Monthly Archives: February 2017

Culture

Taxi Drivers In The Philippines Surprised Me

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Cebu taxi drivers have just left one of the most positive impressions I have had with Philippine taxi drivers in a very long time.

As someone who spends a lot of time in Manila, I try to avoid using taxis by any means necessary.

I have even gone as far as trying to book accommodation within walking distance to the LRT and MRT, just to minimize the number of times I may have to rely on taxis to travel the city.

I remember long evenings spent on EDSA trying to find a driver who would offer a price below 1000 pesos for a 10-minute ride.

I remember an instance when a driver – with no explanation – pulled over on the side of the highway, got out and opened the trunk. He then went on to tinker in there for a minute or two. He then got back into the car, barely able to hold back the smile on his face and took off driving again with no explanation.

Within seconds I noticed the meter was moving extremely quickly, easily 3 – 4 times the regular rate.

By the end of the trip, a normally 100 peso ride was going to cost me almost 600 pesos. So I let him know I had taken down all his details and was ready to make a report, this was then followed by him almost crying and telling me to pay what I think the ride was worth.

Basically, if I decide to use a taxi I have to accept that I will be dealing with a scenario similar to these. There have been some days where I have travelled trouble free, not having to deal with drivers trying to funnel money out of me. But days like that are outnumbered by days dealing with hustlers.

At least up until I visited Cebu recently.

The Miracle Cebu Experience

The first thing I do on arrival to either Cebu or Manila is avoid the arrivals area. I will leave the plane to get my luggage and then immediately walk to the departure area to look for a taxi that has just dropped off passengers.

-I am so used to being overwhelmed with people offering 700 – 800 peso fares the moment I step out of the arrival area, now I just resorted to avoiding it completely.

The biggest hurdle I now face on arrival to Cebu is having to deal with an upset security guard, they usually aren’t too happy with people trying to find a taxi in the departure areas. I have been doing this every time I arrive in Manila and Cebu so I now have it down to an art.

Instead of being offered a ride to my hotel at a premium price, I now get a ride from the departure area in a regular metered taxi.

This is why Cebu City is now possibly my favourite city.

Next came my day to day travels throughout the city. This really caught me off guard, I was taking taxi after taxi, not once did they ask for a fixed price.

I would simply get into the taxi, they would then turn on the meter and begin the journey.

I don’t know if this was just luck or if there have been tighter laws have been put in place for taxi drivers in Cebu. Either way, it turned the usually daunting task of having to find a taxi driver who would treat you like a normal person into a simple operation which I had to no longer think twice about.

When getting taxis from malls I have noticed signs which stated that the fixed price rides were not allowed, this I think was the source of my pleasant stay in Cebu.

Every taxi ride I got was either from the front of my hotel or from a taxi queue at a mall. This means I was given the details of the driver and it seemed the driver had to follow certain rules if they were going to take passengers from those locations otherwise they would be reported and face disciplinary action.

Whatever has happened to keep the drivers in line with the first world standard of taxi service – it should be held in place.

Although they might not be making as much money through their scams, I feel it would draw a lot more people back towards using their services. I previously found myself resorting to just using Jeepneys or the more convenient Uber, so my recent experience has helped to build my faith again in the Philippines taxi industry.

 

 

Food, Uncategorized

My Breakfast Buffet Induced Gluttony

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,My stay in The Philippines has now reached a tipping point. I feel I’ve been here long enough to no longer consider myself simply a tourist or visitor. Although I still have people regularly assume that I have just arrived in The Philippines. They will inform me that a new president has just been elected or tell me to plan my travels carefully as delays are common due to traffic.

With spending significant time in the country comes quite a lot of experience with living out of hotels. I took this route as opposed to renting an apartment or condo due to convenience. Earlier I had tried renting condos as the initial price was a lot cheaper than staying in hotels for long periods of time. Though I quickly realized that a hotel is what suits my needs; I am happy to pay extra for the convenience that comes with services such as the housekeeping and room service.

One thing the hotel lifestyle has made me accustomed to is waking up to the buffet breakfasts. When I was younger not a lot got me more excited than my parent telling me we would be dining at a buffet restaurant. The thought of an unlimited spread of all the food you love available to you in a supply only limited by the size of your stomach was overwhelming for such a young mind.

As I have grown older I have usually chosen to have the hotel buffet more due to the financial advantage. To get the buffet a small charge is added to the room; this is a lot less than the cost to get breakfast outside of the hotel. I usually wait until just before the buffet closes to have breakfast; having a late breakfast means that I don’t feel hungry for the majority of the day. Basically, I’m just cheap, also I hate having to eat all the time. So having one big meal later in the morning is ideal for me.

I am starting to realize that there is a trade-off between eating the buffet and dining at a traditional restaurant. What stands out to me is that it feels so informal. I walk in, I am greeted by a waitress who then escorts me to a table. Then I simply take a plate and begin helping myself to what is available. Most of the time I am too lazy to change out of what I wore to bed that evening; it usually seems like the rest of the people in the restaurant made that same decision.

The quantity also becomes an issue; a lot of the better buffets offer seemingly every type of breakfast food available. For me breakfast food is one of my guilty pleasures. I love having coffee and orange juice with a plate of crepes and some fruit. Maybe I can grab a bowl of cereal and some toast once I finish? The possibilities are all there which makes self-control important when you are in the presence of a good breakfast buffet.

One thing I do love about having the option to choose what to eat is that it allows me to grab exactly what suits my diet. Although a lot of the vegetables are not usually the best quality I still love having that option available to me. I have so many dietary restrictions, so seeing buffets which cater to a wide variety of dietary styles makes me extremely happy.

The breakfast buffet for me has become a fairly important prerequisite as to whether I book a hotel room or not. The buffet is an important part of my morning as I can spend the time waking up, getting myself into a relaxed positive frame of mind and take in the energy I need to get the most out of my day within The Philippines.