Luz, VJ's old homestead, Balibago, the Villas, and the Clark RAO

Sunday, 23 July, our last afternoon at Clark gave us a chance to visit Luz Hawkins again.  We brought a couple of bags of fruit that we thought she would enjoy (guava, mango, papaya, and rambutan).

We followed our visit by going by VJ's old home in Mountain View, then doing some last minute shopping in Balibago and Dau:  http://www.whoa.org/reunions/00picabmini3/34.html and http://www.whoa.org/reunions/00picabmini3/36.html

By late afternoon, we were back at the Holiday Inn where we had a chance to do some more local photography and take a look at the nice Holiday Inn Villas, available for overnight or longer stays for families and groups of up to six people: 
http://www.whoa.org/reunions/00picabmini3/40.html

We checked out of the Holiday Inn late Monday morning and headed for a visit to the Clark Retirees Affairs Office (RAO) in Dau:  http://www.whoa.org/reunions/00picabmini3/55.html  

The RAO is a volunteer organization that supports American military retirees in the local area.  We met with Jim Boyd, current President, who explained its operations and services.  There are more than 7000 American military retirees in the Philippines and more than 4000 live in the Clark RAO area alone.

The RAO is authorized by the Air Force but operates on member donations.  During the visit we took the opportunity to make a small donation on behalf of WHOA.

Following our visit, we headed for Manila and lunch with representatives of Rajah Tours.  Based on our planning trip, we were able to identify several changes we wanted to make in our October itinerary including an overnight stay at Subic and the addition of a Corregidor tour for both Group A and B travelers.  We also asked for pricing for the villas and the addition of three sponsored parties.

Our thanks again to Rajah Tours for providing us with transportation and support for our trip!

We had an excellent lunch in Ermita followed by a short shopping trip.  VJ and I both found Barongs at a reasonable price (banana fiber at less than $50) and a potential source for anyone wishing to purchase formal wear.

We checked into the Manila Hotel and set plans for our last night in the PI.

That evening we had a nice dinner at the hotel and socialized with many new friends in the lounge to live entertainment.

VJ and others headed out for a last night on the town and I opted to pack and get a good nights sleep for our trip back to the states.

VJ departed early Tuesday for an 8:30 flight to San Francisco via Osaka.  My flight left after noon to Los Angeles via Seoul.

All in all, it was one fantastic trip and a rediscovery of my long ago past.  As a result, I'm giving serious thought to trying retirement in the Clark area following our Homecoming trip in October!

I hope you all enjoyed the photos and comments we've published and I also hope they will convince more folks to join us on our optional PI/Clark trip following our grand reunion in San Diego!

Comments and Lessons Learned"

-  Luzon, Manila, Angeles, and Clark are safe for tourists
-  transportation, housing, and food is exceptionally cheap and plentiful
-  stateside level jobs/employment are few, but increasing with new development at Clark
-  rambutan is one of the weirdest fruit I have ever seen/eaten
-  I never had fried bananas during the trip, a big regret
-  there is a large and active American community in the Clark area.
-  most businesses on Fields Ave are run by Americans, Australians or Europeans
-  real San Miguel still tastes great.  Red Horse wasn't bad either!

John '65 and VJ '70 - you can go back!

PS - if you are thinking of joining us for our Homecoming trip in October, there's still time, and I've got a few seats left.  Contact me directly.