I owned a Honda TMX 155 motorcycle in the Philippines in 1997 to 2002. I don’t know whether the company produces that model today. Owning and driving a 155CC motorcycle was exciting for me as I was familiar with less than 100CC motorcycles in India at that time.
Honda TMX 155 is a motorcycle built for the Philippines. It was fuel efficient 4-Stroke air cooled single cylinder engine motorcycle. In 1997 people in the Philippines do not drive many motorcycles and this was used for tricycle that is used to ferry people in small roads and streets. The price of petrol (gasoline, as they call it) was comparatively cheap in those days 8 pesos per liter. Petron, Shell (Pilipinas Shell), Caltex (Chevron Philippines) were the top three petroleum companies in those days. I always prefer Petron for my motorcycle.
I bought a magnetic tank bag and helmet from Coimbatore and took to Manila. I had few trips in that motorcycle with my Indian and Filipino friends. I had few trips to Tagaytay. Tagaytay is a popular weekend destinations for Metro Manila people. It is close to Manila City, less than 70 Kms from my place in Metro Manila. Taal Lake is an added attraction in Tagaytay city which houses the smallest active Taal volcano. Tagaytay city is located in the province of Batangas. Taal volcano had several eruptions in the past as well as present.
One time I was fined and my driving license was confiscated for travelling in the highway which was allowed only for cars. I thought, just like India, we can travel in super highway. I was cautious from the next time not to enter highways.
One time I visited Tagaytay on a Good Friday and to my shock, saw a good number of Filipinos eating meat. It was a shocker for me to see on a good Friday, when the whole Philippines was mourning the death of biblical Christ, Christians eating meat and fish.
On many occasions. I took bike rides to San
Pablo City, Batangas and many other places in and around Manila. One of my memorable
trip was going around the Lacuna de Bay. I don't know how many Filipinos even thought about it or did that trip.
Laguna de Bay or Laguna Lake, is one of the shallow freshwater lakes in
the Philippines. The Lake is situated in the southeast of Metro Manila and the Northern
side of the lake falls in the Rizal province
of the Philippines. The water drains to
Manila Bay via the Pasig River that flows through Metro Manila. It is one of
the historical lakes in the Philippines, believed to be formed by volcanic
eruptions from time memorial. Fishing is commonly seen activity at various
towns around the lake. The lake was used as a water way since the time of
Spanish colonisers, not used frequently while I was there. It was because, the Pasig river in the city was so polluted people do not prefer to travel in the riverways, even though the roads move in the snail speed. 8KM per hour was the normal travel time in Metro Manila in 1990's.
I
took my memorable trip around Laguna de Bay on the second of January 1998. I started after breakfast from New Manila. The road was less crowded due
to the New Year holidays. I crossed Green Hills shopping center in the Ortigas
Ave., and headed towards Cainta. There was no GPS and mobile maps available on
those days. So I had my trip plan written in a piece of paper look at the map
of Luzon Island.
