Taxi to Nowhere
Many of my friends live to travel, so to scratch our travel-bug itch lately, we’ve been venturing out to local places of interest, parks and cultural enclaves.
Since “Big India” (i.e. the real India!) is presently off limits, we recently devised a DIY tour of Singapore’s Little India. Armed with numerous local food recommendations from work colleagues, we started with a selection of dishes from the Tekka Hawker Centre. Our table was soon heaving with Indian delights: biryani, onion rava dosa, masala thosai, prawn vadai, tandoor chicken and Indian rojak.
After such a feast, we needed to walk off the wellspent calories with some retail therapy. On the second level of Tekka is an explosion of colour – an Aladdin’s cave of every Indian fashion. There’s something for everyone and every occasion, from outfits for children to beautiful wedding garments and everyday saris.
On the corner of Kerbau Road and Race Course Road is a hawker famous for his pani puri. Made from flour, potatoes, chickpeas, spice, onions and mint, these snacks come highly recommended. We were advised that, to fully experience the taste explosion, the trick is to put the whole thing in your mouth – but strictly no talking as there’s a spicy liquid inside.
Nearby is the house of Tan Teng Niah, possibly the last Chinese villa in the area, famous now as the most photogenic multi-coloured house of the area. Opposite here is the place to buy your Indian almond milk, a popular street drink in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
No trip would be complete without souvenirs – and what better takeaway than sweets from the Moghul Sweet Shop in the arcade; do try the jalebi, gulab jamon, laddoo and burfi.
After a day of feeling as if we were on holiday, drinking in the colours, tastes and spicy smells, my friend ordered a taxi home while the rest of us went on to see the fabulous Deepavali lights that still adorned Serangoon Road. In her excitement, she must have miskeyed the destination. The driver picked her up in Dunlop Street and after 20 minutes of driving around a big block, proudly declared she had arrived at her destination. When she looked out of the window, she was back to where she had started. “This is where you picked me up!” she protested. “This is the destination you requested,” he explained, pointing to the screen. “Well, can you take me home?” she enquired. “Sorry,” he replied, “got another fare!”
We laughed about it later. You wonder how it’s possible for that to happen when you’re using an app; couldn’t the driver have double confirmed the destination at the start of the ride? I think it would have been quicker for all involved if she’d just got in one door of the cab and immediately exited out the other side, paying him on the way.
At a time when some people are enjoying a cruise to nowhere, my friend discovered the Singapore taxi to nowhere!