F1 Taxi Driver from LCCT

After a lovely CNY celebration with relatives in Kuching...we excitedly (meaning, I was excited but hubby was partially sad and children were reluctant..after all it was fun and holidays there) boarded the plane for home. Upon arrival, we purchased our cab ticket and stood in line to get into a cab. I prayed we'd get a better one than last year. Last year, we had one who kept dozing off, and he drove zig zag several times!!

This year, the taxi driver was no better. The moment our luggages were loaded, he zoomed off like an F1 Driver. The Speedometer went 90...100.....(I thought surely this must be the speed limit) but it went on to 110..120..130..touching 140!!

His taxi also smelled like he'd had too many ciggies, and while driving he kept twitching his face and shoulder muscles..a sign of stress and tension i suppose.

I reasoned with myself quietly and thought.."well..maybe the speed is good, we could arrive early for CNY dinner here." But after several bends at neck breaking speed..I couldn't take it anymore. I imagined the cab sliding off the curb at a bent and all sorts of accidents that could happen if he kept speeding.


So I decided to speak to him in my so-so Bahasa language to see if talking would help him slow down.

"encik..dah lama pandu taxi ke?" Taxi Speed 140

he replied "ya!" in an abrupt, unfriendly way and kept speeding.

"cuaca sini ok hari ni kan. kat kampung hujan lebat tiap hari." speed still 140

"sini, tiap tiap hari hujan jugak, hari ni aje cuaca ok lar. Tengok Johor,banjir kat sana."

"Encik tak cuti ke?"

"mana ade cuti. Semalam kerja sampai 12:30 malam. Hari ni, pagi pagi dah mula. banyak orang Cina balik hari ini. Nak minum kopi pun tak boleh. Rehat skjap, mereka dah panggil. Tapi tak pe la, untung banyak sikit hari ini."


"wah. mesti penat. Kalau ada masa, nanti jemput masuk skejap lah untuk minum kopi." Speed dropped to 120


'Kampung kat mana?' he asked in a slightly friendlier tone.

"Oh, I dari sini, suami dari S'wak."

'Wa, mee kolok terkenal sana.' he smiled.


"Wah, Encik pun tau Mee Kolok ke?!" I asked, surprised!. " Roti canai sana pun sedap jugak!"


"Ada ke roti canai? susah nak cari makanan Melayu kat sana." Speed 100


'Banyak, sana, roti spesial tau. Murtabak pun bes!" I replied. Speed all the way down to 90.

etc etc..and he maintained that speed all the way home, driving in a much more relaxed manner with less twitches.

Finally we arrived and I asked "encik nak kopi?"

"eh..takpe lar." He smiled and drove away.