Sunday November 25th - Day of the Jeepney!

An up close look at those petals that look like leaves!

Today I met M and H, two people who work with Chichi. They took us out on Jeepney (pronounced "Jipney") rides to see and get a feel for them. 

Riding on a Jeepney!  (Click the link)

Getting on a Jeepney can be very tricky if you don't know the area or don't know where you're going. Each Jeepney has its own route it follows, sometimes there's a number for the route, other times there are just street names indicated on the front windshield (or on the side panel). 
How to tell which Jeepney goes to the area you want to go? Or which colour Jeepney is the right one to embark on? Some Jeepneys have the same street name indicated but depending on the colour of the Jeepney, go elsewhere. Why, through trial and error, of course! Unless you're fortunate enough to have someone to guide you, you're pretty much on your own. Let's hope you have a better sense of direction than I do!
You could always ask the driver if he's going to a certain area or street. The only problem there is that streets seem to be renamed quite often. What you might see on google maps might no longer be the street name, or it might be the new name, while the driver only knows the old name. (Chichi actually had that problem with a cab driver not knowing where a street was. The driver was honest and nice enough to not charge him fare, and informed him before going too far that he had no idea where he was supposed to be going.)

It's 8 pesos to go anywhere within the city. We were told to be prepared and have lots of small change with us. 
Jeepneys stop at designated places only. Either there will be a sign or there will be a yellow rectangular outline painted on the street. 

You need to keep your eyes open!

They told us about Jeepney terminology. If we want the driver to stop, we say "Para" and you can pay at any time before getting off. You tell them how many you're paying for and which stop you're getting off at. Opat Magsaysay (Opat = 4 people / Magsaysay is the area we were getting off, right next to Chinatown and the Food Association where I got Durian the last time). If you don't know the lingo, you can also give the number of people in Spanish. They use Spanish when counting money, it could work to get you out of a bind, but you'd probably get weird looks from the locals. 
Salamat means thank you, and it's common courtesy to say this after paying and when getting off. 

Because of the way a Jeepney is made, there are 2 benches one on each side. Everyone piles in and the closer you are to the driver, the bigger the chances you'll be paying for everyone. Not out of pocket! People pass their money up towards the front, so it'll be given to the driver. They repeat for how many they're paying and the stop they're getting off at. So once you receive their money, you pass it to the driver and give him the same info. 

The first time it happened to me, I looked down and there was money under my nose! Reluctantly taking someone's money with a confused look on my face, M explained how it worked and to pass it on, so it can get to the driver.

At first it was either M or H paying the driver, then Chichi and I started taking turns. I kept repeating what I had to say because I didn't want to get it wrong and I kept forgetting how to say "four". Using Spanish would be cheating, I wanted to use the correct terms. When it was my turn to pay the driver, I passed him the money and said "opat magsaysay", the driver looked through his rearview mirror and then did a double take and said something. I was confused, I don't speak the language yet! H told me that he said he was surprised and that he said that I said it perfectly! Yippee! 😊


We had a super awesome day and I really loved riding Jeepneys. Getting off however was painful.. I'm tall and a klutz so even though I was trying to be careful I kept knocking my head while getting off. I was also wearing a cap, which might have let me gauge the space between roof and head had I not been wearing it. So minus the bruise that has formed on my head, all is good and I had a great time. 

Our first stop was Magsaysay, we had some durian! Finally durian buddies!! M told us how there are many different types of durian. Some sweeter, some more bitter. We got a bigger one than the one Chichi had bought me last time. The taste and even the spikes on the outer shell were different. Chichi says that's the best tasting durian he's ever had, but refused to take more than 1 bite! Again, no pictures of him eating durian lol I must try to catch him in the act!
It was a very yummy durian! It had a slightly buzzing taste on the tongue. We ate all but 2 half pods, it was very stuffing.

H, M and yours truly, caught while stuffing my face!

Then we went back to the tribal village in the park nearby, the same one we had been at the last time. H explained how the huts had been put there as demonstrations, even if there are people living there now, it gives a chance for the tribes to sell their merchandise and if you would want to, you could even go into the huts to see how it was inside. 
Chichi showed them the "mango" tree we had seen and we were told the dried looking fruit in the tree weren't mangos. They couldn't remember what kind of tree it was. They showed us real mango trees bearing fruit later that evening. 

We went back to the lookout, where we had seem black sand last time. M explained how the island in the horizon was Samal Island. We saw no sand this time around. The tide was high, with big waves. Little kids crowded around us and followed us as we walked, asking us to throw coins into the water for them, so they could go swim and get them. They were tiny boys, those waves would've whisked them away! 
H nodded to the right, said those were the slums, then we turned and headed out of the park, towards another destination. 

I'm glad we didn't "visit" the slums, as much as I'm glad they didn't offer to take us into the huts. I love taking pictures, but I don't like to disturb peoples' privacy in the process. People are living in those huts, just as people are living in those slums, they might not have much, but I bet gawking eyes into their lives is not something they'd enjoy. I guess I put myself in their shoes in those cases. Even if I were okay living the way I am, I wouldn't want someone coming into my house to take pictures of how I live. Does that make sense?

