Well Pinoyjeep blog followers,
After seeing the unique, the exotic and the weird, I'll show you some native, fun and out-of-this-world transportation. Let's start with my favorite...the symbol of Philippine industriousness, strength and patience, the loveable -- carabao or "kalabaw" (Asian water buffalo). Not only is the carabao the Filipino farmer's best friend and uncomplaining co-worker in the rice fields. It is also a vital and reliable transportation mode, especially in the far-flung provinces...or beach resorts, where we went.
We got to ride the carabao when we visited Villa Escudero after our performance at San Pablo City. The ride was a slow but smooth as if expressing -- hey, you're on vacation, relax and smell the flowers. I loved it. Madonna's (the name of our kalabaw) slow, steady stride allowed us to enjoy the beautiful scenery and the sing along with the musician that accompanied our ride.
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| Carabao driven cart at the Villa Escudero compound. |
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| Close-up view of Madonna, our carabao host, assessing the weight of the IP Rondalla folks boarding her cart. Ungaaaaaa, ungaaaa, ang tatabaaaaaa ;o) |
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| "Madonna" our gracious carabao ride taking us from the entrance of Villa Escudero to the buffet area by the waterfall. |
Talking about animal-pulled transport vehicles. In days past, prior to the advent of motorized vehicles, the most common mode of transportation in the Philippines (as elsewhere in the world) are horse-pulled carts or carriages. The Philippines inherited the Spanish the caromata and caruaje, but as always, Filipinos also developed the practical karetela or kalesa as the common "tao's" public conveyance.
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| Sierra besides a caretta in Fort Santiago. |
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| The elegant caruaje treating visitors to Fort Santiago with a ride around the historic site. |
Guess what else I got to ride on during our brief sojourn in Asia?
Dumbo! Well, this ain't exactly in the Philippines, but I just can't resist showing off my ride when I visited my friend Poupee in Thailand.
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| Sierra and friend, Poupee, enjoying the elephant ride on the streets of the old city of Ayuthea. |
As for my dad...well, what he really wanted was to ride on something out of this world. Can you guess what they are?
Sierra Jamir & Papa Toms (once again)
What a geek. Haha....Joke Lang. Kinda. ;)
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