Thursday, August 28, 2008

MRT

MRT - the mere mention of it evokes horrors beyond human imagination - okay so maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit. Images of tightly packed, sweat drenched people come into mind whenever I consider riding it.

While this scene usually plays out during rush hours; commuters might be in for a nasty surprise these days. With oil prices soaring high, it isn't a wonder people choose the cheap and relatively fast train to get around.

I made the mistake of riding the MRT at 5:30 in the afternoon (rush hour kaya ano ba?!) at Ayala Station (what was I thinking??). I was in a hurry and needed to be at the North EDSA Station - shouldn't we call it Trinoma station instead? I had a prepaid card and I was pretty confident I'd be able to ride easily.

If I only knew - rats. haaay. jeeeez. bummer. kainis. bad trip. putik na malagkit! There was barely a line at the ticket booths, but man was that bag "inspection" line horribly loooooong. I haven't seen a line like that since college registration! Patience is a virtue; but it definitely isn’t mine!

If you've ever been at Ayala Station try to imagine this: when you get up from the escalator - which was not working by the way - you'll have to turn right, pass the ticket booths, pass Mcdonalds (uy dapat me comission ako dito ah haha), and mercifully before you reach the corner that goes to SM the line ends.

From there you could see the line in it's awesome greatness :p As you move along the line, you reach the ticket booths. Does the line turn right towards the entrance? Wish ko lang! Instead it makes a WIDE arch that takes you to the other side of the bloody building! Now the line crawls AWAY from the freakin' entrance! It snakes it's way near the end of that corridor (near KFC if I'm not mistaken) then makes a U-Turn and you're finally pointed at the right direction. Yish!

I finally make it inside the station - time check: 5:56 - bloody hell! 26 minutes just to get inside the station?? That's just great. I make my way to the northbound platform and see massive crowds waiting for the train. I wasn't too worried, being the 3rd station people could still get in the trains. People got in when the train arrived alright - about two or three of them per door! The next train was the same story. Pambihira namn o! Nakakainis na ha!! Gusto mo ng away? - oops hahaha.

6:02 - I finally make a good decision and crossed over to the other platform bound for Taft station. I rode the first train that came and chose the 2nd car - this is important if you're a guy and you're planning to make a round trip. Why? Figure it out haha. I was able to sit down at Taft station. Whew! It only took 12 minutes for the train to travel to Taft then back to Ayala. I'd rather take the extra 12 minutes than face a shoving crowd to get inside a train and stand. Hell you won't have to grab a rail for balance. You're so squeezed in there you wouldn’t fall even if you wanted to!

Do I still ride the MRT? Of course I do. hehe It IS really cheaper than riding a bus. I just make sure that I avoid it during rush hours. With my work schedule I doubt if I’ll experience that any time soon. And I’m not sure if that’s something to be glad about. ;p haha

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Wahahahaha! Wow, in a way namimiss ko na yung MRT rush hour diyan sa Pinas... not. Hahahaha

Really now, they said the train rush hour in Tokyo was really bad but having experienced that and comparing it to the MRT, wala nang tatalo pa sa MRT! :))

penstalker said...

Wahahah! The MRT experience is one heck of a ride!! :D It's fun to ride but not during the rush hour. Grabe talaga yun!

Unknown said...

yen, its alot worse than you remember.. hehe taas na kasi ang pamasahe mga... 16% kaya dami na tuloy tao ng sobra...

ian: hope u get to compose more stuff on my treo haha habng tulog ako ;D love you

Unknown said...

Hiyi!

Thanks for visiting my blog. hehe I'll try to write more - katamad eh

At asteeg ang treo ni joj. Sarap nakawin haha

Unknown said...

its yours as much as its mine wuv :* u know that haha

Anonymous said...

haha sana may picture ka nun... ahihi iniimagine ko.... bwahahaha! =)) i'd rather ride a bus than MRT.... hehe...

Scion Speaks said...

Hiya Xan!

Thanks for dropping by! eto pala new blog mo ha hehe Actually I DID take a picture of the line. But my phone doesn't do justice to the "experience". That and I haven't gotten around to downloading it haha. I'll try to post it someday :)

Oh, I prefer to ride the bus too these days :)