#3
Hotness!
#2
Wearable!
It's sooo her!
Honorable mention:
What a wicked sense of humor!
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Pilya entries
Okies, judging time! my top three pilya picks are:
#3
Hotness!
#2
Wearable!
It's sooo her!
Honorable mention:
What a wicked sense of humor!
#3
Hotness!
#2
Wearable!
It's sooo her!
Honorable mention:
What a wicked sense of humor!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
A Bumpy Start
Trouble started at 9 am Sunday night, when the car rental company sent us an SMS that we won't be getting the Vios until Tuesday, or 10 am on Monday. Would we mind if they gave us a 1.6 Altis instead? We just shrugged it off and decided to go back to Manila after Punta Fuego.
When we got the car, we discovered that it had a computer-printed plate number on laminated bond paper as license plates, but it had LTO stickers. We decided that, oh well, this is the Philippines, after all.
We settled all our accounts at the flat at around 11 am. With the Philippine road map we had bought two days ago at National bookstore and a Philippine guidebook, we went to my parents to pick up more stuff for the trip.
When we got to St. Andrew's Church along Quirino Avenue IN Parañaque, five blocks from my house, a lady traffic cop stopped us and motioned us t park. We couldn't park because we were in the middle of two intersections in front of a market, and jeeps were right behind us. As we were looking for a place to stop, the lady cop went all C.H.i.P.S on us and gave chase with her motorcycle, blocking our path.
"Okay, be calm, just smile. They just want a bribe from us," said Thomas. They didn't see that Thomas was foreign since the windows were one-way mirrors.
When the windows rolled down, a woman with yellowed teeth started cursing us in Tagalog.
"P***INa nyo tatakbuhan niyo pa ako! Bakit hindi kayo tumigil? Bawal yun pllaka ninyo!"
I answered her in English so Thomas could understand what was going on, when she cut me off and said "Ikaw ha, Ini-English nyo pa ako, dun kayo sa prisinto magpaliwanag!"
I was so agitated, I refused to leave the car. I explained to them that this was a rent-a-car hire, and we had no power over the plates.
I was shocked. Right in my hometown, I encounter a corrupt cop! Oh well better here than in the province. Agitated, I called my mother and my granduncle, who promised to bring us one of his cop friends. My mother sent us an SMS of all the connections she knew, from the Parañaque congressman to Gen. Sacramento. A few minutes later, my granduncle came with his friend in tow. We called the rent-a-car service to explain what was going on. Turns out, the owner was driving the Vios after picking it up from the last customer. He got to Parañaque in 30 minutes, and was sent to a room.
We later learned that the cops hassled 1,500 pesos from him. When he turned over the Vios, he gave us strict instructions to tell policemen that the car belongs to "my cousin" whenever we are stopped; apparently rent-a-car owners are charged much.
My parents were also in a bind; the Mercedes van they borrowed was in bad shape, and had to stop every 15 minutes because of engine overheat. They left at 9 am and arrived at 3 pm.
We had a map that showed us a shorter road to Punta Fuego via Maragondon; so we decided to take that road. It lead to a dead end called Caylabne resort. So we had to drive back, and fueled up. The attendant explained that our map was wrong! The coastal road in the map didn't exist! The auxilliary road was apparently infested by NPAs, so our only choice was to turn back via Tagaytay, 30 minutes away.
We reached Punta Fuego at 6 30 p.m., to find my parents at the gate. Apparently, Terrazas de Punta Fuego closed at 6, so we had to go to the peninsula de Punta Fuego 5 kilometers down the road, where the hotel was...
When we got the car, we discovered that it had a computer-printed plate number on laminated bond paper as license plates, but it had LTO stickers. We decided that, oh well, this is the Philippines, after all.
We settled all our accounts at the flat at around 11 am. With the Philippine road map we had bought two days ago at National bookstore and a Philippine guidebook, we went to my parents to pick up more stuff for the trip.
When we got to St. Andrew's Church along Quirino Avenue IN Parañaque, five blocks from my house, a lady traffic cop stopped us and motioned us t park. We couldn't park because we were in the middle of two intersections in front of a market, and jeeps were right behind us. As we were looking for a place to stop, the lady cop went all C.H.i.P.S on us and gave chase with her motorcycle, blocking our path.
