Pea hops on the back of a habal-habal, a motorbike for hire, to show how it compares to jeepneys and taxis for getting around Cebu. She covers riding etiquette, the chaotic lane-splitting that makes it so fast, and then interviews her 22-year-old driver about fares, tips, accidents, and the license you need to do the job.
Getting around a Philippine city: the three options
- Jeepney: a big, slow bus that circles town and "takes forever"
- Taxi: faster, but it will cost you
- Habal-habal: a motorbike for hire, the fastest way from point A to point B. You can book online or just flag one down. "It's going to be a hell of a ride"
Riding etiquette and safety
- First thing: wear a helmet
- Two ways to sit
- Side saddle, because Filipinas are traditional and "it's not a good thing for Filipinas to spread their legs for someone they just met"
- Astride, which Pea does this time because she's "braver today" and it makes it easier to film chaotic Cebu
- Normally you don't touch the driver; you hold the bars. But if you ask permission, drivers will usually say, "Yeah, sure. Just touch me"
The ride through Cebu
- It feels much faster on the back than it looks from the curb. You zip down the street, weave through traffic, and fly past buses that "could squash you flat if they didn't see you"
- Graffiti and billboards everywhere, but instead of looking dirty they fit the mood of the city
- A good driver squeezes between vehicles and makes a new lane when he has to. She was close enough to touch the cars, and "the kid in me actually wanted to, but I didn't"
- "A two-lane road becomes a three-lane road, or even a four-lane road if we need one." Try that back home and you'd get honked at constantly
- She acknowledges the danger: one driver texting and drifting into your lane and you're "spending the next few weeks in the hospital, or eternity in a cemetery"
- Habal-habals are all over most Philippine cities, easy to find, and often much cheaper than a taxi
- Pre-empting criticism for filming with both hands and not holding on: she's ridden motorbikes since she was little and has her balance. "At least I'm not riding side saddle"
- She meant to show the sights, stores, and people, but they were going so fast it all became a blur. When traffic cleared they were really flying, which scared even her, because in the Philippines "stuff can jump out in front of you without notice." Still "quite a rush"
- "No matter how fast you're going, there's always someone who wants to go a little faster"
- Her driver "bobs and weaves as good as Manny Pacquiao" and keeps moving even when traffic stops completely
- She spots a Miata: "I love that car. Someday I'm going to get one of those"
- The driver passes a line of about 15 cars that are standing still, then keeps going. "You know how much time that just saved?"
Interview with her driver, Kuya Vince
- He agreed to the interview. "He doesn't have a choice. I haven't paid him yet." She likes his very orange bike
- Any guy is "Kuya" in the Philippines regardless of age. She's sure she's older than him: "He looks like what, 12?" He must be old enough since he has a license
- He's 22 and has driven habal-habal for almost a year
- Working student: school during the day, driving at night. He has class today but is on a break (Pea teases that he skipped class)
- Fourth-year college student, graduating, studying Bachelor of Science in Computer Technology. His dream job is to be a seaman
- Gas prices have gone up. He sometimes charges more but mostly relies on tips. Pea asks if cute clients don't get charged more. No
- Average fare for a 5 to 10 minute ride: 100 to 150 pesos, about $2 to $3
- Average earnings: around 500 pesos, plus tips
- Foreigners tip more than Filipinos. Pea: "Because we are so broke. Filipinos are broke"
- Highest tip, from a foreigner: 300 pesos (maybe 400)
- Accidents: yes. A car that was overtaking bumped his handlebar. He wasn't injured
- Pea's explanation of how the traffic works: everyone has an unspoken understanding of where others are trying to go. At rush hour "it's like a swarm of bees"
- Licensing: you need a professional driver's license for commercial driving plus the motorbike's registration. With a non-professional license you can only drive privately and aren't allowed to work as a habal-habal driver
- She thanks him, wishes him luck with his studies, and puts his contact number in the video description for anyone who needs a driver in Cebu
Outro gag
- Pea as "the farmer's daughter," helping you grow your plans for the Philippines and telling you how to find a good Filipina "so you don't end up with a hoe"
- The traveling salesman returns. "He promised to plow my field." "Um, I don't think that's where the seeds go."
