Dumaguete Info Search


KEY Thread Best Posts in Thread: Driving in the Philippines and Dumaguete

  1. johncarson

    johncarson DI Member Veteran Army

    Messages:
    181
    Trophy Points:
    180
    Location:
    USA, Dauin
    Ratings:
    +252 / 19
    Why do they drive like that? How many times have you been asked or asked yourself? I recently came upon a secret manual that answers this question. Please pay attention.

    Basic rules of driving in the Philippines.

    1. Drive as if you’re the only person on the road (because you are).

    2. Drive as if you own the road (which you do).

    3. Drive however fast or slow you want any time, anywhere.

    4. Park wherever you feel like parking, preferably as close to the middle of the road as possible. You may use your emergency flashing lights to show others that you’re blocking traffic, but don’t worry if you don’t have them or don’t want to use them.

    5. Don’t use lights when driving at night. They waste electricity.

    6. Pass anyone any time you wish. If you’re barreling down the road in the opposite lane, you may wish to flash your headlights to warn others to get out of your way.

    7. If you have mirrors, especially on bikes, remove them before someone steals them. They’re worthless anyway. Who wants to see what’s coming up behind or beside you?

    8. Driving is a good time to get caught up on text messages or facebook.

    9. Don’t bother licensing yourself or your vehicle. Make a simple u-turn if you see a check point.

    10. Don’t waste money servicing your vehicle. It will service itself.
     
    • Like Like x 6
    • Funny Funny x 4
    • Winner Winner x 2
    • Informative Informative x 1
  2. sandycreekg

    sandycreekg DI Member Showcase Reviewer

    Messages:
    173
    Trophy Points:
    130
    Occupation:
    retired
    Location:
    Purok 1 , Liptong Valencia
    Ratings:
    +167 / 14
    I have been liveing and driveing here for about 16 months now and comeing from the wide open spces of Australia it was quite a lot of adjustment...........yes it is crazy driveing here like most asian countries but I have accepted that and really take my time and be aware of the lunatics both local and foreign...............I drive down from Liptong/Valencia a couple of times a week for shopping and eating out in resturants and usually find a shade park in Robinsons to prk my little suzuki van and catch a motor taxi into town if need to go into town and as a few people have mentioned here is that no amount of complaining will change the attitudes and conditions...........so I guess it is either adapt and accept or go back where we come from.
     
    • Agree Agree x 8
    • Informative Informative x 1
  3. Rye83

    Rye83 with pastrami Admin Secured Account Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Army

    Messages:
    13,106
    Trophy Points:
    451
    Occupation:
    FIRE
    Location:
    Valencia
    Ratings:
    +16,069 / 3,795
    Blood Type:
    O+
    You have seen monkeys driving?! :meh:

    If you have gotten to the point of calling them monkeys perhaps it is time you get out of their country for awhile. Do you really think they owe it to you to change how they do things? Or that they owe you anything at all? If you can't adapt to the way they drive, or the way they do anything else, you will be nothing but miserable and find nothing but trouble. If you are just venting frustrations that's one thing (we all do it from time to time), but if you really see them as only monkeys then you are going to have nothing but trouble.
     
    • Agree Agree x 7
  4. Rye83

    Rye83 with pastrami Admin Secured Account Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Army

    Messages:
    13,106
    Trophy Points:
    451
    Occupation:
    FIRE
    Location:
    Valencia
    Ratings:
    +16,069 / 3,795
    Blood Type:
    O+
    I disagree. I think that most of the time (which is the 18-20 hours of the day that are not rush hours) driving in Dumaguete, even in a car,. is not a problem at all. Being unemployed/retired should make traffic very easy. If someone refuses to adjust their very open schedule to avoid driving during these times of day it is kinda their own fault. All you have to do is push your meals 2 hours earlier or later and the vast majority of the traffic headaches goes away. I've driven in Manhattan, Dubai, Manila, Cebu, L.A, Atlanta and lots of other big cities and traffic is horrible in all them if you are driving during rush hour....but if you go driving off peak hours you are going to have the roads pretty much to yourself most of the time. If you are lucky enough to be able to avoid driving during the times when most people have no choice but to drive then why not do that? If someone is incapable of adjusting to their environment perhaps a move to the countryside would be a much better option. I think the choices about dealing with rush hours should be a) deal with it (if you must drive during it) b) avoid it (if you are retired and have that luxury) c) move out of the city.

    I would also disagree that Dumaguete has not been improving and widening their roads. There are a lot of streets here that did not exist or were only dirt roads when I first got here. Driving through certain areas it is easy to see that they have been laying down new concrete. When I first got here making one trip up to Valencia would require you to tighten all the bolts on your motorcycle and you were lucky if you didn't blow a tire out in one of the thousands of pot holes before you got to the top. Driving up to Bias would have taken a 4x4 is it had been raining. They've greatly improved the road going south as well. Actually all roads leaving the town have been greatly improved. There are still a lot of areas that need improvement but it seems to me that they are actively taking on all the main roads. Yeah, it sucks if you live on a small side road but those are always the last to get fixed no matter what country you live in.

