6.30am and I’m already up. The sun shines on my face as I lay face-up on my bed. I head down for a quick shower. I prepare for a new adventure. Having spent most of my time in Makati, I decided to be a little bit more daring. The objective: Commute to Mall of Asia.
I leave my house around 10.30am. I walk with a sense of adventure in my heart. I’ve never attempted to commute this far alone. The last time I commuted to Manila was with my mother all so long ago. After a 10 minute walk, I wait for a Jeepney that would take me to the nearby MRT Station. And I wait. And wait. Still waiting. I decided to grab a cab instead.
Suddenly, a cab appeared from nowhere and stops at my feet. I don’t remember hailing the cab but nevertheless I enter. I notice a phone on the backseat floor. It’s ringing. A bit confused with the situation, I tell the cabbie where I’m headed while picking up the phone. I hand it over to him but he looks at me and wonders what I’m doing.
It suddenly occurs to me. I had an epiphany! Someone dropped their handphone in the cab! The phone rings again. I wonder what should I do? I hang up to give myself some thinking time. I’ll do the morally right thing. I’ll give it back! It wasn’t that hard to decide as the phone was only a Nokia 3310. Had it been an N-series, it’d probably be a different story!
So I call the number that had just called. It turns out to be the guy’s mom. She tells me that her son dropped his phone in the cab while on his way to work. So I tell her to meet me at the mall next to the MRT station. She takes her time to come and it was already 12pm when I finally met her.
She thinks I’m American while her secretary thinks I’m Japanese. Her driver thinks I’m from Saudi. Identity crisis wherever I go. So she thanks me and goes on and on about how clumsy her son is. So she asks me where I’m going and I tell her Mall of Asia. Next thing I know, I’m in her car. I remember declining her offer but she insists anyway. Oh well, a free ride ain’t so bad.
We get on the Edsa or formerly known as Highway 54. It turns out that to get to the Mall of Asia, you just go straight down the road. The Edsa is basically this huge artery thingy that seems to link everything in Metro Manila together. It was extended to actually end at the Mall of Asia.
So anyways, we get there and for some reason, we parked the car. Unknowingly, the next thing I know, I’m sitting in a restaurant with them. She’s buying me lunch. Such a sweet lady. I didn’t eat much. I just had this poh piah thing. But the restaurant was kinda posh. She offered me to take me around the mall but I knew deep down that they’d just get in my way. I politely refuse and we parted.
I stayed for about another 2 hours before I got bored. So much for the biggest mall in Asia. First impressions, it’s huge BUT it’s like a hot dog with super big buns and a cocktail sized sausage. So I commuted back. Took a jeepney to the MRT station which was only around 5km away and cost me RM0.70! Literally highway robbery!
I get off my stop, got on the MRT and so ends my supposedly adventurous day.
Now, I try rationalizing what happened today. For starters; It’s ONLY a Nokia 3310! If it were my phone, I’d be happy! An excuse to buy a new one! She dropped me off during traffic hour which actually made me pai-seh. AND I GOT THE FEELING SHE WAS PIMPING HER DAUGHTER OFF TO ME! She showed me her photo. Decent looking, 2 years older. Not bad. I’m not hoping for a phone call though. Although! Nah! I have enough worries in my life.
Filed under: Travels
