Holy God
Okay, today's taxi ride into work was memorable. First, the guy took what is probably the correct route. Most taxis take this one closed off road that connects with the main boulevard directly connecting the hotel with the office. However, today's guy was more inexperienced, or he knew he could make a couple more RMB off us because we're foreigners. He did hesitate at a couple places, trying to think of where to go, so I think he was just lost, and drove the correct path.
The correct path sucks ass.
We were boxed in by many other cars, waiting for a light (to turn left). He maneuvered his car into the intersection, and waited while cars flowed around us. In the US, this means you're T-boned because the cars flowing around us were coming from our left, and not behind us. Here, it means you're merely part of the scenery. We weren't the only ones in the intersection though. There were two other cars waiting with us, and another joined shortly thereafter.
Okay, we made it past the glut of cars, and turned, only to play chicken with another car going down the road the wrong way. Our taxi driver, a stolid man, I'm sure, kept accelerating. Of course, people here do pay attention so we lived through that. We make another couple turns (did I mention the short way, while illegal in parts, is short?) and again make another turn. This time, we're the ones playing chicken, and the lane he turned into had cars going fast. At us.
At least if we were involved in an accident, the seatbelts would save us. Oh wait, what seatbelts? The warning recording as you get into the car has a lady telling us to put on these mythical seatbelts--they're nowhere to be found. Well, at least if we hit someone, Matt would be the one hit first since we turned left, and he was on the right side of the car.
Anyway, we finally made it to work.
To think of all that effort I put into my review. Bah.
The correct path sucks ass.
We were boxed in by many other cars, waiting for a light (to turn left). He maneuvered his car into the intersection, and waited while cars flowed around us. In the US, this means you're T-boned because the cars flowing around us were coming from our left, and not behind us. Here, it means you're merely part of the scenery. We weren't the only ones in the intersection though. There were two other cars waiting with us, and another joined shortly thereafter.
Okay, we made it past the glut of cars, and turned, only to play chicken with another car going down the road the wrong way. Our taxi driver, a stolid man, I'm sure, kept accelerating. Of course, people here do pay attention so we lived through that. We make another couple turns (did I mention the short way, while illegal in parts, is short?) and again make another turn. This time, we're the ones playing chicken, and the lane he turned into had cars going fast. At us.
At least if we were involved in an accident, the seatbelts would save us. Oh wait, what seatbelts? The warning recording as you get into the car has a lady telling us to put on these mythical seatbelts--they're nowhere to be found. Well, at least if we hit someone, Matt would be the one hit first since we turned left, and he was on the right side of the car.
Anyway, we finally made it to work.
To think of all that effort I put into my review. Bah.