The advantage of arriving on the Saturday before work instead of Sunday meant that I was able to sleep in till 8 AM, which is like 5 PM at home. Hooray for catching up on sleep! So I spent my Sunday morning trying to figure out a way to watch my shows (Game of Thrones, Suits, the Bachelorette) while here in Subic. Unfortunately, websites like HBOGo, Hulu and Amazon Prime are blocked outside the states. And after some unsuccessful attempts, I gave up. I attempted to VPN into my work account just to access Pandora but it was so choppy I might as well sit here in silence. The thought of not being able to watch the Game of Thrones finale was killing me. I knew that soon enough I would see everyone posting about it on Facebook, so I had to make sure I had my spoiler blinders on until I was able to catch the finale. Every day that I'm here, I realize how my issues are totally first world problems and that's no joke!
Dim Sum for One!
Ok, onto more exciting topics. Foooooood. If you know me, food is one topic that will never be left out of discussion, especially in a blog like this one. My hotel is next door to a Hong Kong style restaurant called New Feng Huang Restaurant, claiming to be the best Chinese food restaurant in all of Subic, offering amazing dim sum. That's not the first time I've seen a place claiming to the "best" around town. In any case, I set out to check out what the hype was all about. The restaurant decor was very similar to a banquet-style Chinese restaurant back home, but of course, it was run by the local Filipinos here. Table for one please. That's something I'll have to get used to saying here. I don't mind it though since I know I eat much more than the average person here (typical American). So I ordered a bunch of items from the dim sum menu. The food in the Philippines is supposed to be dirt cheap...except for in Subic. The dim sum here was basically the same price as it is in the Bay Area. But when have I ever skimped on good food? Never! I ordered the har gow (steamed shrimp dumplings), 1 steamed pork bun and mango sago (bring me back to my days in Hong Kong). And for dessert, they gave me a complimentary tapioca jello cake. I'd say 4 stars for the har gow and 3 stars for the rest. Mission accomplished!
Diving in Subic
After brunch, I headed out to check out the local beach resort offering PADI diving certification. This resort was about a 25 min drive away from my hotel, but was supposedly very close to the work site. I did a quick look at Google Maps before I took off and just went on a little Subic driving adventure, with no wifi or Waze (or GPS for that matter). It's crazy how dependent I am on my iPhone at home and how I expect Waze to get me from Point A to Point B for even a 10 min drive in the city. It was back to basics here. Just my keys, car, and some travel smarts. I saw a wild horse on my drive in, but no sign of monkeys or goats yet, as rumored by my coworkers. I didn't plan on swimming at the beach today since it had been overcast the entire time I was here. And somehow, I escaped the rain during my drive to the resort, but alas, it started pouring 1 minute after I arrived. Saved, yet again!
So here at the Camayan Beach Resort, I inquired about possibly getting diving certified on the weekends while I was out here. For 16,800 pesos + 4000 pesos for the books, I could get certified in 4 days or 2 weekends. That amounts to $500, which is around the same price as it goes for in the states. Although I really want to get certified, I wasn't sure how much visibility I would have while here. The rainy season just hit and it'll basically be pouring every day that I'm here. But to make the most of my situation, I did I make friends with the dive masters and instructors at Camayan. One was named Jeff (pretty hot but married of course) and the other Yuan (definitely fit and friendly). I swear all of the dive masters I've ever met have always been very good looking, fit and friendly. It probably comes with the territory. Hey, no complaints here. Suddenly my outlook on this trip was brighter already.
Indulgence at its Best
My itinerary for the rest of the day included checking out the local casino, getting a full body massage and more food of course. And I did just that! Unfortunately, the casino turned out to be a bit lame and totally deserted. There were only baccarat and black jack tables (3 total) open and maybe a total of 10 people gambling that afternoon. Apparently there was a BINGO tourney going on at a different location which had scooped up all of the regulars. I sat down and played some blackjack anyways. I made friends with the dealer and this nice old Filipino lady, all of whom thought I was Filipina (again). I should probably just lie next time and say that I am Filipina, but that I don't speak a lick of Tagalog because I grew up in the states. After losing the money I originally put down ($40), I decided it was probably best to get up and not blow my pesos at the casino on day 2.
So of course, I continued on my path of indulgence. Dustin had showed me a massage place on day 1 and mentioned it was only like 10 bucks for an hour. Well, you don't have to tell me twice. At that rate, I could probably get a massage everyday while here. So I got a shiatsu (dry) massage for one hour for 350 pesos. And like any other massage I've gotten, I passed out halfway through. Aren't those the best when you just pass the f* out? My only complaint about this place, and it wasn't clear to me how tipping works here since in every other place in Asia and even Europe, tipping isn't expected or even part of the culture, was the tipping. After I paid my 350 pesos, the lady pointed to a sign in Tagalog and was like "tip please!" Ok, I guess tipping is expected here in Subic? My bad. I have no issues tipping, but to have the lady force it upon me is another thing. I gave in and tipped them anyways. So apparently because of the American influence in Subic, the locals here expect you to tip, but it's not required. Lesson learned!
Feeding My Appetite
Ok onto food again. So for dinner, I checked out this sushi restaurant that was a few blocks from my hotel. Again, table for one. Despite being told by every Filipino friend in the states to stay clear of the water and ice here, and the fresh seafood, I dove right in. According to my coworkers, they haven't had any issues with the tap water here or the ice. Ok, so I'm still brushing my teeth with bottled water since I'm still a bit skeptical, but I have jumped right in with the food. This place was called Chef Samurai and seemed pretty clean. I had an order of salmon sashimi, shrimp tempura, seaweed salad and the dynamite roll.
Once again, my eyes were bigger than my stomach. This was wayyy too much food for one, but I never seem to learn my lsesson. I think this meal totaled 830 pesos, which is under $20. So it's pricier than the local standard, but much cheaper than in the states still. This must be one of the better restaurants in Subic since one couple drove up in Porsche boxster. It's crazy to see some people living like kings here, which is probably the top 5% of the population, and then the rest of the population living in the slums in the local town of Olongapo next door. The gap between the rich and the poor here is 10x worse than it is back home. It's pretty eye-opening to see how poor the poor are here. I haven't had a chance to visit any of the local homes in Olongapo but I'm pretty sure it'll be quite the culture shock, even after having visited Vietnam and Thailand.
Day 2 Summary: dim sum, driving in the forest to the beach, casino, massage, and sushi. Not sure life can be anymore indulgent than today!
Here are some interesting goodies I purchased from PureGold. Chicarrones and shrimp chips in different varieties.
And although I didn't purchase this, I thought this was worth adding to the blog, "Real American Chicarrones", whatever that means!
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