driving in the phils

[Trefor]

I drive quite a bit in the Philipiines and suspect I'll do a lot more driving there in the future. It's a completely different way of driving, but not difficult. I find the driving in the Middle East much much worse and far more dangerous.
Wrote off my 8 month old Kia Sorento 4x4 last week in a head on collision. Its essentially the madness of Asian driving with the benefit of big fast cars and 100mph highways.... So many deaths on the road here, I often see one or two big accidents on my fifteen minute commute to work.

Ricky - hope you didn't get too hurt in that head-on. I find there are two different types of driving in Oman - around Muscat is it pretty much like Dubai - the usual Middle Eastern nutters, wideboys in tired Civics, ar5es in Hummers, and old geezers who probably never took a test etc. However, out in the countryside it is much more dangerous. I drove the 1000km to Salalah once, it was quiet and a fun drive. However, the locals drive like idiots, overtaking into oncoming traffic with no seatbelts on, 8 family members onboard (in a 5 seat car) at 140kmh. I'm not sure if it is the local tribes but around Ibri, Izki, Rustaq etc. is especially bad. Then they stop non 4x4s driving to Jebal Ackdar - a pretty average road if you've driven mountain roads anywhere else in the world, but for some reason in Oman it isn't safe

I'm renting and driving next week, around Manilla for the first day (f-ing CFO thing), then down the toll road thingy to Batangas. I'll report in on any interested encounters. Luckily Rose will be with me most of the time.