Revisiting Clark & Angeles City

by Myrna Nickelsen, ‘78

I left Clark for good in 1977, and when I visited to spend Christmas 1986 with family, everything was pretty much as I’d remembered it. While Burger King and other fast food restaurants were suddenly present, all else was exactly how it was when most of us lived there. Hubby John and I even went to Mongolian Barbecue at the Officers Club with the Harmelinks and Byron Wood as I'd done with Larry Jones and Mike Smith.

But that was 21 years ago.

When my parents returned to the Philippines for good a few years ago, my mother made me promise that I would be there for her and my father’s 50th wedding anniversary, to be there for their renewal of vows and celebration. So on December 17th, John and I took off for Southeast Asia.

First Stop: Ho Chi Minh City, Formerly Saigon

For those who don’t remember, traveling to the P.I. or anywhere in Southeast Asia is an incredibly long ordeal, even from San Francisco. After the trip in 1986, I decided that it would make sense to visit another country whenever we go to the PI. I chose Saigon – in part because I have three Vietnamese friends, two of whom left Vietnam in the 70s to attend college in the U.S. and Switzerland and were unable to return when Saigon fell. Another, a former military officer in the South Vietnam Army, became a refugee after the Fall of Saigon. Through them, I have come to know the culture, the country’s French colonial history, and the cuisine. This coupled with the country’s role in American history, Vietnam made it to my list of "must see places before I die."

John and I spent a total of three-and-a-half days and four nights in Vietnam, and we wished we’d had another two days. We loved Vietnam! Shopping was an experience and enjoyable despite my having a serious aversion to shopping. There were more bargains than could be found in the Philippines, the food was fabulous, and we loved the city’s energy, which had a strong air of hope. It wasn’t all great – air pollution was worse than in Los Angeles or Manila. Blue skies were mostly hidden by a gray haze. Despite this, I still highly recommend a visit. If you do decide to go at some point, email me so I can give you tips on hotels, restaurants, shopping, what to avoid, what to see, etc.– invaluable tips that my Vietnamese friends had given me before we left.

Manila: Am I Really in Another Country?

Because there were so many of us who went to the PI for Christmas and my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, for days, my aunt and her husband were making nearly daily trips to & from the Manila airport. John and I decided to spare them two trips by staying in Manila for a couple of nights to wait for my niece's arrival from Indiana before hiring a driver and van to take us to Angeles City.

I never spent much time in Manila when I lived in the P.I., and I was shocked by how Americanized it was. Were it not for the jeepneys and tricycles, Manila didn’t seem any different from any ethnic section of any major U.S. city. Okay, there were some things that qualified to be in the “only in the Philippines” category.

Less than a block away from the Pan Pacific Hotel where we stayed, for example, was a huge indoor mall, which I was told was miniature compared to the “Asia Mall” which was a cab ride away. Once inside, you’d swear you were in the U.S. Chain restaurants such as TGIF, McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks, etc., were all under one roof. With fast food now being part of the Filipino diet, I saw more overweight Filipinos than I’d ever seen in my life. So perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised when I saw a women's boutique store called "Tubby's." Their slogan: “Even fat can be beautiful!” John and I were so shocked that we first did a double take and re-read the signs to make sure we read it right the first time and then dropped our jaws in disbelief before we busted out laughing. Tubby's could only exist in the Philippines!

Other “only in the Philippines” examples (not all took place in Manila):

1. With the GI’s gone, “Joe” has been replaced with “Boss” when addressing white males. All English-speaking women are still addressed “m’aam.”

2. Day spas abound in Manila and Angeles City, but you can opt only for a foot massage: $20 for an hour and a half foot massage, $30 for a full-body massage of the same length.

3. You can still pile as many people as will fit in a vehicle – even in places like Subic where they have signs that say seatbelts are mandatory. For whom?

4. “Billy Boys” or “Baklas” (cross-dressers and transgenders) are so widely accepted that they’re everywhere, shocking my cousin Melissa’s husband who was visiting the P.I. for the first time. Some were so drop-dead gorgeous that the only way to tell that they were not born women was by hearing them talk or watching them walk. (They sway their hips more than women do.)

5. “Videoke” is now the favorite pastime in the Philippines. This is a jukebox to which you connect a television. Pop in a peso or two, and you have video karaoke. Even sari sari stores now have them! All the karaokes I'd seen previously would normally have scenery over which the lyrics would be superimposed. In the P.I., however, most had barely-clad women engaged in extremely provocative acts. I was told that I missed the images of the naked ones. Unbelievable.

