Monday, October 25, 2010

It figured that we would have our first ever calesa ride outside Manila Ocean Park when we attended Gain School Advance’s Eye Am Smart event last October 16, 2010. That’s because we had difficulty getting a cab that day, and because it was beginning to rain, we had to get to our destination as fast as we could, regardless of the mode of transportation. According to Wikipedia, a calesa or karitela is “a horse-driven calash (carriage) used in the Philippines.”


I was the first one to go up the calesa, followed by my son and my husband. Because the calesa was wobbly, I was anxious the whole time we were riding it. It didn’t help that our calesa had to traverse a main road going to the UN Avenue LRT station. What if the calesa driver couldn’t make the horse stop when it’s supposed to stop? What if the horse went berserk in the middle of the road? What if our calesa got hit by other cars on the road? The entire ride took about 10 minutes, and we had to pay Php50.00 for it.

Have you ridden a calesa before? How did your first calesa ride go?


8 pensive thought/s:

hi, found you on entrecard, i am now following you hope you follow back =) http://shyvhen.blogspot.com

 

Wow! that was a historic ride then. That was an experience of a lifetime and you are fortunate because only few of the next generation had ever seen and will ever see a real calesa anymore.

 

come to think of it, i haven't ridden a calesa yet even if I frequented divisoria and binondo as a kid. i think i will try one sometime :)

 

I've ridden a calesa several times, but the first one was unforgettable. I was vacationing in Manila and one of my friends dared me. What happened was, siya yung takot na takot. She was shouting and shrieking habang bumabagtas ang kalesa along Rizal Avenue in Sta. Cruz haha!

 

When I was young and was in elementary and highschool, I often ride the calesa going to school and my grandparents' place. But now, it's been ages na, I was not able to ride calesa haha Miss ko na
xoxo
MrsM

 

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