Taxi Drivers In Malaysia

Well, I just got back from Malaysia and I had been pretty busy editing my photos before uploading them so I just got to blog about it now. First thing I am going to talk about my experience there is about taxi cabs in Malaysia. I can say only one thing. They are way worse than taxi drivers in Manila, Philippines. Why, I probably have the worst experience of anyone riding a taxi cab. Imagine, the driver did not drop us off in front of our intended destination, the Corus Hotel in KLCC. Instead, he stopped at the other side of the road and told us to just walk to the skywalk going to the hotel. I was tongue tied once I heard him say that. I just could not make any tantrums else I might hurt him or something. Worse, I could get arrested knowing countries protect their own citizens first. I remember my uncle who went to China before, got punched on the chest by a vendor because he decided not to buy from him. He did not retaliate to avoid trouble or worse (again), he might get arrested. Anyway, man … the nerve of that driver. We were all pissed. And to think we paid a fixed rate for it. Which now brings me to that.

If you are in groups of 4, then you save a lot on taxi fare. Why? 98% taxi drivers look at you first and charge you a fixed rate if they see you are not native to their country. From KLCC to Bukit Bintang, we got charged 15RM (Ringgit) and we knew that was overcharged because we experienced one time going there by meter and it cost only 6+RM. See the huge difference? More than 10 times we rode a taxi, we only got to convince the driver to use meter twice. And they were very good taxi drivers. Majority of the ones we rode in were corrupt, way worse than the ones in the Philippines. You, as a tourist sometimes have no choice because you are tired from a day’s worth of traveling so you end up saying yes to fixed rates demanded by the drivers. I also saw a sticker in their taxi cabs about having more than 2 passengers and paying extra. I could not figure this one out. There should be no extra charges if you all fit inside right? At most 4. Oh well … If you are going to Malaysia, better be prepared for what is coming. If your destination can be accomplished via train, then go for the train. But if your group consists of more than two and even a fixed rate on a taxi would cost less than a train’s worth of travel, then go for taxi cabs instead.