Naga at Random - In Transit

As stated in my previous entry, I went to Naga City last election weekend. I kept my senses alert in order to observe the political drama that was unfolding there, but I got to absorb more stuff and generate more thoughts than I expected. Not a problem though, as they would all be blog fodder.

I went to my home city by bus, as I usually do. It was an eight-hour trip on the average, so a lot can happen in that period of time. One such unfortunate event was of the bus breaking down in the middle of nowhere. Back in college, I did have a fair share of this kind of misadventures. I remember one morning, when we were on our last leg of the journey to Naga, smoke was suddenly emanating from the underbelly of the vehicle and was filling up the interior. It got to the point that I was breathing through the aircon vent. There's a little exaggeration there, but you get the point.

Speaking of air conditioning, I can't tolerate the frigid temperatures; I prefer the air cool, not cold. Better yet, I'd open the windows; there are some parts in Quezon province where the air is good that you'd wonder how you survive the Metro pollution. I hear there's some sort of pollution field around Metro Manila wherein once inside, the temperature suddenly jumps and the breathing isn't as relaxing as in the countryside (ah the smell of trees and fields and manure).

Back to the broken down buses, those second-hand buses from Japan. In college, I rode Highway Express, said to be the pioneer of the CR-in-the-bus. I put up with the sudden repairs in some desolate location because, as far as I know, they had safety-conscious (slow) drivers. Compare that to speed-crazy Philtranco whose buses would cut the trip to Naga down to six hours or cut short your life. We once passed by two Philtranco buses that bumped into each other somewhere in Quezon province. What's with the need for speed? In night trips, I don't need to arrive early; I prefer that I arrive in either Naga or Cubao with the sun already shining. By that time, the MRT and LRT are already open and jeepneys are plying their routes; thus, I am no longer at the mercy of taxi and tricycle drivers who charge "special" nighttime rates.

Moving on, I guess the frequent repairs and mounting customer dissatisfaction took its toll on Highway Express, and the company closed shop by the time I graduated. I now ride Isarog, another slow-driving bus line. They seem to focus on comfort although I have yet to ride their bus with the Lazy Boy seats.

Their buses break down too, as what I experienced in this recent trip to Naga. I was originally reserved for the single-seater bus, but due to some mechanical failure, the vehicle didn't make it to Cubao. We unlucky passengers were transferred to a double-seater with jump seats at the aisle for that added cramped feeling. Knowing that sitting on jump seats are never comfortable, much less sleep inducing, I was still fortunate to be assigned a normal seat by the aisle. However, assigned to the jump seat beside me was this middle-aged lady. Now, I would just be tormented if I did not show some care, so I offered to exchange seats. She kindly declined. Chivalry is dead. Or perhaps she merely judged herself hardier than this young man with a skeletal build. During the trip, the bus had to make a few stops for impromptu repairs, so much for being a replacement. It crossed my mind to demand a refund, but I am too merciful for my own good, a sad day for consumer rights, to think that the daughter of the owner had been my classmate in a college elective.

All these delays expectedly made the sun rise on our trip while still three towns away from Naga. Heck, we even managed to snag traffic when the bus broke down in the middle of a one-way passage. Now how the heck would the National Highway become one-way? Blame it on the last-minute roadwork courtesy of the local politician who hopes to get re-elected. One consolation was that we arrived to a city that was wide awake, and I got to ride the jeepney instead of a rip-off tricycle.

Speaking of jeepney rides, it seems that after two years of daily commuting to work via the jeepney, I have gotten used to them. Thus on the day of my arrival, instead of resting, I was on the road to places I shall write about in my next post. Add to that the destinations I have reached on foot, an indication that this young man with a skeletal build does have a great walking range or that the big city of his childhood has shrunk in scale in the perspective of the Manila-based grown-up.

On the trip back to Manila, I rode the Amihan bus. In the process of shifting gears to move out of the Naga City Integrated Bus Terminal, the engine just died on us, and the driver had difficulty restarting it! I was about to decide that this break down took the cake among those I had experienced, but the advantage of being in the terminal meant that help was immediate. The engine woes proved to be a minor hiccup as we commenced into a smooth trip through light traffic. This was a day trip, so I got to see Lamon Bay (pictured here) while going through the Quezon towns of Gumaca and Atimonan, arguably one of the major highlights of the trip (it's even more dramatic when going the other way, towards Naga, since at Atimonan, the road descends and opens into a view of the bay, just like in the movies).

Lastly, a Naga-Manila trip's not complete without witnessing "road kill" like the two unfortunate Philtranco buses I mentioned earlier. Well in this trip I saw one right before entering the South Superhighway. A small truck rammed into a roadside Laguna residence, and the carnage seemed fresh because the pedestrian kibitzers were still gawking at the dazed and bloodied driver inside the wreck. Our bus conductor and driver discussed the victim's fate, with one of them declaring that an amputation of both legs would be inevitable.

Pabaon / For the road:

While I ride the bus occasionally, my friend Arlene commutes to work everyday in this mode of public transport. Expectedly, she has a fair share of bus tales starting with this one.

More info on going to Naga is found in the city tourism site. There's a link to an updated PDF file for trip schedules and rates. I also got the map of Camarines Sur in another of its links.