Changing Lifestyles.

Hello and Good Morning Folks!
First of all, I want to wish especially my Chinese followers "GONG XI FA CAI" and a Happy and Prosperous Lunar New Year to Everyone. Well, it has been quite a while since I last wrote a post. I have so much to tell you. First of all, my beloved Toyota Crown taxi has finally been retired and recalled by Premier Taxis just before Christmas Day on 23rd December 2013. It has served me well for the past 4 years, never gave me any serious faults or problems other than the usual wear and tear of the four tyres. Its air-conditioning system has always kept me and my passengers very cool and has never broken down at all but alas, it has to be terminated and put to rest as required by LTA's taxi life span expectations.

I chose to take a longer break from driving for the time being and will decide later whether to continue as 'Hirer' or become a 'Super Relief" driver in future or maybe even a lifestyle change, I don't know yet.

I have not driven a taxi for the first time during last Christmas, New Year and now this Chinese Lunar New Year after being behind the wheels everyday since 1997, I get this awkward and weird feeling, like being 'lost' at times during this past month. Luckily for me, my interest and passion as a Kangen Water Distributor has helped keep me continuously occupied, like getting to meet so many new friends as I keep giving free water everyday and hearing wonderful and positive testimonials about Kangen Water's healing powers from the recipients.

As a professional cabby all these years, I have inadvertently also become a writer of sorts, an actor, a Kangen water demonstrator, a performer as well as a presenter, a motivating speaker, giving talks for Distributor groups and recently being called upon to be a Master of Ceremony for a big function held by a well known Health and Wellness Practitioner and Educator, he owns three Master Degrees and is also a Lecturer for Teachers Training Colleges. I was called to participate in a popular TV series called Food Detectives which will air on TV Channel 5 this Tuesday at 10pm. As you can see, I am presently very occupied, surrounded and enjoying every bit of the various activities.

Once Again........

                      "MERRY CHRISTMAS and A HAPPY NEW YEAR" to one and all.

I have taken quite a long break this time and have not posted any blogs for more than a month but, to tell you truthfully, I really needed a bit of rest just now. I have been very active, on the move practically non-stop, engaging in and participating in activities like writing monthly articles for example in Time Out Singapore magazines for more than a year but have recently stopped doing so. I wrote for Agelesssonline, Insing.com, local and overseas Institutions, others and also, at the same time giving talks on 'Healing water' and performing 'Kangen Water' demonstrations for private groups of people as well as 'one on one' demos here and there. Did film shoots for television, attended and given so many interviews to individuals, magazines, papers, etc, more about my taxi vocation and also my other interests as well. Apart from all these activities which I enjoyed tremendously, I still continued driving my taxi everyday, 7 days a week, plying my trade tirelessly everywhere in Singapore. All these activities were indeed very tiring and has taken a toll on me and I think I needed to slow down for awhile.

Meantime, with so many lively, some even shocking news and happenings going around at home, like the Little India riot saga, the discovery of the headless corpse and our speedy local law-enforcers' detective work to arrest the murderer so swiftly and also, not forgetting the 2013 Christmas light-up and year end shopping frenzy, parties, celebrities performances in the act everywhere, it is just so exciting, so very fast paced, so much so, before we even know it, 2014 has appeared.

I would like to let you know that I am now passionately involved with giving 'free' Kangen Water to so many people, 'baby boomers', (ages between 50 to 75), especially those with medical issues of all kinds, and watching healing taking place, as well as hearing good and positive testimonies from happy and thankful people from all walks of life who is drinking this 'Healing' and 'Miraculous Water'. I am presently a legal Global Distributor of Kangen Water and would gladly give you one month's Free trial of Kangen Water without any obligations whatsoever. For more information, you may call me anytime, any day on my mobile or e-mail me.

Greetings.

            I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my Hindu readers and Friends a                                                                  
                                                "  HAPPY DEEPAVALI  "

Memorable Passenger

                                 
One day, driving this famous 'ang mo' passenger, who else but none other than Neil Humphreys, author of a number of books including #1 best-selling-book in Singapore titled "Return to a Sexy Island" was indeed an unforgettable experience for me. I would like to share with you a glimpse of what a working day is like in the life of a taxi driver. Welcome to this link below and enjoy............

 

Links below: 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll1EDE1ytw4

                                 https://vimeo.com/199230295

Beautiful Lady Passengers

Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of fetching two young, pretty and charming expatriate ladies. My first pretty lady passenger whom I picked up at Holland Village taxi stand hails from France. She has been working here for the past three years and loves living here. She wanted to go to M Hotel which is at Anson Road to meet up with friends for dinner and drinks. Along the way to her destination, we spoke quite a bit, generally about her stay here and somehow, she just seems to be 'bumping' into her countrymen everywhere she goes, in Singapore as well as in many other Asian countries that she has been to. She loves to learn more of the Asian way of life and finds it very interesting, she has so far managed to speak a very little bit of Singlish, especially the "lahs", and she loves the food here. We laughed and enjoyed chatting all the way to the Hotel.

