A Week in Manila

Manila.
Mid 1970's

Duty.:
Pilot Drug Enforcement Agency.

Aircraft: Cessna: to be picked up.



A lot of my blog's! I seem to seek out the sadness in my stories.
I'm going to try and change this.
This story is about a week in Manila, and it's happiness with a capital "H".

So here I am walking out of the main airport, to pick up a pressurised aircraft that has been confiscated by the D.E.A. for the part it played in smuggling drugs, whilst the previous owners have taken up residence in the local prison and I fly the Cessna back to Vietnam and put it to work.

It will take about a week to clear up all the paper work.
So I thought I'd do a bit of a pub crawl of the night life.
I had heard  that the night life is really good and on occasions violent. so there is a need, to be careful!
So I was in my hotel room, getting changed after a shower,
I get room service to iron my jeans and a white T shirt and polish up my brown flight boots. got to look cool?
I'm dressed and ready, I put a few bucks into my pocket and I walk out of the hotel and down the street to the bright lights, the atmosphere in the street full of bar's was great, it was just on dark, inviting lights everywhere!

I picked one out, it was called "Night Life" and I walked in, through the doors and down a stairway to the the bar area.
The atmosphere was buzzing, about 30 people standing at the bar and sitting at the tables with dim lighting and the Juke box giving "Blue suede shoes!" a blast and everybody seemed to be chatting and smiling and dancing, just great for me!

As I approached the bar the crowd opened and let me through to the bar.
It was as if I was being engulfed into a net of friendly bodies.
I was just looking about when the barman asked me to "name my poison"? I said " bottle, cold and local please" very quickly he opened and placed a cold bottle in front of me, I went to pay and he said " First beer is on the house and we will run a tab for you okay"? I said "thanks."  What a great boozer?
I moved about introducing myself saying, "my friends call me Aussie Tel, I'm returning to my home after having myself a tour of the world". A white lie yes? and it hurts me just a little bit, but there maybe people here who would not appreciate what I do for a living. That is also the reason I left my dog tags and medi tag in my toilet bag.

This looks like being one of those evenings, so I decided to make a plan? to last the night out, I must eat! I spoke with the barman and he said "they did a local fish meal with beans and local bread" sounds good to me, so I ordered it.
Then I just forgot all about, as the questions about Australia were coming thick and strong and the beer was good.
you know the story?
The next minute or so, I smelt the most beautiful perfume, it surround me as if I had just entered a rose garden, intoxicating!
I turned around and a waitress was standing with her tray, she said "your meal is on the table please follow me" I was so stunned by her beauty, some of the locals laughed at me and gave me a push.
I had been looking unashamedly directly at her face making her blush just a little and smile back at me. She had long curly black hair, green green eyes, smooth smooth skin, pink to red lips, her teeth were chrystal white and her mouth was the sweetest pink. What a beauty!
She looked directly into my eyes and turned and led me away to my table.
I followed her across  the room she had a figure to suit the rest of her beauty,
I could feel the crowd watching me, I must have looked like a little puppy dog following her, anyway by the time I reached the table I had recovered my cool and most of my control.
I ate my meal and finished it off with a bowl of Goats yogurt, she came and cleared my table.

I was playing it real cool, I only looked at her when she walk away from me, but her perfume stayed just to tease me, and it was doing a good job?
After a short while she bought a liquor glass of cold peppermint, very nice.
I decided to return to the bar when I noticed a couple of ladies dancing and decided to join them, they were very gracious and showed me their version of Rock and Roll , Elvis was still rocking!
The waitress moved pass me a few times, but not close enough for me to speak to her. I just so desperately needed to dance with her.

I was just on the point of giving up, thinking to myself she already had a man and I was just dreaming dreams that weren't to be, plus too much booze?
Near the end of the evening a large portion of the crowd had departed and the dance floor was heaving to the sound of slow music and cuddling couples.

I was back at the bar when I smelt that perfume again, I turned she held her hand out and said " Come let dance" I followed her to the dance floor, feeling like a little puppy, (feeling 10 feet tall as well) do you know that feeling?

We danced around the floor, her hand in mine, with her other hand on my shoulder, with my other hand in the small of her back.
We glided around captivated by the music and each other, she placed her head on my chest, I leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "Princess you Stink   (pause)   lovely" her hand quickly came up to slap me and just stopped in time to change it into a playful slap with a warm smile.
Waving her finger she said "you are cheeky!" then she gentle leaned into me and kissed me, I can still taste her memory on my lips.
Of course I was at the bar every night after that, we made each other very happy.
I received a few messages to say my aircraft was ready and waiting and to contact base, which I never did, I thought they would not send the marines in before the weekend, so I stayed for the full week, after Vietnam this was so wonderful, she was wonderful.

It was my time to leave, I went down to the bar shook hands with the barman and gave him enough dollars to buy all my cronies a drink, then I went to find my lady she was in the kitchen I lifted her off her feet and kissed her goodbye, saying "I'll be back"  she smiled and gave me a gentle kiss on my cheek, and I was gone.

With all my white lies, I don't regret it, I hadn't been as happy for a long time.

Love is so lawless?
 Agman