Beep Beep... Beep Beep... Revolutions

Hey, it's part 3 of Beep Beep... Beep Beep...
Wonderfully titled Revolutions as tribute to the third part of the Matrix Trilogy
So here comes more of the uncanny Must-Sees/Must-Not-Sees on the Philippine Hiways...

g) To Unload Or Not To Unload - Sigh... I just don't know if these drivers just don't know how to read traffic signs, just choose to ignore them, just really love to break the law or are just plain dumb. You might be asking why I'm saying this about most public utility vehicle drivers... gosh, I'm asking the same question myself. You see, these traffic signs display "No Loading/Unloading Signs" at different places along the road... yet these drivers load and unload passengers either near these signs or exactly in front of these signs. Gosh, talk about ignoring the law, huh, hehe... I guess most of them just think that "No" means "Yes".

h) JayTripper - Ah, sounds like a cool term as I mixed it up with the Beatles song DayTripper... but what I'm referring to isn't cool... really... trust me on this. I think every country has their own type of Jaywalkers. These are the stubborn people who often find it difficult to have patience... patience in waiting for the right time to cross the road and avoid being hit/killed by the oncoming traffic. What's worse is that they often cross the road at places where they shouldn't even cross! Even if the pedestrian lane is just a few feet away. What could be worse than that you ask?... During that travel I had, I saw a lot of people crossing the one of the most perilous roads where pedestrians shouldn't be in... the highway! Yeah... the dangerous highway where vehicles deemed too small or too slow are not allowed to pass. Sigh... Highway-crossing
jaywalkers... Talk about Extreme Sports. Hmmm... Maybe they were the inspiration for the game Frogger (you know, the Highway-crossing frog).

i) To Unload Or Not to Unload X - Here's another version of the unlawful/uncaring drivers who load/unload at the wrong places of the road. Why the "X" mark? Because I think their bunch is much more extreme. Ever seen a PUV (Public Utility Vehicle) suddenly stop along the highway to load/unload passengers? No? Good for you. Because from what I saw, it seems to be very common. These PUV drivers stop while along the highway to load passengers waving at them (which, I suspect, are probably the same JayTrippers from the above segment). Then if these
passengers (JayTrippers) need to alight along the highway, the PUV drivers would let them. Hopefully, they have not caused any damage to others and themselves. And hopefully, they would not cause any damage before those in power think they might cause damage... 'coz it may be the only time they do something about it... which could be too late.

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2 b concluded

Beep Beep... Beep Beep... Reloaded

Whoa, it's part 2 of Beep Beep... Beep Beep...
More of the uncanny Must-Sees/Must-Not-Sees on the Philippine Hiways...
On with the show...

d) VIPs, More of 'em - Whoa... I've seen about 5 of them during that 2 1/2 hour trip. There must really be a lot of people in these parts who are too important to be caught up in a traffic jam... really important... or are they? :)

e) JamN it! - The traffic system in one of the places I passed through is probably one of the worst I've seen. Called "Buhos-buhos" system by some folks (which could translate to "Pour all of it"), it's executed during peak hours in the morning and evening. It occurs when several traffic enforcers stop all vehicles on one side of the lane then when there's several meters of free road in front of that lane, these enforcers signal all vehicles on the other side to occupy both lanes and encourage them to speed up. Anyway, it's already been dubbed by one travel guide as the worst traffic system in the country... I wonder if they'll ever change it.

f) The Breakdown - It's nothing much really. The bus I'm riding on just broke down, sigh... so I had to show my ticket to the bus conductor, tell him my supposed destination, wait for him to give me enough money for that supposed destination (they won't give you back your whole fare :( sigh...), get off the bus and wave another one. But before getting off, I had to make sure, of course, that my phone is securely hidden... you get my point, right? :)

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2 b cont'd...

Beep Beep... Beep Beep...

Browsing thru my iPhone awhile ago, I stumbled upon an SMS that I sent from my mom's phone (I use her phone whenever my wife and I visit the Philippines) to my iPhone. Reason why I did this? :) I got a "brainwave", haha. Forget the term, I'm just kidding... just thought
I'd use one of the words I picked up while listening to the Lost Podcast
(yes, I am a Lost addict).
Anyway... before our thoughts trail away from my topic at hand... I was actually riding a bus from my hometown of Dasmarinas, Cavite to Manila. As I saw one of the usual uncanny (what a term!) events unfold before my very eyes out on the road, I had a "brainwave" (haha!) to actually note down all of these events and send them to my iPhone for future blogs...
And finally, the time has come to bring out... (drum rolls!)... The Must-Sees (or Must-Not-Sees) of the Philippine Hiways (or at least from Cavite to Manila, hehe)

a) VIPs (Very Important Persons) - this is a sight that's becoming more and more common on the roads. These are luxury vehicles (never cheap ones) which wield sirens and special plates (sometimes NO plates at all) travelling alongside 2 or more police escorts on motorbikes. Who might they be who wanna get through the traffic jam easier? Any guesses (haha...) Hope they're not carrying emergency cases just like an ambulance.

b) Traffic enforcer - traffic police wearing blue uniforms (or other colours, depending on which agency they belong to). You're lucky if you ever get to see one who's dancing while directing traffic (cool...)

c) Motorcycle riders with no helmet - Ah yes... even if there's a law meant to protect the riders
themselves, they still break it. The worst part is that I've seen 3 riders fit into a small motorbike! No helmets... with a toddler riding in between the two riders.

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2 b contd... :)

"...Kill one, save a thousand..."

"...This is your destiny... join us..."

Ah, Wanted... From the moment my wife and I finished watching
the teaser, we knew we should not miss it... as we knew we'll be watching
one wild action flick.
Last night, we were finally able to watch it... and... whew...
thankfully, we were right. It's a visually stunning, action-packed movie.
Anyway, I won't go on blabbing too much about the movie... as there are tons
of other info/review sites out there... except to say that it features James McAvoy,
Angelina Jolie, and Morgan Freeman.
And... hmmm... though there might not be much depth in its story... it's got a lot of tastefully
satisfying visuals and action scenes. And for most of us who love action movies, that's what would matter most... action!
"...What the @#$* have you done lately?..."