Day 60, Manila, Philippines

Day 60, Manilla, Philippines – March 5^th

As we arrived at Pier 15 in Manila we could hear the drums and music from the welcoming party for another cruise ship berthed on the other side of the pier.  There were 4 cruise ships in Manila today, but we could only see the one that was across the pier.

The welcome party and band moved over to our side of the pier once we had our gangway in place and started their welcome show.

Operation Fiery Vigil

During my time in the US Navy, I have been to the Philippines many times during port visits when deployed to the Western Pacific on various aircraft carriers.  The last time was I was here was in 1991 when I was stationed in the USS Midway homeported in Japan.  Mt Pinatubo, a volcano near Clark AFB, erupted that year and covered the 3 military bases in the area with heavy ash, forcing the evacuation of all the US civilians and military dependents.  The USS Midway was dispatched from our homeport in Japan as part of operation “Fiery Vigil”, with a half a dozen Marine CH-53’s, to ferry the dependents from Subic to Cebu, the location of the nearest operational airport.  More HERE

We arrived in Subic after dark and embarked about 1,800 dirty and tired people who had been without electricity or water since the eruption.  We dropped them off in Cebu 2 days later and then returned to Subic Bay and loaded the remaining dependents for our second and final trip to Cebu before returning to Japan.

Visiting Subic Bay and Cubi Point

We had arranged for a van to take 9 of us to Olongapo and the old Naval Station Subic Bay and Naval Air Station Cubi Point complex that was now being developed as a special economic zone.  Olongapo is about 100 miles west north-west of Manila, about 2 and ½ hours driving time.

Manila Stay Tour Company

I hired a van and driver for the day using Manila Stay – www.manilastay.com.  They provided a driver only – no guide – which is all we needed since I knew where we wanted to go.  If I had to do it again, I would have inquired as to the availability of a guide, since they are often quite reasonable and always offer interesting insights along the way.

The price for a 12 passenger Toyato Hiace for 12 hours was 11,500 Pesos or about $225 USD.  They did not accept USD.  I elected to pay in advance using paypal, but I could have paid them on arrival as well.   They answered my emails within 24 -36 hours and they were very easy to deal with.

A few weeks prior to our arrival, they emailed me our drivers name along with his mobile phone number and vehicle license plate number.  Since our exact berth was not assigned until later they told me our driver would meet us outside the gate as close as possible to where we would arrive.  As it turned out, having his phone number and being able to call him was crucial – more later.

Leaving the ship – Getting Started

Our group of 9 assembled in the Ocean Bar at 8:45 AM and we headed off the ship.  The welcome bands were in full swing as we passed by and we stopped for a few minutes to pose for some pictures with the various entertainers.

We walked alongside the cruise terminal for about ¼ mile, as the interior was still under construction, until we reached a small cul-de-sac with pre-arranged vans dropping off and picking up passengers.  There wasn’t any place for cars to wait as security was enforcing a “no waiting” rule.  I wasn’t sure if our driver would meet us here and would be circling around every few minutes, or parked somewhere nearby, but currently not visible.  Here is where you needed the drivers phone number and your mobile phone.  I called our driver, who said he was nearby, but we couldn’t communicate exactly where we were and where he would meet us.  I spotted a security guard who was not busy and asked him to speak to our driver and give him directions – then I handed him my phone.  The security guard spoke for about 1 minute going back and forth in Tagalog before he handed me back my phone and when I spoke with the driver again – he said he now knew where we were and to stay put.  If we didn’t have a mobile phone, the driver may have eventually found us or we may have started to walk toward the main street outside the immediate port area.  Bottom Line – When meeting a driver in Manila, have a phone, know how to use it to make local international calls and have the phone number for the driver and the driver’s home office.

On the road to Subic Bay

Our van and driver arrived in a few minutes and we were on our way at 9:15 AM.  It took about 45 minutes to go the 7 miles before we reached the limited access highway.

Once on the highway we sped along at about 65 MPH until we reached Subic Bay.  What a change from years ago when the Victory Liner took hours to make this drive along 2 lane roads.

We stopped for a few minutes at a very nice rest stop before continuing.

In a few minutes I spotted a runway off our right side and realized it was the old Clark AFB.  Once again, Clark was seemed much further from Manila and Subic back before they built the modern expressway we were enjoying today.

