the wild ride

the jeepney ride. of course, we filipinos know this is the most economical ride, aside from trisikads (instead of a motorcycle, a bicycle is hooked to the thingy). what with the cost of gas in the world market, taxi cabs nowadays have a flagdown of 30 and 2pesos every.. (hmm, i honestly don't know how that works)

what's so wild about it, you ask. it's the fact that every once in a while, you find something hilarious, crazy, and irritating about it. scenarios present themselves in one of the following ways:

1. the fast and furious - this ride is what it says. you know its eager to go again, as once you step on the platform, you're left weaving your way to the nearest empty seat, holding on for dear life and screaming on the inside. you feel as if you've left your soul by the waiting shed. when these rides go, they absolutely mean it. even though you've timed your destination at approx 1 hour, you'll definitely be there in 20mins tops. this is the ride i love the most, that is when you don't have anxiety attacks every now and then. this is a no-no for people with cardiac problems.


2. the turtle - again, this ride is what it says. it's the exact opposite of the first. ironically, this usually presents itself when you're in need of the first type of ride. while waiting for the next jeepney ride, you find yourself lightly sweating in anxiety as you're left with 15mins to travel for 30min ride. dang TV, BM, FB, or whatever two lettered abbreviation you had in mind. going back, you can almost feel an increased amount of sweat as you realize you're in the wrong ride. once you see the jeepney stop at every jeepney stop, at every other corner, or at any point when there're a congregation of people, that's when it hits. depression, drama, even diarrhea? hehe, just maybe upset stomach. you know you are going to be late. you either step off and hail a taxi OR you just sit there and hope it goes faster, when it's clearly not going to.

3. the pack mule - this is where the drivers or conductors believe their jeepney is the last jeepney on earth. passengers here are packed like a sardine can. you can clearly smell someone's BO or perhaps you've felt someone's sweaty armpit through your shirt. IMO, this is the grossiest ride ever. and what's more funny, is the conductor hails 'desperate' waiting passengers and scams them to believe that there is an open seat. once that (SP) scammed passenger gets in, the driver hits the gas, and the SP ends up hovering in the middle. the SP either sits on someone else's leg (harassing that certain someone), or sits with 3/4 of his butt hovering, or courageously stands up to oppression and bangs their knuckles shouting loudly "i gotta get off" (that sounds rather funny, who wants to "get off" inside a jeepney) ^_~

4. the lounge - ah, this is a good one. that is, if you're not in any hurry. this is where you see people almost lying down. this ride is too spacious if you ask me. passengers here act out their 'inhibitions' if you sit near them, it's as if you have a flesh-eating disease or something, they slide their butts to 4 spaces from you. others even love to hitch up their leg trousers and check their overgrowing toenails. i know disgusting. but i've seen them. others just mainly have a blank look in their eyes, oblivious to what's happening. mostly though, passengers here get the feeling of a road trip, with a fare of course.

okay, that's enough raving for today.

note to self: probably post something about the passengers too.