    The roads within the city are really not all that narrow or in that bad of condition. It is a lack of driver and pedestrian discipline/education that is making the traffic here so bad during rush hours. Trikes and even nonprofessional drivers park/double park or pickup/drop-off people where ever they please. It is not only local drivers though, I see plenty of expats driving and parking like complete tw*ts as well.

    To the OP: the traffic is not that bad in Dumaguete compared to where you were in Cebu and what you will experience in other cities in the Philippines. Sh*t traffic is a fact of life in the Philippines and should not be a determining factor if you are planning on living in a city. (If it is a determining factor and you must live in a city you might just want to forget about the Philippines.)

    BTW: if I had to choose another city to move to in the Philippines I would probably go with Iloilo or Naga City (the one in Bohol). I really enjoyed both of those places but I would need to spend more time in each of those cities to decide if it would be a wise move.
     
    • Agree Agree x 4
    • Informative Informative x 3
  5. DGTXPAT

    DGTXPAT DI Junior Member

    Messages:
    27
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Occupation:
    Trucker
    Location:
    USA
    Ratings:
    +50 / 14
    Blood Type:
    B+
    Driving in Dumaguete is a learning experience in itself. I consider myself a very good driver since I drive for a living but I was not prepared for the lack of rules when I first came here and started driving a motorcycle. I did find that after a while there was some sort of secret right away granted to bigger moving vehicles :smile: I drove a car for a while too and that is maybe safer but far more challenging in the city. Motorcycles are the quick and easy way around the city but certainly it takes some time to learn the non rules like Ceres Liners are no fun to travel behind :smile:
     
    • Agree Agree x 6
  6. robert k

    robert k DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster Veteran Army

    Messages:
    1,525
    Trophy Points:
    315
    Ratings:
    +1,213 / 264
    If you drive around long enough, eventually you will find a parking spot. I used to park a block off the boulevard and walk around town. If you are buying much or have about 5 places you need to go, it becomes a lot less practical.

    Wrye has a good point about there being hours when the traffic is not horrible. Unfortunately Immigration and stores like Hypermart are not open for many of those hours that are not horrible.
     
    • Agree Agree x 5
  7. Rye83

    Rye83 with pastrami Admin Secured Account Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Army

    Messages:
    13,106
    Trophy Points:
    451
    Occupation:
    FIRE
    Location:
    Valencia
    Ratings:
    +16,069 / 3,795
    Blood Type:
    O+
    My last post was an abhorrent comment? Really? I guess things seem worse when you start to get old, crusty and boring. Maybe best if some people hire a driver so they can sip on their prune juice while heading in town to watch their wives run errands.

    (Now this could be considered an abhorrent post. :troll:)
     
    • Like Like x 3
    • Agree Agree x 1
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2016
  8. Dave & Imp

    Dave & Imp DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster Showcase Reviewer

    Messages:
    1,887
    Trophy Points:
    306
    Ratings:
    +1,703 / 884
    Actually I do not mind traveling behind the Ceres Liner on my motorcycle, I use them like you would a "guard" if you were a quarterback in American football, as a blocker for other vehicles. No one is going to drive through a Ceres Liner to hit me on a motorcycle. The buses generally travel well down the road in the open areas, the only problem being their many stops, and multiple times they end stopping, passing me again, then stopping again when on a trip. I would prefer them in front of me, than behind me.
    When making a left turn I many times stay on the buses right sides, as they will certainly use the unwritten rule (the biggest vehicle gets the right-of-way) and give me a cleaner and saver path on making a sweeping left turn. I do not do this while driving in a fantasy world of thoughts as you never know what some other driver will come up with as a new driving technique here, I stay very alert. I do not look at the pretty ladies along the road, and I generally do not even talk while on the motorcycle... all my attention is on the road, but I do use other vehicles as "blockers" to maneuver my way through traffic here.
    Regarding "blocking" or "clearing" vehicles... watch the next ambulance that passes you and notice how many motorcycle drivers jump right behind him so he can clear the road for them with his siren and lights on ... very common practice here.

    Drive carefully and wisely.
     
    • Agree Agree x 4
  9. DaveD

    DaveD DI Senior Member Showcase Reviewer Veteran Navy

    Messages:
    859
    Trophy Points:
    196
    Location:
    Dumaguete
    Ratings:
    +1,041 / 129
    Blood Type:
    A+
    Especially Malungay leaves if you have the tree. Very tasty and nutritious.
     
    • Agree Agree x 3
    • Informative Informative x 1
  10. hawk263

    hawk263 DI Forum Adept Blood Donor Veteran Army

    Messages:
    440
    Trophy Points:
    216
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Valencia
    Ratings:
    +488 / 81
    Blood Type:
    A+
    I a
    I agree that traffic can be pretty bad in Dumaguete, but if you take time to explore the back streets there are a couple of 'rat runs' that will get you through the city in a reasonable time. Also, I can usually find a parking spot in town, even if it means walking a couple hundred meters to get to where I want.
     
    • Agree Agree x 4