The Bodiless Dragon

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Conversations in a Taxi

Lai Chee Kien
Lecturer School of Architecture National University Singapore

T.D. : Taxi-Driver P : Passenger...

P : Ei, you put pandan leaf in your taxi ah ?
TD : Yeah, to stop cockroach, lah. Why you ask ? You got cockroach problem at home, is it ?
P : No lah, my maid. She brought this bed bug from her country in her luggage, never see before one, not in Singapore, cannot kill with insecticide - all the furniture kena infected. Last Sunday got to throw out all the children’s furniture.
TD : Your maid from where ?
P : Myanmar.
TD : Not so bad what, Myanmar.
P : Can do lah, at least can cook.
TD : Ei, I tell you, Myanmar better than from Philippines.
P : Why ? I thought they speak English good.
TD : Good ? They spend all their moneys on weekends at Lucky Plaza. How you think they get their money to send home ?
P : How ?
TD : You know I know lah. (silence)
P : Terok ah, the way they gather at Lucky Plaza on Sundays.
TD : What to do, only Sundays they’re free what. Don’t say Orchard Road, now on Sundays foreigners everywhere. Singkaporeans also got no chance to go near those places.
P : Where, like Golden Mile for Thai workers is it ?
TD : Yeah, the Siam-kiah all go there. But worse is Serangoon Road, I tell you. Kiah see lung ah, Sunday night. All the Indians and the Banggalah. Some just run or walk on the road, never die before.
P : I heard people say you all never stop for them even if they call for taxi. Most of the time they carry a lot of things back to their work site. I waited there for taxi there before -
taxi never even stop.
TD : Ei, it’s not that we don’t want to pick them up...huh...I don’t really care who take my taxi one. But usually they take very late at night, carry so many things, and so many cram inside the taxi. My friend ah, he once drive them to this really ulu place near Sembawang, no lights one, so deep inside. They ask him to stop, then just walk out. My friend also scared, he know they won’t pay so he quickly gostan and drive out. Who knows how many stay inside that jungle.
P : Yeah, but at least you see Chinese or Malay at Serangoon Road you can stop what.
TD : Ei, not easy lah, I tell you.
P : Some of them quite cham lare. Kena trick into selling their house and cows in Banggalah, then when they come here got no job, no money, also no way to go back home even.
TD : What to do ... if you are like that you also will do the same. Some Singaporean contractors really pai-sim-kuah. They know they got no work permit, so the contractor ask them to work for them, but they must deposit their pay with them and can only get the mahnee after one year. So you know what happen ?
P : What ?
TD : At the tenth or eleventh month, those bastards get someone to report the Banggalah for working illegally, then they get sent to Lorong Halus, you say cham or not. They can’t speak English, don’t even know how to start explaining what happen.
P : You mean Lorong Halus near Tampines where they unload black charcoal ah ?
TD : No more already lah. They got some place to keep illegal workers there.
P : Cham si. (Silence for a while)
P : How much do you think they earn a day ?
TD : 15 dollars, the most 30 dollars.
P : Wah ... how to survive.
TD : Can lah, they come out only Sunday what ... some even buy supply back to cook at their work site.
P : Just like the Siam-kiah before them.
TD : Yeah, same lah. In the 80s it’s the Siam-kiah, in the 90s it’s Banggalah.
P : Wait ... I remember. Some time ago, I went to Bukit Timah jungle, and I saw some of the Siam-kiah carrying a huge bamboo shoot out of the jungle. Huge, man. Need two person to carry the shoot.
TD : Should taste good ah. They try all kinds of ways to increase their food supply. Funny ah ... Singaporeans eat canned bamboo shoot and they eat fresh ones. I tell you what is worse. I saw some Siam-kiah and even Banggalah fishing with net at Nee Soon river. Sometimes they catch quite good fish there, you know.
P :Where, outside Nee Soon Camp ah.
TD : Yeah, somewhere around there. And you know what they catch there ?
P : What ?