6. Copy bands and copy artists are so good that since the songs were sung note for note, arrangements exact, it often took a while to realize that a Chicago song you’re hearing on the radio is, in fact, not being sung by Peter Cetera.

7. On the drive to Angeles City, a car in front of us had a sticker that said the following (in these colors, btw): Therapist. The owner of the fancy car was clearly a "therapist," but go figure.

Angeles City: So Much the Same and So Different

John and I stayed with my aunt whose husband is a retired USAF Lt. Col. His last assignment was at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, and while there, they decided it would be a good idea to spend half the year in the P.I. and the other half in the U.S. When he retired last year, they moved into the home they built in Diamond Subdivision in Angeles City, where I know some of you, including Pam Grice, once lived.

Diamond itself looked pretty much the same, though there were many more large and new homes as well as the more common 4-bedroom homes when most of us were at Clark. For those who don’t remember, the entrance to Diamond Subdivision is off the main road in Balibago, right next to the Marlim Mansion Hotel which is still there. Across that main road and towards Clark is Johnny’s Supermarket, which is even more popular than it ever was. Rosa’s Handicrafts store is still there, as is Shanghai Restaurant, but the clubs on the street are smaller and more rundown than I recall.

All other off-base subdivisions other than Villa Teresa are also rundown t. (Villa Teresa, located near Nepo Mart – now a huge, indoor mall -- is the subdivision where most rich Filipinos live.) With the Americans gone from the others, upkeep has become unaffordable for most. Many of the roads, esp. those in Plaridel, are in such bad shape that I was told many tricycle drivers refuse to go on them.

Holy Rosary is still there – still beautiful (this is where my parents renewed their vows) – and the two schools, Holy Angel and Holy Family, are both still there and much nicer than I remember. Angeles University now has a medical and nursing school, and the Medical Center, as I understand it, is the only one approved by the VA. It’s also the only other of two hospitals (the other in Manila) where Medicare is or will soon be accepted.

But I do have to share my Angeles Medical Center experience. I had had trouble with my right eye the night before my parents’ 50th celebration. I figured that something had gotten in it when I went to the market earlier that day. I figured all the tearing would eventually wash it out. At 5 AM the next morning, however, I woke up with my eye in excruciating pain, and I couldn’t open it. I was pretty freaked out since eyes are irreplaceable, so I woke my aunt’s houseboy to drive me and John to the Emergency Room. We were there in 10 minutes since there was zero traffic.

There were nearly a dozen nurses but no patients. No waiting. Disco music was playing – and when I asked them to turn it down, they turned it off. They dimmed the lights exactly as I’d requested. (Both eyes had become light sensitive.) The doctor arrived within minutes. But while I waited, I noticed that the oxygen tanks in the ER were all covered with floral fabric – that was different, another “only in the Philippines.”

After the doctor flushed my eye and looked at it through some piece of equipment, he wrote me a prescription and off I went to pay for the ER service. Behind the payment window were three women who were eating breakfast! (Another “only in the Philippines!) My total ER bill: $30! My prescription came to $7. Wow! My last ER bill in 1985 when I didn’t have insurance came to $850!

Clark & Subic Revisited

The Main Gate to Clark is still there, manned today by Philippine military personnel. Only private vehicles and taxis (I didn’t see one, but I know they exist) are allowed in – jeepneys and tricycles are not. The areas closest to the Main Gate are now fully developed. To the right of the Main Gate as you’re entering is a huge mall – with everything from a Hush Puppies boutique store to Ace Hardware to Disney Store, etc. As in Manila, at every entrance is a guard that checks all bags and use a handheld metal detector. (Security was tighter in the Philippines than in Vietnam.)

Though I didn’t see it, my uncle told me that Fields Avenue is now the hopping place for the best bars and clubs.

At my request, my uncle took us on a tour of Clark Air Base.

Only the Main Gate now exists. All others were closed long ago. The entrance to Clark is every bit as beautiful as it once was – possibly moreso since the trees have grown. I didn’t take as many pictures as I should have, but here are some of the things I noted.

1. The Bamboo Bowl is still there. In fact, the Philippine Air Force was getting ready for an event when we visited.

2. The two chapels are still there, but the Bowling Alley no longer exists. Neither does the Bobbitt Theater. The commissary and what was once the BX, along with the Base Hospital are empty shells of buildings.