My second passenger, a young and pretty Indonesian Indian lady whom I picked up at International Plaza taxi stand at Anson Road and she had just finished work and wanted to go home to Bedok South. She told me she studied in Malaysia and has been working in Singapore as an Assistant Producer in a well known International media organisation for the past five years already. She has been living here with her grand parents all this while and she also added that she will be getting married very soon and I congratulated her. We started chatting along the way and yes, she spoke very good English. I thought at first that she was from the States. She too enjoys and loves living in Singapore. During our conversation, I started telling her about the healing properties of 'Kangen' water, (electrolytic ionised alkaline water), which I give away free to friends and anybody everyday. I went on talking and telling her about this water which has similarities to the much known 'miracle or holy' water found in Lourdes, France. She was a keen listener and found it interesting and also asked if it can help her grand parents' medical issues. When I gave her my calling card and told her that I am a taxi blogger, she exclaimed excitedly that she has been reading my blogs and now surprisingly meeting and talking to me in person. All of a sudden, I felt so proud and happy to be acknowledged by someone who has been reading my blogs. She was pleasant, enthusiastic and showed interest to know more about 'Kangen' water and so at her destination, I gave her a couple of tapes and some literature for more information and also invited her to call me anytime she needed this water. She paid me the metered fare of $16.00 as we happily wished each other goodbyes.
The encounters with these two lovely young ladies made my day.

Relaxing Evening and Hectic Morning

Yesterday evening, around 7.00pm, I had the pleasure of giving a short and hurried Kangen Water demonstration to my young handsome friends, 12 year old identical twin brothers, Ben and Aaron, together with their mother, in their Eastern apartment residence just before the arrival of the boys' private tutor. Incidentally, all of them were my taxi passengers whom I picked up and befriended two weeks ago from United Square taxi stand. The boys have been drinking and loving Kangen Water which I have been giving them for the past 2 weeks, and they were very excited and attentive as I demonstrated and explained the three unique features of Kangen Water to them, which are, (Oxidation Reduction Potential, Alkalinity and Micro Clustering). Both the boys are very active and intelligent. Ben is learning the violin and Aaron the piano. It was fun for all of us while it lasted. I left at about 8.00pm to continue plying my taxi trade. I love times like these which is so relaxing, a break away from the 'humdrum' of activities and of everyday life pressures.

Early this morning, just before 2.00am, I received a call from Thomas, one of my taxi buddies, that he was involved in a serious traffic accident when he smashed his taxi (belonging to the same taxi company as mine) into the rear of another taxi along Newton Road just in front of Hotel Royal, and was experiencing pains in his chest. I immediately drove to the scene of the accident and found my friend in his driver's seat dazed and having chest pains. I attended to him until the ambulance arrived 10 minutes later and brought him to the Emergency ward at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Meanwhile, I stayed back, waited for the police to arrive and reported the accident details to Traffic Police from information given to me by Thomas. I had to call the Taxi company, inform them of the accident and then called the tow truck company for assistance. All these activities and waiting time lasted till nearly 5.00am after which, I immediately visited my friend in hospital and was glad he was not seriously injured after being treated by doctors and being x-rayed. He had to rest awhile in hospital until doctors can discharge him. There was nothing much I could do except to return home and so, after having some supper, I finally reached home nearly 6.00am, This is truly a "happening" on an eventful October the first morning and I feel really tired and drained. I have to sign off now and 'hit the sack', Cheers and good morning to all.

More Problems Ahead

Last Wednesday afternoon, the very first passenger whom I picked up at Whampoa Food Centre was the start of my taxi meter giving me weird problems. This passenger wanted to go to Toa Payoh Lorong 5 and when I drove to his destination, my taxi meter showed $15.00 which was incredible for such a short distance. I knew straightaway that the meter is going 'Bonkers'. The actual fare should have been around $9.00 and that's what I asked for and collected from my surprised passenger. I could not get to repair the meter till the next day because it was already too late and so, I decided to take a break and went on to deliver 'Kangen' water to friends for the rest of the day.

New hi-tech gadgets sometimes give unexpected headaches to many senior taxi drivers especially those who are less educated in operating computer-like stuffs, having to press all sorts of buttons here and there causing them great distress. The Chinese educated taxi uncles are most affected by these changes. Attending classes conducted in English and learning to operate new gadgets makes it worst, takes a long time and also causes loss of income to many. Also nowadays, we need to go to our office at least once a month for them to check up and record on how many kilometres we travelled per day during peak hours, whats next and so on and so forth. Mind you, these appointments to attend are all on compulsory fixed times and dates. New rulings and regulations have made taxi driving more and more difficult, stressful and strenuous.

