I’ve just arrived from Manila by way of Singapore. I spent New Year’s there with my family, after spending Christmas in my hometown of Davao.
I just want to get this out of the way: I loved Singapore!
The people were friendly (especially the taxi drivers), the place amazingly clean and the food superb. For those wondering what we did in Singapore, I have two words for you: We ate.
And man did we ever eat. Singaporean specialties like Bah Kut Teh (bone soup), Hainanese Chicken, Chilli Crab, Satay, the works! I didn’t eat much over the holidays, but I think my binging in Singapore sort of spoiled all that.
But anway, much of my good impression of Singapore can be traced to several taxi drivers there. When we took taxis to get to far-away places, we were treated like friends. Friendly taxi drivers. I know, it sounds almost impossible (and I know this is a rare breed in Manila), but they were very friendly and even gave us tips on what places to go to and eat at (which made my family extraordinarily happy).
Basically we were told to avoid the tourist trap restos and go to places where locals would eat. They even took pains in explaining the directions.
I later learned that friendliness in taxi drivers is encouraged by the Singaporean government. There is supposed to be a campaign aimed at fostering this. It sure worked, in my opinion. Even China is said to be following suit, with English lessons and friendliness campaigns being aimed at taxi drivers.
This makes sense. The people that tourists meet all the time in a foreign country are the taxi drivers. If the taxi drivers are bad, the tourists get a bad impression of the country. If they get good and friendly ones, they get a good impression.
Taxi drivers are among the frontlines of the tourism industry. Perhaps the Philippines by way of the Department of Tourism, can also encourage our own taxi drivers. Dress them up. Make them learn english. And most of all, teach them to be friendly.
Friendliness in the frontlines can go a long long way.
Be friendly.
Filed under: Blog, Personal | Tagged: Davao, delicacies, family, food, singapore
i hear the same about Singapore, including the taxi service.
But boy do I have some interesting memories involving Manila taxis. They include: threats by tire iron, the brandishing of a knife to fend off angry kids in Malate, and the flashing of a gun - for my own safety apparently.
Good times. I swear I’m not the crazy one, I was a good kid!