Beep Beep... Beep Beep... Encore

As most of my topics in the "Beep Beep... Beep Beep..." series often leaned on the bad, the worse, and the ugly, I'd like to add one more to the finale... an encore... so that you'll know that my travel that day wasn't all bad. So here's one sight that's quite colorful, funny, cute, and most of all, lesser than bad. :)

L) "Donut Bai" - Ah vendors... sidewalk vendors, street vendors... what would a Philippine road be without them? I guess it won't be too colorful :) From street foods like Mang Ambo's Fishballs and Aling Nena's Barbeque, drinks like "Palamig" and BJ (ahem... B-uko J-uice), toys, clothes and even cellphones. Just a reminder for those willing to buy cellphones from them though, you better be careful lest you pick up the GSMs - "Galing Sa Magnanakaw" (From The Robbers). Aside from lighting up the streets, they're also convenient for most of us travellers as you could pick up almost anything you want while you're on your way. The trouble with some of these vendors though is that they no longer pick the correct space to sell their goods. With lots of them lining up the sidewalks, pedestrians are often forced to walk on the actual road... something that's not only very invconvenient but also very dangerous. Just hope these hard-headed vendors would find a place that would be convenient for them and for others (as long as it's legal of course, haha)... and that the government would enforce the rules on them. Anyway, I would have to commend MMDA Chairman Bayani "BF" Fernando for cleaning up the roads in front of Baclaran church. Awesome! Hope he runs for President :)

...

...

Beep Beep... Beep Beep...

Ciao!

Beep Beep... Beep Beep... Finale

Hey hey hey, it's the final part of Beep Beep... Beep Beep... series. I know, I know, it may be sad 'coz there are lots more of them out there :) But rest assured you'll find some of them pop up in my blogs every now and then... in some form or another. 'Nuff talk, here's my final list of the uncanny Must-Sees/Must-Not-Sees on the Philippine Hiways...

J) Tickets Tickets Go Away, Come Again Another Day - As it's already a common sight to see lots of trash scattered all over the roads, I will no longer mention it here. What's worth mentioning though (or is it not?) is the fact that when you approach a particular toll gate along the highway I passed through, from a distance, you might think you're looking at snow scattered all around the gate. Well it's not snow, haha... they're actually receipts issued by the attendants at the toll gate to the drivers. Then, these drivers just throw them away as if it'll make a mess inside their rides... they should've just returned the receipts to the attendants. But I guess if a reward system like "return the tickets and get a chance to win money" won't work on these drivers, nothing else will... or a "punishment" perhaps :)

K) Billboards Galore - It was once a treat to have a joyride through the streets of Manila, especially for someone who came from the province, because of its "Cityesque" buildings and skyscrapers. But now, alas, instead of getting a view of these architectural beauties from the window of your bus, what do you get to see (or maybe I should ask who?)... a huge billboard of a "now-famous" actor endorsing new herbal medicines, another huge billboard of an almost nude actress advertising a new slimming clinic, and an even bigger billboard of the latest men's magazine cover-girl. Though these ads might still be considered as good "sceneries" for most people, I think it robs the cityscape of its gleaming beauty... aside from the fact that they are dangerous (remember "Bagyong Milenyo"?)

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.

...

...

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? :)

...

...

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.

...

...

2 b contd... :)