A ferry trip along the Pasig River

The title may not sound catchy but it's not as bad as you think. When I heard about this new government project that they are promotiong an alternative route from Guadalupe to Divisoria via Pasig River, I said to myself, who would in her right mind opt for that? As our generation know, Pasig river is one of the ghastliest river in Asia, so why submit yourseft to such unpleasant experience?

Well, I guess I judged too much. My ferry trip From Guadalupe to Escolta wasn't too bad after all. Actually, I did enjoy it and I would recommend it to friends. The ferry is new, aircon was working well, seats and boat interiors were clean plus, there are friendly crewmen onboard that adds a positive mark to the trip.



We hopped in from the nearest station from Ortigas - Guadalupe Station.


The ticket booth is not crowded and don't have long lines like the MRT/ LRt usually have. Upon purchasing your ticket, you have to register in their manifesto before boarding the ferry. Fare ranges from 25Php to 55Php.

The ferry ticket is a bar-coded paper that you tap on the entrance counter. Neat!
( Sorry for the blurred image, phot was taken using a camera fone only)




Here's a glimpse of how the station looks like. Fully airconditioned, fairly furnished, and clean. I think every staion have it's own toilet so you don't have to worry if you need to go th the john before your ferry ride. The approximated wait time for each ferry to arrive at the station is 30 minutes.

Boarding the boat..





Pictures inside the ferry.. seats are just made out of plastic but they are comfortable to sit on. There's also a flat TV that show concerts of various artist that entertains travellers on board.

Some reminders.. PLease don't take home the lifevests!

Of course, I wouldn't let this pass without taking a picture with the captain..


During the trip, you can walk around the boat and even go outside in the viewdeck to take some pictures..





The Ferry pass by, Schools ( St. Jude and PUP and others..), under bridges, oil facilities, factories, the Philippine post and the Malacañang palace. There are lots of old houses and boat ruins you'll see alongside too. ( Sad to say, There are still areas where you see garbage floating around) As we passed by the Malacañang Palace, the crewmen asked us to keep our cameras beacause it's not allowed to take photos of that place. I wonder why? Isn't it one of our country's landmark? It should be a good photo souveneir for local and foreign tourist alike. I'm a bit frustrated because if this.

This mini boat carries passenger to cross the river.




Picctures of the other stations. Basically, all stations look alike, but I wonder what happend to Quiapo Station?!


To get a better view of the ferry's interior, we waited until everyone left the ferry. We took pictures and walk around inside that we noticed that the ferry is moving again. We almost missed our stop. Thanks to the kind Captain, he brought us back to the unloading dock.

Alas, we reached our destination - Escolta Station. Safe and sound! The ferry trip was indeed a funfilled experience. It actually reminded me of my Bangkok River cruise, just of course a bit lesser in quality ( since this is just an ordinary passenger riverferry trip and not a cruise). Nevertheless, I must say the "Piso para sa Pasig" campaign is all worth it and with continued effort to clean and rehabilitate Pasig, It will in the future, reclaim it's glory. Mabuhay Philippines!