Back to Bataan -
Jay Helfert
:smile: :smile: :smile:
04-10-2013, 08:11 PM
Well not exactly, but I am back in the Philippines. This time a vacation only, but am taking care of some business here as well. I did play some pool yesterday but I want to tell you what I like so much about being here. It's not always a pretty picture, with homeless people living everywhere, but I enjoy it anyway.
First the pool - I'm staying in a different area then I normally stay in, a few kilometers from the Ermita/Malate district, in the Santa Cruz section of Manila. It's like so many other areas, with many small businesses (street vendors etc.) and all the fast food joints (MacDonalds, KFC, Jollibee, Chowking) all over the place. Some are open 24 hours which I like.
P.S. I'm doing this in sections due to the frequency the internet shuts down here.
Manila is ALIVE 24 hours a day! In fact it only really wakes up at night, it's so damn hot in the daytime (think Florida in the Summer). Yes, there homeless living along the street and in the parks, but they get by as best they can and it is just an accepted part of the culture here. Some people (and even families) cannot afford to pay rent, even if it is only 2000p a month ($50) for a small room.
Back to pool - Lo and behold I wake up yesterday to see a small sign directly across from my hotel that says "Billiards" with pictures of pool balls. I gotta check this out. I have been playing a little the last week or two with my buddy Manny (Chau) who is house sitting for me, so I don't feel dead out of stroke.
The downstairs entrance is just a little doorway leading to a narrow flight of stairs. It looks like there is nothing up there, BUT I get to the second floor, turn the corner and walk into a relatively large poolroom, with maybe 18-20 tables. I am inside Orient Billiards! It's maybe 3 in the afternoon and most of the tables are being played on. I do what I've done a million times before, take a long look around. In the back there is a crowd around a table. I know what that means, Money game in progress! I'm there like a bear! Two young guys are playing Rotation, the filipino national game. I want to see how they play and am a bit surprised to see they both play good, firing balls into the hole and sending the cue ball running for shape. These guys aren't bums, they are players! I am greeted warmly, with smiles for the daring foreigner who enters there hideaway.
I find out they are playing for 3,300P (about $80), a Race to Three. This is a decent game over there, maybe like a $300 set here.
Oops, disconnect! I just lost an entire paragraph which I now must rewrite. Too bad, it was good. Oh well. I''l have to shorten it a bit.
Someone asks me if I want to play and I say sure. They ask where I'm from and I tell them the USA. Smiles all around, they still like us there! A young kid asks me what I like to play; 9-Ball, Ten Ball, Eight Ball? He's done his homework, he knows what games we like. I respond that I want to play Rotation, I am in the Philippines after all? That line gets some laughs. Okay the kid says, how much will we play for? How about a Race to three for 2000p each. No, I tell him, I will play for 500p (about $12.50) a game. I don't have my cue, I'm still jet lagged (got in that morning) and I haven't hit a ball. Races are the norm there, and playing by the game is unusual. But he says okay and we get a table, a couple over from the other game.
The table is typical Philippine, but these tables look good, not all beat up. Clean cut pockets, nice carpet (looks like the old cloth I grew up on - SLOW!), and surprise surprise they roll fairly true. The owner of this place must be a serious pool player. This room is unusual in the Philippines. I'm used to playing on junk over there, with only the major rooms (like One Side) having good equipment. Damn, lost another entire section!
Someone offers me a house cue with a flat tip. Thanks but no thanks. I find a decent house cue and begin to bang some balls into the generous pockets. That gets some oohs and aahs from the onlookers. I want to intimidate my young opponent if I can, sometimes that helps. Now another young guy offers me his cue. It's heavy (maybe 20 oz.) but straight and solid. I accept, asking him if he wants 10% if I win. He smiles and shakes his head yes. I know the drill here.
Okay here we go, flip for the break. I win the flip, make a ball and have a good shot on the one. Normally I don't try to run the low balls, but this table looks good and I want to get loose, so I fire away, making the one in the side and getting good on the two. I run down to the six ball, and make one big ball as well. I open with 30 points! Let's see what his kid has. I'll tell you what he has, he has GAME big time! He levels on a long seven, fires it in and goes three rails for good shape on the eight! Oops, this kid is a player! He proceeds to run the balls and when he gets the thirteen the ref tells him its game ball. Boom, game over. I have just played my first one inning game in the Philippines. I hand him 500p and shake his hand. No mas, I'm not ready for a kid like this. The guy grabs his stick from me and begins to walk away. I tell to hold on, bring it back.
I tell my young friend who just drilled me that I will play him another game, Bank Pool. He looks puzzled (good!) but one of the older guys explains it to him. The kid smiles and says sure, he will play me Banks. The older guy must have seen it on TV, as he racks up nine balls. This will also be for 500p. The kid asks me my name and I tell him Jay. His name is Joman or Joban or something like that. He is 20 years old. I tell him that I'm old enough to be his grandpa and that I beat his dad and his grandpa before him. That gets a big laugh. I'm having fun here, talking with the crowd about pool and what a great game it is. Yes, I'm still a pool nut.
The Bank Pool take a little longer, and I actually get to four first. I miss a couple of long rail banks and the kid gets a good shot and runs two to win. I quit again, stuck 1000p. I tell them I will be back when I get my cue. I've probably picked on the best player in the room, but that was always my M.O. I never hustled pool. I went into rooms looking to play. I love pool in the Philippines, much like it was in the USA back in the 60's and 70's. You can get a game in any room you walk into here. I have more fun in these poolrooms then just about anywhere else I go. It cost me about $25, but I made a bunch of new friends and had a great time in the process!
That's enough for now. I'll be back later.
