Clark, Expo Pilipino, Salakot, and VJ's Photos

After our great day trip to Subic on Friday, 21 July 2000, we planned to relax and enjoy our final few days in the Philippines.

Saturday morning we headed out for another photo tour of the base:  http://www.whoa.org/reunions/00picabmini2/89.html  Our first stop was the flightline area which we found was now restricted.  We were still able to take some photos, but couldn't get near the tower.

We then decided to head for the Expo Pilipino complex west of the old picnic grounds on the site of the former "elephant cage."  We took lots of photos on the way:  http://www.whoa.org/reunions/00picabmini2/94.html

At the Expo site, we found a very nice, but essentially empty cluster of buildings and parking lots.  Except for the lack of visitors, Expo Pilipino could have been an extension of Disneyland or any large theme park.  It was beautiful!

We made arrangements to enter and were charged only $20 PHP each (about 50 cents USD) compared to the original ticket price of $100 PHP when it first opened.

Normally vehicles can be driven into the park, but concrete repairs at the entrance forced us to walk.  We were constantly monitored and escorted by a bicycle cop.

The architecture of the Expo was very modern, clean, and colorful.  We focused on the Philippine history area of the park where we found models of prehistoric villages and scenery.

It was sad to see such a beautifully constructed park so under used.  We enjoyed our visit immensely!

More partying on Saturday night.

On Sunday we decided to take more pictures of the base on our way to do some tourist shopping in Balibago and Dau: 
http://www.whoa.org/reunions/00picabmini3/

We started by taking more photos around the Holiday Inn and Mimosa Leisure Park complex before heading for the Salakot Gate in Balibago:  http://www.whoa.org/reunions/00picabmini3/15.html

The Salakot is now a well known icon from the transfer of some U.S. military responsibilities to the Philippines in the late '70s.

"SALAKOT - One of the most popular landmarks in the Zone, this giant native hat was built in January 1979 commemorating the historic signing of the 1979 RP-US Military Bases Agreement which cofered complete sovereignty over all US military bases upon the government." from the All Travel Network.

We took a lot of photos including nearby off base areas.

Completing this round of new photos are miscellaneous pictures taken by VJ '70 from many of our activities during the trip.

Comments and Lessons Learned:

-  not all areas of the base are open to visitors
-  the airport is still limited use, although many feel that some major changes are coming soon.  Several new U.S. based businesses will need the airfreight capabilities of Clark (AOL, FEDEX, etc.)
-  Expo Pilipino is still open, but hardly used.  I recommend it for any visitors as long as it is open, although not all services are active (restaurants, shops, etc.).

Coming next:  the Villas, Jim Boyd and the Clark RAO, more WHOA donations, Manila, the end of our trip.

John '65 and VJ '70 - welcomed everywhere we went