"Okay, be calm, just smile. They just want a bribe from us," said Thomas. They didn't see that Thomas was foreign since the windows were one-way mirrors.
When the windows rolled down, a woman with yellowed teeth started cursing us in Tagalog.
"P***INa nyo tatakbuhan niyo pa ako! Bakit hindi kayo tumigil? Bawal yun pllaka ninyo!"
I answered her in English so Thomas could understand what was going on, when she cut me off and said "Ikaw ha, Ini-English nyo pa ako, dun kayo sa prisinto magpaliwanag!"
I was so agitated, I refused to leave the car. I explained to them that this was a rent-a-car hire, and we had no power over the plates.
I was shocked. Right in my hometown, I encounter a corrupt cop! Oh well better here than in the province. Agitated, I called my mother and my granduncle, who promised to bring us one of his cop friends. My mother sent us an SMS of all the connections she knew, from the Parañaque congressman to Gen. Sacramento. A few minutes later, my granduncle came with his friend in tow. We called the rent-a-car service to explain what was going on. Turns out, the owner was driving the Vios after picking it up from the last customer. He got to Parañaque in 30 minutes, and was sent to a room.
We later learned that the cops hassled 1,500 pesos from him. When he turned over the Vios, he gave us strict instructions to tell policemen that the car belongs to "my cousin" whenever we are stopped; apparently rent-a-car owners are charged much.
My parents were also in a bind; the Mercedes van they borrowed was in bad shape, and had to stop every 15 minutes because of engine overheat. They left at 9 am and arrived at 3 pm.
We had a map that showed us a shorter road to Punta Fuego via Maragondon; so we decided to take that road. It lead to a dead end called Caylabne resort. So we had to drive back, and fueled up. The attendant explained that our map was wrong! The coastal road in the map didn't exist! The auxilliary road was apparently infested by NPAs, so our only choice was to turn back via Tagaytay, 30 minutes away.
We reached Punta Fuego at 6 30 p.m., to find my parents at the gate. Apparently, Terrazas de Punta Fuego closed at 6, so we had to go to the peninsula de Punta Fuego 5 kilometers down the road, where the hotel was...
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Overdrive
Eraserheads/Barbie Almabis
Alam mo mayron akong pangarap sa buhay
sana matupad na
magda-drive ako hanggang Baguio
magda-drive ako hanggang Bicol
magda-drive ako hanggang Batangas
tapos magswi-swimming dun sa beach
isasama ko ang boyfriend ko
isasama ko kahit sinong may gusto
kahit may kasama siyang aso
basta't meron siyang dalang sariling buto
magdadala ako ng pagkain
burger fries tapsilog at siopao
magda-drive ako hanggang Visayas
magda-drive ako hanggang sa Mindanao
magda-drive ako buong taon
magda-drive ako habang buhay
magda-drive ako hanggang buwan
please please lang turuan mo
akong magdrive
gusto kong matutong magdrive
(kahit na walang kotse)
gusto kong matutong magdrive
(kahit na walang lisensya)
magdrive....drive
drive
In the tradition of my favorite road-trip stories like Lolita and Y Tu Mama Tambien, Thomas and I are going on a month-long journey around the Philippines. We rented a Toyota 2005 Vios 1.3 engine (not practical but the cheapest). I took a leave from work. I was so afraid to do it.I've never really gone on holiday, so I accumulated three months' worth of leaves after four years on the job, and the paranoid in me worries that I will get fired.
Our journey will take us, appropriately enough to Punta Fuego, Batangas with the family, then Thomas and I soldier on to Sagada, Laoag, Vigan, Legaspi. Then we return the car and fly to Cebu and roam Bohol. I may not be able to update my blog regularly. A sanitized chronicle of my journey will appear on Asian Journal.
I've always wanted to go on a backpacking tour around the country ever since I got out of university. However, I listened to my parents and elders, who always held me back. Well, since I have somebody to go with me now, all their arguments about how dangerous it is for a single female to go out across the country is out the window! This is a chance for me to do something I've always wanted to do, so I'm taking it. I now have the money to do t, and I've made the time for it.
The flat is clean now, and we're in the process of moving out. A new chapter in my life is unfolding, and I might be in for a roller-coaster on 2006.
So buckle your seatbelts, boys and girls, it's going to be a bumpy ride!
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