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browsing public transport |
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March 12, 2001 Riding public transport is an educational experience. Of course, if you're forced to ride public transport, the education gets lost on you sometimes. I rode the MRT going to school today. As usual, the queues were long. Once inside, the ride was a breeze. While waiting, I decided to observe the people taking the MRT. Most of them looked well-to-do. There were students among the lot. I noted some of them holding cellphones. Then my mind backtracked a bit-- a lot of Filipinos have cellphones, so that wasn't really a good indicator of economic status. (note: I should write about that one of these days) Some of them looked like students. There was a policeman among the passengers. He looked young, mid-30s I guessed. There was also a man in army fatigues at the station where I boarded. Probably part of the security forces, with the (semi) recent LRT bombing, among other bombings. On the other hand, a non-aircon bus is a different story altogether. I don't ride non-aircon buses that often. Usually, when I get down at Baclaran, I hop into one heading towards the MRT Station at Taft/Pasay Rotonda. Or on the ride home, I hop into one heading to Baclaran, if I can't find a bus that will pass by Las Piñas. However, whenever I do ride a non-aircon bus, it's quite an experience. You get an idea of life in the Philippines. Once, I rode a shabby looking bus to Baclaran. It was quite late, around 7 in the evening. I left really late after a round of Counterstrike with a couple of friends. The bus was half-occupied (or half-empty, whichever way you'd like to look at it). The first few rows were occupied, so I decided to sit somewhere in the back rows. At the long end row of seats, at the very back of the bus, sat several grubby looking kids. The bus conductor, a stout woman in her mid-40s, spotted them and began to scold them. She recognized one of the kids, a teenager with long disheveled hair. He had pulled a knife at her once. And they didn't pay. I observed the handful of street children. Their clothes weren't very dirty, but soiled enough. I overheard one of them talking about getting more rugby. It's amazing what you can learn about you're own country on public transport. |
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© the Lizard's asylum 2001. All rights reserved. | ||||
