My travels to places where there are no paths to follow.
I have this lifetime obsession with boats.
I secretly spend a huge amount of time reading and writing about watercraft of all types. I enthusiastically ride them every chance I get—from the rakit (pontoon barge) of many Abra River crossings in my childhood and youth, to the modern inter-island passenger ships that ply the southern islands from the Port of Manila, which I’d usually choose over airplane rides.
In recent years, transport problems of all kinds have hounded the Philippines from far north to far south.
“You’re exaggerating, as usual,” says my acerbic friend Kabsat Kandu. “What transport problem in the far north are you talking about, tell me? Flights to Batanes are going on regularly.”
Well, maybe the Manila-Basco flights are okay. That’s because the picturesque Batanes islands have become a favorite tourist destination of those who can afford it. But what if you’re a Cagayan Valley DepEd official wanting to visit public schools in Babuyan islands? What are your options? Have you tried crossing over from Claveria to Calayan, across the treacherous Babuyan Channel? Continue reading “Solving transport woes with our own roadmap”
At first it is intimidating, for a foreigner who isn’t very familiar with a big city’s urban railway system. Much more if a Third World visitor takes on the complex Berlin system with its U-Bahn and S-bahn overlying the tram and bus, and the industrial-strength Deutsche Bahn comprising the much bigger train network that crisscrosses all of Germany and beyond.
But once you get hold of a map and a day-ticket, then all your fears evaporate. After some fiddling with euro coins and perhaps a quick help from someone who understands Deutsche sprache better than you, getting that ticket machine to belch out your precious day-ticket also becomes an easy piece a’cake.