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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Joyride..Jeepney Rides..

If you have been to the Philippines, you can not help but notice the Jeepney. It is the most popular means of public transportation here. It is also the most colorful, the most useful, hindi lang pang-publiko, pampamilya pa. Really! At almost all family occasion that requires transporting several people at least cost, the Jeepney is present. It has become a national icon.When US troops left at the end of world war II, there were hundreds of surplus jeeps left either sold or given locally. True to Filipino ingenuity, we made several changes to the body. Filipinos added roofs to protect passengers from the elements, enlarged the body to accomodate several people and then painted and decorated it as if it were a moving extension of the home. Thus, you will see rugs, curtains, throw pillows even on jeepney. And so it was in this tradition that my beloved parents are shown here, photos courtesy of twistedsunshine. This was taken during the wedding of Kristin Lagria and Joel Namoc at Tagbilaran City, Bohol. It is nice to be seated facing friends and families which we only see now and again during reunions and family occasions. Gatapok jud ang mga bol-anon diri.

By the way, the two pictures above are from wikipedia. Going back to the topic at hand, notice in the 3rd pic that there's a small rectangular stool in the middle. Yup, that's right. In Bohol at least, the drivers maximize the jeep's capacity so much so that you will find it really difficult to get out of the jeep because even the center aisle is occupied. But no one really complains because for one, it is a way of life in Bohol and secondly, Boholanos are by nature easy to please, good-natured people. I think.

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