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Posts Tagged ‘taxi rides’

  1. of egos and taxi rides

    July 19, 2008 by admin

    there are people who possess a healthy dose of ego, self-love and confidence, and then there are people who appear to be confident but do not actually think very highly of themselves.

    the latter group of people usually have low self-esteem and can be rather insecure about themselves, and it shows in the things they do. the most telling sign being their covert attempts to seek validation and support from anyone who is willing to give it–in other words, their confidence feeds on the praise of others.

    when Confident Person says, “i’m the best”, they believe in what they have proclaimed (i.e. that they are the best), regardless of what everybody else thinks. they don’t actually have to say it out, because they don’t seek validation, but sometimes they say it anyway, just to piss people off if merely in jest. these are the people who can laugh at themselves and have mastered the art of self-deprecating humour. these are also the people who, after a really embarrassing fall, stand up and laugh along with everyone else.

    when Insecure Person says, “i’m the best”, they are unsure if they really are the best, and hope that others would agree, if only so that they can feel better about themselves. or they do the opposite and put themselves down in feigned humility, when they are really just fishing for compliments.

    actually, the preceding paragraphs’ verbosity is just a prelude to this: i am the best.

    muahahaha.

    ********

    it was raining so heavily today (i heard there’d be a typhoon tomorrow?) so i decided to cab to work, and i met a really cute lady driver. she was so chatty and cheerful and adorable, and i was so glad i decided to take a taxi because talking to her really made my day.

    so far i have never had any bad experiences with taxi drivers here in korea, well except for this once when i went to the supermarket with lx and her mum. we decided to take a taxi home after shopping as we were carrying quite a bit of stuff, so we hopped on a cab, i told the driver our destination (about 5 min away), and he replied with a hint of sarcasm and annoyance, “그렇게 멀리 가세요?” (“you’re going so far ah?”)

    to that, i deliberately replied in an upbeat and cheerful tone, “yup!” which i think annoyed him more. he didn’t say anything to that but you could just feel the daggers from him man. heh heh. in the end i still tipped him 1,000 won after deliberating over whether or not i should, but then i thought what the heck, there’s no reason for me to break my habit even if he did have a lousy attitude.

    Category 42, korean tales | Tags: ,,, | 3 Comments

  2. indian food and a taxi ride

    July 2, 2008 by admin

    met up with M for indian food last night (he’s canadian indian, so he knows the people working at the restaurant)… and i think i’ve found a gem! prices are reasonable (by korean standards–22,000won for 2 people), the serving is huge (though i don’t know if this is because M is friends with the people), and the taste is pretty authentic (again, by korean standards–it’s not one of those crapshit stuff that has been “modified” to cater to korean tastebuds and is then passed off as indian food).

    the place was pretty quiet though; apart from us there were only 2 other koreans in the restaurant. maybe it’s the location–it’s tucked away in one of the small sidelanes with no prominent signboard. if anyone’s up for indian, give me a shout! i don’t mind going there again. hehe. can’t remember the name of the place though. i think it was curry place?? curry house? curry plaza? something along those lines. i know it was curry something. ha. i remember! it’s curry town!

    oh and they don’t serve kimchi! i know this sounds silly and trivial, but the only other “authentic” indian place that i’ve been to didn’t serve kimchi too. although over there, the prices were sky high and the servings were just right if you were a mouse. i’ve been to another cheaper indian place where the curry was just a slightly more spicy version of the normal korean curry (i.e. sweet) and, while they didn’t provide kimchi, they did serve those preserved radishes, which proper indian food doesn’t not go well with (at least IMO).

    anyway the restaurant’s in itaewon, and after dinner M asked if i have seen the “seedy” side of itaewon, to which i replied in the negative. so he brought me to hooker hill and gay hill (where we saw some she-males sitting around too). it was quite an eye-opener; i’ve long heard about the brothels and gay bars in itaewon, but i didn’t know where they actually were. i just didn’t like the place because it seemed to me that the people who hang out there are mostly quite messed up.

    took a cab home, and i think that this may be the first time that a korean actually tells me about the shortcomings of korea(ns) in general–about racism, the government, about the pitfalls of the korean education system. so far, my experience has been as such: the normal korean on the street would be pretty nationalistic, while the average taxi driver would mostly be government-bashers (what’s new?). but of course he also talked about the merits of korea and koreans. in short, he gave me a pretty balanced and neutral view of what he thought about his country and fellow countrymen, and it was really refreshing to chat with him. he was proud of his country but he wasn’t blind to its faults, and he did appreciate all that is good about his country.

    before i got off the cab, he advised me not to stay out too late as it is not safe.

    it’s meeting random people like him that makes it even harder for me to leave korea.

    Category 42, korean tales | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  3. roy says the darndest things

    June 28, 2008 by admin

    last week, me, roy and jean went out to the supermarket to get some stuff for our picnic (lx was still lazing at home, hehe).

    we were deciding on what fruits to get, so i pointed to a bunch of red grapes (see picture below) and asked him, “how about grapes?”

    he took a look at them and replied, in all seriousness, “are those grapes??”

    i thought i heard wrongly. “huh??? did you just ask me if those are grapes?”

    “yah. they don’t look like grapes…..” he said uncertainly.

    …..?!?!?!

    “they don’t look like the grapes i usually see,” he added.

    “what sort of grapes have you been seeing?!?!” i asked incredulously, even though i know full well that he is referring to the purple grapes which are more common in korea (and which i absolutely LUURRVEEE–they are SO sweet and the skin comes off really easily when you bite into them and they have the texture of gummy sweets!!). i just like to tease him! haha!

    ********

    on our 2nd meeting, when we were in roy’s car on our way to homeplus to buy stuff for lx’s new home, roy asked me, “do you know 띠동갑?” (띠동갑: refers to someone who shares the same chinese horoscope as you.)

    “yes, i know. my boyfriend and i are 띠동갑.”

    “ohh… above or below?”

    ……….

    “of course above! if below he would be 12 years old!”

    “oh yah oh yah… hahaha! well it’s still possible… maybe you like kids. heh heh heh”

    “………..”

    ********

    anyway this anecdote has nothing to do with roy, but i have finally found out why most taxi drivers can gather that i am not a korean. i used to think that it was the way i speak, or maybe the way i look, but apparently there is another reason.

    after getting into a taxi and telling the driver my destination, he asked me in korean, “you are not korean right?”

    “yup.”

    “ohh.. because most koreans don’t usually sit in front, especially girls. normally the girls who sit in front are prcs.”

    well you learn something new everyday. i always ride shotgun when i take a taxi, even back in singapore. don’t know why but the idea of sitting behind feels… weird. *shrugs*

    Category 42, korean tales | Tags: ,,, | 4 Comments

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