Behind the All the Scene in Motels

According to David Dalton of South China Morning Post, In Filipino slang we are known as biglang liko. The phrase means to turn suddenly - an apt description of the way taxis, cars and people behave on reaching their unobtrusive entrances. Manila's love motels have long had a reputation for mystery and scandal. It is a reputation that has not been helped by a number of high-profile crimes in which love hotels played an unwitting part. Most recently, four men and a woman were found dead on a bed at a love motel called King Arthur's Palace in the suburb of Pasig City. Froth was oozing from their mouths, indicating poisoning. Police say they have made no arrests and have no solid leads. In another high-profile case, a renegade colonel used a love motel as a hideout from government agents. But love motels and their owners are hitting back. These alleged dens of adultery, many of which opened to cater for American soldiers occupying the country during World War II, are sprouting new 'wholesome' names. One group of motels, owned by a Filipino-Chinese businessman, is looking for investors in Hong Kong to help fund a massive expansion and modernisation programme. The Victoria Court motel chain, known throughout Metro Manila for its logo of a girl holding an index finger to her pouting lips in the sign of a secret, is the undeniable leader in the business of love. It has rivals, admits owner and chief executive Archimedes 'Archie' King. But where else, on your bedside table, could you expect to find a complimentary copy of The Tao of Love And Sex: The Ancient Chinese Way To Ecstasy? Mr King, a 44-year-old with boyish features and affecting smile, has been credited with elevating the status of the Philippine love motel from sleazy, germ-infested retreat for illicit sexual trysts and dodgy business deals, to classy, fantastic and sanitised getaways for legitimate lovers.'These people have probably got good jobs in the offices of Makati,' said Mr King. 'People have been too...