TD : Leh-hu okay ! Those beautiful black leh-hu.
P : The type you eat when you have wound so they heal properly one ah.
TD : Yeah lah, that type.
P :Wah, not bad what.
TD : Tell you something ... the Hongkies also go there to catch leh-hu. But they more sophiscated, use rod, also they wait until after rain, more fish then. Once I saw six of them one early morning and they were splitting twelve leh-hu among them. Twelve okay ...
P : How you know they’re Hongkie. Can be Singaporean also what.
TD : No lah. This kind of thing can tell one lah.
P :Yeah hoh. Hongkies and mainland Chinese also increase recently.
TD :Yeah. After all these years, I thought I learnt all the dialects in Singkapoh already. Then all these people come, kili kulu don’t know gnarp mat yeah, like sing song like that.
P : Now ah, even got argument amongst Chinese. I once saw Chinese professor at University kena bully by bus driver. Mainland passenger buay kam guan, argue back. First time I see Chinese discriminate Chinese.
TD : This type of thing boh pian one, more different races sure more differences one.
P : We haven’t even talked about the bloody angmor yet.
TD :What’s wrong with angmor. I depend on them you know.
P : You just look around lah. They’re all over the place. Only difference is they’re the richest foreigners, richer than most of us. Weekends can afford to be anywhere. When weekend come, you can’t find a nice place to drink beer amongst other Singaporeans.
TD : Yeah. Some even ask me to take them to Changi. They really know where to find these places.
P : Don’t say Changi. Changi gone long time ago. Now even those small Chinese beer shops selling only Chinese beer also full of angmor.
TD : It’s okay what. We need all these people for economy what. If we don’t go international how we survive.
P : My foot. Only 30% of them are really useful to Singapore ...
TD : Ei ... Not so bad lah ...
P : Okay ... maybe 40%. They earn the money, say 3 to 4 years and then they split. All the time they use to get the experience wasted. And all these Singaporean girls like them and even want to marry them.
TD : Ei ... you married or not.
P : Yeah. married.
TD : Then why you worry ? Let it be lah. There are worse things to worry about.
P : No lah. Just cannot tar han lah, why we give them so much when they take away so much a-ready.
TD : Oi, face it. There’s nothing you can do right ? You parn-charn angmor can or not.
P : You pick up angmor passenger after they’re drunk or not ?
TD : Yeah, drunk Singaporean passenger also jit tua too what.
P : Then ?
TD : Just have to send them where they want to go lah. When they’re drunk they’re all the same what. Provided they got mahnee to pay me and don’t womit in my taxi, I don care.
P : No bad experience with drunk angmor ?
TD : Actually got.
P : How bad ?
TD : Er ... the one I remember donno can count bad or not. Once there was this angmor chabor was seepeh drunk and got up my taxi. She say where she want to go then lay back on the seat at the back. Then she put both her legs on the front seat.
P : Block your rear view mirror ah.
TD : No, one leg on each front seat.
P : Then ?
TD : When I got to the street which she say she want to go, I look behind to ask her where ejactly she want to go, then I saw her cheebye looking right at me.
P : She didn’t wear hah.
TD : Shock me man. You know this kind of thing pantang one for taxi driver you know.
P : You finally send her back right?
TD : Yeah, luckily she womit outside after dropping.
P : Heng for you.
TD : Nowsaday I put plastic bag in my taxi. (Silence)
P : Sometimes I don’t know if they’re the foreigner or I’m the foreigner. I don’t know how the Malays feel.
TD : Donno. Kan kai dian. Close one eye and live lah. Life too short you know.
P : Ei, over there, Lorong 15. You pass already or not.
TD : 15 ah. Never mind. I u-turn back. No extra charge.
P : ...

Inventing cultural heritage in Singapore by Lily Kong

Landscapes And The Diversity Of Meaning In A Global City by Brenda Yeoh

Displacing Singapore by Peter Schoppert

Time, Landscape and Desire in Singapore by Lee Weng Choy

Conversations in a Taxi by Lai Chee Kien

The Book