Think being a taxi driver in S'pore is tough?
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BY:BRANDON RAEBURN
The grass is not always greener on the other side, folks.
That's what London cab driver Mason McQueen will tell you.
He should know - he's now tried his hand at driving taxis in Cambodia, Canada and Fiji, facing extreme weather conditions, among other challenges.
His experiences are documented in the BBC series A Cabbie Abroad, which airs 9.55pm on Wednesday nights on BBC Knowledge (StarHub Channel 407). The first of the three-episode series starts this Wednesday (June 17).
It is a spin-off from another show Toughest Place To Be A ... where ordinary people are brought to another city to find out how others do the same job in vastly different circumstances.
Not easy
McQueen, 47, first experienced what it's like to drive a taxi in a foreign country thanks to Toughest Place To Be, which he applied for because he "love(s) the show so much".
His episode on that show - in which he tried driving a taxi in Mumbai, India - led to the Cabbie Abroad spin-off.
In the new series, McQueen discovered the kinds of problems cabbies elsewhere face on a daily basis such as extreme weather conditions in Canada and political unrest in Fiji.
The time he spent in Cambodia opened his eyes to how some people have to struggle to make ends meet.
"It was tough for Polo (the Cambodian Tuk tuk driver and McQueen's host during the episode). It was difficult for me to comprehend that you have to wait all day for a job. There aren't enough people for drivers," he said about what he saw in Cambodia.
"It's just a constant struggle. There's a lot of traffic and getting a living there is really hard."
(McQueen and his Cambodian host, tuk tuk driver Polo Doot)​PHOTO: BBC WORLDWIDE
After conquering the streets of Cambodia, McQueen headed to the Canadian city of Iqaluit, which proved to be a different ballgame altogether.
Temperatures in Iqaluit can drop to a low of -28°C.
"In Canada, you can make a living but the conditions are harsh," McQueen said.
PHOTO: BBC WORLDWIDE
For the final episode, McQueen found himself in Fiji, a country with a history of military coups and racial tensions.
While in Fiji, he became aware of ongoing land disputes and once again experienced how difficult it is for some cabbies to earn a decent salary.
According to him, it's a place where there's "not enough actual work".
(McQueen and Fijian cabbie Dharmendra)​PHOTO: BBC WORLDWIDE
Every cabbie has his own set of challenges and that includes McQueen. For him, the main one he faces back in London is the traffic as "the city (is) changing all the time".
From one cabbie to another ...
In places like Singapore, where the pace of life is generally faster, people tend to be in a hurry all the time.
Cabbies in the bustling city-state will almost certainly pick up a few impatient or rude passengers at some point in their careers.
If you're a cabbie who's having trouble dealing with difficult passengers, McQueen's got some advice for you.
He said: "[As a taxi driver] you have to be thick-skinned. It helps to know how to talk to people and treat people.
"Just be professional and polite. That's what you're there for."
To McQueen, cabbies are here to serve the public and they should find ways to enjoy their job because after all, driving a taxi is only one part of a taxi driver's life.
"Be present, everyone does their job. And have a sense of humour," he said.
Passengers, here's some advice for you, too
McQueen believes that passengers can also do their bit to help cabbies take joy in their work.
For a start, those taking taxis should treat cabbies with respect.
"Go back to being polite and treating them with dignity and respect," McQueen urged.
"If that were me driving, how would I want to be spoken to?"
Catch Mason McQueen in A Cabbie Abroad starting this Wednesday (June 17) at 9:55 pm on BBC Knowledge (StarHub Channel 407).
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Tis ang mo bo liao
Eat full nothing do to
Think he gd life la
So eng can go around world do show
Getting paid somemore
Knn he no need pay rental feed family pay bills etc etc ah
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I also want leh. I go drive london cab kym
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No need to wait. Youtube can watch liao....
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VERY TOUGH, tio fine easy, tio piu cab easy.
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Cannot come Sinkie test becos he is not a Sinkie.....
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ang mo kau are actually creative people, they will create whatever and hope to make it rich, from cook going around asia to taxi driver...this tell you how desparate they are.
