The King of the Philippine Roads

All this talk about nationalism and Philippine Culture made me want to post something about our Jeepneys.  Love them or hate them, our country would come to a standstill if we didn't have these little handmade marvels.

Every now and then I find myself in one of these and I have to say I love it.  People sit side by side facing the other row of passengers.  At rush hour we all get packed in like sardines and yet still manage to zone out and maintain our "private"space.  We pass our fares to each other until it reaches the driver and the people closest to the rear entrance help old folks, women carrying heavy loads or children on board.  

Aesthetically speaking the colorful exterior is sometimes matched inside but the old stickers espousing "Basta Driver Sweet Lover" and "God Knows Judas not Pay" are few and far between.  Gone now also are the blaring low grade speakers that pump out the latest street tune maybe because of a city ordinance.  If you are lucky though you can hear one or two plying your route.  I usually wait to see if I can catch the noisiest one heading my way.  I flag it down and enter it, and if I'm lucky and it's night time, that usually means you can ride along to the music covered in a red or purple glow emitted by that one bulb right in the middle of the roof.  "On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair . . . ."