Remembering when...

How many people do you think can snug in the taxi or bajaj?

I think there is a rule that there can be no more than 4 people inside taxi. As I remembered a taxi's driver once told me that if he have more than 4 people he could get heavy fine from the police. For Bajaj, well...I am sure there must be a maximum limit for Bajaj as well in terms of having passengers.

If you have seen Bajaj then you know that there is no way more than 3 people could be inside it. But since we need to save money and as long as the driver did not mind then let's have 6 people inside it :D

Rain oh rain

 What is the connection between rain and public vehicle? Obviously there are a few…

Though I am so happy if rains pouring down the earth as it were supposed to help creating cooler atmosphere but when I was still on the street or inside the bus…then the cool atmosphere is a no-no. Neither inside the regular bus, Air Conditioned bus up to bajaj and mikrolet… There is only a thin line of differences.

The obvious facts are the humid air, sultry condition and the decreasing stock of air. That situation would be worst if heavy rain pouring down on earth. Even when there is no rain, the sitting passengers would not want to open the window let alone if there is heavy rain outside. The closed window does not guarantee that the rain will not seeping through it. So, those who already sat has to let their clothes slowly but sure getting wet by the seeping rain.

Same thing happened when using Bajaj. Eventhough the driver already closed the window, but since it was not permanently built then once there is a windy rain, the water splashing inside the bajaj and let the passenger get wet. And when you using mikrolet and sitting by the door, well get ready to get sick as the back door will not be closed even though rain pouring hard on earth.

During the heavy rain, I would not want to use ojek. But, if I was already using it then what can I say? Once I was using ojek to go somewhere. In the middle of the journey suddenly from not so heavy rain then escalated to heavy rain. There was no question that I was totally wet. The ojek driver also worried that his motorcycle could broke down as flood starting to fill the street. Luckily I finally arrived at my destination…though with soaking wet.


Then what happened with passengers standing on the bus? Most of them just get on the bus and already soaking wet. Either their body or their umbrellas or their belongings are all wet. Those who bring umbrella just keep holding the umbrella and the dripping water falls on to clothes of other passengers. The wet clothes were not going to be dried. However, it would be getting even more wet by sweat due to the hot weather inside. The supply of CO2 are bigger than 02…


What about using Air Conditioned bus? Sure, they might be air conditioned bus but these buses mostly are 10 years old. Not so sure whether they replaced the AC. For certain, ACs in so many buses are mostly damaged. The craziest thing I have ever been was getting on the bus with only a bit wet from the rain and getting off 70% soaking wet. When I was about to sit inside the air conditioned bus I was fully aware that there was dripping water from above probably from the damaged air conditioner. So, I just sat there and fallen asleep immediately. (I love to sleep, what can I say?). When I finally woke up I suddenly realized my jumper feel heavier and I feel cold on the neck. So, when I was to get off I stare at my seat… OH DEAR…, already there was a towel on the back of the seat to contain the dripping water. And my jumper also became the container of the dripping water. I have to take a medicine once I arrived at home to prevent me from getting sick.

Getting on the busway you could feel the cold air since it is air conditioned. But after soaking wet from the rain do you honestly still want to feel the cold inside the bus? Not to mention other people will push you around here and there. Additionally, due to the heavy rain the bus stop for busway becoming slippery. And if you are just in luck queuing for busway after office hour during the heavy rain…then get yourself ready for the splashing windy rain on your face. Sure, there is a rooftop above the bus stop but along the way there is nothing that separate you from the nature.


After all of that I still try to think positive. As even though I was soaking wet both before and after using the bus at least that all these times I have never experienced bus stop due to something wrong with its engine during the heavy rain. I could already imagine how I am going to cry in blood if I have to get off the bus because of that. And while waiting for another bus, I have to stand all the way under the heavy rain. Not to mention that while we are waiting for the bus in the middle of the heavy rain, there was a bit flood near us. Get ready to get wet as the passing cars and bus will not going to hesitate to pass that flood and the splashing water from it will hit us straight away.

Rain oh rain...

