure there are those that wanna stay here the rest of their lives .ive come to the conclusion once my father is gone I may very well spend most of the year there every year and maybe a couple months a year here .