I find it an irony that I seem to know my way better than some of the cab drivers, when I am the one paying them to bring me to my destinations. Some cab drivers will ask which way I would like to go. For me, I always trust their sense of judgment and direction, so I never bother which way they go as long as they bring me to the destination, unless I am in a hurry, in which case I will request for the fastest route available.
I needed to go to the music school yesterday to buy some books and settle some administrative procedures before going to my grandmother's place for dinner with my Australian relatives, so I took a cab to save time.
During quitting time in the city, it is almost impossible to save time taking cabs, considering the massive traffic jam caused by people hurrying home from work. But my office area is not exactly in the city, so that place seldom jams up unless there is a major accident.
Anyway, I told the cabbie my destination. He was a bit confused over where I wanted to go, because to him, there are two buildings with similar sounding names at different locations. So I told him I wanted to go to the Digital Mall, the place specialising in computers and other related peripherals.
I thought this should be clear enough, when I realised he thought I meant the other place selling computer products. I had to tell him some significant buildings around the area before he finally understood where it was I wanted to go. Even then, he confessed he was not familiar, and asked if I could direct him.
So I told him fine, I would direct him when we were around the area. Anyway, he did manage to bring me to wherever I wanted and I managed to get whatever I wanted, before taking another cab to my grandmother's place.
Which got me thinking - cab drivers, besides being skillful in driving, shall they need to go through a crash course on local geography as well? Otherwise, will it not be a source of embarrassment if a tourist gets into a cab and the cabbie confesses he is not familiar with wherever the tourist wants to go? Food for thought here.
I needed to go to the music school yesterday to buy some books and settle some administrative procedures before going to my grandmother's place for dinner with my Australian relatives, so I took a cab to save time.
During quitting time in the city, it is almost impossible to save time taking cabs, considering the massive traffic jam caused by people hurrying home from work. But my office area is not exactly in the city, so that place seldom jams up unless there is a major accident.
Anyway, I told the cabbie my destination. He was a bit confused over where I wanted to go, because to him, there are two buildings with similar sounding names at different locations. So I told him I wanted to go to the Digital Mall, the place specialising in computers and other related peripherals.
I thought this should be clear enough, when I realised he thought I meant the other place selling computer products. I had to tell him some significant buildings around the area before he finally understood where it was I wanted to go. Even then, he confessed he was not familiar, and asked if I could direct him.
So I told him fine, I would direct him when we were around the area. Anyway, he did manage to bring me to wherever I wanted and I managed to get whatever I wanted, before taking another cab to my grandmother's place.
Which got me thinking - cab drivers, besides being skillful in driving, shall they need to go through a crash course on local geography as well? Otherwise, will it not be a source of embarrassment if a tourist gets into a cab and the cabbie confesses he is not familiar with wherever the tourist wants to go? Food for thought here.
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