Another Jeepney ride took us to different parks. The first place was kind of like a town square. Asphalted area, there was live music, people selling street food and drinks, balloons, an area with chairs towards the back where they'll give you massages. We had some coconut juice poured into bags, a straw is inserted in the top and you need to hold the bag from the opening, lest it fall down and spill out. From there, we park hopped as we headed towards People's Park, we passed San Pedro park along the way. Chichi got some good mileage for his eggs!

As night was falling, we made our way to Roxas Avenue for the night market. Here you will find lots of street food. Most, if not all, will serve the same type of food. As M explained, they sell the same things but people look for the best deals (prices) as well as the best tastes. Lots of raw food (innards and seafood) which they grill for you on the spot. It was a street of smoke! Not the most pleasant smells as there was an odor that reminded me of when La Queue de Cheval would clean their grills, and the stench would waft into our air ducts at work. Not very appetizing. 
It's an every night, night market. Both M and H say it's very popular with students as well as others, since the food is very cheap and filling. Maybe one day I'll try it, but not that night. I did have a drink, very tasty. Coconut milk with that green jelly. Lower down the same street, after the food stalls, there are many stalls of clothes. H explained how most of those clothes are second hand and sent from other countries. Here they're sold at a much cheaper price than elsewhere and if you buy clothes here, you wash them at least 8 times! 

Roxas Ave Night Market (Click the link)

The night market! Look at all that smoke!

From there we made our way to a Lyndon's, World's Worst Ribs & Awful Chicken resto. Don't let the name fool you, it's an amazingly yummy resto! We decided to take a few dishes and share, which is how food should always be eaten! :D

We decided on Sinampalukang Sampalok (goat meat), Pho Ta! Bulalo (even if they didn't have any rice noodles) and Tuna Belly (grilled). The taste was out of this world! The goat meat was really good, not what goat meat usually tastes like. I find it usually tastes as though your licking the actual goat, this was nothing like that. Had I not known it was goat, I'd have never figured it out! The bulalo was savoury, the corn a little overcooked but I still loved it. Different from the bulalo I've grown to love at Max's (a resto here at Abreeza Mall), but great in its own element. By the time we got around to the tuna belly, our own bellies were quite full. I did have a taste and it too was super yummy! 

From left to right, we have goat, bulalo and tuna belly!

Lyndon's got some really cool wall art! 

Minions!!

Mr. Bean

Is this Bruce Willis?? lol

Jim Carrey

      
           

   

Is that Jackie Chan Spiderman? lol

For Sylvie!!

Freddie Mercury!

My tummy was bursting and I had to poop, so off we went. On our last trip back to the hotel, we took a cab as I don't think I could've made it to a Jeepney, as there were none passing on that street towards where we had to go! While waiting for the cab, they (everyone else) decided on going out afterwards. I only found out later, once I was relieved (it's really hard to listen to what others are saying when you're concentrating hard to get yourself safely to the throne!).

Stores are open late here every day. There's no 5pm closures on weekends, it's 9pm every day! The girls went shopping while I relieved myself, Chichi teasing me as he waited. My tummy wasn't completely fine, but enough for the time. Finally we could go on our way! We decided to walk to our destination, it's really not far. Thai Boran. We went for massages! My first Thai massage so I have nothing to compare it to, but Chichi says it was different than the massages he received in Thailand. Still, it was enough to remove the pain from my shoulders. 

We could only go two at a time, so we let the H and M go first. H went for a Swedish massage and M for a Thai massage. We had an hour's wait and so while we waited, to make our wait more comfortable we were ushered into a different room. The lights were off, the a/c running, a faint smell of eucalyptus (all other areas had a stronger eucalyptus scent). There was a guy snoozing on an armchair, getting his feet massaged. We too had an armchair and leg rest each, we were so pooped from the excitement of the day that Chichi joined him in the song of his people and I too, on occasion. You know when you're not quite passed out, but on the verge of sleep, and then you snore and wake yourself up. That was me. 

They came to get us later, and motioned to us towards the back. There, they washed our feet and gave us slippers and then had us follow them to the massage stalls. So in we go, to lie down on the mats and change into the t-shirt and shorts they've laid out for us. It's a relaxing atmosphere. 

My tummy started acting up again. I sure hoped I could hold out until we got back to the hotel. Having never had a Thai massage before, I knew not what was coming for me! Chichi was on the mattress next to me, separated only by a drawn curtain. All of a sudden I here him tell me, "don't fart!". Oh, ho ho.. try as I might, I launched a few! Still, no one had come yet and thankfully it smells strongly of eucalyptus, so no worries, right? Ok, I think my tummy's calmed down a bit. I should be fine until we get back... it was not to be. Enter the massage therapist. Oh no, my tummy's grumbling again! I must hold back and hold back I did. The mystery of the Thai massage did not stay mysterious for much longer. They stretch you, massage your muscles, pull your legs. But when they pull your legs, they push on your butt... To my embarrassment, it launched and I died. The message therapist burst into giggles. She didn't seem to mind, and she didn't keel over dead, so I call that a win! My tummy also started feeling better, so all in all it ended well. 



That night we both slept like babies!