Back in the year 1966 while I was serving in the US Navy, my Destroyer made a Port of Call to Subic Bay in the Philippine Islands. Now, keep in mind this is the very 1st time I have ever been here. I had no idea what this was or what was there.
When Liberty Call came, I & other shipmates left the ship & the Naval Base to see the town of Olongapo that was right next to the Base. I was seeing what life was like in a town that owed its existence to the US Navy. The town was really nothing but the main street that was all dirt and just loaded with bars & nightclubs. Lots of girls there that were for “pleasure”, but you had to pay for them.
In walking down the dirty street I happen to notice locals that had a bar-be-que with some sticks of meat on them like you see above. I stopped and looked at this. I thought they looked good because they smelled good. Thought that I’d buy one and see what it tasted like. I forget what the price was, but it was not expensive in American money.
Took a few bites out of this and thought that it was darn good, so I finished what was on the wooden stick and then caught up with my other buddies that had gone further down the street. I was asked what I was doing and I told them what I had eaten. A big mistake!
“You ate what?”, I was asked. I told them.
“That stuff is no damm good!” “You didn’t eat that shit?” Yes, that I did.
“You know what that was?” I was asked. “No, I don’t. What was it?” “That’s Monkey Meat or could be Dog Meat!!” It’s not real beef. Oh, crap! What did I just do?
I did not know what that stuff was. Just thought it looked & smelled good, so I got some. I learned a good lesson about getting food in a foreign country. Be careful about what you buy. It might not be what you think it is.
Thanks for stopping by.
Les
PHOTOJOURNAL OF CORKER2 
So, you’ve raised the question in my mind… what was in the photo at the top of the post? 🙂
John – Those “so called Meat Sticks” were a very close image of what I really did eat in the Philippines that day long ago. More than likely, it was Monkey Meat, but I often wondered later on in Life why I did not see many dogs around over there. I also, that I did not mention was, I saw dead babies floating down the river from a bridge we had to cross. Life over there is very poor. I have other pics that survived. Just one, I think.