One of the best parts of this trip was going up to the Tanay Province with Linds. He's been in the game for a long-long time, and if he'd let me I'd pick his brain for hours about cue-building, LOL.
Here's a link to a beautiful cue by Linds. I'd like to encourage anyone in the market for a high-end custom to take a look:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=299621
Anyway, going up into Tanay it's hard to believe one is only an hour or two out of Metro Manila. It's so green and scenic, it's easy to understand why the locals enjoy spending time there.
Here's a picture of Linds and me. It did rain a little, but fortunately there was a nice little cabin to relax in until it stopped.
The family hosting us was so kind. Food, food, and more food. I found the Kaldereta Kambing to be especially tasty, the meat was so tender only a spoon was needed to cut it. Knowing how much effort went in to it's preparation made me feel guilty eating it!
Picture with a random local player ...forgot his name.
Here is a picture of Akira and Ali, two of the nicest people you would probably ever meet. Akira has been the manager at Oneside for as long as I can remember.
Ali, I'm not really sure how long he's been playing American style billiards, but he started playing Snooker more than ten years ago. When I first met him in 2010, he wasn't playing much 10 ball, but now he's easily playing at a AA level, and to me that's pretty damn impressive.
This is me and Steve Urate whom I've also known for a while. He's also a cue builder.
He looks pretty serious here ...maybe he should be playing pool full-time
Anyway, it's funny how after fourteen trips this place never ceases to amaze me; a unique meld of east and west, familiar enough but different in so many ways. As a vacation place for the pool player on a budget, it's got to be hands down the best bang for the buck.
Comments or questions welcome.
Thanks for looking and Happy Holidays!