Caution should be taken when dealing with taxi drivers. They can spot foreign tourists a mile away and will move in like sharks on a blood trail. Just the fact that you are a tourist means you are comparatively rich. They will hope that you don't have a good sense of how far you need to go or how much it will cost to get there. Before you go anywhere, be sure you have agreed on a price or use the meter. It is also a good idea to research in advance what the average fare should be to your destination.
We heard one horror story from an older German man and his wife that made these facts very clear to us. They got in the cab to go to the same hotel we did at roughly the same time. Our cab cost us P100 for the trip and we established the price before we left. The Germans failed to work the price out ahead of time and the driver started demanding P700 for the trip once they were half way there. Fortunately for the German couple, they had traveled this road a few days earlier with a reputable driver and knew how much it should cost. An argument ensued and the German finally demanded to be taken back to the airport. Rather than lose the fare, the driver took them to the hotel for P100.
One of the taxi drivers' favorite tricks is to say, "the traffic is very heavy in that direction, it would be better to quote a price and not use the meter". This is often a trick to raise the price. Accept this offer during morning and evening rush hours only. If at all possible get them to use the meter, after all, that is what it is there for. I can't be sure of this, but I feel we would have gotten off cheaper on every cab ride we took if we had insisted on using the meter instead of setting a price.
Air conditioning is extra. If you pick an older beat-up looking taxi, odds are it will not be air-conditioned. There is no trouble with this if that is what you want. If you choose a nice, new looking taxi, it will probably be air conditioned. If the point is not brought up, ask about it because air conditioning is not free. It usually cost and additional P15 on top of whatever the meter says (if you are using the meter).
The
jeepney is the primary form of transportation for the local population.
It is the most affordable means of transportation in the Philippines,
provided you have the time. Jeepneys are primarily large custom
built diesel powered vehicles that bear a strong resemblance to
the vehicle for which they were originally fashioned--the US army
Jeep.
After General Douglas McArthor's departure from the Philippines after World War II, thousands of surplus jeeps were apparently abandoned. The resourceful Filipino people started converting these surplus vehicles into vehicles of mass transportation. The final result was the jeepney, which has become a unique trademark symbol of the Philippines. Over the years, countless colorful adornments have been added to the vehicles, making each one a very individualistic work of art.
In Manila, a ride cost P2 for the first two kilometers and P1 for each additional kilometer. The most expensive jeepney ride we took in Manila cost us P6 each. The streets are jammed packed with them all day and well into the night.
The biggest confusion for me about riding a jeepney is knowing which one to get on. They run on routes with their current destination posted with a small sign on the passenger side of the front windshield. When they reach that destination, the sign is flipped over or replaced with another sign. In order to get on the correct jeepney you had to know the end destination of the jeepney. The easiest way to know for sure was to ask someone. Almost all the stores had security guards on the street by the entrance and they were always very happy to help.
Once
on board a jeepney, knowing the correct place to get off was also
critical. Asking the driver to tell us where to get off worked
some of the time. Outside of that, there is a little guesswork
involved. These vehicles are built with Filipinos in mind. For
Kurt and I, seeing out of the jeepney to note location was virtually impossible.
Our heads all but rubbed the roof of the vehicle. Seeing out was
only accomplished by leaning way over to one side and this was
virtually impossible on the crowded vehicles.
There are some assumed rules that govern ones behavior on a jeepney. Rule one seemed to be "don't talk to anyone you don't already know". People are embarrassed and made uncomfortable when you talk to them, much like Americans get when someone talks to them in an elevator. The only difference is that jeepney rides in rush hour traffic can last well over two hours. Kurt insisted on breaking this rule and attempted to talk to anyone and everyone. People were friendly but somewhat shocked at his intrusion into their mental personal space. Rule two is that only men can hang on the back of a full jeepney. We noticed some tourist women breaking this rule but you will rarely see a Filipino woman doing this.
Outside
Manila, jeepneys criss-cross the countryside on rough schedules.
Often, drivers sit in one location and wait until the Jeepney
gets full of people before they will go anywhere. Jeepneys are
often crowded, and hanging on the sides or riding on top is the
only way of getting to your destination. The fare is 5 pesos cheaper
if you opt to ride on the top. We did see some Americans riding
on top of jeepneys but the roof was primarily reserved for Filipino
passengers.
Expect to see any and all types of cargo transported by jeepney. Perhaps the strangest thing we saw going down the road was a motorcycle upright on the top of a jeepney with a rider mounted on it. I have no earthly idea how he got the thing up there.
TRANSPORTATION VIA TRICYCLE
A tricycle is an interesting union of car and motorcycle. They are standard motorcycles with custom built side-cars welded permanently to the bike's frame. The sidecars are complete with full windshields and roofs. Two small people will fit in the sidecar and a third can ride on the back seat of the motorcycle seated side-saddle behind the driver. We saw a slightly modified version of this design in Talisay that held five passengers.
These
vehicles are prevalent in all the areas we visited, but were most
prevalent by far on the island of Palawan. The fare for a tricycle
ride on Palawan was P2 per person in the daytime and P3 in the
evening. These prices make the tricycle an affordable mode of
transportation for the local population. The drivers take great
pride in decorating the interior with all manner of stick-on messages
and hand painted messages.
