Breaking the Norms: Philippine Highways

[wishfulanthony]

The Philippines: a spectacle of 7,100 islands, filled with colorful and vibrant characters... from guys named Bong and girls named Bing, to crooked politicians and witty street vendors. But, the best thing, for me, about the country, is the presence of its vast (and varied) highways that many would say as "weird", "strange", and sometimes the "Ha -- I cannot think of that in my own country!"

Here are some of the strange things that I saw in many Philippine highways:

- Most of the main arterial highways in the Philippines (beyond Manila) have two lanes (one each way)
- Lack of shoulders and clear yellow lanes disallowing swerving on the roads
- Complete lack of lighting in many areas (only around downtown areas)
- Lack of safety signs and reflectors (curve signs, directional signs)
- "Caution: Children Crossing" signs exist, even when there are no children around (think: summer vacations)
- Lots of roadblocks, many for no reason at all (e.g. PNP checkpoint for agriculture inspection, but no police watching the checkpoint)
- Basic service stations, many lacking or having toilets (but are dirty and smelly)
- No warning signs on weight limits on many highways
- Roads crack as fast as they are being repaved
- Highway used as a basketball court or a rice drier
- Highway converted into a procession for a funeral

There are so much more interesting facts and stories about Philippine highways, and I would love to share some of my memorable trips around the Philippines.

The highways I will focus on include:

- Pan-Philippine Highway (from Laoag to Zamboanga, mainly between San Fernando (La Union) to Legazpi City)
- EDSA (I will give you the full name of it in a later article)
- Ortigas Avenue
- Highways named after Presidents
- Highways and roads that constantly change

[yanksfan6129]

cool! I always love to see other countries roads