Sunday, March 7, 2016
I headed out to Ayala Mall this morning, arriving at 10:30 AM. I planned to stay the whole day to get acclimated, but cut it short after 2 hours. Highlights of the event were: 1) I actually walked for about an hour to the point that my hamstrings and calves were happily letting me know that they finally were being used; 2) Approached by a hooker who wasn’t really satisfied that I was waiting for a friend….then she sauntered away. Sauntered is the perfect word for her movements. One of the few times I get to use the word correctly in my life; and 3) I got to watch some elderly expats chat at a coffee bar for awhile.
I am excited to be here. This is a very vibrant place, with lots of motion between the cars packed on the street and the people walking everywhere in earnest. However, my taxi rides have driven past homeless villages and tonight I saw a mother laying her 3 kids down for bed, sleeping on cardboard, right on the sidewalk while the night life was still in full swing.
Back to the mall. There is a giant games section (similar to Tilt in the Eureka Mall). My son, Alex, would just kill in there. The camera in my phone is mostly worthless…probably human error, but I can’t get sharply focused pictures. Looks like my real camera is going to be my sidekick.
Now, most of my readers, if they make it this far, are workers and players from the Blue Lake Casino. So: here is my report.
I went to the Waterfront Casino. Baccarat is the game of choice. I saw one craps table, one roulette table, one table that a player drops 3 ping pong balls down a chute to a checkerboard, and one blackjack table. There were at least 10 Baccarat tables going.
The blackjack used an automatic shuffling machine with a 300P minimum bet ($6.00). I didn’t play.
At 8:00 a Paigow table opened in the back. Nice little cockroach running on the table while the dealer was shuffling….one person pointed it out….nobody did anything and it left the table.
There were 8 poker tables upstairs, all covered. I could not find anyone around for information about tournaments or live games. I’ll call tomorrow to get more information (very little info online).
The Latest Plan:
I have been beating myself up that I’m not getting about and doing the tourist things I want to do. I’m sleeping (exhausted) more than I’m awake (napped 3.5 hours after going today to the mall for 2 hours). Then I looked up Jet Lag and Traveler Fatigue, and this is only my 4th day here. Add to the fact that I take one medication to lower my blood pressure and another to raise blood pressure in the legs to push blood so I don’t get dizzy as soon as I stand up, and they are probably going whack on me due to the climate change and long travel.
I need to get acclimated while doing things that are not ordinary, ie. no Malls or watching tv.
I need to go away to a beach resort. Sleep in, snorkel a bit, nap, drink beer in a shaded hut, repeat. I will feel better about myself and this experience if my 2 hour sessions of activity followed by napping involve beaches, snorkeling, and beer….beer.
New Plan: Buy snorkeling gear at the Mall, travel 3 hours by bus (fun??) to Moaboal in a day or two, and drink beer at the beach. Not a bad plan if I do say so myself.