If you are driving a red-plated vehicle then you won't get harassed like our taxi and micro-drivers. But come evening, please prepare to practice moving your face as much closer as possible to one of our traffic cops so that he can smell the alcohol in your breath. Just make sure that you don't accidentally kiss the cop unless you really want to.
And sometimes, you might get stopped by a traffic cop for no reason. He will then ask you to drop him off a few kilometers away from the pick-up point. You can't say no to a traffic cop in hopes that one day, he will let you off when he catches you violating traffic rules. That day will never come because he will be most likely transferred somewhere else when you are breaking the law.
If you are driving a blue-plated vehicle then you can do anything you like. You can park anywhere you want. The traffic cop won't blow his or her whistle to shoo you away. You can drive like a wild maniac, overtake other vehicles and nobody will stop you. You can even hit and run and our cops will do nothing. They will either blame the person getting run over or just keep quiet because the embassy officials or INGO consultants don't have to follow our law.
The blue-plate community acts as if they are free to break any laws of our land and get away with it. Yes, they tell us that they are here to help us. After all, their organizations, governments and whoever is funding their work do want to help our country. But the reality is that they are here to help themselves.
They get paid thousands of dollars as salaries or consultancy fees. They can live like kings, hire housekeepers, drivers and nannies and enjoy the good life. They know very well that when they go back to their motherland, they will not get to enjoy the perks because the salary they get here is not enough to live like a Sultan back home.
It's back to a studio apartment or a small one-bedroom flat. There is nothing wrong with living in a small space. Size really doesn't matter but they will probably miss the big compound houses here. A good coffee will cost five dollars instead of one and half here. Over there, they will probably have to stay in line just to grab the expensive cup of coffee. Here, they can sleep in the sofa for hours and the service staff won't say anything.
A few thousand dollars here is enough to enjoy the good life. A few thousand dollars there is enough to enjoy a frugal life. Only millionaires can afford nannies and housekeepers in their lands. Here, nearly all blue-plated wallahs can live like millionaires and enjoy the perks while it last. Good for them! They have certainly hit the jackpot.
We cannot blame them for their snobbish attitude. After all they come from Western countries. They send monkeys to moon whereas here, we leave them to run around in Thapathali. They are here to develop this country by working hard to come up with policies that will not help the local people at all. They are here to make our lives better and we should not be pissed off if you see them talking loudly and spending thousands of Rupees in fine wine and food. After all, they all work hard and need to enjoy as well.
Some of our blue-plated folks are really here to help this country. We don't know how to but they learn our language and then bargain like crazy and get cheaper rates than the local people. But there are also many who seem to drive around blue-plated vehicles but do not work for any INGOs or embassies.
They are driving around in blue-plated vehicles but the person who got the plate and the vehicle is long gone back to his or her land. I guess, our government allows these experts to buy and sell blue-plates like second-hand tables and heaters and keep on driving around our city even though they don't have a 'Nepali' drivers license. I guess it's okay for them to show us their 'Western' license and do whatever they please.
But the funny thing is that our traffic cops are either embarrassed that they will have to converse in English or they just don't want to waste their time checking the foreigner riding a bullet bike the wrong way. I don't think our traffic cops even check if they possess a valid Nepali Driving License at all.
Our blue-plate people can drink and drive. The MaPaSe law doesn't apply to them. And it's not only foreigners. Our Nepali business people are honorary consuls for foreign lands. They even get to drive around in blue-plated vehicles. It certainly helps during Nepal bandas when you have to attend a business meeting or meet the minister for another government contract worth billions that will make millions for both parties.
In my next life, I want to be a blue-plated vehicle and be free.
kalumaila99@gmail.com
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