# Transportation And The Heat



## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Occasionally I see expats walking along roads in city area's and the highway, they have no tan and the clothes seem heavy for this environment so they really stand out and I can tell they haven't been here long and I feel they walk to save money and to avoid these trike drivers and for good reason but this incredible heat and humidity is deadly especially for a new arrival, I don't recommend walking in the afternoon.

Alternative would be to buy a bike to get around with a basket for your goods and daily needs, but if you choose to walk use an umbrella and hydrate, drink more water or Gatorade than you normally do. Bike would pay for itself and you could sell it before you leave. :fingerscrossed:


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## expatuk2016 (Mar 20, 2016)

Luckily our trike driver is our brother and he is also our car driver.
This time of year when we go shopping its at the local Robinsons,Waltermart, or South Supermarket.
And we are always back home by noon, unless we go to Somewhere like Nuvali.
Personally i prefer to walk locally for exercise but being a " Rich ******" its not a good idea.
If i do go shopping on my own which is very rare the brother comes with me.
I have my own fridge which is nearly always full of the chocolate and cakes etc i like and burgers and hotdogs
And of course cold beers and pepsi and ice cold coffee which i make myself, and i also drink a lot of water .
Which is is always Wilkins or Absolute.


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

M.C.A. said:


> Occasionally I see expats walking along roads in city area's and the highway, they have no tan and the clothes seem heavy for this environment so they really stand out and I can tell they haven't been here long and I feel they walk to save money and to avoid these trike drivers and for good reason but this incredible heat and humidity is deadly especially for a new arrival, I don't recommend walking in the afternoon.
> 
> Alternative would be to buy a bike to get around with a basket for your goods and daily needs, but if you choose to walk use an umbrella and hydrate, drink more water or Gatorade than you normally do. Bike would pay for itself and you could sell it before you leave. :fingerscrossed:


Kinda depends where you're from and what you're used to. When I left Dubai last week for a trip to UK, it was 40C, and that was at midnight...!! I don't find the Philippines excessively hot and my wife and I are often out walking in the sun. Yes drinks lots to stay hydrated.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Reason I posted this thread, today I witnessed a tall skinny expat grey almost white hair having I think heart troubles, it was tough to see him suffering, actually I don't know what was going on we were in heavy traffic but I saw him sitting off to the side of the road next to a Sari sari store people were there this was in Sta Cruz Laguna but it appeared he was having troubles and it was very hot and humid this afternoon, I normally don't break out in sweat but today I sure did.


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## Maxx62 (Dec 31, 2013)

When I was younger I used to enjoy walking over here, mostly because it was a unique experience, and because it was so different from anything I'd seen back home. I knew that my clothes were drenched in sweat, but I didn't care because I considered a little discomfort to be worthwhile in order to see all the crazy looking jeepneys, the tropical trees, and the pretty girls who would shout at me as I passed by (man that was along time ago). 

These days I don't walk around too much because the traffic has gotten so much worse, and once or twice I've almost been hit by small motorcycles while walking along the side of the road. As you know, those guys don't think ahead, and if they see an open spot they commit themselves by pointing their handle bars in that direction and immediately going to wide open throttle. If someone or something happens to be in their way, oops too bad. At this point in my life the last thing I want to have happen is being hit by some idiot on mini motorcycle who is high on shabu.

Yeah the heat is pretty bad if you're just getting off the plane from back home, but most of the places you want to go are pretty close together, so usually you shouldn't have to walk that far anyway. In my area there are a lot of 7-11s, Jollibees, and indoor pharmacies with air-conditioning. Of course if you don't know your way around, and you're not thinking too straight because of jet-lag or a hangover, then you might run into trouble. 

I don't know, but if I saw an old guy who looked like he was really having trouble in the heat, I might pull over and ask him if he needed help?


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

I have been here almost 5 years and am still pasty white. It is the damn Celtic blood ha ha... Even back in the US I always sweated a lot. I mean... a lot... kind of gross... I also love to walk. I don't walk to save money, I walk for fun. So you may see me out walking, and sweating like a pig. But that is ok - I enjoy it. Even in the inhumane humidity here. 