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Originally posted by Keepthechange666:
Cannot come Sinkie test becos he is not a Sinkie.....
Scare he later tio whack by our jiao kia here mah, our TD get whack by Chao ang mo, then ang mo TD here sure get whack by our si gina jiao kia -
Ang mo seldom get desperate one. They also seldom worry about saving face. You think he go round the world talk taxi because he desperate? Dun be surprised he got more money than u. I know ang mo pattern. They do such things because they enjoy going different countries. Money may not be the main reason. This is one of the reasons ang mo got better technology than asians. They got this willingness to venture out and try new things, all stemming from their passions. Asians until now still prefer to copy cat and stay safe. Kia su and kia si pattern wont make u a winner. Whichever country wants to win america, the citizens must learn how to think out of the box and take on huge risks to their money and life.
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Got money, come here for fark? last time, when europe and USA economy was world nos 1, they see you like shit, where got come here be pundits, smlj chef, travel taxi driver...lj lah, that time, they come, we also hv to clean the seat for them. Today, asian drive ferraris more than ang mo, even me casket driver cum taxi driver also driving BM...they still taking taxis and riding bicycles, then not happy, thrown bicycle at people cars...lols. Look at europe...aiyo, if greece or the PIGS cannot make it..more ang mo girls will appear at OT for me to pick liao. Actually, the russian economy are doing much better now. Look at USA, in debt of billions to central banks around the world including China, yet still want to ya ya papaya, even nike and iphone are done overseas...this shown, even cdg also got ang mo employees now...lols. I work in Marine, see those ang mo engineers, knn, seibei chao keng one, tiam tiam think of off board and go nightclub one..knn, when come to work, all push here and there, but talk theories many, spent without thinking... end up borrow money from bangala workers...lols
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Thats why i said u dont understand ang mo pattern. You write so much only prove u dont know their mind. Ang mo chao keng in the end still can design iphone lambo ferrari. Ah tiong chao keng until now only got xiao mi, alibaba. Yes ah tiong very rich. But asian mindset of ai pi ai chi ai tua liap ni can only go so far as far as high tech and cutting edge design goes.
Not that i like ang mo but i recognize their strengths and asian weaknesses. U no need write so much and talk about cdg and your marine life. Ang mo got their winning ways, even as i hate them for beating our cabbies and cycling on cross street lane 2 or 3 at 6.30pm weekdays when the road is so jammed.
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Design and innovation needs support, any countries that can support it, is sure to produce talents that can invent many things, but at the end of the days, it is the asian gaining from iphone or what they invented, how abt samsung? how about the japanese, how about tabao and alibaba, the keys is not they are inventor, it is because they hv the luxury of times and support. The jap also invented more stuff, and if you invented something and do not know how to innovate it, invent for other to take advantages, that is absolutely a zero sum game. Ang mo are just plain human like u and me, they got their good and bad people, I am not going to coment on it, but to my personal experiences, many coming here are those who cannot make it in their own countries or cannot find a job there, and some tends to think they are the higher being, whereby asian are slit eyes people with no brain. Take the recent Leicester City players at thailand, 3 gets sacked because they insult the thai women, and moreover, leicester city owner are thai businessman. So, what kind of goons do we have here?? The world balance on a pivotel point of strenght and gain, if Asia up, the west will be down, if west up, asia will be down, so these ang mo from the west are alway hoping asia go down, that is their mind of business. Today alone, how many europe prestige club and business own by Asian peoples??
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Samsung made many things, got many patents, made lots of money too. But they are not known for creativity. None of the things they made are pioneering. They take what is available and make it better, faster and cheaper.
Japanese people same also. But Japan got a serious problem with their company hierachy and need to save face. Look at Fukushima. Those fuckers at Tepco covered up problems and finally an earthquake stuck and disaster happened. Same for Takata air bags. They switched to a cheaper explosive compound and that led to deaths when their air bags deployed. Just like PRC and Samsung, its all about profits before safety and innovation. No need to even talk about Thailand, Indonesia, Philipines, Myanmar or Vietnam. Asian pattern all the same. Want face, want money, but heck care if customers die, environmental pollution due to their products or health hazard to their customers.
