Savage
Active Member
Well, this spring weather we’ve been having generally sucks!
Excuse my l’il rant, but am not long back from a month long tropical sabbatical in The Philippines. It was my second time visiting that country and it was once again, an awesome time! Basecamp this time was Cabanatuan City, 160 km north east of Manila. We did manage a few side-trips to places like Baler, Fort Magsaysay, Boracay and Manila … and we lucky enough to spend a day in Tokyo, Japan on the trip back to Newfieland!
My co-workers have been asking me what it’s like there? The “Wild West” comes to mind LOL! As a matter of contrast, Japan is a neat, tidy, orderly, technological wonderland. The Japanese people are reserved and generally quiet to the point of demure. The Philippines, though it too is an Asian country, is pretty much the exact opposite! And that’s part of what makes it such a FUN place to visit (not to say that Japan isn’t fun) … well that and the fact that Filipinos are a pretty awesome bunch of folk!
My “Wild West” comment is a segue … compared to traffic here in Metro S.J., the traffic over there is NUTS, and as a westerner, you need a special pair of cojones to work up the nerve to drive there! Though there ARE official “rules of the road” so-to-speak, practically nobody follows them! Traffic appears to the unfamiliar observer, to be a free-for-all. I was told, after making this observation, that there is actually a form of “etiquette” that is more or less followed … much of it involving the generous and coded use of the horn! Seat belt use is essentially non-existent. Riding in the open back of a pick-up (or even on the roof of a Jeepney!) is tolerated. Traffic lights (which are not as common as here) are a “suggestion”. I did not witness any traffic accidents while beating around the country, but I did see a LOT of close calls … particularly involving motorcycles.
Which is another segue. Motorcycles and their multitude of variants such as Motor Scooters, Tricycles and Tuk-tuks are arguably the most common form of personal transportation in the PH (being considerably more affordable to the average Joe than passenger cars and pick-up trucks). Most two and three-wheelers are small displacement machines; generally in the 100 to 150cc range. 250cc is considered a “large” Bike and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of m/c’s I saw that were larger than this. Not one Harley-Davison did I see the whole time I was there!
The Tricycle, which is a motorcycle or a motor scooter with a side-car attached, functions as the family hauler in lieu of even a sub-compact car; often hauling 4 or more people along with groceries, etc. I literally spent HOURS riding around on or in these things! Tricycles equipped with a railed flat-bed sidecar function as a pick-up truck would here and I saw many carrying astonishingly large loads such as furniture, construction materials and even livestock! Some folk travel long distances between cities or tour the countryside using these smaller machines, though motorcycles smaller than 400cc are not allowed on the country’s few Expressways. I met one young man who weekly commutes to/from his job in Manila a distance of 272 kms to his home in Baler on a 125cc Suzuki … often at night!
Most common public (ground) transportation consists of Jeepney (intra-city) or Van (inter-city). The Jeepney is a flamboyantly decorated “Jeep” conversion that functions much as a metrobus would here. There are other variants of the “Jeepney” made from converted mini-trucks or cube vans. The “Van” is exactly that, the most common of which is the 12-passenger, diesel powered, Toyota Hi-Ace, which can be hired to haul people and packages between cities. Full sized Coaches also run the longer inter-city routes as well.
typical Jeepney
ubiquitous Toyota Hi-Ace
Oddly, public and/or for-hire transportation costs in The Philippines is relatively inexpensive, despite the fact that gasoline isn’t vastly cheaper than here (i.e. 61 pesos/litre = $1.50 CDN … diesel being cheaper still). I'm guessing they don't have carbon tax?
An Economy flight from Manila to Boracay (about same time/distance as flight from YYT to St. Anthony) cost less than $100 CDN!!
Customization in the Philippines is very common and most folk like to add a “personal” touch to whatever vehicle it is that they own. Everything from mere stickers to slammed suspension, custom wheels and the like. Some rather unique trends I saw were “Thai” Bikes … small displacement m/c’s outfitted with ridiculously skinny wheels and tires, loud paint and an obnoxiously shrill exhaust … and OTJ’s, an acronym for “Owner Type Jeep”. OTJ’s resemble a “mini” classic Jeep CJ or Wrangler and are custom made with a stainless steel body and either a 1100cc Aisin (Toyota) 4-cyl. engine, or a small diesel, and a 4-speed manual tranny. No power brakes or steering, fuel injection, belts or air bags here, these vehicles are bare-bones and a throw-back to the 60’s and 70’s! By chance, I got the opportunity to drive one; cool, but nerve-wracking!
typical "OTJ"
I apologize for being long-winded, but just thought I’d give y’all a little look-see into the endlessly fascinating world of motor vehicle life in The Philippines. If you ever have the opportunity to travel there, I highly recommend it!
typical Tricycle. this 110cc Yamaha took 5 of us (incl. driver) and all this gear on a camping trip in Baler; round trip of about 60 kms and didn't miss a beat!