Then again, the guy you saw might have been in distress.


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## Simon1983 (Jun 6, 2016)

Sometimes I like to walk, even when it is hot as hell. 
For us big guys (whether you are lanky like me or more bulky) sometimes the jeeps and tricycles can be uncomfortable, especially on bumpy roads. The jeepneys can be very overcrowded and leave you sweating more than a walk does.
The benefits of walking are you can see different parts of town, you can wander off the track and find new places, you can stop when you feel like to eat, drink or shop, plus you get to kill a few hours, tire yourself out and get some exercise.
The bad side is you are breathing in jeepney fumes, you might get mugged or kidnapped (depending where you are), everybody will think you are crazy (which may or may not be an accurate assumption), and you might get sideswiped by a trike or motorbike (which happened to an uncle of my wife, even though he was on the pavement at the time. Pavements are rare here so shows how dangerous walking can be).
I do like walking, even though I wish there was some nicer places to do it (a public park, nature reserve, botanical garden). Walking through town can be in some way stimulating and can kill a few hours, but probably better to join a gym and walk on a running machine - much safer!).
Next time why not stop and ask the guy if he wants to stop for a cool drink?


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## Datchworth (Jul 5, 2015)

Simon1983 said:


> Sometimes I like to walk, even when it is hot as hell. ....
> I do like walking, even though I wish there was some nicer places to do it (a public park, nature reserve, botanical garden)....


The network of public footpaths in the UK is one of the top things I miss here. Even if they created something like that here the locals wouldn't use it, most of them have no thought of walking for pleasure, or even just to tone up.

But this mentality does work in our favour if you're a car driver. Locals will spend ages going around a crowded car park waiting for a space or trying to park in some congested street, but a tactic I used in the UK and employ here is to look around the area and find somewhere suitable to park within reasonable walking distance. If it's grocery shopping then take a rucksack. You get to know the location of dangerous obstacles lurking along the excuses for pavements. And often saves parking fees.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

The older gentlemen was at a Sari sari store so he had access to drinks and people if he was alone I would have stopped no matter what but I was with my kids and wife and she didn't want me to stop, I don't have an air conditioned car it doesn't even have an operating fan so very hot when not moving, I'm not a M.D. and like I mentioned I don't know what was going on.

I did return the same way about an hour later and he was still sitting there but under shade and next to the store so he might actually live there with family but could be suffering from dementia, I'll keep an eye every time I go this route.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

M.C.A. said:


> The older gentlemen was at a Sari sari store so he had access to drinks and people if he was alone I would have stopped no matter what but I was with my kids and wife and she didn't want me to stop, I don't have an air conditioned car it doesn't even have an operating fan so very hot when not moving, I'm not a M.D. and like I mentioned I don't know what was going on.
> 
> I did return the same way about an hour later and he was still sitting there but under shade and next to the store so he might actually live there with family but could be suffering from dementia, I'll keep an eye every time I go this route.


In the US and I "assume" many other countries you are protected by a Good Samaritan law or something like it. Here there is no such thing on the books. If you try to render aid to anyone that is sick, hurt, or injured and they either become worse or die, YOU are accountable under Philippine law. There have been times that as an ex first responder I could be of help here for traffic accidents and even people suffering sudden illnesses in their homes. As much as I want to help, I do not. Hard to look the other way when a life can possibly be saved. But here it's like one of the first things ya learn in the military. "Never Volunteer" you need to CYOA living in this place.


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## Simon1983 (Jun 6, 2016)

Jet Lag said:


> In the US and I "assume" many other countries you are protected by a Good Samaritan law or something like it. Here there is no such thing on the books. If you try to render aid to anyone that is sick, hurt, or injured and they either become worse or die, YOU are accountable under Philippine law. There have been times that as an ex first responder I could be of help here for traffic accidents and even people suffering sudden illnesses in their homes. As much as I want to help, I do not. Hard to look the other way when a life can possibly be saved. But here it's like one of the first things ya learn in the military. "Never Volunteer" you need to CYOA living in this place.


