Back to School Safety Tips for Drivers (and a Good Reminder for Passengers as Well!)

PANUGYAN SA MGA MOTORISTA!

As schools re-open for face-to-face classes, our roads and streets will no doubt be filled with more vehicles and pedestrians than they've been over the past two and a half years. 

Many of these will be children and parents who will be adjusting to navigating our streets. Also, with the increase in the price of almost all basic necessities, it will not be surprising if more children and adults will choose to bike or walk to school or their places of work.

As more road power bears more responsibility, drivers of motorized vehicles should keep the safety of our children their top priority.

Here are helpful tips to keep in mind:

1. DRIVE SLOW. Hinay-hinay lang.

Keep speed limits to 30kph. When within school and residential zones, turn this speed limit down to 20kph. This helps to ensure that you will have time to come to a full stop and avoid road crashes in case a child unexpectedly crosses the street.

2. LET PEDESTRIANS CROSS FIRST. Paunaha ang nagatabok.

When approaching a pedestrian lane (and especially if there are no traffic lights or traffic enforcers) and pedestrians are attempting to cross, slow down and come to a full stop before the crossing. Always give priority to vulnerable road users like PWDs, pregnant women, elderly, active mobility users, and those with children.

3. GIVE PRIORITY TO BIKE USERS. Paunaha ang naga-bisikleta.

Unfortunately, many schools have yet to provide proper spaces for pick up and drop off of students. If you absolutely need to pick up or drop off passengers on the side of the road, please be mindful of bike and active transport (EKS, skateboard, etc.) users on the bike lanes. Let them pass through and do not encroach on this space.

4. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD. Mata sa karsada.

RA 10913 or the Anti-Distracted Driving Act (ADDA) is a law that prohibits a person who is driving a motor vehicle from holding and using mobile communication devices and electronic entertainment gadgets. It only takes a split second of distraction for a road crash to happen. Do not risk it.

5. BE PATIENT. Kalmahi.

This reminder is for both drivers and passengers! Traffic will be worse than usual. Please be more patient than usual, too. Pedestrians, active transport users, and drivers/passengers of slow-moving vehicles are just trying to get to their destination in the same way that you are. Please be more patient in dealing with them. Heightened emotions will often lead to poor decisions, which often lead to road crashes. Take slow, deep breaths when you are starting to feel agitated on the road.

These are all basic rules of the road, but it is always worth reminding motorists just how much responsibility they have in ensuring our streets are safe enough for children and other vulnerable road users.

Ang mas may kabaskog sa karsada, dapat mas dako ang kabalaka.

Ano pa gid ang mga safety tips FOR DRIVERS nga luyag niyo idugang? Comment lang sa dalom!

Halong gid pirmi, mga ka-iBIKERS!

#MovePeopleNotCars

#BetterByBicycle

#ActiveMobility

Boracay vacation with Rheane, finally!

After a series of heightened covid alert levels, Rheane and I were finally able to take our long-overdue Boracay trip last February!

We took a taxi to the Ceres terminal at Buhang, Jaro, where we then embarked on an almost 6-hour bus ride to the Caticlan Jetty Port.

We had prepared our documents well for the trip (Vax cert, hotel reservations, Aklan Govt website registration) so we didn't have any problems at the port.

Puro selfie amon emote. Haha!

We checked in to Seabird International Resort, a quaint hotel that is ALMOST beachfront (a one-minute walk away, tops). I've already been to this resort before, and was mildly surprised to find out it didn't have a pool! 😅 It had, however, a wide enough empty space that I was able to use for my workout sessions. The place also had a common area that we took advantage of for photoshoots. Our accommodation came with breakfast, and while we have no complaints about our food's taste and island vibe presentation, we wished we had more (non-meat) options to choose from. 

One of the best things about this trip was that we had money 😂 And so we really indulged ourselves when it came to mealtime and went to Boracay's buzzed-about food stops.

Sooo glad to have had a proper risotto at Los Indios Bravos

Rheane's life goals.

Lunch at The Hobbit before leaving Boracay.

Gasunggudanay kami di pero namit ang food hahahuhu --- Don Vito's

Yummers Indian meal at Nonie's.

All about the alcohol.

Sunset dinner at The District.

Desserts had to be had at Lemoni Cafe.

Coffee and muffins and sunggodanay at Real Coffee.

Before going to the island, I'd been researching bike rides and we settled with Isla Siklista Bike Rentals. We biked (and walked) to the uphill coast of Puka Beach.

We had enough money for the entrance 😆.

Great guide, reasonable rates!

It was just a 10km ride back and forth
but we worked harrrd for every kilometer!

Best in tulod!

Very grateful for our super patient guide!

