(Too) Slow and Steady (Rain)

Not exactly my very first experience of commuting in rain.

The first time was when I commuted from Estrella to Ayala RCBC in light and isolated rain. I could say this would be my first legit experience of commuting in rain given that the rain was heavy all throughout the trip and many more. The route I took for this entry is the usual Ortigas to Ayala one...

October 10, 2013

I went out late at school at 5:20 instead of the usual 5:00 due to many projects assigned to us classmates. We had to rush these that day but doing so still didn't allow me to leave by 5. By the time I left it was already raining heavily. Knowing that I'm supposed to leave at 5, I ran from inside the campus all the way to the outside halfway to the bus station to get in a bus as soon as possible. I walked afterwards.

I was able to get in a MetroLink bus (not sure if Alabang or Baclaran, but the bus is an orange one). By the way, MetroLink again! Before I got in the bus I already took a bath since the drainage of the bus was in its door. The water flowed down there so I became very wet instantly. I settled myself in the left window side of the bus (as usual) and paid the regular fare of P16. Looking at the bus, it obviously came from Japan - with all the Japanese signs and the looks of the interior and exterior. I'm not sure though if that bus is part of what Noli De Castro (a known local newscaster and radio host) referred to as Japayuki buses.Moving on, my dad called when I was at Crossing. 5:30/40 I think.

The tickets I got for this experience (lower set). The upper set is from "The Bag Who Cried Bomb"

The traffic was slower than usual for obvious reasons. And what's more, not only is it raining hard, but also thunder and lightning are included. I then saw that there's a thin sheet of water flowing in the roads of EDSA. It's not that I'm afraid that the road will soon be flooded, but seeing that only shows how strong the rain was.

Long story short, I felt cold inside the bus with the aircon on and my shirt already wet. Eventually, my shirt dried up.

Going through stations in the stretch of Ayala, only a few passengers boarded. Unlike the usual mass of people waiting to board in Ayala PSE for example, only a few were waiting. I can see the smiles the commuters were showing once they boarded the bus. I originally thought that buses would be full and a lot more passengers would be waiting in stations in such rainy condition. Turns out, the reality seems the exact opposite. Lesson learned.

We're now beside the building of RCBC. The bus is stuck there. Traffic was standstill on the other side of the intersection where the bus is supposed to unload passengers. Because of that, the driver nevertheless let the passengers going down at RCBC unload so as to not waste time. It would be easy for me to go to the building then - no need to cross roads and so on.

But the challenge is far from over.

I just realized that the intersection between the island we were unloaded to and the office is flooded gutter deep. I tried to look for other access areas without flood but there was none. Without other options, I decided to remove my shoes and walk in the flood. It's mostly collected rainwater anyway; I doubt that it came from the drainage. Thankfully I was wearing shorts at that time so crossing it was easier. Moreover, a wound from my foot has healed well already so I don't need to worry big time on getting Leptospirosis (no signs of having that up to this posting. Hehehe). I was finally able to cross the flood and arrive at the office. 7:20 I think.

Eventually, my parents and I got stuck at Makati. Although the rain has stopped, the roads we're to go through are flooded and our car won't be able to pass through. We then decided to eat dinner in a mall and wait for the traffic to subside.

After eating, we left the mall at 8:40 and still the traffic was heavy. No choice - we'll have to wait. My dad let me sleep in the car so I decided to do so. I then woke up and realized that we have escaped the traffic. And the time we did so - [drumroll] - 9:40! Yep! One hour of waiting. It's light all the way to home so travel wasn't that any longer anymore.

Total time: about 4 to 5 hours. The longest travel time from school to home.


It's just a realization of how heavy rain lasting for about an hour or two can paralyze the metro. Floods have been a problem in the city since I don't know when. Where are the plans? Is there even hope? Is there even something done to solve this seemingly-chronic problem? Or it's just that this problem is already something that we're used to making us think that solving it wouldn't matter?

I should expect longer commuting times, though, with or without rain - now that we're in the -ber months and traffic is naturally expected to be heavier than in any other month of the year.

Something new in store for me: Commuting from my province in the North to the house using Del Carmen or other bus companies traveling through the same route it travels to.

The Bag Who Cried Bomb

Can you guess the day I had this experience?

Route: Ortigas to Ayala RCBC (LRT Ayala Leveriza bus)

I've been experiencing longer commuting times on the same route lately and this experience is definitely the longest one so far. The first was when I boarded an AC Trans bus and arrived office at 6:40 from the usual quarter to or at 6. That day was a usual work day; no situations whatsoever. It doesn't compare to this, however.

Though the weather is fine and I boarded the bus at the usual time, traffic was heavy to standstill starting from Crossing all the way to Ayala (before turning right) - just because of a bag that had been suspected of having a bomb. Some inconvenience!

I boarded Taguig MetroLink bus 823 in Ortigas just after 5 in the afternoon. I then sat at the left window seat (my preference) and paid the fare. As always, I kept the tickets in my pocket (and again, yet another set of MetroLink tickets; this time, though, Taguig - not the usual Malanday ones). Everything was usual - the stops, the traffic (so far) and so on. My dad then called me on the phone (he usually calls me when I'm at Crossing).

Then I noticed that the traffic was heavier than usual after Crossing. The sky got darker and I'm still somewhere in Boni. My dad called and he was surprised when I said that I'm still there. I just said that the traffic is heavy. My dad called again and sadly, I'm still far from the office (somewhere in Guadalupe/Orense I think). This traffic is really heavy!

At EDSA Orense

The driver then decided to open the TV. Instead of the usual movies-in-USB movies, the TV display was of Inquirer's (a popular periodical) "Catalyst Media" containing fresh news, videos and commercials. It's the first time I encountered such thing in a city bus.Then the ticker mentioned the password to the bus WiFi so I decided to connect my phone and tweet that I'm inside the bus in hell traffic.

The videos featured Mikey Bustos, various music videos and TMZ-like discussions from iCM. In one instance, the TV played a music video of a negatively-known group here in the Philippines. It just reinforced the negative ideas I hear. What group is that? I won't say.

Scrolling through tweets, I saw some tweets saying that there is a bomb threat in EDSA FB Harrison due to a bag thrown in a bus. Then I thought that it could be the one causing traffic. True enough, it was. The threat was so serious such that both sides of EDSA in that area were closed to traffic. The sniffing dogs indicated the possibility of a bomb, so closure had to be done.

At EDSA Estrella

My dad called me at long intervals, only to say that I'm in a place not so far from the previous place I mentioned. At one point, I became bored and went back at looking at the window full of red lights. Heavy to standstill traffic.

EDSA Buendia

At "Ayala Ibabaw"

See how hard it was to commute. I saw masses of people going from "Ayala Ibabaw". As in masses. We were able to escape the traffic after the bus turned right for Ayala. Thank God!

Commuters waiting in Ayala PSE took the toll for the route. There were many of them, but only a few were able to get in.

Ayala PSE

 Then there's another stop where many people are waiting... Again, these people took the toll.

Paseo I think

Then at 7:40, I was able to get off the bus. Finally! After more than 2 hours of travel, I'm out! That experience, then, becomes the longest time I commuted for the route.

Eventually, the bag was discovered to only have contained dirty clothes and other stuff - no bomb. Geez! Whoever that person is, may you realize your foolishness!

I wouldn't say that the actions of the bomb squad were unnecessary, however. I just hope that they'll be able to expedite the process next time.