For the months leading to the national elections of 2013, we have been witness to the frenzy of roadworks and improvements as planned and executive by the government. As always, it is a not so subtle way of reminding us to vote for the incumbents because well, they have the people’s interest at heart. But this blog is not about that. This is about my experience as a taxi commuter, if I may call myself that.
Sitti, that’s my Honda, was in a forced locked in as our main road was “being concretized”. As such, I was forced to take the taxi as I had regular 8am meetings best taken at the office as my DSL connection was getting wonky as well. It must be the incessant drilling to remove the layers of asphalt and the subsequent rumbling due to the flattening of the road using a steamroller.
Our place is a good 30-45 minutes drive, on mild traffic. Just enough time for me to enjoy the ride, so to speak. Riding a taxi, while to some might be a dangerous and thrilling ride or a bout with nausea, it can be a good source of entertainment as well.
Taxi entertainment, as I call it can be quite fun. Here are a few of my favorites:
1) The loud and incessant chatter of a local AM radio.
This can be those calling in for advice or the very political announcer denouncing corruption or what have you. In this case, I usually just grin and bear it 🙂
2) The loud local FM station with the much louder DJ.
While I love listening to the radio while driving, I only listen to one local station. And taxis I have ridden rarely tune in to them. So again, I just grin and bear it. 🙂
3) View and People watching.
Watching people as they go about their business, the changing views, it is just in a way relaxing for me. It allows me to think of the plight of other people – what they do for a living, what there circumstance is, how they are managing to make ends meet and a host of other ideas that just spring to mind when a view comes to me.
4) The loud disillusioned drivers.
These would be drivers who have lost hope in what the government can deliver. Mind you, there are a good number of them. Disillusioned with the corruption they see – corrupt traffic enforcers, policemen and the like, This one is particularly informative as they are for the most part those who have seen and likely talked to people from all walks of life.
And they usually have a lot to say.
5) The taxi meter
Yes, opposite to item #4 are the silent drivers These drivers just keep to themselves. Low-keyed sound from the stereo if existing, or just no radio at all. Much as I am tempted to sleep until I reach my destination, that is obviously a big NO. Thus, I resort to my favorite past time while in a taxi of all, and that is, taxi meter watching. And this is where my imagination kicks in. Trying to figure out how it was programmed, how they manage to cheat and what other possibilities to beat the system.
While riding a taxi is not that bad, except perhaps for my wallet, it is really up to you on how you take advantage of it. As they say, it is not the destination but the journey 🙂
my take 