3. The Silver Wing (Hobby Shop), 13th AF Headquarters, the new Wagner High School that I saw for the first time and I was told was used only one year, and other buildings now house corporations. Chambers Hall is now a Holiday Inn, and the houses nearby are now part of the hotel. There are a couple of other hotels on the base that advertise “American style resort;” I was told they’re Korean-owned. The golf course is still there, and there may actually now be more than one.

4. MAC Terminal is now an airport serving Asiana, Philippine (domestic only), and Tiger airlines.

5. All the barns around the parade grounds are still there and seemed to have been maintained pretty well. And as you all know, the WHS we all knew is now an aviation school.

But save for the areas developed and maintained by corporations, most of the housing areas are overgrown ghost towns, especially those up the hill from Wagner. My uncle explained to me that individuals could buy the homes for a few million pesos, but how many people actually could afford that? They were also too far away to be practical for most Filipinos, especially given the absence of public transportation.

Subic fared much better. According to my uncle, after Clark was evacuated, there was massive looting, and the fully-equipped base hospital that had been gifted by the US Government to Angeles City wasn’t spared. Trucks came in to empty the hospital after the ceremonial ribbon cutting. The mayor of Olongapo City, I was told, after learning what happened at Clark was determined to make sure the same didn’t happen at Subic. He issued a “shoot to kill” order for anyone caught looting. The story is that one man was shot in the leg, and no additional looting occurred.

Consequently, Subic is every bit as beautiful as it once was. It is now a resort destination with several hotels and a number of restaurants on the base. The area where the Base Exchange once was is now a duty free zone where you can purchase American products at stateside prices. Okay, some were way more expensive. For example, $1 per 12.oz can of club soda. Booze, however, was priced the same as in any liquor store in CA – lower since there was no tax.

A Different & Scary New Year’s Eve

My uncle’s birthday is also on New Year’s Eve, so they had a New Year’s Eve/birthday party. A friend of theirs lent them a videoke, and that, folks, was the sole source of music the entire night. With all that Red Horse, San Miguel (regular and light – yes, “light”), and the American booze from my uncle’s full bar, the music was non-stop.  Even the Americans joined in the singing. Okay – it was only when my niece Ashley, a theater major at Ball State University in Indiana, and my cousin, Melissa, sang that any dancing was possible. They were the only two who were able to pull off dance songs – from “I Will Survive” to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” to Madonna’s “Holiday.” It seems that videoke is a MUST at parties in the Philippines these days.

Beyond the videoke at parties – what struck me is how scary New Year’s Eve is in the Philippines. How could I have forgotten that there are ZERO laws regarding fireworks?

The fireworks started around Christmas Eve, reaching their crescendo at exactly midnight on New Year’s Eve. I learned that at every year, at midnight, Angeles City would turn off the power for 10-20 minutes so that people can better see the fireworks. They were everywhere! They were in front of us, to the right, left, and behind us. And I’m talking about the kind of fireworks that we see during the finales of the most U.S. celebrations. It was fabulous and scary at the same time – and VERY LOUD! I was amazed that no major fires occurred.

The Philippines is as beautiful as I remember, but dirtier than I remember. I found myself being paranoid about purse snatchers, food, and drink when not around my family. Clearly, I’d been away too long. But 10 days later, just when John and I were preparing to head home, I remembered what I loved about the Philippines. The countryside is beautiful, the climate in December is fabulous (85 degrees with little humidity), the fruits and vegetables are delicious, and the people are friendly and eager to help (or take your money!). So now I find myself looking forward to our next visit, though the next time, I will make it a point to go to Boracay, Taal Volcano, and the rice terraces in Banaue.

