Baguio's Nagoya Bar

It's refreshing to read articles about real-life gay experiences of ordinary Filipino gay guys. More refreshing compared to watching Filipino gay indie films. Here's one shared through the Yahoo! Group I am a member of where the reader shares his wonderful Baguio visit, most especially his one-time visit to the City of Pines' gay bar scene. I had fun reading his story. Read it after the jump. BTW, the picture above is not from the Baguio bar that will be mentioned in this post, but from the newest entertainment gay bar in the Philippines, the Machette Entertainment Bar. Enjoy.

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Let me just share with you my experience in a gay bar in Baguio.

My wonderfriends and I went to catch the fog and the dipping temperature of the highlands two weeks ago. It was a plan worth pursuing. The weather during the days was beautiful, picture-taking was wonderful as intermittent fog hang as silvery drapes on the background ng mga piktyur...

Eniwey, maliban sa mga mga pang fezbuk na piktyurs sa City of Pines, mayroon kaming maganda at (almost) wholesome na experience doon sa mga bundok ng Cordillerra.

Nang matapos isugod sa ospital ang aking isang friendship sa kakaukay niya (nasagap na nya yata lahat ng imported at lokal na alikabok sa UK mula session road hanggang palibot ng Burnham) para saksakan ng antihistamine, napagpasyahan naming magpahinga muna for the day at kumain ng maraming carrots, pizza volante and lumagok ng sagada brew. Katapos nito ibang kati sa talampakan na hindi kakayanin ng turok ng isang drum na Virlix and Benadryl AH ang dumapo sa amin kayat nag unahan kami sa bath para gumala for the night.

Having donned our winter wonderland getups, nag wifi kami sa lobby ng Hotel para alamin kung san ang mainam na rampahan. Burnham... rumored pickup place ng mga nagdidisappear na beki... Sikat sa Marcos Hi-way na magkaribal na gaybars, nasangkot sa pagkakachugi ng isang male entertainer noong June 2010. And just when the prospects were getting dimmer by the minute, ang aming bell hop ay discreetly lumapit sa amin at bumulong. "Sir kung fun and hanap nyo at security ang concern nyo, baka gusto nyo i-try ang Cloud 7 sa Naguilian Road. Nagoya na po ang name nya ngayon. Hindi sya ganon kabrutal sa show pero magi-enjoy din naman kayo." Sabihin nyo lang sa taxi na dun sya sa malapit sa lugar ng dating politician dito na da who sa banyo. Discreet nga sya. Pati siguro pagrampa nya duon discreet din hihihi.

Da who sa banyo. Gets? Di bale na, makakarating din kayo kapag gusto nyo kahit di nyo mahulaan ang da hu na lopcal politician. So go kami para ng taxibelz. May i ispluk ng old and new name ng bar. Hindi alam ng taxi driver ang lugar pero sabi ni Wonderfriend na bangag pa sa antihistamine, basta tuntunin po natin ang Naguilian, di naman siguro tayo makakarating ng La Union. So go. Nomountain high enough and drtama ng mga beki.

At ayun, nga, kumukutikutitap ang mga ilaw sa bandang kaliwa ng daan, may entrance at exit para sa mga dumadaan na sasakyan ng isang gusaling mayroong marquee sa harapan: "Nagoya Hosto Bar." Tarp na napapalibutan ng mga maraming ilaw... Keri na din, makulay. Bumaba kami sa hagdan kung san nagmumula ang nakakaengganyong "It's All Coming Back to Me"... Ahay nostalgic pati music.

Mga 1030pm ang dating namin. The place is generally clean, with a hoi-poloi of decors na marahil hango sa makulay na imahinasyon ng pinaghalong beki at isang mason. Pagkaupo namin, merong kapatid na beki na super smile and ask kung anechiwa ang betchikola namin, ask lang daw sa kanya so pinatawag lang muna namin ang waiteru. Cute ang waiter. Pwede sya maging talent dun, pero nung gabing yon siguro basta waiter ang drama nya. Explain sya na consumable ang P150 namin at kung may gusto kaming kausap na host, P290 ang drinks nito. Order muna kami tig-isang SanMig at isang platong carrot sticks.

Nagsimula sumayaw ang mga Minchicola. Ang una ang mukhang younger version ni Wonderfriend 2. May white shirt under a vest, skinny jeans at Chuck Taylors. Medyo Chinito, may kulay ang layered na herlalet, maputi ang katawan, bagets, bagets na matambok ang butt at meron pang bahagyang baby fats. Nagkatinginan kami ni Wonderfriend 1 at sabay nagkatawanan. "pakyu kayong dalawa ha" sabi nya, nahulaan ang iniisip namin. Cute si dancer number 1 pero di namin sya pagnanasaan dahil kung magkagayon, si Wonderfriend 2 na lang ibu-booking namin.

