Commonly Used Terms/Abbreviations |
The following is a set of terms that you will see on the forums. A lot of us tend to abbreviate things and/or call them something completely different that will not make sense to the rookie eye; this list should hopefully help.
Areas/Directions/”Zones”
Angeles City (AC) – Home to former Clark Air Force Base (now a Philippine Airbase). This area has the largest collection of bars in the Philippines, period. For sex-tourists, this place is the main destination for their trip in the Philippines. It has literally over 100 bars and thousands of girls working inside them. It’s covered pretty extensively in our Forums, so I’ll leave it alone at that. The area that is referred to as Angeles City is actually only Fields Ave and Perimeter Rd, which is a VERY small section of this fine city. It is located in Balibago district and a few people refer to it as Balibago.
Burgos – This is a road in Makati, called P.Burgos St. It plays host to the largest “Expat-Zone” within Metro Manila. There are approx 25 bars within this area, all within walking distance of each other. There are also a few KTV’s in the area and approx 10 hotels in the Burgos area.
EDSA – One of the largest highways within the Philippines. Typically upon arriving to the airport, you would get on this road to go to almost ALL destinations. Additionally, it plays home to a bar district known as “EDSA Entertainment Complex”.
EDSA Complex – A lot of us shortened “EDSA Entertainment Complex” to simply calling it EDSA, so get the freeway out of your mind since you will hear this term used mostly to describe the Complex. This is a series of bars located INSIDE a mini-mall of sorts. It has a guarded front door and you are searched for weapons upon entry. Once inside, girls in bikini’s wait outside the door trying to lure you into their bar. This area plays host to 8 bars all within a single place, linked together by a courtyard. Across the road from it, you will find the Heritage Hotel and Casino Filipino.
Ermita/Malate – Old school bar district. Back in its heyday, this area played host to the largest collection of bars in the country. The mayor at that time declared that all bars were illegal and ordered EVERY go-go bar shut down. About 10 years later, that ruling was deemed illegal (amazing how quick the judicial system is) and very, VERY slowly we are starting to see some bars popping back up here and there. This area’s most popular joint is the infamous L.A. Café.
Makati – The financial capital of the Philippines. The majority of the city is VERY modern and looks like a model of America. Here you will find huge shopping centers such as Glorietta 4, which is 4 malls all inter-connected and plays host to just about anything you can think of. Makati is also home to the infamous Burgos St (see “Burgos” for more info)
Manila – Capital of the Philippines. Manila is a densely populated city composed of MANY interconnects towns and districts.
NAIA – Ninoy Aquino International Airport. This is the airport 99% of us fly into when we come to the Philippines. It is located in Manila and is approx 20-30 minutes from Makati, 20-30 minutes from Ermita (LA Café area) and 1.5-2hrs (depending on traffic) from Angeles City.
NLE – Northern Luzon Expressway. Toll Highway that connects Manila with Pampanga (the province that Angeles City is located in). Once on it, it takes about 1hr to get from Manila to Angeles. Toll price is P368 roundtrip, but if you get a van service such as Arnel, the driver pays for that amount already.
Sabang – Located on the Island of Mindoro and often referred to as Puerto Galera. This is a pretty popular destination with divers and it DOES have a decent nightlife as well. Sabang hosts approx 5 go-go bars and A LOT of dive shops. The beach itself has a lot of coral and shouldn’t be thought of as a swimming beach. You can rent private boats and whatnot though to take you to a nice beach and also get some snorkeling in. I would highly recommend this place over Subic Bay.
Subic Bay – Home to the former Subic Naval Base. This is a popular beach destination for visitors going to Angeles City. It is located about 1.5hrs from Angeles and vans are available to rent to get you there. The nightlife is mediocre at best, but worth a shot if you have never seen it before. I personally would not make this area your main destination, as it can get quite boring FAST.
I’m not going to go into the rest of Philippine destinations because they can easily be found in the Forums or by "Googling". The above locations are ALL located on the Island of Luzon. Other places to visit that are popular are Cebu, Boracay, Bohol, Palawan and Davao.
(Back to top)
Bar Lingo
Barfine – This is where you pay a FINE to the BAR for the girl to leave work before her shift is over. The majority of people that this involves guaranteed sex with the girls…it absolutely DOES NOT because that would be prostitution, and prostitution in the Philippines is illegal. All the Barfine does is make it so that girl can leave the bar with you and go out on a date more or less. Anything that happens AFTER she leaves the bar is between her and the customer. This is very important to remember.
Butterfly – No, it doesn’t mean that you are gay; in fact it means quite the opposite. Butterfly is a term given to a guy (or girl) that has a lot of sexual partners. This is mostly used jokingly and has its various forms of terminology associated with it (helicopter, jumbo jet, dragonfly, etc). If you are a “butterfly” and a girl asks, it’s better to just say yes.
