Shey’s World

Don’t you just love tropical climates? Well, I do, I like it warm and sunny and I even like the rain… sometimes.

Getting around in Manila is actually pretty easy, there are taxis, jeepneys, buses and even a rail system. Sadly for most foreigners taxis are the main option of transportation mainly because it’s a bit scary to try and figure out the rest. Me? I’m lucky that even though I am a foreigner, I actually look like a local. I am 100% Hispanic, I was born in Nicaragua but grew up in Panama which means I’m brown and for one of those faith things I have an asian look to me. Not sure why but lucky for me, it works to my advantage. I can actually blend in an infiltrate hehehe.

So I’ve decided to try and save some money and hassle from taxis and do the local thing, jeepneys and the train. I’ve only taken a jeepney a couple of times in my almost 2 years here and I’ve taken the train three times. Two of those times… yesterday. I had to go from Makati to Ortigas which depending on traffic can be anywhere from P70 to P150. So I went to the 7-11 and asked the girl at the counter which jeepney to take to the MRT station and how much. The fee P8.50 and the accommodations, heh, a little snug but I made it there no problem. Just when I was about to get out, a whole opened in the sky and the Niagra Falls came pouring down. Even my umbrella was not enough to stop me from getting soaked while walking the short distance to the inside of the station. Once inside it’s all real simple, you buy a ticket P11 and go through to the platform to wait with the rest of the cattle. And when I say cattle I don’t mean anything bad by it, that’s just the way it is, as soon as the train arrives, it’s time to push, shove and hit little people over the head or you stay around to wait for the next ride. All this aside, it is the best mode of transportation, you get there in 10 minutes versus an hour in regular traffic. And as far as safety, well there’s a few guards standing around with big riffles at every corner so it does give you a warm snuggly feeling… well that and 100 sweaty people cozying on up and exchanging their own brand of BO and other interesting smells.

To sum it up P39 for a round trip to Ortigas instead of P200+ for a scamming taxi ride… I’ll take that any day. And one last word of caution… If you do venture into public transportation, try not to sit at the tail end of the jeepney if you don’t want to inhale enough smoke to turn your lungs into ash AND if it’s raining, step back when the train arrives or you’ll feel like you just finished your first ride at Wet ‘n Wild.