Blogging Miles Around the Metro

Every morning, fresh-smelling people with mouths set in determined lines pour onto the sidewalks and flow into every available means of transportation to get to places they have to be in–to punch in their timecards, sit at their workstations and clickety-clack away before their computer screens. I used to hang with this crowd, and each day clamber into the white FX (usually an airconditioned van), where for the next hour I would be in the company of literally and figuratively, fellow dreamers. It would be early in the morning, so yes a bunch of us would try to sit back and catch up on sleep (one of the joys of public transportation), while the others would gaze blankly ahead. Dreaming, in their own way I would imagine, of things they want to do, lives they want to live, and how the heck they’re gonna be spending their paychecks come payday.

One time I was seated in one of those FXes where you sit facing each other, and in the middle of the trip, opened my eyes. There’s a surreal feeling when you open your eyes and realize that everyone around you is seemingly in a trance. I could just hear the cynic in me smirk, and say that we’re all zombies to the grind, anyway. But you can imagine everyone else seated in that vehicle, eyes closed, as if in meditation, charging up for the day ahead. By opening my eyes and blinking at everyone else with their eyes shut, I felt as if I was violating some sort of dream-sanctity. Maybe there’s something in the morning air that makes aspirations so crisp and tangible. Maybe it’s the silence giving way to the hum of the FX’s engine. Maybe I’m romanticizing too much the dreams and motives of those who hie off to work each day. But dreams, be they of a better future, or of being able to pay for your own tissue and beer, are aspirations that keep us alive nonetheless.

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Sitting in the passenger seat of my friend Bernice’s car, the scene up ahead took a while to register. Not until Jing in the backseat mentioned that the guys on the motorcycle up ahead were paranoid did Bernice and I pay attention—and burst out laughing.

The two men on the motorcycle were holding a car bumper. And the rest of us thought that helmets were the standard protection for cyclists.

If the Big Mango—as Dev calls Bangkok, is known for its colossal traffic jams, the streets of Manila (no particular fruit comes to mind), I think, would be known for its crazy drivers (though we did have the mobile urine-kit thing going for us here a while back too). The term defensive driving here would definitely be an understatement. The Manila driver’s pastime is skipping around potholes and ducking into side streets while dodging fleets of street vendors (who sell anything from candy, newspapers, roses, light toys (yeah, the ones that flash and sparkle), children’s toys, towels, rags, food and car chargers, with car radios blaring, and oftentimes engaged in conversation with either fellow passengers or via SMS or mobile phone (jeepney drivers manage to do this while collecting, calculating and giving back change to their passengers). Couple this skill with a single-minded objective of getting from point A to point B by hook or by crook, and you’ve got one of the wildest urban jungles out there.

To quote an internet article on Pinoy drivers, “Jenson Button, the famous British Formula One racer, once visited the country and went away saying he would not drive in a jungle like Metro Manila.”

‘Nuff said.

Photo taken with Yelle’s camera phone along Ortigas Avenue.

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It’s funny how we’re all taking a whack at our public transportation system. I guess we must rely heavily on it. I have a love-hate relationship with Bangkok. Also known as the city of angels, Venice of the East, or sometimes the Big Mango (instead of the Big Apple which refers to New York), Bangkok places most of its denizens in a constant state of disillusionment. Why the love-hate relationship? For someone who grew up in Kuala Lumpur, there’s much more to do in Bangkok. However, it’s the tiny things that get to you - the never-ending harassment from cab and tuk-tuk drivers to get to a particular destination, the heavy traffic during peak hours which once popularised the use of mobile urinary-kits, and the lack of proper amenities and public transportation in the city. You almost always grateful for accomplishing one item on that long list of to-dos. As a result, most people tend to stay at home and miss out on the interesting events that this city has to offer. Not to despair though, the city revving up their efforts at building a more extensive subway system to meet the needs of its public transportation system. The one trick up my sleeves for avoiding traffic is to utilise the express boats on the Chao Phraya river (main river in Bangkok). Although you might have to venture a risk at getting wet, but the ride into the city is not just scenic but also extremely cheap (average boat ride costs 10 baht = 25 cents).

I do think the rivers and canals in Bangkok should be utilised to their full potential as opposed to building more roads which only encourage more cars that ultimately pollute the environment.

Lets have a look at the types of transport available in Bangkok:

Express boat on the Chao Phraya River

The ever-so-popular Tuk Tuk

The Canal or “Khlong” Boats

New Subway System (note: dogs used by police are a common sight because of tighter security)

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