A 1200 cc BMW touring bike.For lunch, I joined Mike and Marissa Turner out at the Limketkai mall where there was a motorcycle show going on. First, Epril and I went to see the show bikes on display inside the mall, which were all (except for a 350 c.i. V8 Chevy-powered cruiser) generally pretty but unremarkable. They were mostly new, mostly all stock motorcycles. It seemed their only amazing attribute was that they cost more than the average Filipino house.
After visiting the motorcycle show, Epril and I joined Mike and Marissa for lunch at Ramen Tei, the second (of two) sushi restaurants in Cagayan that I have been to. It seems that every time I go out for sushi, it gets more expensive. My first visit to Fuji so long ago only set me back about 200 pisos per person. Now, it's up to 600 pisos per person. Well, I've been told that that is still a fraction of what you would pay in America for sushi.
After lunch, Epril and I stopped by the outdoor part of the motorcycle show to find that we couldn't go inside (apparently "card holders only") and the outside fence was packed 8 deep with gawkers watching (I'm guessing) people do fancy stuff with their motorcycles. Epril and I went home instead of trying to watch.
My afternoon of work went better.
Tonight, it was out to Zax, a "restobar" cabaret in downtown, across from (and down one of the sidestreets off of) Velez Street, across from the provincial government buildings. On the first Saturday of every month, local expatriates go there for an evening of oldies music.
Zax is a bit underwhelming. It looks like a cut-rate Chinese restaurant, with a mixture of chintz and neglect that gives the place a very cheap look. If you drink: stick to beer, as mixed drinks will set you back 120 to 140 pisos, which are the most expensive drinks on the island of Mindanao (although I must say that they do make a good Cosmopolitan). The food that they serve is good though, but a bit pricey as well. The stereo system is equalized to the most interesting (in a bad way) setting of "twang plus rumble".
Oh: Mike Turner wrote in his blog about Zax and the "very fine Filipinas" that attend Zax to try and lasso their own expatriate guy. Either Mike has a particular fetish for tubby menopausal Filipina ladies, or I was there on the night when all of the cuties decided to stay home. Don't know, don't wanna know... got my own cutie already and don't need another.
The first band to come on wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. The two ladies and one male singer did some fun dance steps, and their music choices were enjoyable, and I didn't mind listening to them... but wouldn't nominate them for graduation to a higher-tier venue than Zax.
Mystica waves to her fans at
Zax Restobar in Cagayan De Oro.The second band to come on... well, that is when the evening started. The Cagayan Culture Club (not their real name) came on stage: A gender-bending fellow and two ladies wearing all white. The transsexual named "Mystica" (or Miss Tika... I'm not sure) minced his way around stage introducing himself and his friends and doing little gay "hello darling" waves to his friends in the crowd. Then, he launched into a jaw dropping, fall-out-of-your-seat perfect rendition of "The Great Pretender" and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" and other doo-whop hits from the 1950's, all in perfect 4-part harmony (with the addition of the voice of the keyboardist to the 2 alto ladies in the band). With his dyed-blond, close-cropped hair, I'm going to call Mystica the "Filipino Raven-O."
So, anyway with all of its negatives, I can recommend Zax for this one reason.
Epril and I headed home at 11:00, which was a bit early, but Epril was tired and the smoke really was getting in her eyes.
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