Patweetums photo.

One other special feature of our trip was having a massage at Upperhouse Spa Experience at The District. We got discounted vouchers via Klook and it was really well worth it!

Rheane being madam.

Of course, we savored the beach and the glorious white sand. It was algae season, though. Good thing Puka Beach was still quite pristine.

Despite the moments of sunggodanay, there are so many things about this trip that I am thankful for. And I certainly look forward to more beach trips, more yummy food, and more new experiences together.

First 2022 Trip: Guimaras!

Rheane and I had planned a trip to Boracay on the first weekend of January, but we had to change our plans because of the Covid surge.

Incidentally, Noel's father died, and since we were attending his wake and funeral at Guimaras anyway, we planned to include a bit R&R in our trip.

We commuted to the Roro port to Guimaras (neighbor was one of the security guards there!) and paid P40 each to reach the Guimaras Roro Wharf. We booked an Airbnb place for our stay and it was great that our host's brother-in-law, Rolly, was a tricycle driver who was at the wharf when we arrived. The fare was P30 to the Mountain Bikers Hub (500m from the Roro wharf).

We arrived at around 10AM and were immediately greeted by our host, Sir Tommy Martir, a pioneer of bike tourism efforts in Guimaras. 

We got in through the gym (daily rate was only P40, monthly at P350!) and were led to our modest room adjacent to it.

We had a simple breakfast of rice, fried eggs, and hotdogs, quickly prepared by Mam Che (Sir Tommy's wife). 

We brought our own coffee and tea, and just requested for hot water so our meal just set us back P120.

We just rested for a bit before going to the wharf to each lunch in one of the carinderias while waiting for our friends so that we could go to Noel's together. Our lunch just cost us P130 (still less than the cost of our pricey coffee drinks LOL).

This view just in front of our place!

We went to Noel's and paid our respects and had dinner there before going back to our place.

I got up early the next morning to take advantage of the gym facilities, and I had a good 30-minute full-body strength workout courtesy of HasFit!

These bikes around us are for rent! 

We attended the mass and funeral of Noel's father at Jordan Church and Memorial Park. 

We had brunch after the service, and because we wanted to make "pagpag" before heading back to our place, we decided to go to Alibhon to have lunch before our planned bike ride and trip to the beach in the afternoon.

We bought Sandugo sandals in the market and the saleslady there told us that they were going to vacate their pwesto because a McDonald's was going to be built there (hello, commercialization causing the death of small shops).

We had an obligatory visit to The Pitstop, a local restaurant that specialized in mango-based specialties. We had their mango pizza and carbonara before heading back to Tommy's place.

Sir Tommy was excitedly waiting for us when we got back, and he already had our bikes ready for our trip. Bike rentals cost P500 per bike, and the tour guide was P500 per day. 

Unfortunately, Rheane's body gave up on the second tuklad of the ride. She was already not feeling well earlier and we decided she would just take a tricycle to Brgy. Lawi.

I HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE riding to Brgy. Lawi. Oh. My. Gudness! There were hardly any flat roads, and all we had were uphill and downhill roads where I took turns catching between catching my breath (uphill) and praying to my guardian angel (downhill)! 😂 

Sir Tommy was VERY PATIENT the whole time. There were times when I really had to dismount and push my bike uphill, but he just motivated me to keep going.

Rheane and Rolly eventually caught up to us and I was pleasantly surprised to see Mam Che and Osang (Rolly's wife) going with them on their scooter.

After about an hour and a half (16km), we reached the port at Brgy. Lawi and started our trek of about 1.5km to the Lawi Marine Protected Area where we enjoyed a swim and Rheane's photoshoot HAHAHA

Sigh. This view.

I had no more energy left in me to ride back to our place at 4PM so Sir Tommy had to contend with mounting our bikes on the tryk ride back home. We requested to have dinner of fish sinigang and roasted chicken with the family and we had a great, great time sharing laughter and stories with each other.

Sleep was always easy to come and I had recharged enough to go for a good 6-km run in Jordan. The good thing about staying on the western side of the island is that it takes a long while before the rays of the sun hit us so I was able to take my time during my run.

We had one last breakfast with our view as we took in the many events of our weekend. Rheane had an upset stomach so we decided to just take a rest before going back to Iloilo.

Check out "Nessel's Place" at Airbnb!

Overall, despite the sad nature of our visit and some health bumps along the way, we had a really, really good time in Guimaras. It wasn't how we planned our first trip for the year to be, but I'd say that given the circumstances, it was a great blessing to have!

Total expenses:
Fare, airbnb, meals, trip to Brgy. Lawi, bike rentals, and tour guide: ~ P7,000