Best Wishes.

                                            Wishing all my Hindu Friends and Readers

                                                          "HAPPY DEEPAVALI"

Unfortunate, Unforeseen and a Unexpected Adventure.

About 10 days ago, I picked up a lady visitor from Mongolia, in her forties, from United Square taxi stand. She asked to go to Marina Bay Sands casino. Along the way, I asked her if this was her first visit to Singapore and she said "Yes" and also her first time going to the casino but not to gamble, only going there to be with her husband who is already gambling in the casino. Thereafter, we began a very pleasant chit-chat generally about both our countries and families. She told me she had altogether nine children which gave me an instant surprise but she straightaway elaborated and told me her family structure. She had 2 sons both in their twenties from her first marriage and then 3 younger children, 2 boys and a girl, aged 2, 4 and 6 from her present husband and the balance 4 other children were from her present husband's previous marriage, altogether making her a mother of nine children. Wow, what a group collection I mused. Anyway, she asked for my contact number and gave me hers as well as we arrived at MBS casino. I wished her the best of luck as we bade farewell.

Last Thursday, I received a surprise phone call from her in the morning asking me if I could help ferry her and her 3 children from her present hotel in Beach Road to Hotel Royal in Newton Road to collect some books and then send them back again to her Beach Road hotel. I told her I could only do so and did not mind at all except that it had to be after 5.00pm and she said it was okay by her and would be most happy to wait for my arrival. I thought to myself, they may really need assistance and so I said I will be there at exactly 5.30pm.

Arriving at Beach Road I waited outside her hotel for a few minutes and then she appeared together with her 3 lovely children in tow. We greeted and wished each other well and she apologised for troubling me. I insisted it was my great pleasure in providing her my services. They boarded my cab and we were on our way to Hotel Royal.

We reached the hotel and she said it will only take her a short while to collect her stuff. I told her to take her time and will be waiting at the hotel entrance till she returned. She thanked me and quickly went about to get her things. I waited quite awhile and finally with her books in her hands together with her children tailing behind her, they quickly re-boarded my cab. I drove them back to their Beach Road hotel and she asked if I could give her the receipt for the metered fare which came to $39.00 exactly which I gladly obliged. She told me they are presently short of cash at the moment but promised to call me to pay the taxi fare as soon as she receives her money transfer from Mongolia. She was very apologetic and pleaded for my assistance, thanking me in advance.

As I had earlier consented to help her in the first place and also for the fact that they were first time visitors from Mongolia and really needed help, I accepted her request. I then asked if they liked some Kangen water to drink and her children said they were thirsty. I offered her a 5 litre container of Kangen water to bring back to their hotel to drink and they all thanked me for it. I drove off feeling somewhat confused but at the same time also felt good to be of some help and providing a bit of assistance to overseas visitors in their unfortunate, maybe temporary plight.

On Sunday, 4th November, I received a mobile message at 9.42pm which read .........
"Good evening, I am (her name), so sorry, you are very help me, but today very need your help my friend, can you borrow me 200dol, i back you next week, tomorrow we no have hotel"
Oh my goodness, I was suddenly taken aback but decided all the same to leave the message alone and not give her any reply.

Come Monday, 5th November, she called my mobile at 6.43pm, I answered and told her regretfully that I was unable to help her with money but will still help her if she needs transport. She quickly said "Sorry, sorry" a few times and hung up. I believe this is where it ends, "Que Sera Sera, whatever will be, will be....."

Maybe Can Maybe Cannot.

I do not understand what the two taxi drivers are trying to do, making claims of earning huge incomes between $6,000 and $7,000 a month. They may have done it once or maybe even twice, yes, maybe it is not impossible, but are they consistent in performing these feats every month earning these amounts?, I doubt it. In my opinion, honestly, earning incomes of between $2,500 or $3,500 a month is more realistic. I have personally tried and achieved these amounts, but, it is easier said than done. First of all, there must be that certain kind of discipline such as fixing the number of working hours driving daily which is easily at least 14 hours inclusive of meals and coffee breaks in between plying the roads with time spent to be very regulated. Taking a day 'off' from work a week?, you can forget about it. Then again, you have to be physically fit and healthy throughout the year, no such thing as taking an MC which is unheard of. I mean, we have got to be like 'super human beings'.