Si Entertainer number 2, medyo slim, nakablack jeans, polo shirt na open ang mga butones at puting loafers. Medyo wavy ang buhok na maiksi ang gupit. Meron hikaw na silver... Sumundo ang isang adonis na matangakad, morena at makinis. Pagkatapos ang isang hunk na halatang batak sa gym, may six-pack at karug at pamatay na ngiti. And then, meron isang maputing parang rakista na long hair, plantsado ang buhok, maskulado at bakat-bakatan ang lahat ng dapat bumakat sa jeans at maputing-maputing t-shirt.

Yes darlings, fully clothed ang unang round ng mga sayaw, the boys shedding their shirts only towards the end of the song that they are dancing too. And yes, dears, iba-iba ang packaging ng mga boys duon, may kanya-kanya silang pang-akit na handsomeness. At yes, mukhang requirement sa kanila ang magaganda ang ngiti.

Second round revelas the guys in sexier clothing and under clothing pero walang all the way. Which is just as fine, dahil maaliw ka naman sa may parang sawa, bulate at kawayang sumayaw. The guys na aming tig-isang nakakwentuhan sa table ay pasado sa aming standards: malinis ang kuko, halatang nag-toothbrush, conscious sa amoy dahil after mabigyan ng pang-unag drink ang isa, nag-excuse muna sandali returning smelling great with a splash of i don't know what. Hindi sila nagpu-push ng sarili, suaveng lumambing... like when asked kung gusto pa uminom ng isa, ang sabi ay "Medyo hilo na ako, pwede bang coffee na lang ako? Ang charge non, parang drinks din namin. Ok lang ba?" sabay ngiti ng super cute. Rurupok and mahogany mong puday ant bigla mo na lang talaga ibubukaka... ang iyong wallet may dear. Ahihihi. May sense kausap ang aming mga naitable, maasikaso. Puro untog bote kapag nakikita kang magsa-shot, sasabay sila. At kung sila ang sasayaw, they'd ask permission from you first if you would allow them to go "on area" sa yo during their performance. Maginoo sila, pero nagpapaalam kung gusto mo sila bastusin ahihihih ulit! Kung gusto mo ng instant boyfriend na magha-hug, akkabay at pipisil ng palad mo habang naka-lean ka sa shoulder nila, you can them there. In porma and package that you choose. Depending on how cute you can be, a peck on the cheeks or the nape is ok, too, i guess. Si wonder friend 1 nga eh na-high lalo sa smile ng halos nose-to-nose na kausap nyang si Mr. Bikini Open. Ako, I asked who, where, when questions and the guy I was with answered them unabashedly, but asking politely if he'd not answer some questions. The guys are ready to give their contact numbers away. (To this date, textmate pa din kami ng nag-entertain sa akin.) The guy that I was with does not even smoke. And all of them on the table mentioned the importance of health monitoring as they get periodically examined by the city health office.

Ang comfort room ay medyo bonus trip. Kasi yng maliit na ante room sa CR ang sya ring drssing room ng mga boys. So if you are lucky, you'd get a sight of the guys on various states of undress or flexing their muscles with weights. If you want privacy doing your business in the wash, you can close the door. But if you wanna watch I guess that's ok, too.

No one approaches you unless you summon them. The guys who are not preparing for their set are all visible in the club: nakaupo sa mga sofa or nagpapa cute sa bar area. They say that the show is more interesting during big nights days may mga body painting gimmicks, more revealing sets. Pero if your trip is to feel like a princess for a night ang watch cute guys dance for you, drop by 10pm onwards sa Club. I'm sure there is something to delight you there. You can be as clean as you want to be, pwede rin naman ng mas risque na adventure, depending of course on how you play it with your 'host'. Tipping is allowed, also depends on how generous you feel and how deserving the waiter and floor manager have been with their services to you.

Courtesy I guess is the charm of this bar. Kung ano ang trip mo, sasakyan nila, without anybody feeling abused. I guess that's how it should be naman lalo na sa totoong buhay. The exhaust system of the bar will remind you of the moments you spent inside the bar long after you left it. Didikit ang amoy usok sa yo, and it is necessary for you to take a shower after leaving it but Wonderfriend 1 said, "Hayy....leave my clothes alone, gusto ko amuy-amuyin yang damit kong yan for the next 3 weeks".

Memories are selective, I guess. We tend to highlight the good stuff if the experience was generally good and the bad stuff when we get pissed. But this one, except for the possible waiting for transport back to the city and the need for more efficient smoke-suckign exhaust system, outweighs the negative ticks in the choosy mental list of gay patrons. Keri na kasi marunong mag-entertaing ang mga cutie pie... Basta kung pupunta ka sa Cloud 7/Nagoya Bar, kunin mo na din CP number ng maghahatid sa yong taxi para sunduin ka nya pabalik, like what we did.

So on the scale of 5 stars, si Cloud 7/Nagoya gets a 4 from us. Average na yun ha. Maraming hahanapin ang mga tiga-Manila sa Bar na ito pero marami din silang surprises na mai-experience. Baka nga yung cutest guy sa dati mong paboritong club sa Manila, kakadating lang sa club na yon last week. Basta love ko na sya. Mag-iipon ulit ako para makaakyat ulit doon.

So guys, discover Cloud 7/ Nagoya Bar it next time na umakyat kayo don. Who knows, baka magkita tayo duon!