Once again I have a totally unsustainable way of dealing with the swamp, I ran away to Manila for a night of clubbing.
I see my hometown of Newcastle as a bit of a backwater, so why I thought a ‘remote’ assignment was for me I still can’t quite fathom. However the pollution, the traffic and the expenses associated with living in a teaming mass of a city is also not ideal.
I do plunge into a sort of consumerist frenzy when I get out of the provs, eating salads, going to the movies, window shopping. Even rather pedestrian Australian wines taste like manna from heaven.
And so to the club – which was more like a mini-entertainment centre with a rather impressive rig and mirror ball. Between 9-11pm there was free beer, and a terrible cliché, for what seemed like hours three Aussie drained the beer tap in a massive empty hall.
Reminiscent of the more trendy clubs in Sydney the main purpose of the evening seemed to be seen there. Of course there were some local die-hard fans of James Zabiela, and a smattering of expats but it’s a sad indictment that a world-class DJ set ends with only half the crowd remaining. True he pumped out 3 ½ hour set of delicious and unrelenting electronica but Manila – harden the f’k up!
If I can be in the front for 5 hours straight, walang any artificial assistance meron giardia, anyone can. Pay respect to an artist when it is due.
As an aside, despite the rather high cover fee and classy looking clientele my friend had her bag snatched from the dance floor. That could happen in any city in the world, but it sort of hit home that we are not in Kansas anymore. Crime is more prevalent and dangerous here, even the ‘safety’ of an expensive nightclub you have to keep half an eye out and look out for your friends.
Once again typing this blog on laptop during a brown-out, hope we have power at some stage today *sigh – mini pity party*
Additional: posted this blog one week after it was written due to chronic brown-outs. Damn swamp 😉
Jen's wordatorium 