Today I signed up for a Starbucks card since there are perks such as a free frappuccino when you sign up and other perks when you refill your card. And since people drink Starbucks here like the Germans drink beer, I'll be using this card quite a bit. You'd think Starbucks was handing out free coffee based off of the amount of people who go there, especially at night.
Example of a typical day at Starbucks at the mall.
For lunch today, we went to Bunker Bob's, which was around a 3 minute drive from the site. The restaurant is located inside an old US Navy bunker that was used for fuel and ammunition storage back in the day, and since then, has been converted into none other than a restaurant. Leave nothing to waste!
Since they're known for their burgers, I ordered a burger with bacon, lettuce and cheese with a side of fries and Pepsi light. Besides tasting very American, this burger was definitely smaller than the usual sizes you'd see in the states (ignore how big it looks in the photo).
Despite having unresolved issues with my work computer back at SSL (why can't things ever run smoothly?), I had a pretty productive day at work. One of lead ops engineers told me that they would make good use of my ACS expertise and background while I'm out here. So the day actually ran longer than usual, but no complaints here!
Tonight was Dustin's last night in the Philippines. The group gathered at Paddy's after dinner for a night out in Subic and Olongapo. After an hour or so at Paddy's, we ventured off to Olongapo for the remainder of the night. I hadn't been back to Olongapo since the day we had to deal with the shenanigans at the immigration office and the car rental agency.
We first hit up a karaoke bar where we rented out a room and started singing along to our favorite American songs. Each song was accompanied by some random ass video filmed in some random ass places, like the airport or the beach. There was no relation whatsoever to the song being played and the video playing in the background. Another thumbs up from me...We ordered some random snacks (wish I had photos of this) including my first lumpia since I got here, not to mention the first food I've tried beyond the gates of Subic or SBMA as they call it here. Stepping beyond the SBMA gates is like crossing the other side of the tracks. Be ready for anything and expect nothing. Our chicken wings consisted of cubes of chicken marinated in some type of red sauce. Hey, at least the lumpia was good and came with the sweet chili dipping sauce we typically eat egg rolls at home with. As I chowed down on this food beyond the gates, I was desperately hoping I wouldn't have issues keeping it down later in the night.
After a couple of hours singing our hearts out at karaoke, we made our way to a nearby club. Clubs here are pretty empty and basically everyone has bottle service, so no need to drop $$ to get special privileges here. By this time, I had lost all inhibitions regarding what NOT to do in Olongapo, aka, drink the water/ice. I ordered a pina colada, and only halfway through finishing it up, did Dustin remind me of where I was. Then it occurred to me, oh crap! But since the damage had already been done, I continued drinking my watered down cocktail anyways.
And since the night was still young, we made our way to McDonald's for a 2 AM snack. Believe it or not, it tastes exactly the same as it does the states! Shocking (not). It was Mcd's or Jollibee's, which I still have yet to try out here. Apparently both places will deliver your meal if you order at least 150 pesos worth of food, which comes out to a whopping $3.50! So make sure you order enough food...
To sum up my first night of venturing off to the land beyond the gates, I was able to check off eating the local food, karaoking, drinking the local tap water, clubbing and having my first taste of Mcd's. And by some miracle, I came out unscathed.
Sophia: 1, Olongapo: 0.
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