TRICYCLE DRIVERS CAN BE GREAT RESOURCES
We met up with a tricycle driver named "Ike" outside the Bajao Inn Hotel in Palawan. We found him to be an invaluable source of cheap information and a steadfastly loyal servant. We had taken the hotel's transportation from the airport but disliked the room available and set out to find other accommodations. Our instructions to Ike were to take us to some place nicer. Two stops later we found the Emerald hotel much more to our liking. It took Ike two trips to get all five of us and our luggage to the new hotel. He then inquired what we wanted to do the following day and we told him we wanted to go scuba diving. Five minutes later we were off to arrange a dive trip with Island Divers. Unfortunately the Island Diver shop was closed so we had to wait till the next day. Before 7:30 in the morning, Ike was patiently waiting for us in the lobby. Again we went to Island Divers and found out that we would not be able to dive until the following day.
Plan "B" was to go to the underground river in Sabang. Ike took us back to the hotel and shot off again. He returned 10 minutes later with a jeepney and driver to take us to Sabang. Ike went along with us as a "guide" and spent the entire 14 hour day with us for P150 or $6 US. Gina was quick to tip him well on top of that. He made a total of $10 for the day and that was probably over twice what he could have made had he not latched onto us.
The following morning, sure enough there Ike was in the lobby again ready for another adventure. Ike took Kurt, Lani and I to Island Divers and went back to the hotel to get Tad and Gina. They were heading to Honda Bay to go snorkeling and Ike was ready for them. On the bike luggage rack, Ike had attached an ice chest full of ice. Their first stop was the local market where they purchased squid and other sea food delicacies. They then preceded to Honda Bay where Gina and Tad spend an hour snorkeling. Upon their return from the reef, Ike had a fully prepared meal awaiting them. Again Gina tipped Ike well for his services.
TRAFFIC
The traffic in Manila is unimaginably bad. In rush hour, expect bumper to bumper traffic to last for hours. We took a jeepney across town starting at 4:00pm. It took us over three hours to get to our destination. We noticed that a jogger traveling a parallel course to our own had well surpasses us within a few minutes. Traveling back to our hotel that evening at midnight took less than half an hour by taxi.
DRIVING ETIQUETTE
There is none. Perhaps that is too harsh of a statement but it is much different than driving conditions anywhere in the United States (including Los Angeles). Someone went to a lot of trouble to paint lines on the street and put up traffic lights but no one seems to pay any attention to them. Be prepared to see your jeepney or taxi driver swerve in and out of any lane he wants to be in any time he feels like it. Cutting someone off or forcing into a busy lane of traffic is par for the course.
Only about half of the time do traffic signals do any good at all. At rush hour they seem to help but after that they are mostly ignored. Taxi drivers seem to be the worst about obeying signals. We had several occurrences where drivers stopped and then drove through a red light and one where the driver didn't even bother to slow down.
Perhaps the most essential piece of equipment on the Filipino vehicle is the horn. Every driver uses the horn all the time. In most places in the United States, a horn blast is exclusively for use in emergencies or to get the attention of the occasional idiot stopped at a traffic light day-dreaming well after the light has changed to green. In the Philippines, a horn blast is used almost any time someone passes, changes lanes, or is a little irritated at someone. It is used much like a turn signal as if to say, "here I come, look out".
In America you will find a traffic cop every few hundred yards just waiting to give you a ticket. In the Philippines I did not see one anywhere, anytime. Strangely enough, they did not seem to be missed either.
The driving conditions were a little disconcerting at times, but everyone seemed to be used to them. During our two week stay, we saw no accidents, and surprisingly enough, no dented up cars that looked like they had been in accidents.
The most affordable cars on the streets of Manila are locally built jeep-like kit cars constructed of parts from a variety of sources. Japan is the largest importer of cars in the Philippines. Newer brands from Korea are being introduced in the local market. A Honda Accord sold for 300,000 pesos or around $12,000 US. This is extremely expensive considering that a decent income is $100.00. For this reason, cars are mostly old. You can almost bet that the newer cars are owned by the richer folks or are used as a taxi.
There aren't any. Well, I take that back, I did see one beat up old Porsche 914 and it was on a car lot. In all seriousness, there were very, very few on the roads. I know there were people around with the money to purchase sports cars because we saw the occasional Mercedes on the street. My hypotheses for this is that sports cars are not very practical here. They are too low-slung to handle much of the dirt road conditions and the traffic on the paved roads of the cites is so bad, their acceleration and high top-end speeds are useless.
A truck driver on a dirt road outside Sagata asked me about the
roads in America. He had never been to a big city and never driven
his truck faster than about 60 KPH (40 MPH). His truck did not
even have a speedometer on it. He was amazed when I told him about
all trucks on the roads of America going 100 KPH. When I told
him my car was capable of over 200 KPH he didn't believe it was
possible.
I
often wonder how much fun it would be to haul my Nissan 300ZX
out to a remote town and drive it down the street just the see
if the local population would notice. Maybe they wouldn't notice
or care.
A bandanna is a useful item to carry. Bandannas, hand towels or other cloths are often worn or carried and placed over the nose and mouth in dusty or polluted situations. When traveling on the remote dirt roads, a thick layer of dust quickly builds up on passengers and cargo. A bandanna cuts down on the amount of particulants inhaled. In the large cities like Manila they are used to cut down on vehicle fumes. I don't know if they are effective in this capacity but many people use them. In fact, you can purchase bandannas and towels from vendors on the street while riding in jeepneys. These vendors will come up to jeepneys while they are stopped at lights hopping someone onboard had forgotten them.
Book Your Trip To The Philippines Right Now!Manila Bacolod Baguio Cebu Davao Palawan Banaue More Airline Reservations Tours Destination Guide |