relocation package) but they were fully booked. So we went down to the lobby to catch a taxi and since I insisted on having one with seat belts, we were having trouble getting one. Two came by, but we turned them away. When the third one came (we had now been waiting about 10 minutes), we were relieved to see seat belt receivers in the back seat. So we jumped in, knowing that we were going to be late if we didn't leave right then. Once we got in the car, we were disappointed to learn that seat belt receivers do not mean seat belt BELTS! Yup, no seat belts, but at that point it was too late to turn back and on we went to Global City.
After the appointment, we walked about a block to a place where we knew taxi's picked up people. I mean, there were hundreds of them on the roads, surely it would be easy. Well, it wasn't. We waited about 20 minutes before a taxi stopped and again, being pressed because of a meeting at work, we jumped in a taxi with no seat belts and off we went.
Traffic in Manila is bad enough, but a car without seat belts? Call me paranoid.
I had been intrigued enough by what I had heard about Uber from people in the US that I had already downloaded the app. But I had not registered and I had never made the leap to actually try it. A guy at work told me that Uber was pretty good in Manila and worth a try. Since on Thursday my driver cannot take my car into Makati (there is a numbering system that disallows the driving of cars with plates ending in 7 or 8 driving into Makati on Thursdays. 1 and 2 cannot go on Monday, 3 and 4 on Tuesdays....you get it). So I was determined not to be at the whim of a taxi driver and took the plunge and signed up with Uber and made my first booking for Thursday at 11 am. IT WAS SUCH A GREAT EXPERIENCE!For those of you who don't know, with Uber when you make a request, they send you the name, picture, rating (out of 5 stars), contact information and the license plate of the driver right to your phone. This particular driver called me, told me he was on his way. When he arrived I received a notification on my phone. I walked out of the lobby of our condo building and into the car. The driver was cordial, had some light reggae playing on the radio. The temperature in the car was perfect and the car was about 3 years old (Toyota Altis) . Best of all, he had SEAT BELTS THAT WORKED!
The cost of the trip was billed directly to my credit card. The price was actually the same or slightly less than taking a taxi and it was SO MUCH BETTER! I WAS SOLD!
So on Friday night we let our driver return home because we were going to spend Saturday working on getting unpacked and settling in and didn't think we needed him. On Saturday morning we decided we needed to go into Makati to go to The Landmark department store. It is like a cross between a Wal-Mart and a Sears. We needed some lamps and cords and plug converters as well as a small amount of food items available only there. So what did we do? We called Uber. Again, we had a great experience. When we finished shopping, we made another request and got a ride home with our shopping treasure. Today when we went to Church, again we called Uber. Such a great experience!
Transportation is cheap in Manila. Taking a taxi or Uber from our home into where I work costs about $2. In the states, it would be $15 or $20.
So if you are ever in a strange city somewhere in the world (or even at home without a car), check to see if they have Uber and if they do, I encourage you to give it a try. No means of hired transportation is perfect, but I find Uber to be very close.
Tom
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