King of the Road

Whenever I visit another country, I make it a point to try atleast one of its public transportations because I believe that it’s one of the ways that you can say that you’ve experienced the culture (aside from its food of course).  Where’s  the fun in touring another  country in taxi or hired vehicle? Come on, give yourself a break from boredom and the expected. 

Citizens of less developed nations would be amazed by Japan’s bullet trains, America’s trams, Europe’s metros, and the on schedule buses of Singapore. The favor should be returned in the spirit of fun. Try Thailand’s tuk tuk, Vietnam’s xe om, Indonesia’s busway,  Malaysia’s monorail and…our country’s JEEPNEY!  

In the mid – 1940’s post liberation, there was an abundance of surplus  war jeeps from the  US. Filipinos, being naturally imaginative and resilient  thought of creating a vehicle that would transport the public.

Decades later, the jeepney had evolved and you will definitely not miss their presence on the roads because the exterior body alone is heavily decorated – that’s pop culture public utility vehicles style folks!  Its loud personality is sometimes matched by the sound of its horn.  Majority of the jeepneys still use the usual ‘beep-beep’ but  a number of them are plying their routes with their attention grabbing sound.  If the exterior decoration amused you, wait until you get inside. Its interiors has a story to tell. You can pass time easily just by reading the smart aleck sayings  or looking at the cartoonish illustrations.

Photo sourced from the web.

The jeepneys are custom built. So if you have a design in mind, why don’t  you get in touch directly with the foremost manufacturers like Sarao or Francisco.

Oh… by the way, brace yourself for one hell of an amazing ride.

Photo courtesy of cgstock.com

-r-