Long Taxi Queue.

Fetched a young Philippino man from Jalan Jurong Kechil to RWS Casino late last night about 10.30pm. After he alighted near the entrance to the Casino, I was going to drive straightaway to the taxi stand, but as it was a Monday night, the taxi queue was packed with taxis even lining up all the way near to the Casino entrance. I knew its going to be a long wait as there were hardly a handful of commuters at the pick up point. I decided to leave and head elsewhere.

Normally during week nights from Mondays to Thursdays, the taxi stand is full of taxis but only a handful of commuters. To use the taxi service from this stand, you will have to pay a surcharge of $3.00 at all times.

'Marilyn Monroe' Re-incarnate!

'Marilyn Monroe' was one of my passengers whom I fetched last night! Fantastic! And yes, I had 'Marilyn Monroe' in my cab for a bit of distance too, from Resorts World Sentosa Taxi Stand to Lorong 1 in Geylang. Unbelievable, but true and I had three snapshots of her taken with my mobile seated in the back seat of my cab.

This is not the first time that I have fetched a Celebrity. The first one was none other than Fiona Xie who at that time was going to Caldecott Hill for her first interview to be an actress with Media Corp, and there were others like Kumar of 'Boom Boom Boom' fame and a rugby star from New Zealand called 'The Shadow'.

'Marilyn Monroe' is actually a beautiful and pleasant young lady who hails from Melbourne, Australia, and is presently working at Universal Studios in Sentosa as a 'lookalike' performer. We had such a wonderful and enjoyable chit chat and were nearly laughing throughout the whole journey. It was for me, a most unforgetable and memorable encounter as a cabbie.

A visit to RWS Casino.

Monday night, after working from 5.00pm till 10.00pm, I decided to go and spend sometime and enjoy myself at the RWS Casino.
If you are a Gold or Platinum card member of the Casino, you get to park free of charge in the vast V.I.P. basement carpark situate just below the Casino lobby. Other visitors need to pay a carpark fee in the huge Casino and Resorts World carpark, the amount usually varies from between a minimum of $4.00 to above $10.00 depending on how long you park there.
To enter the Casino, Singaporeans and Permanent Residents have to pay an entrance fee of $100.00 which allows you to go in and out only for a period of 24 hours (a deterrent to dissuade and for you to refrain from gambling). You can also pay $2000.00 for a yearly subscription and, (this is how the Govt further enriched their own coffers).
Inside the Casino, near the entrance, there is an enclosed area which caters strictly for Locals and PRs. This 'exclusiveness' was brought about by complains from Locals, "Kiasuism" in action, of being left out from 'table games' and no chance to play the hundreds of jackpot machines which are nearly always fully occupied by foreign guests. There are eating shops selling western and local dishes, a food court and many scattered 'stations' providing free 24-hour hot and soft drinks.
The people I see are mainly Chinese elderly men and women mostly seated at jackpot machines tapping away happily, many young women mostly Chinese nationals, you can usually tell by their accents when they speak aloud, walking around with chips in their hands, crowding around baccarat tables to place their bets. I noticed only a couple of middleaged caucasian guys sitting at a blackjack table, some Indian nationals and a handful of Malay young men walking around here and there.
At the middle of the casino, there is this stage with a large video screen in the background constantly providing entertaining shows by popular local and foreign artistes, celebrities, and also screenings of 'live' football matches for the big crowds of gamblers, (mostly uninterested while fully engrossed in their games) and to visitors as well as those losers who are left with nothing better to do.
There is an upper floor which is exclusively only for Silver, Gold and Platinum card holders, they are the high-rollers. The Casino, with an area equivalent to the size of 3 football fields, is usually packed during weekends and everyday you can see long queues of taxis (there is an additional $3.00 surcharge for every trip out).
After staying in the Casino for more than four hours and also playing Carribean Stud Poker, a fairly slow and relaxing game for two and a half hours, I thought it was time to make a move. My pockets felt a bit lighter as I slowly strolled out with a hot cup of white coffee in my hands, and it looks like a bit of overtime work is needed. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted but most importantly, I did relax and enjoyed myself. Maybe next time Sands.......

