Clark

I spent today riding in the car.

And it was no short trip, either. Bobby was heading to Clark, the former U.S. Air Force Base 90 minutes north of Manila, so I hitched a ride with him, figuring that at least I'd see something different than what I see in our neighborhood every day.

Clark was abandoned by the USAF about the same time the USN abandoned its facilities at Subic. Just outside Clark is the city of Angeles, perhaps best-known for the abundant girlie bars and legalized prostitution. Needless to say, when the Air Force was in town, Angeles was a booming city.

Since being given back to the Philippines, Clark has been developed as an industrial and tourist center. And although Angeles fell on hard times after the USAF left, it's booming once again. Apparently, many of the businessmen and tourists who visit Clark are just as tempted as the servicemen were. In fact, when Shelly visited Clark on business in October, she had a conversation with an Australian pimp while she was visiting a girlie bar. (Want more on that story? You'll have to ask her.)

Before lunch, we drove onto the former Air Force base, which is now used for a number of things, including a civilian airport, a load of duty free shops and hotels and as home to a wing of the Philippine Air Force. It looked a lot like Subic, a lot like Tiyan (the former Naval Air Base on Guam), and a lot like I imagine any other former U.S. military base looks: lots of very utilitarian buildings with big numbers painted on the sides. Interestingly, even though it is, in part, an active Philippine military base, access to Clark is in no way restricted. Though I'm sure there are places that are hard to get to, we didn't see them on our brief tour.

Fortunately for me, Shelly had also visited a good cajun/creole restaurant while in Clark, and sent us there for lunch. The shrimp étoufée was really good, the atmosphere was thoroughly New Orleans, and it was interesting to be the one exposing Bobby to something new for a change. (He ended up with fried catfish and hush puppies. After his lunch arrived, he stabbed one of the hush puppies with his fork and eyed it suspiciously, much as I have with any number of things I've eaten in the Philippines. After determining it was, basically, fried corn meal, he popped it into his mouth and was off and running.)

Aside from our errand and a window-shopping visit to a very expensive German deli, that was the extent of my trip to Clark. I didn't meet any pimps, hear any fighter jets or see a single dancing girl.

But I did have that étoufée...