That's good to know. Scary and sad to think about.
I witnessed a motorbike accident and was surprised how little people wanted to help.
Pays to know although I guess in some cases you would still want to help if you could.

In the case of the guy coming off his bike, in the end a few guys picked him up and chucked him in the back of a trike.

He probably got more damage in the trike than he had falling off his bike.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Simon1983 said:


> That's good to know. Scary and sad to think about.
> I witnessed a motorbike accident and was surprised how little people wanted to help.
> Pays to know although I guess in some cases you would still want to help if you could.
> 
> ...


Yea really is frightening. Especially if you are the victim of an accident etc and no one will help except to take your wallet and other belongings. Sometimes we just need to remember that this is a country that (despite the new law) will let a person die on the sidewalk in front of a hospital unless they have cash for services. That in itself speaks volumes about the country and the value of human life--truly sad.


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## DonAndAbby (Jan 7, 2013)

M.C.A. said:


> The older gentlemen was at a Sari sari store so he had access to drinks and people if he was alone I would have stopped no matter what but I was with my kids and wife and she didn't want me to stop, I don't have an air conditioned car it doesn't even have an operating fan so very hot when not moving, I'm not a M.D. and like I mentioned I don't know what was going on.
> 
> I did return the same way about an hour later and he was still sitting there but under shade and next to the store so he might actually live there with family but could be suffering from dementia, I'll keep an eye every time I go this route.


We have an old Danish or Finnish (my neighbor told me which but I forgot) lady who lives in our neighborhood with her son. A few years ago she would walk, literally, all day long and even at night. She seemed to know how to walk safely (our neighborhood is very safe with little car traffic; trikes and jeepneys not allowed).

Now I don't see her as often. She is probably in her 70's. My neighbor knows the son and she does have dementia. They figured it was better for her to be here rather than an old folks home back at home.


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

Jet Lag said:


> ...But here it's like one of the first things ya learn in the military. "Never Volunteer" you need to CYOA living in this place.


Yep. I was in the:
N - Never
A - Again
V - Volunteer 
Y - Yourself 

As for locals walking... I got on a jeepney today, at the mall, and they waited to fill up before leaving. Almost 10 minutes we sat there. Once we got moving - we went about 150 meters - and woman called for a stop! She could have walked there and back half a dozen times in the amount of time she there waiting to go ha ha. Even the driver looked at her funny when she called for a stop. They do not walk...


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## Simon1983 (Jun 6, 2016)

When I was living in the province I used to enjoy walking to palengke once in a while (a 15 minute walk).
Everyone knew me in the barangay and they would see me walking alone and assume I must be having marital troubles or that something was wrong.
The locals would always ask me what I was doing.
The only answer they would understand was 'exercise'. Anything else and they just looked dumbfounded.


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## greenstreak1946 (May 28, 2017)

Hey Simon,

Yes, you are correct about them not walking. When I first came to the Philippines and met my GF I figured we would walk to most places since it was fairly close. After 3 days she stop talking to me and then she got mad at the hotel and was packing her things to leave. I ask her what was wrong and she said I had no consideration for her because we walked and didn't ride tricycle. That is when I found out they will spend their last pesos on a ride and not walk. 

art


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

greenstreak1946 said:


> Hey Simon,
> 
> Yes, you are correct about them not walking. When I first came to the Philippines and met my GF I figured we would walk to most places since it was fairly close. After 3 days she stop talking to me and then she got mad at the hotel and was packing her things to leave. I ask her what was wrong and she said I had no consideration for her because we walked and didn't ride tricycle. That is when I found out they will spend their last pesos on a ride and not walk.
> 
> art


Amazing, and yet they will walk on the beach or spend an entire day 
walking aimlessly through the shopping malls. Hahaha


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## Maxx62 (Dec 31, 2013)

M.C.A. said:


> The older gentlemen was at a Sari sari store so he had access to drinks and people if he was alone I would have stopped no matter what but I was with my kids and wife and she didn't want me to stop, I don't have an air conditioned car it doesn't even have an operating fan so very hot when not moving, I'm not a M.D. and like I mentioned I don't know what was going on.
> 
> I did return the same way about an hour later and he was still sitting there but under shade and next to the store so he might actually live there with family but could be suffering from dementia, I'll keep an eye every time I go this route.


