Time for my boss Big G. to register his Honda. Actually he's one month late so has to pay fine. Register your car or bike here can take a whole day, so many people and long lines. You have to bring your vehicle and nowhere to park unless you pay one of the cruising traffic cops to stay away from it. Maybe 2-300 people. It's all out in the open so no air-con. Smoke test first, then buy your mandatory insurance, then inspector stencils engine and frame number on your form and he's supposed to check about 30 things on the list. G he's always laughing about this.
Examples:
Steering: Normal? Stiff? Unsafe?
Headlights: Fitted? Working? Glaring?
Foot Break: Good? Defective? Loose?
Appearance: Neat? Fair? Unsightly?
Seats: Neat? Fair? Worn out?
Horn: Fitted? Working? Offensive?
Then you pay up and wait for your number to be called. If you have a driver or housemaid to wait in line for you so you can go home its OK but today it's 37 C and no fun. If you get there 8 a.m. when they open, can be 3 or 4 p.m. when you get out. You can hire a fixer to do it for you but you can't trust him, maybe he pockets your money and he's gone.
But Big G knows the guy at the Traffic Office so he gives him a call. They sometimes drink and eat BBQ together, make bola-bola, this is the best way in the Philippines, very male-oriented culture. You befriend an official and life is much easier. He is your friend and therefore he has a big obligation in our culture to help you. So the big cheese he says OK I email you the form, you stencil your frame and engine number and send your messenger over with the registration papers and 2000 pesos and you can pick up new 2003 stickers tomorrow.
But you don't want to check the bike? No, I know you,man, I know you look after your bikes. How about the smoke test? Ah you don't wanna go to the testing station, too hot over there and too many people. How old's your bike anyway? 1998. No need for smoke test then.
Of course you never pay anything for this. That would be embarrassing. Some money for the kid's graduation or a bottle of Chivas at Christmas, and very important you make a note of his birthday and send him something. Not so bad, huh? :=)
G he says in UK they fail your car on purpose so they can charge you to fix it. True or not?
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Yep, true. I had one fail once on "excessively worn brake pads". It just so happened to be a discount MoT test, £15 IIRC, at a specialist brake repair centre. I wouldn't have minded, but I took it away to change the pads myself and found a good 5mm of remaining brake pad material, they are only 8mm thick when new! And of course they're not meant to check the thickness of your brake pads, only the braking effort at the wheels by putting the car on a set of rollers.
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G'ette
Big G and a Traffic Officer making "bola bola" together.
in a male culture society.
Now that doesn't come across as being very healthy?????
DVD,
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Bola-bola means men sitting around talking talking, drinking beer, telling jokes, you know, man stuff. Women we do the same but it's called tsismis (gossip). We talk about men, they talk about cars! So they say...
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