Jeepney Tours: Videoke Fun Time While Touring the Streets of Manila

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The jeepney is the most iconic representation of the Philippines next to the national flag. I know that the original make were used to transport soldiers during wartime, and that many of these vehicle were left behind after the war and eventually "pimped" by the Filipinos to make it more attractive and pleasing to the eye.

At present, it also shows how creative our countrymen are. There are a variety of festive designs ranging from superheroes to family member portraits that clearly shows how endearing we are to both our hobbies and personal ties.

Just like our many festivals, the jeepney is as colorful and grand in terms of decorations depending on how affluent the owner is. But what is very evident about jeepneys is how it also represents the resilience of Filipinos. This vehicle can carry loads of passengers beyond its seating capacity. We can see many passengers hitching a ride at its back, and even some on top, just like our visits to the provinces. True enough, just like Filipinos, we can handle loads of stress and distress, and come out still strong and raring to go for more rides.

But wouldn't it be great if we could further pimp our Jeepney ride to also actively promote tourism in the country while having loads of fun at the same time. Well, at Jeepney Tours, they made touring the streets of Manila, and other provinces of the Philippines, a real fun ride that you would literally want to sing out loud to rejoice its beauty, and of course to freely express your joy  that has been wanting to come out from deep inside.

Singing videoke while traveling is really the best way to beat the stressful traffic jam of Manila. We saw ourselves having to request the driver to go around in circles before reaching our intended destination. We were early anyway, so its fine time to yell it all out at the top of our lungs several songs of mixed emotions.

Out comes the "birit" and "emo" kings and queens of the Philippines. Surprisingly enough, even though we never got to the original destination due to an unpredictable weather, we actually had more fun in the jeepney rather than at Barbara's where we had a Filipino buffet dinner and a cultural show engagement.

We even bumped into another popular tourism icon that's been moonlighting as a tour guide of Manila, especially the Intramuros area. Yup, the sensational Carlos Celdran was there guiding another group on a walking tour of Intramuros. But I'm proud to say that ours were a lot cooler since we didn't have to walk, and we ended up eating at an equally iconic Filipino restaurant while his group went to a nearby place for halo-halo.

The Buffet dinner at Barbara's was satisfactory was it was so crowded with people that night. All the tables were occupied except for our reserved tables. The buffet dishes filled us up and all ready to another series of videoke on our way back to the Hotel Inttercon.

 

The jeepney tours was highlighted by the videoke system within the air-conditioned jeep that was fitted with more comfortable seats like that of a bus, a taller ceiling height so we can stand while singing, and a cooler where cold drinks like beer, cola and water where available. The outside exterior of the jeepney also was very colorful and reflects images that promote the Philippines' It's More Fun program.

What was more elegant was the meet-up and drop-off point was at the Hotel Intercon in Makati city. Imagine being picked up by a yellow air-conditioned jeepney at a popular hotel, where, incidentally, also has a restaurant called Jeepney.

Clang Garcia, the owner, along with her assistant, was even there to personally orient us about JeepneyTours.com and to tour us around with her very first customized Jeepney that's really an ingenious way to make the touring experience a lot more fun.

Thank you to all the bloggers who joined this wonderful tourism effort that I organized for the Wazzup Pilipinas group. I hope all that screaming and hilarious banters were proof that you all had a great time. I am glad that it was sort of a celebration  for two people - one who's birthday was the following day, and a despedida party for another one who was about to go to Dubai.

Overall, the energy inside the jeepney of JeepneyTour.com was so contagious that everyone had to join in the videoke singing whether they have a voice or not. But the videoke system was somehow cooperative because all of us got a high score even after singing all "paos" and out of tune. Lol!

Would you believe it was also Friday the 13th? We had the tour last June 13, 2014 - on a Friday evening starting at around 5 pm at the Hotel Intercon meet-up, and we ended up almost 10 pm - but that was not the end of the night for many wanted to continue the celebration at a nearby coffeshop somewhere It seems everyone still had the energy to go on until teh rest of the night. If  hadn't received a call form my wife, I wouldn't have noticed it was already 1 am.. Hahaha!

Thank you JeepneyTours.com for giving everyone that boost of energy on a Friday night. Noone can deny that we really had a great time. Hope to join you again soon in more of your tours. It's More Fun in the Philippines with videoke singing at JeepneyTours.com