That is why Apple chose PRC, Korea and Taiwan to manufacture their products. Because Asians are good at making things cheap, and good at exploiting migrant workers. These are things that ang mo cannot do so well. They got high labour costs because ang mo government cares about their citizens. Not like PRC government - only know how to squeeze people dry. But among the Asian nations, I believe Singapore is the worse. Why? In addition to having a government that does not care about their citizens, we also got sky high living costs and a government who refuse to legalise a $3K minimum wage. I am not sure how much longer this wayang can go on before things collapse. Singapore cannot make things as cheap as China, cannot provide a Western standard of living (unless u r rich), cannot innovate like the West (our SAF and GLCs are known to steal know-how thru Gebiz), and refuse to exercise meritocracy (meritocracy here is all talk and horse shit). Where is meritocracy when PAP can just parachute military generals as CEOs or Chairman into GLCs and public institutions like A-STAR ?
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Ya, apple jin li hai.....
Adam and Eve know it.....
Newton hit by it.....
And phone also name after it.....
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China invented paper and it has lasted more than 2000 years until now. Will Apple last for 2000 years?
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PRC got shaolin, tai chi quan, wing chun. China martial arts is something to be proud of. China did come up with quite a few important inventions. The greatest downfall for chinese, japanese and korean people are their genetic need to save face. Just like Indians got their caste system which really held back their progress as a nation. Westerners do not have such inhibitions.
Its very strange but true that nations which have less problems with nudity progress faster than those who preach about chastity and covering up women. Even Japanese people with their AV porn industry are still very conservative.
The worse are the muslim nations. I really do not know what arabs are good at except executing criminals in public. Those middle east nations can be so rich but they cannot come up with a product that many people will want to buy here or elsewhere.
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Western standard of living are rotting by the days, just that they do no want to admit it, the only good abt the west people is human rights that lead to more freedom of speech and expression, but that also lead to many social problem, like shooting and killing, gun availability, and many psychotic peoples. Even gun powder is invented by the east, boat and ship are also first invented by the east, our asia civilisation lived much longer than the west, jus that we do not change as fast as them. China and India have one the most anicent history in the world, unfortunately, dynasty after dynasty, kingdom after kingdom, they fail to change and improve. During those raja and emperor period, the west are still barbarians
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Originally posted by bowah:
Design and innovation needs support, any countries that can support it, is sure to produce talents that can invent many things, but at the end of the days, it is the asian gaining from iphone or what they invented, how abt samsung? how about the japanese, how about tabao and alibaba, the keys is not they are inventor, it is because they hv the luxury of times and support.
The jap also invented more stuff, and if you invented something and do not know how to innovate it, invent for other to take advantages, that is absolutely a zero sum game.
Ang mo are just plain human like u and me, they got their good and bad people, I am not going to coment on it, but to my personal experiences, many coming here are those who cannot make it in their own countries or cannot find a job there, and some tends to think they are the higher being, whereby asian are slit eyes people with no brain.
Take the recent Leicester City players at thailand, 3 gets sacked because they insult the thai women, and moreover, leicester city owner are thai businessman. So, what kind of goons do we have here??
The world balance on a pivotel point of strenght and gain, if Asia up, the west will be down, if west up, asia will be down, so these ang mo from the west are alway hoping asia go down, that is their mind of business.
Today alone, how many europe prestige club and business own by Asian peoples??
Helo those 3 Leicester City players are nobodies
Not even in the 1st team one of them is the manager son too
All 3 bo yong players tats y tio sack straight away
If star players different story liao only will tio fine nia
Football also got politics wan leh
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Got use by the club or not...the intention is to say, ang mo are getting worst in their graciousness and civilisation, how can a ang mo cau/ dog bite the hand who feed them? Because they alway think they are the master, and forget that most of their club are now under Asia and Russian owners. And from China to Singapore, few club in the west are under them. It Asia time