In Kuala Lumpur Now

Arrived in the afternoon on 14 Feb and knocked off early in the night due to insufficient rest during the long journey from Khartoum, Sudan. As I was travelling in the limousine taxi back home (45 minutes journey), had a chit chat with the taxi driver.

Following are some of the conversation:-
Q: How's your business lately?
A: Just have to work starting early in the morning till evening. No choice as I have to pay off the daily taxi rental.

Q: I think this year should be good as it's Visit Malaysia Year 2007.
A: I doubted it. Already mid Feb, we don't see many visitors coming in. Most who came into Kuala Lumpur (with the main international airport here) are here for short business trips. It's the same as previous year. I have to wait for almost an hour under the queueing system for taxis at the airport before it came to my turn to pick you up. I can only do up to 5 or 6 trips per day with all those waitings. If there were a lot of tourists, we would only queue for a short while instead of almost 1 hour each time.

Q: Maybe the tourists won't come this early part of the year.
A: Well, even if they were to come, it would only be once as frankly speaking, what are there to see in Kuala Lumpur. I have heard from tourists who were caught in vice-raids on discos & night clubs in Kuala Lumpur. People would rather go to Thailand and Singapore for such night life then. Some African tourists were asked to identify themselves in broad daylight. What do you think they will tell their friends back home? The government is only trying so hard to get people come for 1 year but not long term.

When I dropped passengers at city centre hotels, I noticed the double-decker bus meant for tourists was only filled with about 5 to 8 people. You can tell from all this whether it's successful or not.

Q: Would you be going for your break during the coming Chinese New Year ("CNY") holidays?
A: Can't afford it. Have to work hard to cover daily expenses which are rising everywhere. Not so much of a CNY for me if there is no money. Not that money is everything but my family needs money. The festival is there but I don't come from a well-to-do background so I have to work hard to ensure the festival is liven up with some extra cash. For the rich ones, everyday is a CNY.

These were the words of a normal citizen, trying to survive in the capital city where his brain was not influenced by any political parties.
Tags: Journal, Life, Diary, Visit Malaysia Year 2007, Kuala Lumpur, Taxi, Chinese New Year