SIDE TRIP 43: Chained
I thought the roads in Samar were bad. Really bad. All potholes, no pavement. Aaaargh! The incumbent Congressman’s wife took a beating in the last elections because of them. (GMA then promptly installed him as BID Commissioner. What the f__k?!)
An American visitor once commented “I don’t see roads like these anymore, not even in Africa!” Of course I bristled at being compared to some God-forsaken little African nation ravaged by civil wars and where people die of hunger every day. Is the Philippines really worse off?
And then I took the San Jose to Roxas road on Mindoro island and discovered just what “bad road” really really meant. I was going to catch the RORO to Caticlan in Roxas and that entailed going over the mountains separating Occidental from Oriental Mindoro. And what an experience it was!
The road – if one can call it that – was fit only for carabaos: muddy, slippery, with deeply rutted tire tracks, leaving little room to maneuver. Forget about using your pretty little car; it won’t get past the first ten meters on that hellish stretch from Banban to Milagrosa. The jeepney was literally swimming on mud! I thought we were not going to make it.
But of course, Pinoy ingenuity will always prevail. The two rear tires of the jeepney were fitted with iron chains for more traction, and its front fender was equipped with “wings” -- a kind of pulley where one end of the cable is tied to a tree so it can pull the jeepney up. Wonderful.
Umm.. did I mention the Vice President of the Philippines comes from Mindoro? He obviously doesn’t take that road.
The "Wings" on the front fender:
An American visitor once commented “I don’t see roads like these anymore, not even in Africa!” Of course I bristled at being compared to some God-forsaken little African nation ravaged by civil wars and where people die of hunger every day. Is the Philippines really worse off?
And then I took the San Jose to Roxas road on Mindoro island and discovered just what “bad road” really really meant. I was going to catch the RORO to Caticlan in Roxas and that entailed going over the mountains separating Occidental from Oriental Mindoro. And what an experience it was!
The road – if one can call it that – was fit only for carabaos: muddy, slippery, with deeply rutted tire tracks, leaving little room to maneuver. Forget about using your pretty little car; it won’t get past the first ten meters on that hellish stretch from Banban to Milagrosa. The jeepney was literally swimming on mud! I thought we were not going to make it.
But of course, Pinoy ingenuity will always prevail. The two rear tires of the jeepney were fitted with iron chains for more traction, and its front fender was equipped with “wings” -- a kind of pulley where one end of the cable is tied to a tree so it can pull the jeepney up. Wonderful.Umm.. did I mention the Vice President of the Philippines comes from Mindoro? He obviously doesn’t take that road.
The "Wings" on the front fender:
posted by Miki at
5:05 PM
16 Comments:
It is dismaying to think that roads in such state of neglect still exist in our country. It's very obvious that the road hasn't been maintained for decades. Such a shame.
As for the chains, Americans and Europeans tie chains around their tires too whenever they drive in the snow for the same reason that chains provide better traction.
GMA is truly an awful leader, isn't she? She obviously prizes personal loyalty over performance.
on the other hand, that trip gave me quite an adrenalin rush.... hehehehe. didn't have to do bungee jumping to get a similar high. wahahaha!!!
Tinuod gyud bay, necessity is the mother of all inventions. :) I know that chains around tires are used in countries with heavy snowfall. Who would have thought that our provincial brothers would use the same method to counter mud? :)
In my recent trip to El Nido, the same kind of roads became the deterrent for folks to flock in droves to that really really beautiful place. It's a good thing if you think selfishly about it-- because of the less than convenient roads, El Nido's progress has been quite slow-paced thereby ensuring that generations of Filipinos will still get to see it's beauty.
totoo yan
kaya nga ako asar na asar dyan sa pagsemento sa transcentral highway going to balamban. why put a road right in the middle of a watershed area? where there's a road, people will follow. kalbo na nga ang cebu, lalo lang mauupaw. huhai
iv've been on a habal-habal before with chains on tires but this is the first iv'e seen it on cars, wow! :D
kana, wa pa ko kakita ug habal-habal nga dunay chains hehehe. ey, musta na man ka dinhas sg dan?
lingaw pud tong sa habal habal kay nakasulay pud mi ug slide hehehehe ok raman dri mik, wala lang lami ang dagat hahahahah ug naay buko juice in can hahahahaha
dapat lang may slide para kumpleto ang experience. exciting hehehe. pwede mo naman na pagtyagaan yung white kuno beach sa sentosa hehehe
i bet they put cholorine on the sand when noboy is watching hehehe but dont tell them cos i might be fined for that
baka clorox ang nilalagay nila hehehehe
hmmm... you're adapting quite well to being a robot huh? wahahaha!!!
hahahaha i come in at 9 and work starts at 815, but im trying to fit in, with un-ironed clothes and no socks
hmmm... at least may healthy irreverence pa rin hehehe
walang socks pero naka-slacks at long sleeves?
yaiks!
ok to ah, chatting sa blog heheh. email me na lang at mikimonster_ph@yahoo.com para mas mahaba kwentuhan
malay mo, maligaw ako ulit sa singapore one of these days heheh
that's very pitiful... aww, the adrenaline rush, yes, very cool, but the road, no way am i passing that road!
kuya miki!
ibang level pala sa mindoro.
shucks. dapat palang mas grateful pa tayo nung nasa Samar pa tayo.
but then again! i wish our lousy government get stuck in such a place para they would understand.
haha. politics and every thing filthy in it heighten my blood pressure.
@ate midz: for one, barangays here are BIG, compared to ESamar. a mountain barangay here can have 1,600 households, compared to the puny 80 HHs in Oras hehehehe.
@sheng: i shouldn't be complaining really. at least, that road got me home, hehehehe
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