Don't mess with the driver

My friend said this after reading my posting about driver who waits for hours for passengers.
That's so true my friends. Never ever try to make a scene with the driver in the middle of his job to take passengers reaching their destination. otherwise then get ready for these :

1. Mikrolet's driver Waiting for passengers
Never ever tried to rush the driver to get it move on. If we hate waiting then it would be best for us to step out from the waiting vehicle and shut your ears if the driver screaming at you. He needs passengers but we need to beat the time. Although we still need the cheap fare as well.
If they are upset, some of them immediately barking at us. I prefer these kind of drivers as it would giving me a chance to walk out from his vehicle. If he did not retort back, then get ready to have a heart attack as the driver will speed his vehicle to the limit.


2. Bajaj's driver
The driver will be pissed if we bargain too cheap for the fare. It is a good thing if he just move away as a sign that he refused the offered fare. The disaster came when he angrily agree with the fare and once we get in he drove the vehicle like crazy
That's why I always wondering when hearing a friend bargain too cheap. Aren't they afraid that the driver will drive like crazy as he hates to accept the fare but need the money?

3. Paid below the fare
If we are on the bus, we would be dealing a lot with the driver's assistant when it comes to the fare.
But with mikrolet's driver, oh don't you even think to pay below the fare. They would not hesitate to stop, get out from their vehicle, chasing us then asked for the fare to be paid full.
How could I know? Well, I once experienced that being chased by the driver because my friend did not pay accordingly. It was a surprise to see him suddenly behind us asking for the money.
Lucky us he did not hit us on the spot.

4. Opposite tendencies
If we want the public transportation to move fast...then the driver make it very slowly as if to compete with a turtle. But when we want the public transportation to move slower ( I did not say slowly... I just want it to be a bit slower) then it was like a push for them to drive it as fast as they can be.


The point is, let them drive, let them do whatever they want as long as they bring us safe up to our destination.

Bajaj

Once I created this posting at kompasiana but what the heck, let me re-write it again here so I can give you a bit of picture (real pictures) to all of you who wondering what is bajaj?

Don't ask me about the history of the exact time bajaj operating here in Jakarta as I have no idea whatsoever (hahahaha, and I said I want to tell you all about it)
Bajaj is one of public transportation here in Jakarta with three wheels and the front seat is only for the driver. You have to bargain for the fare unless they simply rob you blind... Okay, not all of them like that...but mostly are. The noise from bajaj is very loud and you will find that all your bones will loose quicker if you use bajaj. It is a transportation with full of vibration. That is why I really not recommend to use bajaj for a journey with long routes. It is not about the fare going to be expensive or anything but you are going to damage your whole body.

So if it's really that shaky then why other people don't just use another transportation? Well, using bajaj we could stop at the very exact place where we want it. If we are taking other transportation such as bus or mikrolet then we could only stop at the nearest bus stop from our exact destination. And we could get more protected if we are using bajaj under the heavy rain. Well, obviously not as comfy as using taxi... Price does say it all...

Ages ago my parents and me could fit in one bajaj all together. But now...even just the two us already seems so tight inside... Heheheheh
It was even crazier when I was in high school. I remembered due to limited money given by our parents me and my friends decided to use bajaj together... There were six of us at that time! The driver though seems a bit upset but he then tried to be understanding. I have no clue how in the heck all six of us could fit inside that bajaj. Including me which considering overweight among my friends. Even though it was a shaky road we all were having a blast and enjoying the ride. We did not feel tired or anything like that even we have cramped to each other. The funny thing was the driver agreed to take us back again... I think he just grateful we did not destroy his vehicle.

Years passing by then finally the new version of bajaj is here. It was informed that they are using gas for fuel but later on those drivers told us the passengers they are using gasoline again. Probably because we the passengers could not care less about the source of fuel and only care that we paid the same fare.
So what is the difference between the old and new version? Well, there are few at least according to my parents.

They said, if right now they have to use bajaj to long distance route they could die while on the road. The shaky journey is totally the main reason for them to said that especially if it crossing the railroad... They would not loose the bones but also their organs... So obviously they refused totally point blank to use bajaj with old version. Not to mention the noise could make your ears going deaf.... It feels like standing near a person who drilling the road. So, if we want to have a chit chat, we could sound like we were on a heated argument because we have to yell to one another.

While with the new kind of bajaj, we could hardly hear the sound of the machine... So, we do not have to yell when we are talking
The other plus point that when we want to get on to the new bajaj, we do not need to lift our feet as high as we need to... So, it was sort of more civilized than the older version...

Well, anyway if you ever go to Jakarta...don’t forget to try to use bajaj. Try them both, so you can compare how to go on journey in the rockiest version ever or the quiet one