A Means of Transport We Can All Afford!

Walk Your Life and Live It

Today, I have no regrets.

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Walking is inexpensive, easy, simple and a perfect form of exercise. In fact, all I need daily is any worn-out clothes, a pair of rubber shoes or sneakers, a cap to shield off the sunlight, and my own two feet. Not any costly special gadget like my Mitsubishi Pajero that guzzles some 15 to 20 liters of fuel a week.

As a sedentary lifestyle was getting into me, I badly needed exercise and walking has provided me with an extra bonus besides firming sagging muscles, stretching nerves and trimming the bodily fat. 

Extra Dividends     

Walking will allow you to see your world perfectly.  I have seen the views which usually linger in the beholder’s mind as portraits of serenity and peace—of a multicolored rainbow arching over a mountain peak,  a sunrise and sunset with their riot of colors lavishly painted by the Master of All Artists on the shifting canvass of the heavens,  a fisherman’s boat silhouetted against an evening sky, an ivy-covered wall of an ancient church reflecting stealing shadows,  and a small waterfall cascading down a mountainside like the tresses of a maiden flowing down her back.   

I also believe I have seen God in the eyes of an innocent sick and gaunt street urchin begging for food along the shanty streets piled with garbage, the beauty of ugliness, while passers-by ignore her and shout:

“Stay out of the way!”

I peered at the graves and tombstones of the city cemetery where all the worldly saints have been named, leaving no saint for those who are alive. The small stores where lists of endless names with debts have accumulated and the cockpit where humans pitilessly let roosters kill each other off just to make a fortune.

There were streets I avoided - turfs of gangs like “Angels of Death” and the much dreaded “City Jail Stockholders”.

And of course,  at the end of the city’s north street, the infamous red district where pimps and whores rub shoulders, and are bedfellows of local police and politicians.

Animals

I am intrigued by animals, so I take careful look for every critter I meet. May it be an alley cat, a mongrel bleeding  from a fight or the city’s doves that make the city buildings dirty and smelly with their litter.

Even in a city, the suburbs provide a glimpse of a cow or a goat as well as horses. These horses are hired by tourists to ride on while visiting the hills and valleys. 

Surprisingly,  there are also plenty of birds to see. My city being a tree-dominated  resort can awake to varied chirps of avers and sleep to the lullabies of birds competing with Jiminy Crickets as nature’s troubadours. 

Trees, Flowers and Vegetables Gardens

Perhaps the most refreshing to observe are the varied vegetable gardens that dot the hills surrounding my city even as pine tree grooves clutter on skylines. Bright flowers such as marigold, Queen Anne’s lace, chrysanthemum, roses, asters,  anthuriums, gladiolas, petunias, zinnias, gumamelas and sunflowers are always beauties to behold. They lighten the city as well as the spirit.

Hillside farmers gathering lettuce, cabbages, beans, digging potatoes and picking strawberries as they  cut flowers take the breath of tourists. 

The crops, piled high under Japanese alder and pine trees, await their destination to the country’s biggest markets in Manila, while locals and tourists rummage for the best before these are packed and sold away. 

Fascinating People

You have to walk the walk and talk the talk to know your neighbors and the people in your city; my walking has taught me that. I never knew my neighbor to be the best butcher in town until I saw him in the meat shop; or my rowdy policeman next door who they say is the best traffic enforcer. I saw the ubiquitous gang-boys in our neighborhood hauling rice bags to make a living, putting me to shame for thinking all they do was to extort. I met my laundrywoman, selling rice cakes in the evening to supplement her income,  and noticed the  most comely woman on our side of the city coming from the red district.

Most of all, I saw the goodness of strangers. From those who greeted me even when I did not do so, those who said “hello” to those who smiled. There were those who offered water, fellow walkers who complained of the difficult economic times, but offered cigarettes and co-city citizens who plainly waved their hands as you pass by their homes. 

It makes you feel good to walk indeed.

So Why Not Walk?      

These and more, much, much more – provides the magic that will surround you when you walk. Who said only special occasions have their bonuses? You get them every time you walk. And you are making yourself healthier while you save a few dollars every week.

So let’s walk!

Michael Bengwayan is a journalist based in Manila, the Philippines. He specializes in environmental, developmental, and related issues.