My Chaotic Trip to the South

I hate the south. Chaos. Disaster. Mayhem.

The other day I got a call from Ark-One Ltd., the Philippine representative for Agilent Systems Technologies, asking me to take an exam for their cadetship program so yesterday I went to their office in Alabang (ang layo sobra).

I was scheduled for a 1pm appointment, I left home around 11am. Too late, I know, knowing that it would take me around two hours to get there (my travel time from house to Lasalle is between 1.5 to 2.5 hours), but anyway, I was hoping there would be no people in the MRT and there would be no traffic. So much for hoping, but at least the stations weren't too crowded at that time.

Segue:
MRT is selling AXS cards sa mga stations nila. It's a reloadable prepaid card you can use to tap on (anong tawag dun sa may umiikot na gate?) to enter the platform. Ang galing lang kasi na-miss ko na yung pagtap ng ID ko sa Lasalle, haha. It costs Php50 with a Php35 load included, a Nestle Kitkat desing and a free Kitkat. I don't know though if it's still available today.

Back to my story:
I went down Ayala Station and then took the bus from there to Alabang. My God, what an ugly place (sorry southerners). I mean, at least on the Metropolis and the pamilihang bayan part. Grabe the mayhem I swear! There were people everywhere walking different directions (if there was any direction even to where they're going), then there were jeepneys (lot's of them) and buses everywhere. ok, so maybe you're saying, "Ganun naman talaga sa lahat ng lugar sa Manila", whatever! Hindi katulad ng nasaksihan ko kahapon. All the jeeps and buses were like going nowhere. Sobrang gulo. The intersections were crowded, people crossing the streets, vehicles speeding tapos iilag yung mga tumatawid then there are excavations, constructions, deconstructions (demolitions), maraming tubig sa daan na parang isang malaking kanal sa dami. (napakagulo). It's like a near-death experience walking those streets.

Not exactly what I was saying but it will do. Just add more people and make it darker and dirtier and smaller.

Tapos, the overpass pa was like hell above the street under the skyway. It was dark, tapos may nagwe-welding (under construction apparently, pero it was already in use) sa gilid, tapos maraming wire. You know those futuristic movies that turned out to be a disaster... Like yung sa Meet the Robinsons or yung sa City of Ember - parang ganun.

Sa Metropolis, walang taxi. I hate that place (yung labas), parang palengke pero hindi. At least in the markets, there are things to buy, and there is a bit of order left, you know where to walk, you know where to buy, you know where the stalls are (tipong ganun) but that place... that place was like the capital of chaos.

On the other side naman, there was this "South Staion", parang mall and it leads to the entrance of Filinvest, this place was a bit calm, but just the same, lots of people, lots of vehicles.

Now, why was I able to explore the place? Simple. I was looking for a cab. Ayoko na maligaw and waste time going to where I was going. But no. No cabs to be seen. The lady from Ark-One told me to ride a jeep going to Acacia Road but then I couldn't find one (or maybe I just didn't know) I walked my way down to Wilcon Builders hoping to find a cab (a very long walk from where I started) but I had to, it just felt safer... not to mention empty. It's like a wide open grassland with a Wilcon in the middle. (nasa Manila pa ba ako?). What a lonesome place.

And from across Wilcon you'll see Filinvest City (or park) at kumusta naman yun, from where I was standing, you would totally see the contrast of the place. Filinvest looks realy upscale and orderly and posh, its outskirts look really dirty, shabby, tacky and cheap and did I mention, chaotic? WTF?

I was running late. And I mean really late. It was 30 minutes past one already and I'm still lost in that unfamiliar place. I asked the guard for directions, he had me ride a jeep. The lady told me to tell the driver to drop me at Acacia Road in front of Unioil. I found Acacia Road and Madrigal Business Park but no Unioil. Still, no cabs to be found.

The lady from Ark-One told me to walk behind Unioil and look for the green building. It was the only green building there. And that's what I did. I walked my way down Acacia Road looking for the gas station with much less hope because, 1: The place seemed unlikely to have a gas station nearby and 2: I was seeing a lot of green.

The place was just overflowing with green things. Grass, shrubs, trees, windows, glass panels and so on. Suddenly, I wasn't sure if I should be looking for the green building because lots of buildings there have green features. I was screwed. I found another jeep going from Brgy. Alabang to Alabang and I thought, maybe it's like Alabang Ikot (you know like UP Ikot?) and went to the Town Center hoping that maybe there I could find a cab.

Not exaclty what I was expecting to see. It was my first time in ATC and it wasn't exactly what I imagined it to be. It was too Robinson's looking with gardens and still no cab. I had to find one soon and I did, only it wasn't a legit cab service and it costs Php120 a ride. WTF?

I just find it weird that in my almost two hours there in that city, I didn't find any cabs available, maybe one or two but they were occupied.

I found Park Trade Centre, went to the office, the exam and the interview went on... I left. Madrigal Business Park was a really nice place, lots of trees, very calm, peaceful and cool. I just had to find the Unioil she told me the other day. Ok naman. I spent almost my entire money on fares and whatnots, I still haven't eaten lunch yet, I was so hungry and I got late for almost two hours finding the place and looking for significant landmarks specially Unioil all the while thinking it was the gas station only to see it was a building. It was the "Unioil Center" and the sign just looks soooo big anyone would soooo notice it (I'm writing sarcastically here).

I mean HELLOOOOO!!! Galing na ako dito kanina. Gumastos ako ng 120 for nothing? And mind you, that Unioil building was also green. And their building, that Park Trade Center, it's green alright, but partly blue. I mean come on!!! Are you kidding me? And yeah, it was behind Unioil, but it was barely noticeable. WTF?

I had to take pictures, here:

See?

Parang... diba? How would one see the Unioil Center sign ehh, nahaharangan ng mga decors not to mention the veeerryy noticeable green building. Uggh.

So after that I left Madrigal and went back to Metropolis to witness, yet again, the never ending chaos in that place. I rode the bus down to Magallanes, took the train to North Avenue, an fx and a trike back home. In my entire journey, I couldn't help but think, there have been a lot of wrong things in that area. Odd things, awkward, misplaced objects and structures that shouldn't have been there. Take this one for example:

See the condo under construction? It can be seen along South Superhighway. Now behind it, a huge factory with its towering flue gas stacks (industrial chimneys). Who would want to live in a place with a factory next door, belching toxic gases 24/7? WTF!

See what I mean? Wrong. Misplaced. Disorderly.

Chaotic.