Thanks guys for making my work day an enjoyable one.....

I love ferrying passengers over long trips. 
One such trip was with this happy family of five, from Resorts World Sentosa to Toa Payoh Lorong 7. Daddy and Mummy with three very young children, two boys and a girl, after enjoying a show at RWS and were returning home. The father sat in the front passenger seat with mummy and children sitting behind. Daddy and me were chatting about their outing, family life and mummy and children were talking about food for dinner and lanterns. All of us were like one big family chatting  happily away till we reached the family's destination. I happen to have two extra new lanterns which I gave to the children and they liked it as we bade farewell. Yes, I always feel good to be in the company of a happy family.
Later in the night, about 11pm, I was fortunate again to have picked up this happy couple, going home after watching a show, at the Changi Expo Taxi stand and this was another long distance trip all the way to Jurong West St. 93. This couple had to fetch their seven-year-old son from the grandfather's house and then proceed to their own home at St. 61 nearby. I don't know what happened, but this night I was very talkative. I talked and talked generally about everything, about family, about children, about religion and so on with my passengers throughout the whole trip, I suppose I got carried away somewhat. Luckily this very nice and pleasant couple, did not mind so much because we all laughed together every now and then and it was as though we were like old time friends till its time to part.
True, my next passenger, a young PR Philippino man, working as an IT troubleshooter, had to travel to work from Woodlands to Upper Changi Ind. Park. This was yet another long, long trip coupled with some more happy chit-chatting all the way and I think I may not be able to stop....  its getting late too....... so....... better take five for now........

how's the going ?.....

"How's your luck today?"
"Ah, no good lah, lost few hundred dollar.. when win always a little bit but when lose, plenty plenty. Cannot win money in casino one lah!"
"Then, why you always come?"
"Aiyah, maybe one day got luck can hit Jackpot what."
This is a typical answer I get with my usual way of greeting passengers, men and women, young or old at both casinos, the MBS and RWS, and most times I get negative results but of course there are the occasional elated winners with tales of good luck and many many losers with big 'IFs'. Winners will show you a bit of extra tips like 'keep the change', and losers, what do you think? Well, picking up commuters at these two joints gives me an additional surcharge of $3 in earnings but I don't normally queue at these places unless I happen to be in those vicinities. Conversations with these passengers are always very interesting, continuous with lots of sighs, exclamations of big losses and many stories of missed 'Big' jackpots couple with 'Top Tips' and 'Winning Systems' and what have you. You can see how excited and spontaneous when they chat and we really enjoy much laughter throughout the journey. I look forward to these kind of trips, they make my day...........

getting ready for great new adventures......

Premier Taxis will be first to impose a surcharge of $3.00 for trips that begin at the Integrated Resorts (IR) come Jan 18. Most Taxi companies have confirmed that they will be following suit at later dates except for ComfortDelgro, the largest Taxi company with a fleet of about 15,000 taxis. They have not indicated that they will be applying for a surcharge just yet.

Meantime, for our company's cabbies, like myself, it will definitely be an exciting boost towards earning a bit more extra when we get started. I am looking forward to picking up my first passenger from the IR, it is going to be another important area to 'queue' up, just like in many other locations including Changi Airport, the Singapore Expo and Seletar Airport as well. It will definitely be a 'jamming' and 'chaotic' affair on day one, and to experience it will be most memorable for me.

Over the past 2 days, taxi drivers were learning to find their way in and out of Resorts World Sentosa and being shown where the drop-off points for visitors are. Many taxis turned up for the orientation, it was orderly and most informative for all who attended.

Beginning of the year has been rather quiet and slow for some and the coming of new entertainment spots in Singapore will be most welcomed by all.