Harbor Point is a Watershed Establishment for Subic

I have lived in Subic a fairly long time - more than a decade - and I have come to accept that it is generally an acquired taste. Most of the restaurants are mediocre, as are the beaches and the tourist attractions. The old theater at Times Square is mediocre, except when they turn off the aircon, then it has a funky smell that gives it a lower grade. The quirky "duty free shops" generally sell nearly expired grocery items from the US. Subic has plenty of warts but it grows on you. I have learned to love the place and scout the many things about the area that are enjoyable and of good quality. With some trepidation, I recently took a walk through Harbor Point, the new Ayala Mall. I was expecting to see something like SM Olongapo, which is kind of a crappy version of an SM Mall in Angeles or Manila. Harbor Point is nothing like that. It less than half complete but you can already see that it is a world class mall that is going to change the landscape of Subic. It appears to have more high end restaurants - quite a bit more - than Marquees Mall, the Ayala Mall in Angeles. The theaters look like they are going to be top notch. The children's play places are those with the elaborate jungle themes and tree houses. They have the high-end pay bathrooms (10 pesos) that are like a bathroom in a five star hotel lobby. When the new US defense contractor that has signed on to service US Navy ships gets into gear, and we start seeing a lot of sailors wandering around Subic, this mall is going to be a big attraction. The tourists who don't want to go to Ocean Adventure and are finished walking along the Boardwalk in 15 minutes now have another option. And for those of us who live in Subic, this is a whole new ball game. I love driving across town trying to find a decent meal, and taking my kids to buy pirated DVDs on Magsaysay, and spending an hour trying to find a pair of sneakers that fit, and doing all the other stuff that gives Subic its charm. But I also won't mind going to a world class mall, having a nice meal in a comfortable environment, seeing a movie in a modern theater and being able to pick up something that I need on the way out.