The Pasig River Ferry
Finally, I was able to find travel buddies take a ride in the Pasig Ferry last weekend in the persons of CJ and Misyel. We got off at MRT Guadalupe Station in Makati and took a jeepney down to the ferry station (take the jeepneys going to the Fort or if you have a car, there’s parking at the Guadalupe Market or near the jeepney terminal just across the ferry station). You can walk from the MRT station if you feel like it.
We were met by two security guards and got our tickets for the ride. We were lucky since it was the first day of their family bonding weekend promo. Flat rates for Saturdays and Sundays at P25 per passenger. Tap the face of the ticket on the machine reader and pass through the turnstile. The passenger waiting area has a TV but we didn’t wait long as the staff said we can already board the ferry.
Inside the ferry was clean, and guess what, there was a life vest under each seat! Now that’s amazing coming from the country with the most number of nautical accidents. The airconditioning was good considering it was very warm outside. Since it just rained, one couldn’t smell the stench of the river once inside. There was supposed to be an LCD screen up front but all we saw were wires. I hope the crew didn’t take it home to ‘repair’.
There are a total of 5 stops after Guadalupe: Hulo, Lambingan, Sta Ana, PUP, and Escolta. Don’t miss the Malacanang Palace (warning: passengers are not allowed to take pictures of the structures across the Palace) and the old Post Office Building.
Once we got off at Escolta, we checked out the hopia at Polland Bakery and had lunch (and dinner, since it was already past 4pm) at Savory Restaurant. Before KFC and ChickenJoy, there was Savory. The fried chicken was yummy! A brief stop at the Binondo church and we were on to our Chinatown walkathon. We bought some more hopia at Eng Bee Tin to compare and contrast with that of Polland’s.
Saw some lychees along the way and got us some of those. CJ and I were stocking up on food as we just got our copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and we had no plans of going out once we’ve started with Chapter 1. Crossing to Sta Ana church, we went to a Chinese drugstore to get Pei Pa Koa (which I found was more effective in relieving me of the persistent coughing I’ve had for more than a week now than all those expensive meds prescribed by the office clinic).
Some more purchases at the Quaipo stalls and we went through the underpass to the open secret that is the home of pirated DVDs and CDs. After a lot of pre-screenings, we were finally satisfied with our loot and headed home, excited to start HP7 with our lychees and hopias nearby…
By the way, the river ferry service is open everyday from 5:30am to 9:00pm with 30-minute intervals per boat.