Photo 1: Cars are not common in Vietnam - scooters are, and they don't obey the rules of the road! It took me two days to get comfortable crossing the street. Photo 2: Robinson's Mall in Manila -- no different than a U.S. mall. Photo 3: Just outside Diamond Subdivision, you can see Rosa's Handicrafts store in the background. A rare moment of light traffic. Photo 4: Indoors at SM Mall located just outside the Main Gate of Clark AB. Photo 5: Holy Rosary Church where my parents renewed their vows. Photo 6: Byron Wood helped us celebrate my parents' 50th as he happened to be there at the same time. My two first cousins, Melissa Van Dine (92?) and her brother Phillip (91?), also attended WHS and took biology from none other than Byron. My eyes were irritated all day, so eye makeup wasn't possible, and it was only before this photo was taken that I'd finally taken off the sunglasses. Photo 7: A view of the parade grounds. Photo 8: One of the "barns" next to the parade grounds.  Photo 9 & 10: Two views of homes on Colonel Row - most of the houses on the base now look like this. Photo 11: Would you believe billboards on Clark? This one advertising one of the "resorts" now on the base. Photo 12: My cousin, Phillip, had to get in on the fireworks mania of New Year's Eve. This is a shot of his attempt -- he didn't set off the gigantic ones that lit the skies above from all directions. Photo 13: My father at his farm north of Angeles City - leading his two prized & very young carabaos to the pond.   

Comments

[Peter Shusterman]

Myrna,

Wonderful story....love every memory. It's amazing that some places like Nepo Mart and the base golf courses have modernized, yet other places like the Base Hospital has decayed. It almost seems random, just like my experieces there.

[Teddy batac-wagner high clark air base library assistant]

i was with Mary Coughlin at wagner high

[Monika Hogge]

Oh this was a joy to read! Villa Teresa is where the affluent live? When we moved to the PI in 1974 after enduring the base hotel we moved to this awesome house in Villa Teresa. It was HUGE! I haven't been able to find out much about it so this was neat to read. Its so sad to see pictures of the houses on the hill. We ended up there and I keep trying to find pictures of our house. Glad to know the Barns are still there and the Bamboo Bowl. So many memories come to life with this post. The Nepo Mart...60 centavos for a coke!! Thank you, Myrna, for taking the time to write this... I still, to this day, eat my french fries with mayonnaise!! (reference to an earlier comment)

I've found this site recently so ya'll will have to bear with me as I take this virtual trip down memory lane. Thanks again, Myrna!!

[Gabe Montes]

Jane and I would like to crash the dinner party at Ghengis Khan :D

[Joey Montes]

I'm sure alot of us have wondered what became of our childhood/young adulthood home. Glad to hear bamboo bowl survived (remember lying on blankets on the grass to watch the movie?) but sad to hear of the bobbit theatre & bowling alley's demise (Tops in Blue and french fries with mayo). Remembering makes me so nostalgic for those carefree days. How I looked forward to the H.O.G. Thanks for sharing your revisit. When're we meeting for dinner at Genghis Khan in Alameda? Remember the raincheck?

[Ed Welch]

Myrna,

What a trip! I’m jealous at a couple levels. First at your and John’s ability to pick up and go places. I can only imagine what my desk would look like if I took off that much time in a row, kudos to you all for having that ability. Then the trip itself, I’ve always wanted to go back to see the place but wanted to be able to beam there and not have to deal with the air travel. Since beaming isn’t quite available yet, I’ll have to thank you for going there and letting me see it thru your eyes (even if they were all crusty). It looked like a blast thanks for sharing.

Ed

[Jason Roosma '76]

Sounds like great trip; thanks for sharing. I'd go back just for the excellent food and San Miguel beer!
(well, t least for the food!)

[Nina Pierce Baker]

Myrna -

I enjoyed reading the article and checking out the pictures. My hubby Keith came with me to the PI in 1981 and we bought a lot of stuff (got to have a papasan chair!)for our first apartment at Rosa's Handicrafts. The area has really changed! And it's hard to imagine fancy malls and the usual stateside fare like McD's and TGIF.

Your article brought back a lot of memories (I'd forgotten all about "baklas"!)and it was sad to see the houses on "the hill" in disrepair. I'm glad that the rest of the base seems to have been put to good use and that the area around the parade ground, the site of so many events in our lives, is still the same.

The Philippines seems more and more a blend of the old and the new. The picture of your dad on his farm is the way I remember the beauty of the Philippines. Thanks for the update!

[Gabe Montes]

Hey Myrna,

Sounds like one amazing trip. I used to live in Diamond Subd. & rode the same bus as Pam and other Waggie alumni. Your post brought back some fond memories of living there. Thank you for sharing your vacation with us. Bummer about your eye situation but glad to know it was taken care of quickly and cheap! Hope to chat with you again soon.

[Dana Williams]

Myrna,

What a great post! Thanks for sharing, it sounds like you had a great trip. Wonderful pictures but it was sad to see the pictures of the abandoned homes. Wish the emergency rooms here were so pleasant.