A few cabtivating anecdotes…
When you are continuously traveling to and fro from the airport, or within a city that you are visiting, it is a must to have a good cab driver. Striking a conversation helps, as also just hearing your first guide to the city speak.
As I continue to travel I always hope to encounter affable and understanding cab drivers. However, good cabbies are a rare breed
Sir, we can accommodate all the luggage in the back seat if you don’t mind sitting in front,” he requested politely.
The suggestion made sense. And agreeing to sit in the front seat turned out to be a great decision. For the cabbie wasn’t just well versed in the art of polite conversation but was also fairly knowledgeable.
Looking forward to moving to Fiji and starting his career afresh, he seemed upbeat.
It took about 75 minutes to get to the airport and I can’t remember one moment that was dull, or unsavory.
Even as he thanked me saying he enjoyed the interaction I too expressed my gratitude…a heartfelt one at that.
For someone who has spent more than two thirds of his professional life on the road I have met all kinds of cabbies.
Some affable. Others forgettable. A few regrettable.
Having said that when you are continuously traveling to and fro from the airport, or within a city that you are visiting, it is a must to have a good driver. In fact it is imperative to strike a conversation as much as possible, or for that matter just lend an as your first guide to the city speaks. He/she can provide you with the little details, help you settle down and either ease up your mood, or spoil it.
However, a good cab driver is a rare breed.
More often than not they are adamant, and irritating. Few are capable of striking a casual, albeit interesting conversation. Even if a customer is willing and inquisitive a cab driver’s behavior can be repulsive.
In Asian countries the difference of language limits the communication with the cabbie. I remember quite a few instances during my visits to Seoul (South Korea) when the cab drivers I hired didn’t utter a word. Even the fare was typed on a calculator (or phone) and shown.
Cabbies in South Asian countries limit themselves to the limited. Instead, they channelize their energies towards taking you to a tourist trap. Worse, many don’t entertain people who travel short distances.
African cabbies speak what they want to, not particularly bothered about your interest (lack of it).
Knowledge of football helps strike a conversation with the drivers in Europe, and while discussing their favourite clubs you can also enquire other little information you seek.
Everywhere there are cab drivers keen on making a quick buck or two, ones who tend to take you for a ride. Well, literally.
During a trip to Bangkok a couple of years back I was the victim of such an intent.
The trip back from the Grand Palace to the hotel was a long one. It had been a tiring day and I hadn’t dilly-dallied on the price, agreeing to pay whatever the cabbie asked for. All I wanted was to get back to the hotel and take some rest.
However, the driver had other ideas.
First, he took me to a curio shop.
“Please go inside and hang around for 10 minutes. You don’t have to buy anything,” he pleaded.
Before I could ask why he had come up with the response.
“If I get a customer to this shop for a few minutes I get five litres of gasoline absolutely free,” he said.
I was too tired to argue and didn’t read too much into it. So I went in, hung around for 15 minutes, bought a couple of things and came back, requesting the cabbie to hurry up. He took the other route instead, saying it was a short cut.
I am well averse with Bangkok and told him so. He would take none of it.
In a few minutes we were in front of another such shop.
“Get in there for 15 minutes and I will get a suit piece in return,” he said. I refused.
Tourist trap? But of course. Disgusting? Most definitely.
I put my foot down. He had started taking me for granted and I knew I had to be stern now.
The move boomeranged.
He took me to a lonely road further ahead and stopped the car.
“If you don’t go to that shop you have to pay me four times the fare,” he said.
I looked back straight at him. Any argument was going to be pointless. Had I agreed to his demand he would have taken me to a third shop, may be a fourth.
So I simply got down, paid him the agreed amount and asked him to leave.
“You won’t get any cab here,” he said, with a sinister smile. I asked him to mind his own business. He was gone.
A few minutes later a local gave me a lift.
Tourist traps are a norm in South and South East Asian countries and I have experienced it quite a few times in Indonesia, Thailand etc but this was the worst case, one I will never forget.
Though the probability of having negative and forgettable encounters with cabbies is very high, some times you are in for a pleasant surprise.
It is with one such memorable mention I began this piece and there’s another anecdotal reference that I have to share.
I distinctly remember this 50-something English cabbie who willingly opted to lose many pounds so that I could reach the airport on time.
I had taken the train from Waverly (Edinburgh) to Euston (London) that afternoon. As I was carrying a lot more luggage than I usually do, so I opted to take a cab to Heathrow, as opposed to changing tubes.
All it took was one traffic jam for the cabbie to come up with a pragmatic suggestion.
“Sir, it is your choice but in this traffic I can’t guarantee that you will reach the airport on time,” he said.
It made me think. On the one hand I wanted to avoid the traffic, on the other was the self awareness that carrying excess baggage had made things worse.
“I can’t change trains with so much luggage. What should I do?” I asked.
“Sir, I will drop you at Paddington station. From there you can take the Heathrow Express straight to the airport. That will save a lot of your time,” he suggested.
I was relieved, and at the same time wondered how can a cab driver sacrifice such a huge fare. The more the traffic the more the waiting time, and consequently the higher the fare. Never before (and after) in all my travels have I encountered a cabbie willing to compromise on the money bit, not to forget the huge differential in this case.
Even as I rather prematurely expressed my gratitude I put forth the question that was doing the rounds in my mind.
“Sir, it is true am missing out on big money. Maybe a hundred pounds, or more,” admitted the cab driver, adding, “But it is also my responsibility to ensure you reach your destination on time. And like I mentioned, in this traffic I can’t assure you that.”
Even as I got down at Paddington, I realized I was paying him only 18 pounds. Tipping such a human being would have tantamount-ed to an insult. I thanked him again.
It is a gesture I have not forgotten. Will never.
As I continue to travel I hope to encounter affable and understanding cab drivers, like this wise old man from London. However, good cabbies are a rare breed.
