Taxi Drivers and Drug Addicts
Today I found myself at a meeting in Kowloon at one of the Universities. It ended at around 9pm so I decided to treat myself to a taxi back to our flat in Wan Chai, (a cost of 3.50p).
I eventually managed to get a cab to pull over and jumped in the back. Put my seatbelt on and explained in Cantonese where I wanted him to take me. At this point the driver coughs and replies in perfect English "You can speak to me in English it's fine". My instant reaction to this was to stupidly check that the driver himself was not Prince Charles. When I say he spoke with perfect English, I mean that he instantly made me feel like a cockney, and I am not a cockney.
So the rest of the journey was spent talking about how colonial schooling helped him develop his English ability. He also talked at great deal about how interested he found the old Latin relationships that exist amongst many modern English words. He then gave me a few examples. We eventually pulled up and he chatted for about another 5 minutes before he seemed satisfied and accepted my money, it was very surreal but really quite nice. It made his day when I commented how amazing I considered his English to be.
To add to my surreal journey I then exited the taxi, crossed the road to go home and had to walk past the area behind the underground train exit. This area is a large and busy public space, but it is also where a treatment center is located for those suffering from a drug addiction to methamphetamine. I don't quite know how the center operates but I think the treatment involves providing the addicts with something else on a regular basis to quench their addiction. This is because they sleep, live and all socialise in this area all hours of the day. Something must be keeping them there.
I was walking through this area when I spotted one of the addicts decorating a tree... I then looked above eye level and was met with quite a sight. There was either Christmas decorations, or the heads off mannequin shop dolls hanging from every concievable place in the immediate vicinity. I don't quite know what made the addicts decide to do this but it was really funny/weird. There were mannequin heads hanging off trees, shop signs and even road signs, often with Christmas decorations as well. So our lovely local addicts seem to have an arty creative side, which is nice.
I just told all this to Robyn after she came back from the cinema. She replied "considering at lunch time we were dancing the Salsa in front of 120 students, i'm surprised your day could have got weirder". But there you go, Honky Kong sometimes just likes to surprise you.
bx
I eventually managed to get a cab to pull over and jumped in the back. Put my seatbelt on and explained in Cantonese where I wanted him to take me. At this point the driver coughs and replies in perfect English "You can speak to me in English it's fine". My instant reaction to this was to stupidly check that the driver himself was not Prince Charles. When I say he spoke with perfect English, I mean that he instantly made me feel like a cockney, and I am not a cockney.
So the rest of the journey was spent talking about how colonial schooling helped him develop his English ability. He also talked at great deal about how interested he found the old Latin relationships that exist amongst many modern English words. He then gave me a few examples. We eventually pulled up and he chatted for about another 5 minutes before he seemed satisfied and accepted my money, it was very surreal but really quite nice. It made his day when I commented how amazing I considered his English to be.
To add to my surreal journey I then exited the taxi, crossed the road to go home and had to walk past the area behind the underground train exit. This area is a large and busy public space, but it is also where a treatment center is located for those suffering from a drug addiction to methamphetamine. I don't quite know how the center operates but I think the treatment involves providing the addicts with something else on a regular basis to quench their addiction. This is because they sleep, live and all socialise in this area all hours of the day. Something must be keeping them there.
I was walking through this area when I spotted one of the addicts decorating a tree... I then looked above eye level and was met with quite a sight. There was either Christmas decorations, or the heads off mannequin shop dolls hanging from every concievable place in the immediate vicinity. I don't quite know what made the addicts decide to do this but it was really funny/weird. There were mannequin heads hanging off trees, shop signs and even road signs, often with Christmas decorations as well. So our lovely local addicts seem to have an arty creative side, which is nice.
I just told all this to Robyn after she came back from the cinema. She replied "considering at lunch time we were dancing the Salsa in front of 120 students, i'm surprised your day could have got weirder". But there you go, Honky Kong sometimes just likes to surprise you.
bx
posted by robynandben at 8:52 PM
6 Comments:
hows your weather? ours is lovely here again.... we walked past those addicts a few times but you are right they seem harmless enough, poor things, tho we never got a taxi driver with any sort of english at all did we.
thats because we shouted at them hif they no unerstan hinglish
Dad, can we try to be a bit more politically correct please??
And the weather is still quite grotty, it rained non stop for 3 days pretty much. Today it has stopped but it's going to be worse by tomorrow and all through the weekend. Grrrr
The weather's just trying to prepare you for home Ben. It knows you'll miss Honkers so it's making your last few weeks there miserable so you won't be so sad to be home.
I wont be home that long, I will be in Chicago thank goodness, though the weather had better be good the 5 days I am at home though!
well it's fab today - scorchio!
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