All taxi drivers are considered self employed and the majority can hardly contribute to monthly CPF accounts. And, if you are a family man, the sole bread winner in the family, is there any guarantee that no one in the family will ever fall sick or need medical care? What about unforeseen expenses incurred when there are sometimes the weddings and wakes to attend. Other than school fees, there are frequent schoolchildren extra curricular activities that will cause sudden unexpected expenditures and of course, no escaping the inevitable 'Must' and Necessary annual family New Year's day expenses for each and everyone of us.

Taxi drivers are a hard working lot and for those who have been driving for 'tens' of years, day in and day out, make no mistakes, for at the end of the day, the majority will have suffered some form of sicknesses, perpetual bodily aches and pains or God knows what. It is a fact, we are only human.

Let me not sound so negative about this occupation. It is a very interesting vocation, with all the freedom you get being your own boss, meet and even make friends with all sorts of people from around the world, hardly or seldom a dull working day, always a challenge to meet your daily earning targets and best of all, the chance to enjoy all foods available in all parts of the island.

Best Wishes.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my Muslim friends and readers :

                                   Selamat Hari Raya Haji  !!!

It Happens to The Best of Us.

Thursday night about 9.45pm, a young male teenager hailed my cab along Drive 1 in Pasir Ris. "Hello Uncle, do you accept Nets?" he asked. "Yes I do" I replied. "Okay, I would like to go to Tampines St.45 thank you".
In a short while when I started driving, he said, "Uncle, could you drive a bit faster as I am on probation and I need to reach home by 10.00pm, and by the way, can I pay the balance of the fare in cash as I only have $4.00 in my ATM card?". "Huh? of course not, how much cash do you have in hand?" I asked. He said "I've about $3.00 something". "What? you mean that's all you've got? Is there anybody at home you can call to bring some cash for you? Your parents maybe?" I asked. He replied "No, nobody at home, both my parents are still working and won't be home so early". I questioned him again, "Why didn't you tell me all this before you boarded my cab? Why didn't you try to go home earlier by bus instead of till the last minute?". "Uncle, sorry lah, but I promise to pay you by tomorrow afternoon through my ATM card to your bank account. You just give me your bank account number".
Another story teller trying to pull a fast one. We were nearing his flat and I had already dismissed his excuses and decided to just collect whatever cash he had and said. "Never mind about my POSB account number, just give me the cash you have in hand" as I stopped in front of his flat. He dugged deep into his pockets as I watched and he could only manage to come up with $1.50
"Uncle, that's all I got, but I promise to transfer $10.00 to you tomorrow afternoon, I promise. I'm so sorry".
"Look here, don't tell me stories, just call my hand phone number now" I said and he immediately called. My hand phone rang and I told him I would message him my bank account number later. He alighted and said sorry a couple of times and I simply nodded.
The metered fare was $7.30 which is of no big deal to me and I just want to forget about the incident and continue to ply the roads, erasing all sour thoughts from my mind. This is, but one of the many unfortunate types of cons and cheats we encounter daily as a taxi driver.

A Bit Of Hiccup.

It was not a happy Sunday yesterday when my relief driver called me at 7.00am in the morning to inform me that the taxi just could not start. Had to call the company's tow truck to tow it to the motor workshop which is also not open for business on Sundays. All plans for the day were cancelled and I spent an enforced holiday after attending church services in the morning, going to and fro by using the bus services, which was quite interesting, having to switch buses twice and did a fair bit of walking.

The motor workshop just called to inform me that the taxi is repaired and is ready for collection at 1.00pm. I have informed my relief to collect it and maybe drive a little before he hands it over to me. These sort of unforeseen happenings do occur once in a while which is only natural for taxi operators who would also lose out on daily earnings.  Anyway, after a day's disruption and having so much rest, I must say, I'm all set and ready to start once again.

Missing Taxis When You Need Them Most.

