During my short stay in Sydney yesterday, I met up with a mate at a Newtown pub for a beer. I hadn’t seen him in 20 years (and it was his shout). But I had a train to catch at Central station and didn’t wanna risk being late by using a bus. So my mate hailed a cab in King St Newtown for me, and before I got in, he said, “check out the driver.” Hehe. Anyway, the driver was very nice and took me all the way to Central, right outside the Country Link platforms. For a minute there I thought he was gonna drive right up to the damn train! He was Shi’a Indian (I’m pretty sure it was Shi’a and not Sunni… apologies if I got it wrong), and a very charming man. We chatted quite a lot on the way to Central… well, I did. But he got a few nods in. Anyway, I told him I’d been photographing various things around Sydney and was disappointed about the wet weather, so he invited me to take his pic when we arrived at Central. And here it is! Fuji Finepix S7000.

After I’d taken a few external shots of the station, I walked inside and there he was again! I figure he’d gone inside to use the loo. So we exchanged a few words, and smiles, and went our separate ways.

I’ve heard a few uncomplimentary comments about migrant taxi drivers in Sydney, but this bloke knew the city like the back of his hand. It was a most pleasant encounter and I’m glad I got the pic. I think I won his heart when I told him his new cab was most impressive. “Thank you!” he beamed.