Last week, one of my wishes came true: I finally rode on a ship bound for Davao. Alone.
My reasons were simple. First, it was cheap compared to riding an airplane. Second, riding a ship can give me time to be alone so I could think things over and reflect. Third, I had never done this before since the last time I rode a ship, I was with my father, my grandma, and my sister.
Before I go into the details, I must first thank my "compound" mates for understanding and supporting my decision. If this were a movie, Clinton would be at the top of the billing. Not only did he share his personal experience of a boat sinking (he was one of the survivors of Superferry 14), he further stimulated my enthusiasm by giving me instructions on how to abandon ship (which, thankfully, I didn't have to use).
So I was off. After saying goodbye to Andrew, Lea, Ryan, Pansit, Roda and Clinton at the port (I didn't do an Alfie! Bwahahaha!), I was off to Gate 3 for boarding.
When I found out where my bunk was, I then realized I made a mistake. Andrew cautioned me against choosing the aircon version of the economy class because the smell can be intolerable at times. It turned out I did choose that kind of accommodation.
After lifting my luggage onto my bunk ( The lady at the ticket center said there were no lower bunks left for me), I thought things over as to how I got it wrong. I remembered asking the ticket center lady for an aircon accommodation and after seeing the name of the accommodation ( "Megavalue". Sounds neat.), I thought I would go for it. Well, there goes my ignorance.
So there I was lying down, cramped with my bags on one side of the bed. My bunk was near the men's CR and so the air around me either smelled of urea or smelly shoes. Thankfully, there were many upper bunks away from the washroom which were not taken. So I slept on one which was away from the stench yet still gave me a clear view of my belongings from afar.
By Sunday, I've practically toured the entire ship. And, after all these years, I still clung onto my past favorite: the sun deck. Every thirty minutes, I would climb up onto the deck just to feel the ocean wind and stare at the vastness of the sea. I was on vacation, after all.
The food though left much to be desired. Gone was the complimentary soup in the meals and the newly-washed utensils still harbored bits of rice from its previous owners. But I still have to be thankful since every meal did indeed keep me satiated.
As for my bunk neighbors, I didn't mingle with them much. Occupying the bunk under mine was a woman in her early forties who was bound for Gensan. She was silent, occasionally engaging in a conversation with the man across us. The man across us was, gleaning from his talks, a recently resigned person from an agency. He kept talking about how dangerous his hometown is (and also about the security guard in their agency who was sexually harassing women. I would like to have a word with this guard). There were also two mothers sleeping on bunks adjacent to us. They each had a son and, for the remainder of the trip, their sons were the best of friends, engaging in fantasy duels with each other and causing quite a ruckus everywhere they went.
One mother was married but the other was apparently single but with the boy and a baby. On the first day of the trip (Sunday), the man across me kept talking to this single mother about anything under the sun. On the second day (Monday), I was surprised because the man was already carrying around the mother's baby, cradling the child to sleep! The last time I saw them both, the man was helping out the single mother with her luggage since there were both dropping off at Gensan. A budding romance, perhaps?
On Tuesday early morning, I dropped off at the Sasa wharf. Great, I was finally in Davao. I was riding the Blue Taxi (Yes. There is now a Blue Taxi in Davao City) going home when an incident happened in front of the Davao Medical Center. There was a crowd gathering around an SUV with a handcuffed man, dirty and somewhat bloodied, standing on it. As we passed by, the man jumped onto the taxi's roof and a police chase ensued after the man fell off our roof. The taxi driver wasn't relieved however because his roof was damaged (He kept saying his top line was in jeopardy). I wondered then if this was an omen but I didn't pursue that thought.
One question: Did I like my Boat Ride? Yes, in a way, but I also have to admit that doing nothing, other than writing letters, made me somewhat antsy during the trip. I guess that will probably be the first and the last time I'll ride a ship alone.
