It was supposed to be a happy golfing trip with officemates to surprise a boss living in Baguio for a belated birthday celebration and a despedida
Never mind the bad weather but they all got their golf fix, dined with their boss at BPI and spent most of the night sharing all the golf stories they have in their pockets.
But some good things never last, as the phrase goes.
They went back home expecting some traffic along the way because of the rains. They were wrong.
What the app Waze told them to be a slightly longer than usual trip turned to be the most horrible traffic misadventure they've ever experienced. And so did the hundreds of others who got stuck in another episode of carmageddon that was caused by the flooding on the San Simon, Pampanga area of the Northern Luzon Expressway.
Here's a timeline of how the homeward trip as recounted by Martin Uytengsu.
7:05 am, August 31 - Departure Baguio
9:25 am - Detour to San Fernando S&R toilet trouble 🚽 💩
(since NLEX San Simon update traffic at two-kilometer stretch already) only to find out McArthur via JASA-Lazatin road was flooded waist deep
10:15am - Re-entry NLEX for 5 hours of 2 kph stop and go movement
3:26 pm - Reached San Simon (32kms away from Bocaue 😭) so near yet so far just to be advised Class 1 vehicles not possible anymore. Made a U-turn northbound to gas up at Lakeshore then routed SCTEX-CLLEX Cabanatuan reroute (+80km)
4:37 pm - Took the Tarlac-Cabanatuan Exit (Bgy. San Leonardo)
6 pm - Horror begins as gridlock occurs at Bgy San Miguel Bulacan stretch. Waze reroutes to San Rafael.
8:40 pm - Waze re-routes us again via Eagle Cement San Rafel to San Ildefonso from originally Cabiao Road. Just when we thought the worst has ended apparently after almost 30 kms traverse up Eagle Cement the worst has yet to come. Waze reroutes farm to market and back roads. We saw first hand unfinished roads if not horrific mega pot holes and substandard roadworks, with motorists traversing mud. We thought we were done for 😆 2 hrs off-roading in a family van 😂
10:40 pm - Finally found the decent main road at San Ildefonso ByPass stretch to NLEX Balagtas Exit
12:01 am, September 1 - Arrival in Bacoor, Cavite
Uytengsu says that traveling on August 31 which was the National Heroes Day made them unwilling heroes on NLEX. And the arrival time was just right to join Jose Mari Chan in welcoming the BER months.
Did you have your own long weekend misadventure? Share it in the comment thread below.
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