I want to take a moment and acknowledge that I have been out of touch with a very authentic aspect of life in Timor since I got my little Mitsubitchy. Driving around in air conditioning without any weird smells or holes in the baseboard of the car, safety, and listening to my own music has been a real treat and are the main reasons I bought my car in the first place. However, the bubble I have been driving around in has prevented me from observing the bustling streets of Dili from a quaintly decorated vantage point inside a taxi.
My car is now sick (read: fuel pump clog/ filter and sensor totally screwed up/dead battery) and I am not sure when she will recover. Knowing there is not a single thing I can do about the current situation however, I decided to Pollyanna it up and enjoy the (taxi) ride.
I have already listed my favorite things about riding in a taxi, I have a few things to add.
For example, the driver has placed this lovely sticker on the rear-view mirror that can also be enjoyed by the passengers. As a gender-sensitive person it thrilled me.
People in Timor are also quite supportive of their colonial roots. This cab had a Portuguese flag tacked to the roof (note the purple heart-shaped "love" air freshener above the window).
My car is now sick (read: fuel pump clog/ filter and sensor totally screwed up/dead battery) and I am not sure when she will recover. Knowing there is not a single thing I can do about the current situation however, I decided to Pollyanna it up and enjoy the (taxi) ride.
I have already listed my favorite things about riding in a taxi, I have a few things to add.
For example, the driver has placed this lovely sticker on the rear-view mirror that can also be enjoyed by the passengers. As a gender-sensitive person it thrilled me.
People in Timor are also quite supportive of their colonial roots. This cab had a Portuguese flag tacked to the roof (note the purple heart-shaped "love" air freshener above the window).
The arrangement on the below passenger dashboard of stuffed St. Bernard, plastic toy lion, robot and some sort of compass reminds me of the few but joyous until-i-grew-up-and-found-out-whats-actually-in-them Happy Meals of my youth. The airbag cover has been DIY crackle-glossed and of course you can clearly see "Vinnie" the (made in China) Pooh suspended from the rear-view mirror.
In addition to these decorative items, the more impressive part of the taxi is of course the video screen embedded in the sun visor. Embedded people. I have no idea how he did it but this driver pimped his ride. The music played through the radio perfectly (and loudly). I enjoyed my 2 minute clip of noise and entertainment and jammed out in the back smiling to everyone we passed thinking to myself- this is what it's like to be Kate Middleton.
I took a video of the experience- perhaps you can also catch the Shamu pillow arm rest that my friend holds. Don't even want to think about the nastiness that is a pillow in a taxi.
Unfortunately I did find myself sitting on a tack by the end of the ride. Quite the attention-getter.
Good times.
No comments:
Post a Comment