On my cellphone today

You probably know (or would, if you read more than the front page of this blog) that I have a Nokia something or other with a 1mpx camera and that I do actually get out now and then to point at random strangers. No, I don’t go around with a trench coat and cut-off trouser legs, that’s something else entirely.

Anyway, it’s been a while since I downloaded the pix I have on my phone and I did that just now. As you might have been able to tell from topics in this blog, my pet peeve is traffic rules and the breaking thereof and also driver attitude. I am, as you can expect from such a severe critic, an absolutely exemplary driver who never breaks a single rule and suffer naught from road rage. Haha – and I saw Father Christmas having tea with the Cat in the Hat.

Blegh! So call me a liar if you want, but what I am is a considerate road user and you will never (hardly ever) catch me committing any of the sinful traffic violations you are about to see. These are actual events as they occur on the streets of Kota Kinabalu. License plates have been blurred to protect the innocent (me!).

Every Man for Himself

In Kota Kinabalu traffic rules become null and void for two reason – either it’s some sort of festivity; pick your culture: Christmas, Ramadan, Chinese New Year, the birth of your child, etc., or, it’s time to pick your kids up from school. The picture left was taken recently during Ramadan, when it seems the car population doubles and roads fill up with traffic like a storm water drain during a 4 hour cloud break. Luckily everyone are in their cars, so there’s no real danger to pedestrians here.

This is any typical school day where people will park 3 cars next to each other in a single road, they will drive up onto the curb, park inside the arch of a traffic circle and of course violate every single solid line. But it’s perfectly acceptable, because everyone is waiting for their children – for up to half an hour. And the middle picture was taken from the parking garage immediately next to this mess, where there is an over offer of parking. But no, that would make life easy for other road users.

My father owns this road

I moan about parking often – possibly the number one traffic violation in Kota Kinabalu, because we know it’s not speeding. Anyway, this is just around the corner from my house. It might look like this car is part of traffic, I mean it’s in the middle of the road, nearly over on the other side of the lane, but nope – he’s parked there. There’s nobody in that car.

Not a full-time cynic

Just to illustrate that I don’t only take my phone out of my pocket to point out traffic violations, here’s a few snaps of life in general in Kota Kinabalu. We’re good people… when we’re not in our cars. In the photo far left, the security guard at Centre Point. Shame man, he’s old, give him a break. Oh, nevermind, he’s already taking one. The centre pic was taken at a little food strip in Damai. This as like at 10pm on a rainy day – there’s not much that will keep Sabahans away from good food. On the right, just a random cutie peeking back at me whilst in the post-office queue.