Excuse my l’il rant, but am not long back from a month long tropical sabbatical in The Philippines. It was my second time visiting that country and it was once again, an awesome time! Basecamp this time was Cabanatuan City, 160 km north east of Manila. We did manage a few side-trips to places like Baler, Fort Magsaysay, Boracay and Manila … and we lucky enough to spend a day in Tokyo, Japan on the trip back to Newfieland!
My co-workers have been asking me what it’s like there? The “Wild West” comes to mind LOL! As a matter of contrast, Japan is a neat, tidy, orderly, technological wonderland. The Japanese people are reserved and generally quiet to the point of demure. The Philippines, though it too is an Asian country, is pretty much the exact opposite! And that’s part of what makes it such a FUN place to visit (not to say that Japan isn’t fun) … well that and the fact that Filipinos are a pretty awesome bunch of folk!
My “Wild West” comment is a segue … compared to traffic here in Metro S.J., the traffic over there is NUTS, and as a westerner, you need a special pair of cojones to work up the nerve to drive there! Though there ARE official “rules of the road” so-to-speak, practically nobody follows them! Traffic appears to the unfamiliar observer, to be a free-for-all. I was told, after making this observation, that there is actually a form of “etiquette” that is more or less followed … much of it involving the generous and coded use of the horn! Seat belt use is essentially non-existent. Riding in the open back of a pick-up (or even on the roof of a Jeepney!) is tolerated. Traffic lights (which are not as common as here) are a “suggestion”. I did not witness any traffic accidents while beating around the country, but I did see a LOT of close calls … particularly involving motorcycles.
Which is another segue. Motorcycles and their multitude of variants such as Motor Scooters, Tricycles and Tuk-tuks are arguably the most common form of personal transportation in the PH (being considerably more affordable to the average Joe than passenger cars and pick-up trucks). Most two and three-wheelers are small displacement machines; generally in the 100 to 150cc range. 250cc is considered a “large” Bike and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of m/c’s I saw that were larger than this. Not one Harley-Davison did I see the whole time I was there!
The Tricycle, which is a motorcycle or a motor scooter with a side-car attached, functions as the family hauler in lieu of even a sub-compact car; often hauling 4 or more people along with groceries, etc. I literally spent HOURS riding around on or in these things! Tricycles equipped with a railed flat-bed sidecar function as a pick-up truck would here and I saw many carrying astonishingly large loads such as furniture, construction materials and even livestock! Some folk travel long distances between cities or tour the countryside using these smaller machines, though motorcycles smaller than 400cc are not allowed on the country’s few Expressways. I met one young man who weekly commutes to/from his job in Manila a distance of 272 kms to his home in Baler on a 125cc Suzuki … often at night!
Most common public (ground) transportation consists of Jeepney (intra-city) or Van (inter-city). The Jeepney is a flamboyantly decorated “Jeep” conversion that functions much as a metrobus would here. There are other variants of the “Jeepney” made from converted mini-trucks or cube vans. The “Van” is exactly that, the most common of which is the 12-passenger, diesel powered, Toyota Hi-Ace, which can be hired to haul people and packages between cities. Full sized Coaches also run the longer inter-city routes as well.
typical Jeepney
ubiquitous Toyota Hi-Ace
Oddly, public and/or for-hire transportation costs in The Philippines is relatively inexpensive, despite the fact that gasoline isn’t vastly cheaper than here (i.e. 61 pesos/litre = $1.50 CDN … diesel being cheaper still). I'm guessing they don't have carbon tax?
An Economy flight from Manila to Boracay (about same time/distance as flight from YYT to St. Anthony) cost less than $100 CDN!!
Customization in the Philippines is very common and most folk like to add a “personal” touch to whatever vehicle it is that they own. Everything from mere stickers to slammed suspension, custom wheels and the like. Some rather unique trends I saw were “Thai” Bikes … small displacement m/c’s outfitted with ridiculously skinny wheels and tires, loud paint and an obnoxiously shrill exhaust … and OTJ’s, an acronym for “Owner Type Jeep”. OTJ’s resemble a “mini” classic Jeep CJ or Wrangler and are custom made with a stainless steel body and either a 1100cc Aisin (Toyota) 4-cyl. engine, or a small diesel, and a 4-speed manual tranny. No power brakes or steering, fuel injection, belts or air bags here, these vehicles are bare-bones and a throw-back to the 60’s and 70’s! By chance, I got the opportunity to drive one; cool, but nerve-wracking!
typical "OTJ"
I apologize for being long-winded, but just thought I’d give y’all a little look-see into the endlessly fascinating world of motor vehicle life in The Philippines. If you ever have the opportunity to travel there, I highly recommend it!
typical Tricycle. this 110cc Yamaha took 5 of us (incl. driver) and all this gear on a camping trip in Baler; round trip of about 60 kms and didn't miss a beat!
