(B)logging Miles
March 14th, 2007
I used to kid myself that I ought to earn mileage points for all the legwork I used to subject myself to. Traversing Metro Manila (from Muntinlupa to Quezon City) by public transportation is certainly no joke. But as one sits and stares out the bus window, out into the gritty sidewalk scenes that you speed past, the familiar faces that adorn the countless billboards that illegally grace our national highways, as you race from point A to point B while sidestepping the mineral-water-candies-peanuts-chicharon-macapuno-cigarette vendors and the occasional bus preacher, and deciphering scribbled celphone numbers and declarations of love penned on the seatcover in front of you, you begin to see a whole lot of things that take shape from the blur of the world rushing past.The bus seat has been witness to the birthing of poems, peek-a-boo games with children, dodging preachers’ sermons, countless songs played, schedules planned, friendships rekindled, and the wild imaginings about the lives of my fellow passengers. On some days, its witnessed some quietly profound realizations that only make sense to high-strung twentysomethings who think of highways and skyways as not just a means of getting from here to there, but as a network of passageways through which the lifeblood of the metropolis ebbs and flows.
The hypnotic lights and the chorus of street sounds, sights and smells beckon.
Photo credit: Bernice de Leon, Photo Illustration: Marielle Nadal
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March 14th, 2007 at 4:39 am
You have a very romantic view of things Mariel, but ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Metro Manila public transport is HELL!!!!! I know, I have been riding jeeps, buses, taxis, tricycles and pedicabs most of my life. Pedicab and tricyles rip you off with high prices. My friend payed 45 pesos for a tricylce ride from the Alabang viaduct to the Festival mall entrance. A distance of less than an eight of a kilometer. Prices double or triple when its raining.Taxi Drivers WON’T flag down their meters and demands that you enter a “contract” where you pay fixed rates which is ussually double the fare you pay. Bus drivers are not that bad, however, conductors would lie about their route. Jeepneys are the most convenient since they pick you up and drop you off where you need to and they can’t over charge. But there is hope. MRTs and the LRT really cut your travel time along EDSA and Taft by more than half! I just wish the whole of the Philippines is connected by MRTs and LRTs. The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission has just started a dry run of the Pasig River metro ferry. I hope “this time” it works.
Maybe, when I have my own car, and start experiencing Metro Manila roads, maybe just maybe, I’ll appreciate the “quiet” moments I commute.
Cheers!
March 14th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Hey Joe. I sympathize, and I think every commuter has a horror story to tell, we each have our own public transportation angst. But hey, it’s the only way we’ll get to see what a place is really like. You can tell a lot about a city from its public transportation system. Do wait for the next post.