Of course, I wouldn’t have known at first. I casually told him in Thai where I was going, as I always do on any other day. His mobile rang just 30 seconds later, and there he was, on the phone, blabbing in Malay for a good 10 minutes, just like how an ah-pek would speak to a pakcik*. For once, I can understand every single word; a rare happening for me in Bangkok. Obviously, he wouldn’t have known I speak the language, so he had no qualms blabbering about his money situation with unabashed bravado. As soon as he finished his phone conversation, he started chatting with me in Thai. While I replied in my pidgin Thai, I also took the opportunity to compliment him (in Malay no doubt) that I thought he spoke the language quite well! Thank goodness he didn’t take any offense and even bothered to elaborate to me what his phone conversation was about…all in Malay! He seems quite proud of his self-taught language skills, speaking to me in Malay throughout my journey home.
He gave me his business card when he dropped me off and fleetingly mentioned that even his name sounded Malay. I asked if he is a Muslim, since “Samat” did sound like one. He quipped cheerfully, “Bukan…saya Buddhist. Saya makan babi. Banyak sedap.” (No, I’m Buddhist, I eat pork. Very nice”). I had to chuckle at that. Just the way it sounded in my ear, it did sound quite comical.
A Buddhist Thai speaking Malay. Who would have thought! For a moment, I got both my Thai and Malay all confused. Friendly chap though. I’ll keep his business card, just in case …who knows I might be in need of his language skills in the future for a cab ride to nakhon-nowhere or samut-somewhere.
* Ah-Pek & Pakcik: A Chinese and Malay version of the term “uncle” respectively, usually referred to a perceived older male as a sign of respect. In SG, we call every elderly male (or perceived to be older than us) “Uncle”, and that includes the taxi drivers, elderly or not!