My reasons were simple. First, it was cheap compared to riding an airplane. Second, riding a ship can give me time to be alone so I could think things over and reflect. Third, I had never done this before since the last time I rode a ship, I was with my father, my grandma, and my sister.
Before I go into the details, I must first thank my "compound" mates for understanding and supporting my decision. If this were a movie, Clinton would be at the top of the billing. Not only did he share his personal experience of a boat sinking (he was one of the survivors of Superferry 14), he further stimulated my enthusiasm by giving me instructions on how to abandon ship (which, thankfully, I didn't have to use).
So I was off. After saying goodbye to Andrew, Lea, Ryan, Pansit, Roda and Clinton at the port (I didn't do an Alfie! Bwahahaha!), I was off to Gate 3 for boarding.
When I found out where my bunk was, I then realized I made a mistake. Andrew cautioned me against choosing the aircon version of the economy class because the smell can be intolerable at times. It turned out I did choose that kind of accommodation.
After lifting my luggage onto my bunk ( The lady at the ticket center said there were no lower bunks left for me), I thought things over as to how I got it wrong. I remembered asking the ticket center lady for an aircon accommodation and after seeing the name of the accommodation ( "Megavalue". Sounds neat.), I thought I would go for it. Well, there goes my ignorance.
So there I was lying down, cramped with my bags on one side of the bed. My bunk was near the men's CR and so the air around me either smelled of urea or smelly shoes. Thankfully, there were many upper bunks away from the washroom which were not taken. So I slept on one which was away from the stench yet still gave me a clear view of my belongings from afar.
By Sunday, I've practically toured the entire ship. And, after all these years, I still clung onto my past favorite: the sun deck. Every thirty minutes, I would climb up onto the deck just to feel the ocean wind and stare at the vastness of the sea. I was on vacation, after all.
The food though left much to be desired. Gone was the complimentary soup in the meals and the newly-washed utensils still harbored bits of rice from its previous owners. But I still have to be thankful since every meal did indeed keep me satiated.
As for my bunk neighbors, I didn't mingle with them much. Occupying the bunk under mine was a woman in her early forties who was bound for Gensan. She was silent, occasionally engaging in a conversation with the man across us. The man across us was, gleaning from his talks, a recently resigned person from an agency. He kept talking about how dangerous his hometown is (and also about the security guard in their agency who was sexually harassing women. I would like to have a word with this guard). There were also two mothers sleeping on bunks adjacent to us. They each had a son and, for the remainder of the trip, their sons were the best of friends, engaging in fantasy duels with each other and causing quite a ruckus everywhere they went.
One mother was married but the other was apparently single but with the boy and a baby. On the first day of the trip (Sunday), the man across me kept talking to this single mother about anything under the sun. On the second day (Monday), I was surprised because the man was already carrying around the mother's baby, cradling the child to sleep! The last time I saw them both, the man was helping out the single mother with her luggage since there were both dropping off at Gensan. A budding romance, perhaps?
On Tuesday early morning, I dropped off at the Sasa wharf. Great, I was finally in Davao. I was riding the Blue Taxi (Yes. There is now a Blue Taxi in Davao City) going home when an incident happened in front of the Davao Medical Center. There was a crowd gathering around an SUV with a handcuffed man, dirty and somewhat bloodied, standing on it. As we passed by, the man jumped onto the taxi's roof and a police chase ensued after the man fell off our roof. The taxi driver wasn't relieved however because his roof was damaged (He kept saying his top line was in jeopardy). I wondered then if this was an omen but I didn't pursue that thought.
One question: Did I like my Boat Ride? Yes, in a way, but I also have to admit that doing nothing, other than writing letters, made me somewhat antsy during the trip. I guess that will probably be the first and the last time I'll ride a ship alone.
1 comment:
sa barko mo pala sinulat ang letter...? cheesy! Ahahaha
and yes, you pulled off an Alfie. Umiyak ka kaya when you left the car park.
Your ship experience was not complete without the tragic bombing like mine.Dude, its the best thing ever.
Clinton
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