The trains that never moved: Metro Manila’s aging train system

LRT 1. Trains arriving at Monumento Station

It was 9:15 AM at the North Avenue Station of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT Line 3) and I was bound to meet a friend at 11:00 AM at a mall in Ortigas Center. I thought that by 9:00 AM, the line of passengers to get to the train would be shorter but to my dismay, it seemed endless. I waited in line but after an hour, I haven't even reached the bottom of the stairs that will lead me up to the main entry gates. I dropped it and went for a bus instead but 10 minutes in the bus I realised it was also not a good idea. So I opened a ride-hailing App and booked a motorbike that would pick me up on my pinned location and take me to my Ortigas. I made it 5 minutes early to my appointment time. The distance between North Avenue Station and the mall in Ortigas Center is only 9 kms. A marathon runner could definitely reach my destination ahead of me if I stayed in that line. Nowadays, every hour that the MRT operates is considered rush hour. There is no respite of people lining up. They even have a "Stop/Entry" method. This means lines do not move at all until all passengers in the platform are cleared.

Sketches and Photographs: Kawah Putih and Bandung, West Java, Indonesia

When you are living in Jakarta, there are not many things to see and do than to go to malls and eat. Your only option, if you are not flying out, is to visit nearby provinces like Bandung, Bogor and other parts of West Java. But getting there can be hellish because the traffic that happens in Jakarta happens everywhere in this part of Java, which is just crazy traffic.

Train Ride Story - 1

Wednesday night. Boarded a train in City Hall interchange bound home. I sat next to an Aussie family. They looked tired from a day trip and I wasn't tired considering I had a city tour by myself too. I was sitting next to the dad holding on to his son on his lap. I began to fidget on my things and became busy checking my phones. At this time I had to carry 3 phones. I checked it one by one to see if I have any messages and then suddenly the dad next to me asked "Do you have enough funds?” Surprised to be asked that way and I sort of thought he needed help on something so I said I'm sorry and I wanted to clarify what he meant. Then he said again "Do you have enough funds because I see you have 3 phones in your hand" and I was astonished of what he thought of me in that instant. I answered that I am actually a tourist as well so I had to carry extra phone for emergencies. This made me feel bad although the dad was probably just asking innocently and wondering why I'm carrying 3 phones.

Well just to give myself some credit. I never bought any of the phones I was carrying. One was borrowed (temporarily for this trip). One was from my dad (who happens to pick up that phone from somewhere and could not find the owner). And one was the one I picked up and looked for the owner, contacted the owner but never got any replies (so I considered it my own prized possession). I never bought any of these phones. I just had to use three during this time in order to save money by using prepaid cards to get in touch with my family and friends, and like I said, for emergencies as I’m travelling alone.

Train Train Go Away

The Sawahlunto Train and Railway System

Growing up, I have always been fascinated with moving things like trains and airplanes. I was never a big fan of race cars or bikes but trains and airplanes have always been admiring things to me. Whenever I travel to the city from my hometown, there used to be a working passenger train that travels to the northern part of Bulacan which was operated by the Philippine National Railway but since the tracks and the trains were never really given much care, the trains eventually stopped plying that route. Now the only existing train route that I know of is the ones from Alabang to Bicol. I believe its a 12-hour journey from Alabang to Bicol Region using this electric or gas powered train. I never really knew what type of train there is because I do not really know much about the history of railways in the Philippines. I guess nobody really seemed to bother about trains anymore unlike in the olden days. And then trains in Manila evolved into Light Railway Transit, the elevated passenger railway system that travels from Monument to Baclaran (which now extends from Munoz Roosevelt to Baclaran). Eventually, it led to the construction of two more elevated railway system such as the MRT (from North Avenue to Taft Avenue) and the LRT2 which covers Recto to Marikina.

From Bangkok to Vientiane via Sleeper Train

 I always liked flags since when I was a kid. I remember browsing through our Collier’s Encyclopaedias series and going through all the flags in the world. And with that interest, I have known many names of different countries even though I have no idea where they are. Countries like Nepal, Qatar, Mongolia, Pakistan, Uruguay, Paraguay and the list goes on. Laos is one of those countries I only know by name and have no knowledge of its culture and it is my luck to get the chance to visit this country even for only 2 days. Laos’ flag is made of three stripes, red on top and bottom and blue in the middle with a white circle in the centre of the flag. Well I’m not going to discuss what does the flag stands for as it may bore you about history. So when I went to Bangkok a week long break I decided to make a research on the neighbouring country. I thought of Siem Reap, Cambodia and Vientiane, Laos but decided to go the latter instead because of the challenge to take a sleeper train from Bangkok to Vientiane. I have never been on a long train ride.