Aboard the Pasig Ferry

I have tried all the modes of mass transportation in Manila: jeepneys, FXs, taxis, buses, railways (MRT, LRTs 1 and 3), shuttles of different colors, tricycles, padyaks. Riding public transports is a way of seeing the same place from a new perspective. For instance, Intramuros looked different from a kalesa; and Marikina on a bicycle looked idyllic. So when I heard of the ferry service two years ago, my initial reaction was to try it out.

"I wouldn't recommend it," a former co-worker in a travel magazine said. "The stench of the river is bad. There are too many squatters and you suddenly see unpleasant things floating."

The same notion of the Pasig ferry had caused the low flow of passengers when it started in 2007. Before the recent ferry service, there were two ferry lines in the 1990s, the Magsaysay Lines and the Starcraft Ferry. Both only lasted for a year because of low volume of passengers, and water pollution.

Two years later, the ferry ride was resurrected and it became an alternative mode of transportation in the Manila area. The ride starts from Napindan to Intramuros and stops by about 15 stations in-between. The ferry is well-equipped with television, a decent loo, safety jackets under the seats, and radio and sound system. The ferry gets its most number of riders in the mornings and during late afternoons. During rush hour, the ferry's 150-passenger capacity is often filled, some even prefer to stand at the front of the ferryboat while watching cars and students and locals along the banks.

Efficiency wise, the travel time takes an hour and thirty minutes from Napindan to Intramuros. Travel time from one station to the other lasts for almost five minutes. The ticket cost, however, was undeniably pricier than the usual mass transport. My one-way trip from Guadalupe to Intramuros cost me P45 and the trip lasted for an hour. Tickets range from P25 to P60 depending on the nearness of the destination. An immediate come-on is that the trip is traffic-free, though trip intervals usually range from 30 minutes to two hours.

SIGHTS

I lost count of the numerous types of trees along the river, there were simply too much to be written down. I never saw Pasig up close before this trip and so expected the worst—countless shanties of illegal dwellers, floating garbage, murky brownish depths that give off a pungent otherworldly smell. Cross out all these preconceived notions of the dead river, it looked different and greener now.

True, there were garbage plastic cups and fastfood Styrofoams and slippers and coconut husks, but they can be counted by the fingers. Non-flowering water lilies amount to majority of what floats and can be seen, unless you count the LPG barges and boats that ply the same route. The water takes the color of brownish-green to brown in some areas.

The obvious highlight of the trip is Malacañang, which unfortunately remains for the eyes only. I rummaged through my bag to look for a twenty-peso bill to compare. Unfortunately, I found none and tried to remember the picturesque view instead. In the end, all I remembered were the white calachuchis falling on the riverside garden.

Good photogenic views are the Post Office Building and the church along Hulo station. If I had those kick-ass cameras and equipment bird photographers use, I would have taken photos of the numerous white birds that glided toward the surface of the water from PUP station to Intramuros.

The stations are not much look-worthy and enticing, though. The parks along Guadalupe looked cleaner and better as compared to the unkempt ones near Intramuros. Likewise, the Intramuros station offers a view of the unpainted decaying back of the Immigration building, which was not very pleasant. The good thing, though, is that jeepneys ply in front of the station.

Sometimes, it was monotonous. I felt sleepy and thought of dozing off for a few minutes. The fact that the ferry was moving in a cradle-like state did not help fend off my drowsiness. I looked around and found other passengers, either sleeping or looking out the windows.

The trip was definitely better than being in the crowded streets of Manila.

Doing the trip was like being in the countryside with trees lining the path and people lounging along the river in the afternoons. From the river you could see churches, or tips of it, decaying factories, and some wooden houses under the bridge. It was also surprising to find numerous schools beside the river. Imagine reading El Filibusterismo and then looking out the window to see Rizal's river. It's a good thing it is cleaner now.

Once in a while, I got reminded I'm still in the capital with painted slogans of cities and municipalities on the cemented banks of the river. The ferry cruises through five cities: Manila, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, and Taguig. There are also numerous names and initials vandalized on almost every possible writing spot—walls under the bridge, on factory walls, banks.

Indeed, there have been efforts to revive the river. And the success can be seen in the scenes, the ferry service, the river itself, and the numerous reminders and statements like: Ilog PASIGlahin, Navy loves Pasig River Keep it clean always, Panatilihing Malinis ang Ilog Pasig, Resurrecting Ilog Pasig, and Revive the River of our Dreams.

In a sleepy weekday afternoon, locals, regardless of age and gender, would wave and deliver a toothy grin to the passing ferry boats. I waved back at a little girl before the Hulo station and she sat back at the park seat, surprised and flushed at my response.

SCENTS
The water does not emit a decomposed sewage-y smell from afar. Take note: from afar. Amazingly, the water smells better in the Intramuros side rather than in the Guadalupe area. When one sits on the river stairs in Guadalupe, one could smell the river emitting an unpleasant rotten smell. In Intramuros, the river smells more sea-like and salty. The only drawback is that once the breeze stops coming from Manila Bay, the pungent smell of dried urine dominates the air.

The interiors of the boat are clean and don't have the same burnt smell usually associated with buses or the smell of sweat emitted by passengers. If the river emits a gruesome smell, it stays outside. Overall, the ride was decent, olfactory wise.

SOUNDS

"Pwede bang maligo dyan?" I overheard one of the passengers ask another when we saw children bathing in the river. Aware that we were looking, the boys taunted and jumped to the water in a big splash. The sight made me cringe.

I would be lying if I say I heard the gentle lapping of the waters against the boat or the sound of bodies hitting the waters. The ferry was shut tight and has a temperate air-conditioning system, a relief for most first-time riders. But I did hear the sound of the engine, ours and the numerous smaller boats that ply the same route, and the reverberations made by the PNR train and LRT 3 on top of our heads.

Sometimes, a lonesome house fly would buzz within the enclosed space and passengers would content themselves with a quick slumber. Some would watch movies (Black Hawk Down with French subtitles) on the television and despite the deafening sound of guns and artilleries, the mood remained dreamy and light, not much talking, infrequent whisperings. (First time mo ba? Oo, first time ko.)

Considering it was my first trip, I chatted with Myrna, a middle-aged woman who ran some errands in Lawton. She sat beside me, cheerfully noting our location and naming the bridges we passed by. She kindly pointed out that the trip looks better at night, especially the Nagtahan Bridge in Sta. Mesa, which was famed for the changing lights along its railings.

As the ferry reaches its next stop, a ding-dong sound would erupt from the public announcement system and a voice would state the incoming station. Rubber slippers, leather shoes and flat sandals would head slowly for the door. When I reached my Guadalupe stop, I lined behind Myrna and she told me before we parted ways, "It’s less stressful to take this ride. It’s as if we’re not in Manila."

I could only nod in agreement.

--This personal essay was written for our Pasig river special. My EIC said it was well-detailed and our Business Editor said she enjoyed reading it. My fellow researcher, though, didn't like this piece and called it merely PR article. Sad, but I did promise to not write PR articles again. I'm a journalist and journalists don't write like this. Oh well. The article was published here. Photos were taken by me, of course.