Jay Helfert
:smile: :smile: :smile:
04-10-2013, 08:11 PM
Well not exactly, but I am back in the Philippines. This time a vacation only, but am taking care of some business here as well. I did play some pool yesterday but I want to tell you what I like so much about being here. It's not always a pretty picture, with homeless people living everywhere, but I enjoy it anyway.
First the pool - I'm staying in a different area then I normally stay in, a few kilometers from the Ermita/Malate district, in the Santa Cruz section of Manila. It's like so many other areas, with many small businesses (street vendors etc.) and all the fast food joints (MacDonalds, KFC, Jollibee, Chowking) all over the place. Some are open 24 hours which I like.
P.S. I'm doing this in sections due to the frequency the internet shuts down here.
Manila is ALIVE 24 hours a day! In fact it only really wakes up at night, it's so damn hot in the daytime (think Florida in the Summer). Yes, there homeless living along the street and in the parks, but they get by as best they can and it is just an accepted part of the culture here. Some people (and even families) cannot afford to pay rent, even if it is only 2000p a month ($50) for a small room.
Back to pool - Lo and behold I wake up yesterday to see a small sign directly across from my hotel that says "Billiards" with pictures of pool balls. I gotta check this out. I have been playing a little the last week or two with my buddy Manny (Chau) who is house sitting for me, so I don't feel dead out of stroke.
The downstairs entrance is just a little doorway leading to a narrow flight of stairs. It looks like there is nothing up there, BUT I get to the second floor, turn the corner and walk into a relatively large poolroom, with maybe 18-20 tables. I am inside Orient Billiards! It's maybe 3 in the afternoon and most of the tables are being played on. I do what I've done a million times before, take a long look around. In the back there is a crowd around a table. I know what that means, Money game in progress! I'm there like a bear! Two young guys are playing Rotation, the filipino national game. I want to see how they play and am a bit surprised to see they both play good, firing balls into the hole and sending the cue ball running for shape. These guys aren't bums, they are players! I am greeted warmly, with smiles for the daring foreigner who enters there hideaway.
I find out they are playing for 3,300P (about $80), a Race to Three. This is a decent game over there, maybe like a $300 set here.
Oops, disconnect! I just lost an entire paragraph which I now must rewrite. Too bad, it was good. Oh well. I''l have to shorten it a bit.
Someone asks me if I want to play and I say sure. They ask where I'm from and I tell them the USA. Smiles all around, they still like us there! A young kid asks me what I like to play; 9-Ball, Ten Ball, Eight Ball? He's done his homework, he knows what games we like. I respond that I want to play Rotation, I am in the Philippines after all? That line gets some laughs. Okay the kid says, how much will we play for? How about a Race to three for 2000p each. No, I tell him, I will play for 500p (about $12.50) a game. I don't have my cue, I'm still jet lagged (got in that morning) and I haven't hit a ball. Races are the norm there, and playing by the game is unusual. But he says okay and we get a table, a couple over from the other game.
The table is typical Philippine, but these tables look good, not all beat up. Clean cut pockets, nice carpet (looks like the old cloth I grew up on - SLOW!), and surprise surprise they roll fairly true. The owner of this place must be a serious pool player. This room is unusual in the Philippines. I'm used to playing on junk over there, with only the major rooms (like One Side) having good equipment. Damn, lost another entire section!
Someone offers me a house cue with a flat tip. Thanks but no thanks. I find a decent house cue and begin to bang some balls into the generous pockets. That gets some oohs and aahs from the onlookers. I want to intimidate my young opponent if I can, sometimes that helps. Now another young guy offers me his cue. It's heavy (maybe 20 oz.) but straight and solid. I accept, asking him if he wants 10% if I win. He smiles and shakes his head yes. I know the drill here.
Okay here we go, flip for the break. I win the flip, make a ball and have a good shot on the one. Normally I don't try to run the low balls, but this table looks good and I want to get loose, so I fire away, making the one in the side and getting good on the two. I run down to the six ball, and make one big ball as well. I open with 30 points! Let's see what his kid has. I'll tell you what he has, he has GAME big time! He levels on a long seven, fires it in and goes three rails for good shape on the eight! Oops, this kid is a player! He proceeds to run the balls and when he gets the thirteen the ref tells him its game ball. Boom, game over. I have just played my first one inning game in the Philippines. I hand him 500p and shake his hand. No mas, I'm not ready for a kid like this. The guy grabs his stick from me and begins to walk away. I tell to hold on, bring it back.
I tell my young friend who just drilled me that I will play him another game, Bank Pool. He looks puzzled (good!) but one of the older guys explains it to him. The kid smiles and says sure, he will play me Banks. The older guy must have seen it on TV, as he racks up nine balls. This will also be for 500p. The kid asks me my name and I tell him Jay. His name is Joman or Joban or something like that. He is 20 years old. I tell him that I'm old enough to be his grandpa and that I beat his dad and his grandpa before him. That gets a big laugh. I'm having fun here, talking with the crowd about pool and what a great game it is. Yes, I'm still a pool nut.
The Bank Pool take a little longer, and I actually get to four first. I miss a couple of long rail banks and the kid gets a good shot and runs two to win. I quit again, stuck 1000p. I tell them I will be back when I get my cue. I've probably picked on the best player in the room, but that was always my M.O. I never hustled pool. I went into rooms looking to play. I love pool in the Philippines, much like it was in the USA back in the 60's and 70's. You can get a game in any room you walk into here. I have more fun in these poolrooms then just about anywhere else I go. It cost me about $25, but I made a bunch of new friends and had a great time in the process!
That's enough for now. I'll be back later.
but if strong legged men in tight outfits are your thing who are we to judge.