Vegan Beatin' in the Philippines, day 2: Jeepney Joyride to Port Barton

     Classic public transportation falls into the groups of buses, trains, cars, bikes, horseback, motorcycles, what have you. I'm used to the webs of Seoul subways, cabs, and buses...stateside, I called to legs and bikes, the Philippines, there are motorbikes and jeepneys!
     Jeepneys are jeeps on steroids...they resemble school buses and make such a jarring noise, they announce their oncoming presence! People are piled into these guys, literally piled!
     Day dos was a mission to Port Barton, we wanted beaches and we were getting to them...there's a jeepney that barrels to Port Barton for about 250p (6,690 원 or $7)!! The bus station is called "San Jose station." It is home to my first public restroom Filipino style...I nearly vomited. This is a short video pre-bathroom story~

       First, there is a charge to use the bathroom, about 20p (535원 or $0.47 USD), there is no toilet paper, no toilet covers, and no flush. The bathroom is covered in an ashy sticky dust that's painted like a Pollack in sweaty water; and outside the crooked metal stalls are giant trash barrels full of water. There are no hanging hooks in the bathroom; balancing my purse on my knees while clutching onto toilet paper and crouching strategically over the bowl and avoiding a potentially fatal fall was my main point of focus... What makes this situation even more uncomfortable is...my body had a calling. (aiii digestion) and being Korean, balancing acts over toilet bowls isn't too difficult but I was dealing with a no flush and body-demand situation. I started to hear laughter and more footsteps brazing with the floor. My heartbeat started to pound in my ears and I was sweating profusely at this point, nerves, heat....

literally how will I deal with this shit.

     So I stood...trying to figure out what to do. I checked out the plumbing mechanics, no help there and after about five minutes of standing in the stall, I hear the women next to me leave her stall (what no flush!) and take a bucket of water out of the trash barrels right outside her stall and manually deal. Aha~ at this point, there was a party in the candy-coated bathroom...I was the only foreigner, feeling like a dog with a tail between it's legs, I poured a couple buckets, washed my hands and ran. aiiii~
        The guesstimate of our jeepney mission is that after a 4 hour drive, we'd be sipping cocktails and basking in the gloriously sunny and salty scented-beaches.

photo taken by VeganBeats

     There were a few stops and more people would nuzzle up together. I saw a lot of painfully adorable kids snuggling up to their parents and grandparents...how did these people rock jeans, crammed jeepneys, AND  a warm snugly kid on their laps?!

lovey snuggles~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     Two hours in we made a bathroom/food/beer pit stop. I used the second grossest bathroom and felt like a pro, I knew what to do... The pit stop stores were caked in dust, left pricetag-less, but still offering some potentially sustainable calories. First though, I played with a mangled kitten...these animals, ai they all need love. I was getting a bit sneered at, not aggressively more like "ech, she touching that thing?!"

love love love! photo taken by Scotty Soul

     Washed hands again and after store searching I got a cashew sugar patty (literally a ton of cashews sticking together through a maple like sugar base) and sweet potato bread, made up of rice flour, sugar, and purple sweet potato! So good~

blurry bread~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     It's hot, I was sweaty, there was a good half of the trip left and my legs were sticking to the chair and the women next to me...Red Horse again, a litro. Energy fuel and drunky jams...game on~

Red Horse, Scotty Seoul, and bread~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     The cashew patty was delicious, is had a smokiness to it and although sweet, was generously filled hugged in cashews, and the bread, was beyond expectations! It was light, naturally sweet, had a strong sweet potato flavor, and it just hit the spot! Red Horse, you can't go wrong...went down nice, and the two hour trip was somehow more fun! (sloppy slurry beats~)

photo taken by VeganBeats

     Finally we arrived....all the shit was worth it....

photo taken by VeganBeats

     Ahh I may have lost original focus....I love jeepneys~

annnnd ~  More to come...aiiiii