Manila Commuter

Going Home at Rush Hour When I looked at my watch, I inwardly groaned. It was 5.33pm on 29 July 2008, and the thought of slugging it out during rush hour was not appealing. After a quick goodbye and thank you to Cinderella Director Bobby Garcia for the preview tickets, my friend, Noodles Chua, and I rushed out of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in search of the orange colored jeepneys that traverse the CCP and LRT route via Vito Cruz.

Boarding the LRT 1 As our LRT 1 stored value tickets were released by the turnstiles, a LRT 1 train was coming to a stop at the Vito Cruz station. If we boarded now, we would be in the mixed sexes coaches.

I have read about the strong odors produced in these sections, but, it was rush hour, so after a deep breath of fresh air, I gave a brief nod to my companion to signal ‘Let’s go!’

Clean and Gentlemanly I was pleasantly surprised that I did not have to guard myself against any faint producing scents. Moreover, since I was used to the females only section where the nearest person gets to sit on the vacated seat, I had to be prodded by the male stranger beside me regarding the availability of a seat.

The Walkway Through Doroteo Jose and Recto After saying goodbye to Noodles, I alighted. The walkway through LRT 1’s Doroteo Jose station and LRT 2’s Recto station was relatively full, but not overly so, making it possible for me to overtake at least four people.

Boarding the LRT 2 Once again, as I came off the escalator, there was a train waiting for commuters to board. Some commuters were so confident of the coming trains that they opted to wait for the next one in order to be assured of seats.

In my case, I didn’t care, so I boarded immediately and settled into the trip, holding on to a hand strap while swaying softly to the Ten Minutes Ago duet of Lea Salonga and Peter Saide, from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical of Cinderella, that was running through my head.

A 45 Minute Trip What I thought would be a horrendous experience through rush hour unexpectedly turned into a very easygoing and relaxed trip that only took 45 minutes from CCP Manila to Gateway Mall in Araneta Center Cubao — an excellent finish to a music filled afternoon.

Thank You A big thank you again to Cinderella Director Bobby Garcia and Associate Director Chari Arespacochaga for the Cinderella preview tickets!

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