Category Archives: Travel

International, Travel

For First Time Ever, Philippines Will Observe Daylight Saving Time

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imageMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Starting at 2 o’clock a.m. Sunday (Monday, Philippine time), Americans, except those in Arizona and Hawaii,  will set their clocks forward by one hour as part of Daylight Saving Time (DST).  In the Philippines, Filipinos will advance their clocks by two hours.

For the first time in the history of the Philippines, this tropical country in Asia is implementing DST, but unlike its U.S. counterpart, it is a two-hour adjustment.

The concept of DST in the U.S. is all about saving precious energy, taking advantage of longer days and shorter nights to encourage people to turn off lights earlier, turn on airconditioners later, etc.

However, Philippine DST has nothing to do with energy-saving.  It is a national scheme to encourage and ensure that Filipinos arrive at their appointments, school or work ON TIME — in fact two hours early.

You see, the Philippines is known for “Filipino time,” a standard in which people arriving late for appointments is expected, much less tolerated.  Even their country’s flag carrier, Philippine Air Lines, or PAL, is often referred to as “Plane Always Late.”

With the new Philippine DST, many employers will be very pleased that at last, their workers will arrive on time — assuming the LRT and MRT (light railway) trains run on schedule.

“By the time DST is set back to regular or standard time in the fall, Filipinos will already have been used to being on time or early,” President NoyNoy Aquino told reporters today.

Social Media, Technology, Travel

Manila’s Light Rail System Inaugurates World’s First Open-Door Roller Coaster Commuter Train

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Six Flags (inset: Cubelo)
Six Flags (inset: Cubelo)

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Move over, Six Flags and Great America. Here comes Manila’s open-door roller coaster train, the world’s first low-cost amusement mass commuter train.

For thrill-seekers, riding the Light Railway Train (LRT) in Manila is an experience like no other. Imagine riding in a packed train car, running at full-speed above ground with its doors fully open!

Well, we can’t describe the feeling, but student James Cubelo can, and shares his selfie video with readers and followers of The Adobo Chronicles.

It’s more fun in the Philippines. We mean really, really more fun!

This newest attraction is brought to you by the Aquino government.

Watch the VIDEO.

 

Government, Travel

President Aquino To Inaugurate New Luzon Expressway On May 8

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imageTARLAC, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Travel time between Manila and the rest of northern and southern Luzon has significantly been reduced over the last decade with the completion of major toll expressways.

There’s the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) which connects Manila and the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga; there’s the Tarlac-Pangasian-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) which connects to the provinces south of Pampanga; there’s the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) which connects to the cities and towns south of the metropolis.

On May 8, the day before the 2016 presidential elections, President Aquino will inaugurate the latest infrastructure project in this network of expressways — the HLEx, or the Hacienda Luisita Expressway.  It connects Quezon City where the private residence of the Aquinos is located to the family’s vast agricultural estate in Tarlac.

The opening of HLEx cannot be more timely, as Aquino’s successor will be chosen the day after.  It is believed that the impetus for the construction of the new expressway is to facilitate the travel of Aquino the private citizen from Quezon City to Hacienda Luisita.

Like the rest of the expressways, motorists will have to pay a toll fee.  However, the Aquino family will be exempt from the tolls — for life.

Malacañang told The Adobo Chronicles  that the original plan was to name the new expressway the ‘NoyNoy Aquino Expressway (NAEx), but that would elicit a lot of criticism from the president’s political opponents.

Instead, the toll booth numbers at the entrance to HLEx will be designated N1, N2, N3, etc., with the ‘N’ standing for ‘NoyNoy.’

The HLEx is, by far, the greatest legacy of the Aquino administration.