I was out having dinner near my housing area. As it was right smack during dinner hour, there was hardly any parking spot. By the time I finally found a nice spot, it was late and I hungry. I quickly chomped down my food and hurriedly went over to a bakery shop to get some buns and breads before I headed home.
I inserted my car keys into the ignition and realised to my horror, my car refused to start.I blinked a couple of times before it finally dawned on me what had happened.
"Oh no!", I thought to myself.
"Not again!"
This was probably the second time my car broke down in a span of three months and the last time it broke down on the highway, I had just dropped off a visiting friend at his hotel. I managed to get my car towed back to the workshop for it to be fixed.
I immediately picked up my phone and contacted my mechanic who advised me to call a tow truck to tow my car back to the workshop. It was better to tow the car there than to leave it by the road shoulder. I agreed.
After a couple of tries, dialling the toll-free number, I managed to report the breakdown and inform the customer service officer of my exact location before putting the phone down. I was told, it would take an hour and 45 minutes before the tow truck will arrived. Left with no choice, I just sat in the car and waited. After half an hour later, I received a confirmation call from the tow truck driver that he was on his way. By the time he arrived and I flagged him down, it was another half hour gone.
Since my car was parked by the road shoulder and it wasn't obstructing any cars, it was much easier to tow my car. However, the tow truck driver needed my help to direct the oncoming cars to the next lane to avoid a minor bottleneck at the exit. For a split second, I panicked as I had no prior experience in being a traffic marshall and wondered what kind of hand signal I should even used in case a speeding car failed to break on time. But someone's got to do it anyway.
So there I was...using my hands, fingers and whatever trying to direct the oncoming buses, cars and even motorcyclists who sped past me to use the alternative route instead. By then, I had attracted a significant amount of stares by curious onlookers. There was even a point where a car stopped just right behind the tow truck as the tow truck driver was trying to adjust the hook below my car carriage.
A blurry photo of my car being towed
I walked over to the driver's window to inform the male driver that my car is being towed now (duh!) and they should used the next lane.
Instead, to my surprise the driver answered me calmly in Cantonese "It's OK. I just want to have a look".
I blinked again. "You just want to have a what....????"
"Oh my! You haven't seen a car being towed before?", I thought to myself.
Had it been me, I would have happily taken the next road and be on my way home.
I wasn't sure if I should be laughing my head off or be amused at the antics of my fellow Malaysians.
I used to wonder why Malaysians loved to slow down their car whenever they passed by an accident scene causing a massive jam lasting several kilometres or why they will be the first to whip out their camera phones to record the whole accident (including their own video commentaries too!) instead of going to render aid to the victims. Or worst! We have the opportunist and the 4D punters who would slow down their just to note down your car license plate to place a bet in hopes that they will strike it big in lottery.
Is it just a typical Malaysian behaviour or it is merely human nature that is curious and inquisitive by nature?
It took the tow truck driver another half hour before it finally arrived at my mechanic's workshop. By the time I found a Grab car and got home it was already past 11 pm.
What a night it was...
KarinzDailyGrind is often intrigued by human nature and strive to understand what makes people tick. When she is not powering up her day with a Steeming cuppa black coffee, she blogs about life, productivity, marketing, psychology and entrepreneurship on Steemit.
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