Hit the nail on the head with that post. Little responsibility, no lessons, no thinking about the consequences of their actions. It'll never happen to me kind of attitude. Till of course one day it does. I'd never ride a bike in the Philippines on a main road. But of course many have to, common sense should say wear a helmet, however....
I would consider myself as a experienced rider, had bikes all my life and up until a few months ago owned a bike in the Philippines. I ride for enjoyment but in the Philippines you gotta be 200% on the ball and its not so enjoyable especially on national highways and into the Cebu city. In Thailand and even Vietnam its a very different ball game and I have ridden all over the country with some awesome trips.
This is the ones that have been here too long and forgot what happens when skin comes into contact with cement or tar. I for one like my skin to be able to do it's job of keeping my blood inside my body.
The one thing Toyota has going for it here over Nissan is massive brand power which makes for a quick selling vehicle with minimal loss. We bought a Mazda CX3 in Manila while working and living there, perfect small car for NCR, Luzon. We drove it to Dumaguete for a 3 month trip, we never left and our one regret here is ground clearance. Roads a generally wider and better here than NCR but so many of the places you want to get to in Negros Oriental roads can be very bad. Toyota Rush ticks a lot of boxes if you dont want a Truck/ Ute and at 1,1M PHP super popular for resale, good clearance. Mostly ugly but not as ugly as a Suzuki Ertriga and super practical. I would go a Truck/ Ute if you are going to do any building work. Delivery costs, delays and dealing with delivery drivers is a pain and if you can load most materials onto your on truck it makes life a little bit easier here.
Looks like not being aware there's a Mitsubishi dealer/garage and also Ford on North highway going to Sibulan. Agree with your review about the Navarra, owned a 4x4 one for 7 years and never let me down, so as reliable as can be.
I am aware of both the Misubishi and Ford dealer. But not really impressed. The Mitsubishi dealer might be ok. Maybe I just did meet the wrong person at the wrong day. I was really interested in buying a Strada 4 x 4. The Ford dealer did not impress me at all. So finally I ended up with Navadra 4 x 4, and I am quiet happy. Car is fine, garage is fine, I am fine. I agree that both Strada and Ranger are good cars. But I decided differently.
I fully agree. Having a vehicle in place with good ground clearance and loading capacity is definitely a huge advantage at this place. Learned this lesson during our construction and was very happy to be more independent from deliveries.
I am not a very skilled bike driver but can handle a bike. Nevertheless, for me it's not a pleasure at all to move around by bike, or by car. I do not enjoy it and try to avoid as much as I can. Due to annoying parking situation in Duma city I am using my bike for short trips to the city, mostly boulevard, or for shopping of small items. My car is used for weekly shopping, transport of materials, and very occasionally for trips to Cebu or along the coast line. Traffic most of the time is terrible. You have to put into consideration each idiotic and unexpected move of other drivers at any given moment. You have to expect critical situations coming from left, right, below and abkve from you. Especially from tricycle drivers. Not to mention dogs, vehicles driving without light, Ceres liners, vans, trucks and whatsoever who just don't care. Especially driving during night is an incalculable adventure. Very dangerous. You need to be in full concentration all the time and after let's say 2 hours of driving I am entirely exhausted. Only once, few years ago on Bantayan Island, I did enjoy to discover the island by bike. Good roads, very little traffic. Was good fun. For me driving is something I unfortunately have to do to get my things done. But I definitely not driving around just for fun or to enjoy my car or bike.
A good bike rider will apply this to any country they are in. I leant this when I first did my bike training at 17 years old. That's what I was saying about being 200% on the ball, unfortunately a bike is sometimes the better way to travel when in the traffic. But in Thailand I love riding even more than back home in Australia.