When it rains, taxi drivers tend to play safe and very often you find us waiting out the rain storms sitting in our cabs parked alongside roads or sitting in coffee shops having coffee till the rain subsides. There are many reasons why we do so. Firstly, it is always dangerous driving in fog like conditions where visibility is limited, roads are slippery and heavy traffic jams occur with most roads clogged up and without fail, there will  always be accidents everywhere usually bumper to bumper hits and many vehicle breakdowns which ultimately cause huge and massive traffic jams.

 Everyone suffers each time there is a heavy downpour, with long queues of frustrated and anxious passengers waiting at taxi stands all over the island, at the same time, frustrated taxi drivers also waits, cursing the heavy rainfalls which will inadvertently cause a hole in their pockets and if they were to try to venture, there is always the risk of having to fork out something like $1,000.00 up front to our taxi company when you get involved in an accident. 

Then, there is the extra work for us to perform at the end of the shift when we sweat as we need to clean up the insides of our cabs, wet not only on the seats but also dirty floor mats, sometimes with mud and sand especially when you pick up passengers standing along muddy roadsides together with their wet umbrellas.

All these happenings are most unfortunate and nobody wants it to happen. It is a very tiring working day for us whenever it rains. Our feet get easily tired and our eyes strained with non stop serious concentration whilst driving. We understand and feel for our passengers too, waiting long hours after finishing their tired workdays, and therefore, all of us should try to understand and spare a thought for one another in these unfortunate times.

Change and Evolve.......

Hi Folks, I'm back again after such a long absence since I returned from KL after attending the opening of Enagic office. I have been extremely busy running around giving out free Kangen water to friends, relatives, acquaintances everyday and everywhere to people who need them especially those with any kind of health issues. I have become so excited doing this Kangen water business, getting and hearing wonderful results, watching people get well, attending seminars, training sessions as well as conducting my own demonstrations and reading and watching tons of videos about Kangen Water, even forgetting about taxi driving and ferrying passengers. I have become so engrossed in this activity, so very happy meeting and getting to know and making so many new friends everyday. Indeed, I love every minute of this exciting and wonderful new adventure which is making me more compassionate as days go by.

I am now working on a kind of schedule to spread and adjust my activities accordingly but will definitely continue writing my blogs so stay with me and watch more of my new involvements and daily adventures in the near future.

Kuala Lumpur Here I Come.

Hi Folks, I would like to apologise for taking this short break without putting up any recent posts. I have been very busy giving free Kangen water to friends and acquaintances everywhere, including my passengers in Singapore, its my personal venture once again into the business world. It has been a very hectic and exciting week and right now I shall be leaving for the airport in an hour's time to catch a flight to Kuala Lumpur to attend the official and grand opening of Enagic (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd office today.

I will be back this Tuesday evening and also write about my visit to Kuala Lumpur. It should be quite interesting Folks, until then, have an enjoyable and happy weekend. CHEERS !

G.I., Flat-Top, Mohawk and Square Cut.

Went for my hair cut yesterday at Sri Dewa, my regular barber shop for more than 50 years. Sri Dewa (a iconic household name today) with its first shop originally situated directly opposite the Novena Church during the late fifties has since relocated also along Thomson Road, this time opposite the Thomson Medical Centre is a very popular and well known barber shop brand with many other branches bearing the famous 'Sri Dewa' name everywhere in Singapore. It was very popular then, always with long queues, famous and the top barber shop in town. Back then my hair stylist was the proprietor himself.

My barber, Mr. Anuar, speaks good English, very chatty, is a friendly and likable guy. I have had many different regular barbers over the years and he is my present barber after Mr. Hamid who has already passed on a few years ago. I have my hair cut every six weeks. In this shop hangs a rectangle shaped framed with a few photographs of men with different hair styles cut more than fifty years ago and I was one of them during my early teens. Orignally hung on the wall of its very first shop and had been on the walls of Thomson Road Sri Dewa ever since until recently when I asked Mr. Anuar for permission to own it. It was very kind of him to give this photo frame which has all along had my photo in it showing me with a 'GI' crop during my secondary school years, I was advertising live, like a model spotting many new and latest popular hair styles cut at Sri Dewa such as the 'square cut', the 'flat top' and even the'mohawk' and many others. It gives me great pleasure to display this half century old photo frame here.