Well, he wasn't out on some remote mountain road by himself, and chances are that he probably had a girlfriend somewhere nearby who was shopping in another store. In our area we have a special police cars with the words "Tourist Police" written on the sides of them. I've been told that they are supposed to cruise around town looking for tourists who look like they are lost or are having trouble, but who knows. 

Anyway, the old fellow you saw was probably okay, just going through a little adjustment, that's all.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Walk to the market*



Simon1983 said:


> When I was living in the province I used to enjoy walking to palengke once in a while (a 15 minute walk).
> Everyone knew me in the barangay and they would see me walking alone and assume I must be having marital troubles or that something was wrong.
> The locals would always ask me what I was doing.
> The only answer they would understand was 'exercise'. Anything else and they just looked dumbfounded.


I also have been walking to the market the last 5 years and I'm so glad I finally purchased a bike, it's not fun for me especially noon time, it's hot, I'd prefer now to ride bike and another reason is I sometimes will purchase a bag of ice or large bottle of soda, I've fitted my small Japanese surplus bike with an original or high-quality mini basket up front for this.

The cousin in-law was giving me some teasing in front of his buddies because he's wonder why I don't buy one of those bikes with giant tires, and at first I thought they were cool but now I really look at them as ugly and hard to pedal but if a citizen here could afford it he'd buy one of these bikes to show off like the cousin in-law, and I got tired of it and stopped to tell him that's not my kind of bike I just want an easy bike to get on and off of and to travel around with... bike folds if needed so I could take it on the bus, I've noticed the other neighbors now buying these same foldable bikes.

If they say exercise (been there done that) the next thing they will say but not directed at you and under their breath will be worse it will be gay or cheap in the Philippine language, they just don't like seeing us save our money they don't care if they overcharge every single time and if they don't get more than the normal fair the face is contorted as if you've done something wrong cheated them.


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## Maxx62 (Dec 31, 2013)

Back on my first or second trip over here (86 or 88) my wife had to go visit the Philippines Bureau of Immigration to have her passport renewed. At that time the immigration in Cebu City was in an old colonial building near Fort San Pedro. When my wife and I arrived I took one look at the line of people in the lobby and I told her that I was going to walk down the street to take a look at the old Spanish fort.

As I was getting nearer to the fort I got distracted by everything around me, and suddenly my foot got snagged on something, and I found myself toppling over head first on the cement sidewalk leading. At first I thought that someone had tripped me, and that I was about to be robbed, but then when I looked around I realized that I had actually tripped over a galvanized water pipe that was running over and across the sidewalk! I took a look at that pipe and said out loud "Who in the hel* runs a waterline over top of a sidewalk?". People looked at me, but no one helped me back up. I got a few bumps and scraps, but nothing worse than a bruised ego. 

I was completely flabbergasted that someone would run a steel water pipe over top of a public sidewalk, but the more I walked around, the more I realized just how common such things are. Uneven stairs, loose concrete, uneven ground, and water pipes laying on top of the ground are all over the place just waiting to trip you up and to make you fall on your face!

A few years after that we got invited to go to some tourist resort before its grand opening. The parking area was up higher on top of a slight hill, while the hotel and restaurant were located down a little lower. Some on had decided to pave the path leading from the parking lot to the hotel with white ceramic tiles, which were slipperier than hel*. I fell on my rear end, and my 70+ year old mother-in-law also fell due to the slippery tiles. These were the sort of tiles that belong inside someone's house on a level floor, not on a steeply sloping footpath. 

When you're walking around over here you really need to keep your eyes on your path, and you really need to watch out for tripping hazards.


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