I am pretty tired but I just HAD to blog about this. This is one of my many (what I dubbed as) ‘taxi tales’. Went into this cab where the driver was a 70-year old uncle. First thing he said, other than asking me where I was going to, was “Thank you! You’ve saved me. Others wanted to go to Woodlands…by the time I go there and come back, I’ll waste petrol. The young ones can drive fast lah.”
He then asked me which part of my area I lived, using the super old terms (eg. 11 floors etc). I went, “Uh…I don’t know.” His prompt reply was, “How could you not know which side you live?” “Uh, because I’m at least 40 years your junior?” was what I mumbled under my breath. Was holding my breath slightly as his cab smelt of pee too. I spotted a can of air freshener in the seat pocket in front of me. Did he already know that his taxi stinks? Was it for me to spray? Was so tempted to do so but I think it would be quite insulting to do that during the ride.
He was NOT kidding when he said that he can’t drive fast. Just when I thought that the speedometer would hit 60km/h, he would slow down. He never went beyond 4th gear and the car was creaking along at 4th. Just when the thought of “Oh, he’s such a ‘safe’ driver” ran through my head, he started talking about Elvis Presley and Michael (Michael who?). I thought he was talking to me but soon realised that he was on his mobile phone…without his hands-free!!! His hands-free was hanging around his rear view mirror. Wow…was it there for display???
Wait…there’s more. After his phone call, he stopped at the traffic light and went into a mild hacking attack. Eeks…*cough cough* With his furious coughing, he switched on his lights to look for his sweet/ lozenge. He found his sweet, popped one into his mouth and continued driving without switching off his light although the light turned green AFTER he ate his sweet. -__-;
When the uncle finally realised where I was heading to, he went, “Why didn’t you just say ***? Everybody knows this place.” My answer was that some taxi drivers thought I was going to Sengkang or Punggol. He then said, “Hmmph! Sengkang and Punggol are the worst!” in his most disgusted tone. Ookkkaaaay….
All in all, he’s quite a nice driver who complimented my estate, saying that its well built. Haha…and he also wished me a good day. Now…back home to the lovely smells of Baileys and my air freshener. Hold on, the fresh air just outside the cab is good enough.
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