Cherry Girl – A term used for girls that still have their virginity. This exist almost exclusively up in Angeles City, so it definitely helps to ask a girl if she is “cherry” before offering to pay the EWR. You can also check her ID for this information if she lets you. By looking at the upper left-hand corner of her pink ID, you will see a number. If there is a “V” before it, it’s very likely she is a cherry girl. If not, then she definitely IS NOT a cherry girl.
Door Girl – One of the biggest wastes in a bar IMO. Door girls are the ones that you see (again, almost exclusively in AC) sitting on their ass in front of the bars. Every now and then they will say something like, “Dollhouse Sir”…which translated into normal English means, “Please come inside and check out dollhouse, sir”. Most of the time though the girls just sit around and either text or talk to each other. A few bars are starting to get it right though and are having their waitresses stand outside and then escort you into a seat and take your order.
EWR – Early Work Release. Sometime ago, the term “Barfine” was deemed taboo and instead is now called an EWR. This term IS NOT commonly used by the girls (or anyone for that matter except bar owners) and the term “Barfine” is still widely accepted.
GFE – “Girlfriend Effect”. This is a term used by guys to describe some of the girls. This is when the girl acts (either fake or genuine) so loving towards you that she has the appearance (and feel) of a girlfriend.
Ladies Drink (LD) – This isn’t too difficult, it’s very much the same as buying a drink for an exotic dancer back home. A ladies drink is priced higher then the customers drink and the girl gets a small commission from it. Some girls (very few, and mostly cherry girls) work solely for the Ladies Drink commission, so be on the lookout that you are not getting the hustle for drinks. In Makati and Manila there is A LOT of pressure initially to purchase Ladies Drink, and it really helps to learn how to say “No” politely.
LT – “Long-Time”. This is when you pay the EWR (barfine) and the girl ends up staying with you until the next day.
Runner – A Barfine turned bad. “Runner” is commonly referred to as when your barfine accepts your offer to pay the EWR, and then sometime in the night leaves without any notice. Some people think that because a girl DID NOT stay all night as agreed upon (LT turned ST), she pulled a runner. THIS IS NOT THE CASE, and should be referred to as a Barfine gone badly. It is VERY rare to have this happen, and if your girl suddenly disappears or leaves you, you should go and see the bar management IMMEDIATELY so you can try and get your money back.
ST – “Short-time”. This is when the girl that you pay the EWR (barfine) for ends up leaving after a brief encounter between the two of you. It is not an all-night “date” and is typically arranged between the girl and the customer only.
TG/GRO – Tour Guide (commonly used in Thailand) or Guest Relations Officer (commonly used in the Philippines). Since prostitution is illegal in both countries, we now have this cute little acronym to live with. In the Philippines, a GRO is typically referred to as a girl that works in the bar but is neither a dancer nor waitress. She is typically a bit older then the dancers and wears a longer dress. Her job is to chat it up with you and basically get as many ladies drinks as she can and/or get EWR’d. Really popular girls and/or high earners are typically GRO’s in Manila since they are able to move around in the club at will and don’t have to wait for a customer to call them over. Officially though, any girl that gets EWR’d/Barfined is a GRO.
(Back to top)
Misc.
The following is things that I couldn’t think to put into a section (for now) and just randomly listed here:
Aircon – Air Conditioning.
CR – Comfort Room, the crapper, the bathroom, the pisser, the head…whatever!!!
LBFM – “Little Brown Fucking Machine”. This term has been around for a while and I personally recommend you DO NOT refer to the girls as this in person.
Lowbat – Referred to in terms of your cell phone. If you forget to charge your phone and or are running low on power, you are “lowbat”. You will hear the girls use this quite often more then anyone else.
P/PHP – Short for Peso. If you list something as a price, it would look like P500, meaning 500 pesos.
PI – Philippine Islands. If you look on a map, the Philippines in referred to as “The Philippine Islands”, hence you also get the term, “da PI”
Pinay – Female Filipino. Also called a Filipina
Pinoy – Male Filipino. This is also used to describe the group as a whole, male or female.
PPD – Post-Philippine Depression. You will know EXACTLY what this is after you leave from your vacation.
Wheels-up – As in the airplane. Sometimes people in the forum will refer to their departure date as, “Wheels up in 3 days!”, meaning that in 3 days they will be on their way to the PI.
RP – Republic of the Philippines. Locals refer to the Philippines as the “RP” because it’s the “politically correct” term.
Shabu – Local version of methamphetamine or “Speed”. Some of the girls get hooked on this for a while and it causes the same behavior as speed. The local version is cheap and there is a pretty big “war” underway from the government to get rid of it. Avoid it (and all drugs) at all costs while here.
