The Philippines

Man, I love Efren...
In my dreams this is how every pool hall is every day in the Philippines.
Make sure to watch this till the very end. For me, Efren is the greatest player that ever lived, not only for his inhuman skill but also for his adorable attitude. Gotta love a guy that laughs when he misses - compare to Earl Strickland for example...

Pool tourism?

I recently had the idea that I would like to go to the Philippines specifically to explore the pool culture in this fascinating country.

Is this a crazy idea? Going to foreign land for the specific purpose of billiard tourism?



I figure I can start by making contacts over there through facebook and emails to any relevant bloggers I can uncover from teh innarnet. Also, http://www.couchsurfing.org/ may be of help. Anyone got any advice?

Many, many excellent pool players are from the Philippines, names such as Francisco Bustamente and Efren Reyes should be familiar to all pool players. I have heard that there have more pool tables per capita than any other country in the world. Beyond just the pool, I am also interested in the geographical and historical aspects of the country, the language, and of course the food.

Here is the wikipedia entry on the Philippines, and here is the one on Efren Reyes.

Has anyone been there? Do you have any insights or resources you could recommend?

I'm looking forward to planning this trip :D