Filipino Transportation

I found traveling in the Philippines to be much more of a local experience than in the other countries I have been to in Southeast Asia.  Countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia are visited by so many tourists that they have a nice system of organized shuttles that make life so much easier for the traveler.  Here in the Philippines there is no such thing - you take the local bus.  Buses crowded to the point that not one more single person can squeeze in, people riding on top of the bus and hanging out the doors, bus drivers driving like maniacs and dodging all the suicidal sleeping dogs that like to lie in the middle of the road.

Local Filipino Bus

Inside of the bus before it was filled to capacity

The only time I actually found the option of taking a shuttle versus the local bus was on the trip from Puerto Princesa to El Nido in Palawan.  By bus it’s an 8-9 hour hot, dusty, and bumpy journey and by shuttle it was only 6-7 hours in an air-con minibus.  But there are a few downsides to taking a minibus.  When it comes to slick mud you almost always get stuck unlike the bigger buses.  Luckily the driver only made the “boys” get out and push the minibus out.

Stuck in the mud on the way to El Nido

Except for in a few of the bigger cities you will hardly see any taxi’s on the road.  Everyone here drives a “trike” or “tricycle”.  Basically a motorcycle with a side car.  Some can even fit up to 7 people in them and you see them everywhere.

Riding in a trike!

ATM Issues in the Philippines

Since I don’t travel with US dollars I depend on the ATM for getting local currency. Normally it’s not a problem but here in the Philippines it’s a different story. After trial and error I have learned that there are only certain banks here that will actually accept “western” ATM cards. Once you find one of these banks more than likely the machines will be out of cash, especially the closer you get to Sunday. They normally refill them on Monday. Nothing like going from bank to bank to bank trying to find an ATM that will give you cash.

The ATM’s normally give you 500 Peso (about $10) or 1000 Peso (about$20) bills and trying to change these into smaller bills is no easy feat as no one seems to have change. The people here will actually refuse to sell you something or refuse to take you on a taxi if you don’t have small change. Anything over 100 is pretty much unusable. I learned early on to head to the larger supermarkets and chain restaurants like McDonalds to change big bills. Even they would ask if I had smaller change but I knew that they could change my bills and would pretend that I didn’t even though I had a stack of small bills stashed away.

Filipino Religion

I flew from Hong Kong to Cebu airport in the Philippines and I knew from the flight that I was in for a treat. In addition to all the “western” men with Filipino women there were also quite a few missionaries onboard the plane. The Philippines is predominately Christian unlike the other countries I have been to which have been predominately Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist.

I had taken a ferry from one island to another and just before we left the dock a prayer was broadcast over the loudspeaker blessing our journey. Another time I was in an extremely crowded supermarket and at 6pm a prayer was broadcast over the loudspeaker and everybody in the entire store stopped for about 5 minutes to bow their heads in prayer. It was the oddest thing and I felt a little naughty for continuing my shopping while this was going on.

Hello Hong Kong

The great thing about traveling is that there is no plan.  After leaving Indonesia I really didn’t know where I was headed to next.  One of the main factors in determining my next stop was the price of airline flights.  Being in Southeast Asia flights are relatively cheap but since Bali is a hot destination in July and August flying from there to anywhere is expensive.  Since I had quite a few airline miles on Cathay Pacific (based out of Hong Kong) I was able to book a “free” flight from Bali to Hong Kong and then from Hong Kong to Cebu, Philippines.  All of this for under 35,000 miles. 

Hong Kong Skyline

Since I had never explored Hong Kong before I decided to spend a few days there.  I knew that Hong Kong was going to be expensive and after talking with friends who have stayed in Hong Kong I realized that my best bet for a cheap room was to stay in the Chungking Mansion.  

Chungking Mansion

Chungking Mansion is a 17-story building in downtown Hong Kong that is well known as having the cheapest accommodation around. It is made up of five towering concrete blocks and even though the building is supposedly residential, it is has over 80 guesthouses, shops, restaurants, and other services.

Chungking Mansion

I was a little nervous to stay here since I had received an email from the guesthouse I was to stay at warning me that when I got to the Chungking Mansion there would be a crowd of Indian men outside the building trying to persuade me into seeing their “quality” guesthouse.  I was told to push past these men and take the first elevator up to the 12^th floor and there I would find the New Peking Guesthouse.  

Entrance to my guesthouse

Luckily I was staying in Block A so the elevator was near the entrance to the building.  If I was staying in Block E I would have had to walk for what seemed like miles (when you’re fighting off Indian salesmen) to get to the elevator.

There are 2 elevators per block and one goes to the even floors and the other to the odd.  The elevators are tiny and you can cram about 8 people in them.  There are always long lines to get onto the elevator and if too many people try to cram into the elevator and the weight limit has been reached, an alarm will sound and the doors will not shut until someone reluctantly gets off.  Since there are 17 floors you spend a lot of time waiting for the elevator.  I came to dread taking the elevator and unfortunately I was on the 12^th floor and with 90 degree heat I was not so inclined to take the stairs.

The room I stayed in was $30 a night and was similar to a jail cell.  There was just enough room for a bed - I could touch all four walls when lying on the bed.  And the bathroom was nothing more than the tiniest sink I have ever seen and a toilet. 

My tiny room

The view from my room was the backside of Block B and mountains of trash down below.  I do have to say that is was very clean and there were several amenities like TV, aircon, towels, blankets, soap, WiFi.

View from my room

Many of the people staying in the building are laborers from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.  Needless to say that riding the elevators and staying in Chungking Mansion you meet some very interesting characters.