18th to 21st saw me in HongKong and Macau, as I nearly maxed out my memory card snapping pictures left and right. What I first noticed in their highways were the absence of billboards and signages. You can actually see the view - nature integrated with modern structures. There were no police cars visible anywhere, (I only saw 2 the whole time) and yet discipline was inherently practiced everywhere - even on pedestrian crossings. It's a sad note that Filipinos here do follow the rules of the road. I found myself asking are these the same people that follow our rules back home? One can't help but feel sorry for the sad state of our country when you visit a foreign land. Well, this foreign land in particular. You don't see pink fences telling buses where to drive or stop to pick up passengers. The bus drivers themselves tread only the left most lane (Right side drive here, meaning people drive on the left side, so its very easy for a Pinoy to get swiped by a car the first time when crossing the street.) Actually while we were cruising on Kowloon's highways I noticed all the cars are running at the same speed. Speed limit in effect. Road signs do serve a purpose here, unlike back home where road signs are just trimmings and a nuisance.
Scooters are the way to go around here. No XRMs anywhere but highend sedan scoots, Vespas and Vinos. Almost every corner has parking for these, and no guards even. I only saw one scoot chained. Lots of women on scoots too :) Everyone wears a helmet, yes, even the law enforcers I saw, which by the way ride on a 250cc vtwin bike. Vinos and Vespas were all dressed up far from stock. No loud pipes around here. I only saw four Vtwins on separate occassions. I wonder how I'll fare if I bring Brutus over, noise-wise? It got me thinking how much cry babies Filipinos are when it comes to the government imposing rules - here people follow. Period.
I started wondering how I could transport Brutus here for a four-day ride around the countryside. Those well paved roads just beg to be ridden. This bridge that spans the gap between Macau and Taipa is superb, roughly 5 kms long - and scoots are allowed to traverse the thing. There were lots of other things to cite about this country. Most specially the view from the third floor window in Macau, but that's well worth another story :)
18th to 21st saw me in HongKong and Macau, as I nearly maxed out my memory card snapping pictures left and right. What I first noticed in their highways were the absence of billboards and signages. You can actually see the view - nature integrated with modern structures. There were no police cars visible anywhere, (I only saw 2 the whole time) and yet discipline was inherently practiced everywhere - even on pedestrian crossings. It's a sad note that Filipinos here do follow the rules of the road. I found myself asking are these the same people that follow our rules back home? One can't help but feel sorry for the sad state of our country when you visit a foreign land. Well, this foreign land in particular. You don't see pink fences telling buses where to drive or stop to pick up passengers. The bus drivers themselves tread only the left most lane (Right side drive here, meaning people drive on the left side, so its very easy for a Pinoy to get swiped by a car the first time when crossing the street.) Actually while we were cruising on Kowloon's highways I noticed all the cars are running at the same speed. Speed limit in effect. Road signs do serve a purpose here, unlike back home where road signs are just trimmings and a nuisance.
Scooters are the way to go around here. No XRMs anywhere but highend sedan scoots, Vespas and Vinos. Almost every corner has parking for these, and no guards even. I only saw one scoot chained. Lots of women on scoots too :) Everyone wears a helmet, yes, even the law enforcers I saw, which by the way ride on a 250cc vtwin bike. Vinos and Vespas were all dressed up far from stock. No loud pipes around here. I only saw four Vtwins on separate occassions. I wonder how I'll fare if I bring Brutus over, noise-wise? It got me thinking how much cry babies Filipinos are when it comes to the government imposing rules - here people follow. Period.
I started wondering how I could transport Brutus here for a four-day ride around the countryside. Those well paved roads just beg to be ridden. This bridge that spans the gap between Macau and Taipa is superb, roughly 5 kms long - and scoots are allowed to traverse the thing. There were lots of other things to cite about this country. Most specially the view from the third floor window in Macau, but that's well worth another story :)
