The Sweety/Sweaty Experience

My friends and I have this habit of making people guess our real age. This is because we know that they would say that we look years younger that we actually are. We’re only 28 (go figure our real age hehehe), but we feel that we’re 23. That is why sometimes, we still do and say things that only 23 year olds would.

A few days ago, I, together with 2 other phenomenal dyosas went to Palawan for a huling-hirit-for-summer vacation. We had purchased our ticket way back in February to avail of the Cebu Pacific promo (P2,700 for a return ticket to Puerto Prinsesa!). And since we felt that we are still young, we decided to go backpacking. We took the ordinary bus from Puerto to El Nido. That’s 8 glorious hours of dust, dirt and sun.

We had fun in El Nido. We met a lot of very interesting people, saw a lot of lovely places and ate lots of cheap food.

On the way back from El Nido to Puerto, we took a different bus line, Sweety Transport (we took Eulen Joy Bus going to El Nido). 8 hours of bus ride, I can take. Maybe a flat tire or 2 would not bother me. But the supposedly Sweety experience became a really sweaty one.

The first Sweaty Experience: flat tire. This is not uncommon, really. And the driver and his minion were quite experienced in changing flat tires (I think they do this at least once every trip).

The second Sweaty Experience: no gas. How can people forget to load on gas??? We were all inside the bus, all sweaty, hot and frustrated. There were 3 Brits with us, 1 Irish lady, a European-sounding, but Asian-looking couple, mothers, fathers and a lot of noisy kids. The kunduktor was able to buy fuel from a nearby gasoline station, and in no time, we were on our way.

The third Sweaty Experience: machine break down. Flat tires and no gas – these can easily be solved. But what do we do when the engine decides to rest, permanently? I had a headache, backpain, and stomach ache. I never thought that it would be possible to feel even more frustrated, but I did. We couldn’t do much but to wait for another bus or jeepney to transfer to.

After almost one hour of waiting under the heat of the Palawan sun, we were able to hitch a ride in a pick-up truck. It was airconditioned inside, so it was pure bliss. Immediately, my headache and stomach ache miraculously disappeared.

So much for backpacking. Next time I go somewhere else, I would not dream of riding an ordinary bus. From now on, no more sweaty experience for me. And yes, from now on, no more lying about my age. I’m actually 30 (bwahahaha!).


04 July 2007
Wednesday
09:35 am
Fairview, Quezon City