Seoul Train

Now, that's another obvious headline.

A good train system is really a huge factor in attracting travelers. Whenever I travel abroad, I always try their train system to go around the city. And when they have airport trains, that's what I usually take to my hotel. Not only is it more cost efficient, you also get a feel of the people and culture of that place.

It's also a good sign when a lot of locals take the train as well. It means they're confident about their public transport, and use it as often as they can.

This was the case in Seoul when I first visited eons ago. And it's still the case now.

On-the-Job Train-ing

Lookie! They're now running the new MRT trains!

This is most likely a dry run and we'll be riding the super old trains for a few more months. But in the meantime, it was a thrill to ride this new, shiny and fresh train.

Let's see how this goes...

Finally, the beep card system for the LRT is in limited operation. Stress on the "limited" since you can only use it on LRT and on the Southbound line of LRT 1.

This is supposed to ease congestion and speed up the train riding process. But with the learning curve on how to buy it and how to use it, I'm expecting some major lines when they do implement this on the MRT. People will have to learn how to use the self-service ticket kiosks, and I can imagine the confusion there.

But it's a good first step to improving our train system. I just hope it works as well as they think it will.

(P.S. So now I have 4 train cards from 4 different countries: HKG, SG, JPN and now, PH.)

Train of thought

It's quite rare to see an empty train in Tokyo. More often than not, they're packed with different types of people - from salarymen to tourists to students to Moms pushing strollers. And when you ride the train during rush hour, it's pretty much like the MRT here in Manila. You get pushed around, squished and packed like sardines.

That's why when we got on the train at Osaki Station en route to Odaiba, it was a big surprise to see the train almost empty. It was so rare, I had to take a photo with the empty seats.

I just love it when I find little surprises like this during my travels.

What comes after the Love Boat?

The Romance Car, of course! Harhar!

Yup, this is what we rode from Hakone to Tokyo. And no, there's nothing romantic inside.