Because of continuous complaints from the general public on difficulties in 'catching' a taxi, too many 'On Call' signs, disappearance of taxis when most needed and to ugly behaviours of drivers and etc, Authorities are coming up with more new Rules and Regulations for taxi operators in the near future. It is definitely going to be more difficult and harder to be a taxi driver.

Festivals and Celebrations

                     "SELAMAT HARI RAYA ADILFITRI" to all my Muslim friends!

                                     and "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE"

Its so unusual, so exciting, so wonderful to witness the sharing, co-existence of so many different races and religions celebrating their festivals at the same time and at the same place. This only happens in SINGAPORE. Yes, the Chinese festival of the 'Hungry Ghosts' month, the Malays celebration of the end of Muslims fasting month, Ramadan and the celebration of Singapore's 48th Birthday, all of these happenings during the same week. 

Our Malay taxi drivers will enjoy their Hari Raya by taking the long weekend break while the others will carry on with their usual driving routines with extra passengers and holiday revellers as well as some increase in fare earnings. 

Meanwhile, taxi drivers are facing more and more new rules and regulations being carried out and implemented, such as the compulsory 250 kilometres on the road per day, more emphasis on taxis to be on the road during peak hours of between 6am to 11am in the morning and between 5pm to 12 midnight daily. This is because of daily complaints of difficulties in getting a cab during these times made by the general public and taxi drivers will face more disciplinary actions such as getting demerit points for this and that, or being sacked. Already it is a hassle having to report to their respective companies for compulsory routine meter checks and mileage recordings at least once a month. I feel it is no longer true that we are self employed. There is going to be greater pressure and hardship falling upon drivers in this vocation with taxi rentals continuing to rise with replacements of newer taxi models from time to time. 

Banged from Behind.

Sometime last weekday around 7.30pm, I was ferrying a lady passenger along River Valley Road heading towards her residence, the first condominium on the right at River Valley Close and my vehicle was stationary waiting for opposite vehicles to pass before I made the turn into the condominium when suddenly there was this loud 'THUD' sound at the rear of my taxi. I turned my head to look behind and saw someone falling down. I quickly opened my door, came out from my taxi and saw this young lady, helmet still on her head, lying down on the road but she immediately got up and kept uttering loudly "Sorry Uncle, sorry, very sorry, my fault". I asked just as quickly, "Are you hurt, are you hurt, are you alright?", and she answered "No, I'm okay, I'm alright, I'm not hurt, its okay, I'm so sorry". I said "Not to worry, are you sure you are okay, you are not hurt in any way?". She said "No, no, I'm not hurt at all, thank you". "Come, let me help you on your bike" I offered and then next minute she was back on her bike again and began to start the engine. I stood and watched. Her bike purred and we both thought all was well and I proceeded back into my taxi, made the turn into the condominium to let off my passenger who was just as concerned. I told her everything was all right and her bike could start, no damages at all. My passenger whom I sensed was just as worried felt relieved, paid the fare and quickly alighted to go home. 

I turned my vehicle around to exit and to my surprise, the young lady biker, helmet still on and in her blue jeans was still stationary atop her bike but rooted at the same spot. I immediately parked my taxi outside the condo, got out and went to see if she needed any help. She said, "My bike can start but would not move forward, I don't know why". I looked at the front tyre and found that the bike's front mudguard had caved onto the tyre not allowing it to move forward at all. She got down from her bike and just then, one of the condo's security guard came around and I asked him to assist and help me move the bike to the side near the condo's gate. Meanwhile, the lady biker was calling for a tow truck on her mobile. When she was done, I asked her "How come you did not see my stationary taxi right in front of you?", and she replied "I was looking at the map on my mobile and was caught off guard and did not watch where I was going". No wonder, "That's not a wise thing to do and very lucky you had a 'soft' fall from your bike otherwise....." I said. She again apologised and I said "Don't worry, important thing is that you are safe and not hurt at all". I was very relieved, all said and done, I went back into my taxi and continued to ply the roads without even thinking of checking if the rear of my taxi was damaged in any way until very much later. There was a slight scratch mark on the bumper and nothing to be alarmed about, anyway, I was already feeling lucky that she was not injured at all otherwise I would have to act as emergency nurse and also ambulance driver and it would have been a long, long and weary night for me.   

"What? Me? A Celebrity?"

I am but a humble taxi driver and to be interviewed and featured in a prestigious magazine such as Esquire Singapore, July 2013 issue, I am truly honoured. Appearing between photographs, articles and pages of Top Worldwide Celebrities, together with the likes of Brad Pitt, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sean Penn, Thom Yorke, Petra Nemcova and Top Local Celebrities such as Gurmit Singh, Ivan Heng, Constance Singam, Ang Peng Siong, makes me feel as if I am one of them, well, even for a short while, 'ahem' maybe just a 'mini' small time Taxi Blogger. But still, to be featured amongst them makes my head spin, swell and honestly, proud and still feeling dazed.