I've been walking for as long as I can remember. I don't really know why or what exactly triggered that I favor being on my two feet over taking public transportation or even bringing my own vehicle, but for as long as I can remember, I've always taken it upon myself to walk to wherever it is I need to be.
Now, mind you, this is easier said than done, especially when you're in the very humid, very polluted, very muggy streets of the Philippines. Five minutes walking on the streets is enough to reduce me to a dirty, filthy, sweaty mess—and for someone like me who likes that I remain clean and fresh (never know when I'd meet the girl of my dreams, after all) throughout the day, the idea of walking is torture.
However, there's something very human, very real about experiencing lives of others as they happen on the street. In my walks, I've witnessed a couple beating each other senseless (and the woman's the one giving the harder blows!), two women fighting over one man (he's not around, but it was clear that that's the reason they were whacking each other), a real tall female model trip (too bad I didn't catch her), a drunk college guy passing out, and hordes of other funny, if not memorable, events.
I guess one of the reasons I enjoy New York City and Philadelphia so much is this fact: You're encouraged to walk, because everyone else does the same thing. Sure, they both have very efficient subway systems (NYC's is just so intricate I'm in awe), but they serve merely as complementary to the people walking. I mean I like walking, but I'd be crazy to walk from uptown to midtown, and finally downtown. Way too tiring and way too time-consuming. It's a little difficult nowadays because it can get rather freezer-cold in the mornings, and in the summer can get very humid (but nothing, and I mean nothing, rivals the humidity in the Philippines), but for the most part, it's fantastic to just wander around on foot.
I will never forget this one time when my legs practically gave up after close to 7 hours of walking non-stop around Manhattan (the only times I got to sit down were the subway rides and the meetings I had to attend). As I was readying myself to board the bus home, I literally felt my legs shake and my feet just surrender as if to say “I can't freaking walk anymore!”
Thankfully, I did get to the bus on time, and I was able to walk all the way back to my bed and just rest, but it came back to bite me the next day, when I couldn't as much go to the bathroom and pee. I had to take a day off work because of it.
That was many months ago, and I still do not mind at all missing the subway stops—simply because I would rather walk.
On a side note, maybe this is the exact reason why I get to maintain my weight. Because I unconsciously burn lots and lots of them in an exercise I didn't even sign up for.
Image by Sam of SXC.hu
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