Using public transport to get around has proven to be a pleasant and informative experience
IT is a special experience, a joy even, to rediscover Kuala Lumpur without a car. And, I don’t mean the pleasure of evading endless traffic jams, parking problems and reckless drivers. Even if these, too, are good reasons to leave one’s car at home for a change.
Like so many, I tend to forge a very special bond with my car. I don’t really understand horsepower, engine displacement or torque. In fact, I might not know much more about it than its shape and colour, but I do appreciate the helpful little gadgets, like keyless access, reverse camera, and my uncontested number one favourite feature, the Bluetooth phone connection.
So, it was with a heavy heart that I decided to part with my anthracite metallic SUV. I placed ads in all the relevant online sales sites, but stubbornly refused to arrange appointments with prospective buyers I didn’t like. Many pets are re-homed less carefully than my car. In the end, I did find a good family who promised to take care of my car with the same attention to detail that I had.
After a final wistful wave goodbye on a Road Transport Department car park, I realised that I needed alternative forms of transportation. I opted for what I like to call, “semi-public” transport, namely taxi, Grab and Uber services. You know, when in Rome…
The first driver to pick me up at home was a little confused. Not because of the nonsensical arrangement of street numbers in my neighbourhood, well, that too, but mostly because there were two giant red paper lanterns hanging in my car porch.
He parked across the street and called, asking shyly if he was, in fact, in front of the Bucheli residence, not exactly your run of the mill Chinese name.
I had not hung these lanterns for this purpose, but what a great conversation starter they turned out to be.
We engaged in a captivating discussion about local festivals and traditions and compared them to their counterparts overseas. After so many years living in Malaysia, it took a cab driver to introduce me to the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, and urged me to book a trip to Penang to experience it at its best in the Butterworth temple dedicated to it. Of course, he didn’t fail to offer his services, should I opt to be driven to Penang in a private limousine. He was delighted to learn about some Christian festivals of my culture, and even more interested in the pagan ones we still observe. Our common denominator, however, was a very different one.
Enquiring about my Chinese New Year lanterns, he was surprised to learn that, despite the multitude of our own cultures’ celebrations, my fellow expats and I happily observe all the major Malaysian festivals too. We get together for Hari Raya open houses, we light oil lamps for Deepavali and we hand out red ang pow envelopes for Chinese New Year. I was pleased to hear that he too, not only wishes his neighbours, colleagues and clients Selamat Hari Raya, Happy Deepavali and Gong Xi Fa Cai, but Merry Christmas and Happy New Year as well.
My next driver was clearly a food enthusiast. Again, my paper lanterns paved the way to a highly informative lesson on local habits.
I learned all about the different recipes for laksa, and how assam laksa hails from Penang and is much more sour than its southern cousin containing coconut milk and sometimes even pineapple juice. I learned to differentiate between dry rendang and wet rendang, and I heard of at least a dozen different styles of this stewed dish. Needless to say, I was delivered to my destination with all sorts of cravings and the firm intention to satisfy them all in the very near future.
Another driver gave me an in-depth exposé on the different educational curriculums available to Malaysian children. He pointed out his views on their strong suits as well as their shortcomings. While he was not happy with the lack of foreign language immersion and critical thinking skills in young pupils, he had great faith in the education department’s new programmes and their far-reaching efforts beyond the capital city.
Even the driver who hardly spoke any English was able to provide me with a multitude of new experiences. His sincere efforts to make me feel welcome and in responsible hands, his contagious glee at the fact that he could pay the toll with his MyKad instead of a Touch ‘n Go — I had no idea that was even a possibility, how convenient!
Besides the fact that I learned more about my guest country in a week than in the previous decade, I also had the opportunity to observe the scenery, the side of the road, neighbourhoods, new buildings and old ones, and people passing by in a way I had never done before.
There is a freedom in being car-less in Kuala Lumpur that I would urge every newcomer to indulge before they get caught up in the traffic jams, parking wars and creative road users.
Fanny Bucheli-Rotter is a live-long expatriate, a restless traveller, an observer of the human condition, and unapologetically insubordinate. Fanny can be reached via fannybucheli@gmail.com