Surigao City Club Scene

Surigao City Club Scene

Bikini Bars: aka girlie bars. Climb up a narrow, steep, rickety wooden staircase to find a small club with ratty chairs and tables and a small stage where a succession of scantily clad dancers weave to pulsing disco music. No cover charge, San Miguel 60 pesos. A patron may request a dancer or GRO (“Guest Relations Officer”, bargirl that doesn’t dance) sit at his table for the cost of a “ladies drink,” 260 pesos.

Discos: Walk in through a bakery, then through a karaoke bar, then farther in to find the disco. Totally packed every time I’ve been there, dozens of wildly gyrating Filipinos, mixed gay and straight couples, singles and groups. I’m usually the only foreigner, but get lots of welcoming smiles (if I’m with a Filipina, they always get asked “Is he your husband? Is he straight?’)

Girlie Bars: example, Firehouse: large raised stage with light show, brass rails, and girls in costumes dancing in groups. unomfortable bar stools, small booths for “private discussions.”