SMB/SML – Local beer known as San Miguel (SMB or SM) or San Miguel Light (SML, San Mig Light). It’s pretty much your only choice when you are over here and they have a nice little monopoly going on since they produce SMB, Red Horse (another beer, more local) Coca-Cola and a few others.
Steady Barfine – This is when you pay a set fine to the bar to release the girl for an indefinite amount of time. If you are into the whole GFE, it might be a cheaper option for you if you don’t plan to be a butterfly. Past that though, to be avoided if you intended to take the girl out of the bar indefinitely.
Trike – You will see this guys around Angeles and other smaller towns A LOT. It is short for “tricycle” and is basically a little sidecar attached to a motorcycle. They are, IMO, complete CRAP in Angeles City and should be avoided if you can help it.
(Back to top)
Bargirl Lingo
OK, so this doesn't cover JUST bargirls, but a lot of it is language I would HIGHLY discourage you from using out on the street. Upon your first visit to the bar-world within the PI, you will hear this quite a bit. It's good to learn a little of it, that way you will catch their sense of humor and they will also appreciate the effort. Also, you will know when a girl is talking shit about you!
Aray - "Ouch!" This is not a good thing and DOES NOT mean, "Harder! Harder!"
Ayoko - Means, "I don't like" and it's also used as if to say "Oh god!" in disbelief, rolling your eyes type of speech. If your girl tells you "Ayoko na!" it means she REALLY doesn't like what you want to do or what you are currently doing.
Babaero – refer to “Butterfly”. Basically means that you sleep around with multiple partners.
Baboy – Means fat or chubby; Literal translation is “Pig”. Don’t take too much offense though if the girls call you this. It’s not like in the Western World where calling someone “Fat” is fighting words.
Bastos – Means “rude” or “crude”. This is typically not a good thing AT ALL when said with some meaning behind it, but can also be used jokingly to tease the girls.
Bola-Bola – basically means bullshit. For instance, if you tell a girl that you will be back to barfine her, but don’t, you are full of bola-bola. Or if you always make empty promises, you are talking bola-bola. It’s not a good thing.
Boom-Boom – Means sex. I don’t know why or how this stupid thing started (carry-over from Thailand?) but it’s still used to this day.
Gago – Means stupid or silly. Often used jokingly for a silly action or odd behavior.
Guapo – Means handsome.
Hindi – Means no.
Honey-Ko – Tagalish for “My honey”. Another pet name.
Ikaw – Means “You”. So if you ask a girl how she is doing, and she replies, “OK lang. Ikaw?” she is saying, “I’m just ok, and you?”
Kamusta Ka – Means, “How are you?”
Kuripot – Means that you are cheap. If you don’t leave a tip for the waitress or fail to tip after your EWR is concluded, you would be called this.
Lang – Means “only”. Refer to “Ok lang” for use in that meaning. You can also say, when ordering, “One ladies drink lang” meaning you want “One ladies drink ONLY”, especially useful if you are surrounded by girls and you only want one of them to join you.
Lola – Means “old woman” but again literal translation is grandmother. Sometimes I joke around with the girls and tell them they have “Lola Panties” on.
Lolo – Means “old man” but the literal translation is grandfather.
Mabaho – Means something smells or stinks (maybe you?)
Maganda or ‘Ganda – Means beautiful.
Mahal – Means “love”. Believe me the girls know EXACTLY what this means and sometimes will call you “mahal” as a pet name after a few short hours.
Mahal Kita – Means, “I love you”. Use with caution.
Masakit - Means that whatever the action is, it's uncomfortable.
Masarap – Delicious/tasty.
Mens – Doesn’t mean a group of guys, it means that she has menstruation (her period).
OK lang – Means, “OK only”
OO – Means yes (pronounced “Oh, oh” and said rapidly)
Pangit – Means ugly.
Plastic – Refers to personality. If a girl tells you that you are plastic or someone else is, it means that are basically “Bola-bola” or don’t mean what they say.
Po – Means “Sir” formally.
Pogi – Means handsome, attractive.
Puki – Vagina.
Susu - Means breasts.
Tanga – Means retarded or REALLY stupid. Advise against using it even as a joke.
Titi – Means penis.
"Up to you" - Does NOT mean, "Up to you". There is a format that you must follow when a girl uses this, and A LOT of people get it wrong. You are supposed to SUGGEST something at thia point. For instance, if you say you are hungry and asks the girl where she wants to eat, she will likely answer, "Up to you". You should then suggest a few places. If she says AGAIN that it's "Up to you", then it really is up to you and you should be the one to make the choice.
(Back to top)
So there you have it folks. You should be relatively up to speed on terms at this point, and after reading the forums hopefully you will understand a lot more. I will strive to add to this section as I can and when the information seems important.
Best of luck-
+Trance+
