My Commute….It’s more Fun in the Philippines

After a 10 month work sabbatical I was asked to return to Redfox Technologies as its project lead.  September 30 was the day I started my journey of commuting daily from my hometown of Imus, Cavite to New Manila in Quezon City.  It’s about a two to three hour one way commute daily depending on the traffic conditions.  Before it was quite easy to go to work, all that I had to do was just wait for the bus on our main highway and sleep the rest of the way to Cubao. Then repeat the process again in going home in the evening.  The travel time was so long that I actually feel refreshed from sleeping on the bus. Now that the Metro Manila Development Council (MMDA) has imposed the ban for buses coming from Cavite from entering Metro Manila it has become more challenging if not tiring.

The Morning Commute – the morning commute is not much of a problem.  I have resolved that I will leave home early so that I could beat the morning rush hour and just spend a few lazy hours in the office relaxing instead of doing it at home.   I usually wake up at 3:00 in the morning so that I could prepare and leave home by 5:00. After dropping by at our local church to say may morning prayers I hop on a series of vehicles to get to work.  It starts off with a tricycle ride out of town to the main high way where I wait for a jeepney to go to Baclaran. From Baclaran its another jeepney to Pasay Rotonda where I could ride the MRT or the train to Cubao.  From Cubao it’s another jeepney ride. So after around an hour and half I’m at work. Relax and enjoy myself to the only time the whole place is silent since nobody is around yet.

The Evening Commute – how to get home is the big challenge.  Either I stay in the office longer and start my journey home after the evening rush hour or get into the flow of things and hope to get home earlier.  I always choose the later since the number of hours that I have for sleep will be affected if I decide to get home later.  It starts off with a jeepney ride to Cubao along Aurora Blvd. it’s the evening rush hour what you expect everything is full. If I am lucky I could get a ride in less than 15 minutes.  Worst case scenario I have to walk a block away to Gilmore just to get a ride. 

Now that I am in Cubao things get much nastier.  I have to climb a series of stairs just to get into the MRT station. Once there you would see long lines of people, one for those purchasing their tickets to the train and the other to get inside the loading platform of the station.  For convenience I always buy the stored value ticket worth Php100.00 so that I would not need to line up to get a ticket every time I ride the MRT.  Still it’s a big challenge how to get through the guards and the turnstile since the lines going to the platform are often long and winding like a coiled rattle snake waiting to bite somebody.  When you do get to the loading platform you would see long lines of people waiting for the train to arrive.

When the MRT trains arrive in the station another challenge is presented.  How to get inside the train?  Cubao station is the third station from where it started off so by the time it gets here it’s either full of people that it could only accommodate a few passengers that are now in the loading platform.  On a good day I could get a ride in the train after about one to two that passes by. On a challenging day I had to endure the agony of standing in close quarters since the train is really full.

Inside the train you would see all sorts of people. 

1.       Doorman – these are people who stay near the door even though they would get out in the last station.

2.        Seat Hugger – these are people who decide to take the most space that is available on the seat so that nobody else could sit down.

3.        Round tripper – these are people who usually ride in the last three stations of the MRT going southbound.  Since the line in the north bound trains are long they just ride the train to the last station and make a round trip so that they could be comfortably seated. These people are also what I call the Guards - once the train is in the last station and people exits the train they usually push the other people so that they could take their seat ahead of everybody else.

4.       The Rusher – these people who does not wait for other people to get off the train. They push their selves against those who are getting off often blocking their way.

In my trips to the provinces I often tell people who have not yet gone to Manila to ride the MRT since it is the best reflection of how life in Manila could be.  It could be cruel if you let it or often you could see the worst in your fellow Filipino

After the MRT ride it’s another bus ride to Coastal Mall where the bus going to Cavite is their staging area. In Coastal Mall there’s another long line of people trying to catch the bus going home.  Since the MMDA controls the dispatch of the buses. It usually takes a lot of time before it could leave the station so that another bus could get loaded.  Often enough I just get the bus that is leaving.  I have to stand inside the bus during the 20 minute ride back to Imus.  Once in Imus it’s another tricycle ride back home. On a lucky day I am home at around 8:30 in the evening. 

Dog gone …it’s another day  got to catch the train one again.        

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