Gulf News, UAE Georgetown, Guyana: Folks in Guyana have a real laid back attitude to life. Nothing seems to worry them and nobody ever looks like he or she is in a hurry. It's as if they have all the time in the world to enjoy their life.
Almost all streets are lined with bars, where the prime occupation of the people seem to be discussing the West Indies team. Interestingly, there are many locals who have turned ardent supporters of the Sri Lankan team. My taxi driver Jerry Thompson is one such case.
He used to regularly pick and drop me till a few days ago. One evening, he just did not answer my calls. Next day, he came in late to pick me up: "You see, I have a girlfriend and we had a very late night out. Since I was late for you, I haven't even worn my shoes," he said while showing me his shoes that were dumped near the accelerator.
The strange thing about this is that though my trips fetched him regular money, he was willing to sacrifice it for a nice time out. Interestingly, he is employed by a taxi company.
When I was mentioning this to a local scribe, he wasn't too surprised and said that people here really didn't bother losing their job for the joys of life. "Everyone here is happy go lucky," he said.
Home support
One of the reasons that there are many vacant seats in the stadiums for most matches other than when the West Indies play is because people do not have a steady job. "Even if they don't make much money, they will ensure that they come and watch the home team play," remarked an organiser.
Cricket fans here prefer the grass mounds more than the seats due to two reasons. First, they don't like to sit idle and secondly that is the cheapest ticket available. Most of them dress in brightly coloured outfits that have strange fittings and designs. Maybe, that is why the World Cup mascot Mello is also dressed bright and wild.