Mt Pinatubo was clearly visible about 10 miles away as we turned west toward Subic.

Arriving at NAS Cubi Point

In about 20 minutes we climbed our final rise before descending into Cubi Point and turning left on the familiar road that connected Subic to Cubi.  I recognized the spot where there used to be an F-8 Crusader on a stick marking the boundary between Subic and Cubi, but any sign of the Crusader or its pedestal were long gone.  We continued on past the old AIMD building and air terminal which were largely abandoned but didn’t look that much different than I remember.  We continued on toward the water before making a hard left and heading up the hill toward upper Cubi where the clubs, exchanges, admin offices, BOQ and barracks were located.

Using MAPS.ME and an old NAS Cubi map I found online, I was able to locate the former Officer’s club, the location of many good times and Airwing parties.  It was hidden behind a locked fence and abandoned, with large letters over the door identifying it as something called “SUMMIT PARK”.

The old NEX was abandoned and looked as if it was never used for any other purpose and a few of the old signs were still in place.  The chapel looked about the same and was still being used as a chapel by the local community.

The post office, located in a Quonset hut, was now the police station.  We headed inside to see if they had any better maps or other information.  The friendly officers pointed us to a large painted map hanging on a wall in their break area.  It looked like it depicted the air station from the 1980’s but I couldn’t find a date.  It was fun to be able to confirm what I saw on my smaller map with this huge wall map and we enjoyed chatting with the police officers, even though none of them were around when the US Navy was running the air station.

The BOQ looked almost the same as when Judy and I stayed here back in 1979 and the numbers on the doors looked unchanged.  I spoke with a current resident who had no knowledge of the building history and I learned it was now a combination of condominiums and rental units.

While many of the old Naval Air Station building were abandoned, others were used as schools and there were some luxury villas located on the hill below the officer’s club.  There aren’t any restaurants here and the only place where you can buy anything is a small convenience store across from the old BOQ.

We had hoped to grab some food here, but since nothing was available, we had to head to the Subic side where we would find all the restaurants.  The police recommended a restaurant called Texas Joes which is in what was the NCO club near Alava Pier.

Subic Bay

Unlike Cubi Point, which has deteriorated but hasn’t changed much, Subic Bay is almost completely unrecognizable and had you not known this was an ex US Navy base you wouldn’t know it by simply driving around and observing.  There is now a large shopping mall, numerous restaurants and shops and everything is modern and in good repair.

After a nice lunch at Texas Joes, we headed back to the Cubi side to check out the old carrier pier and All Hands Beach.

Back to Cubi Point

The carrier pier, aircraft parking ramp and the airwing hangar have been transformed into a modern container port.

The All Hands Beach is one of the few items that has retained its name and function since the Cubi Point days.  The All Hands Beach is still a beach and the name remains the same.  The beach was full of people having a great time trying to stay cool in the hot sun.

Down the street from All Hands Beach, we stopped to take some pictures of Grande Island off in the distance.  Grande Island is where Tri, one of our traveling companions today, lived for a few days after being evacuated from Vietnam in 1975 when he was a teenager.  This is the first time he had been back to the Philippines since then.

Olongapo

We headed back to Subic and crossed over the bridge into Olongapo and turned down Magsaysay Avenue which was the main drag back when the US Navy was here in force.  Previously Magsaysay was wall to wall bars, but it is now a busy street with a normal mixture of ordinary businesses.  We drove down to the circle where the Victory Liner station remains before heading back to Manila.

 

Back to Manila

The drive back to the ship took about 2 and ½ hours and we arrived around 8:30 PM.

Evening on the ship

Back on the ship, we were happy to see hundreds of the crew members family and friends enjoying some food around the Lido pool and getting tours around many of the public areas.

Up in the Crow’s Nest, The Station Band was given the night off since they were from the Philippines.  They were replaced for one night only by the HAL orchestra.  The HAL Orchestra was very good, as always, and we enjoyed listening to them for a few minutes before heading off to bed.

Before turning in, I wandered down to the Queen’s lounge to check out the Academy Awards which were being broadcast from an earlier recording.  There weren’t any decorations or special snacks that were obvious to me, but maybe there had been some earlier as the show was going into its third hour by the time I stopped by.