(no subject)
So here's the story:
I had to take them to the great wall. The first cab driver offered to take us there and back for 600, but he insisted that we had to go to this other place as well because it was a good place to visit. I told him we'd take a nap and call him later, and I tried to find cheaper ways of getting there in the meantime. We found it would be much cheaper to take a cab to the bus station and take the bus there, so we decided to do that.
Then our cab driver said he'd take us there and back for 500. I didn't want to do it, but they said "That's fantastic!" and we did it. His driving was a little scary, and he laughed at the car accident and the stranded girl, so I didn't really have a great impression of him, and when we got there he said that we were giving him too little money and he wanted 100 more. I didn't answer and he said ok ok and we went to the wall. Sounded like a scam to me.
They climbed the wall, I stayed behind because, as I had to explain a few times to a few people, I've been to the wall and I was exhausted that day. The first people I explained this to, after them, was the ladies at the stand where I bought an ice cream bar. First one of them asked why I wasn't going up the wall, and I told her I was waiting for someone and had already been, and then another asked why I didn't buy ice cream while I waited, so the first lady explained to the second lady that I already had. After that they told me to sit with them under their umbrella because where I was sitting was in the heat of the sun.
So while I sat with them nursing my painful bitten tongue, learning that in China you have to be 21 to get married, and trying to explain the western zodiac to them, I decided to ask their advice about the cab driver. In my typical paranoia I was worried that he would pull something like he already had; take us to a remote place and ask for more money to take us back. It didn't seem unreasonable after our first cab driver of the day warned me that other people would try to scam me, and people are always warning me that people try to scam foreigners. So after awhile, I asked the nice ladies at the ice cream and souvenir stand, the ones who had shared their dried fruit with me and let me sit under their awning. They asked for the full story and I told it, and they said that maybe he asked for more money because of the toll. I asked if he should have known beforehand, and they agreed and said not to give him the extra. I asked if he would take us far away and demand more money, and their answer was the chinese equivalent of "oh please, you expect him to waste his time and gas trying to get a little bit more money out of you? That's way too much trouble!"
So in the end I went with the cab driver, told him that we were sticking with the original price, slept through the terrifying ride home, and parted ways with no hard feelings, I hope.
I had to take them to the great wall. The first cab driver offered to take us there and back for 600, but he insisted that we had to go to this other place as well because it was a good place to visit. I told him we'd take a nap and call him later, and I tried to find cheaper ways of getting there in the meantime. We found it would be much cheaper to take a cab to the bus station and take the bus there, so we decided to do that.
Then our cab driver said he'd take us there and back for 500. I didn't want to do it, but they said "That's fantastic!" and we did it. His driving was a little scary, and he laughed at the car accident and the stranded girl, so I didn't really have a great impression of him, and when we got there he said that we were giving him too little money and he wanted 100 more. I didn't answer and he said ok ok and we went to the wall. Sounded like a scam to me.
They climbed the wall, I stayed behind because, as I had to explain a few times to a few people, I've been to the wall and I was exhausted that day. The first people I explained this to, after them, was the ladies at the stand where I bought an ice cream bar. First one of them asked why I wasn't going up the wall, and I told her I was waiting for someone and had already been, and then another asked why I didn't buy ice cream while I waited, so the first lady explained to the second lady that I already had. After that they told me to sit with them under their umbrella because where I was sitting was in the heat of the sun.
So while I sat with them nursing my painful bitten tongue, learning that in China you have to be 21 to get married, and trying to explain the western zodiac to them, I decided to ask their advice about the cab driver. In my typical paranoia I was worried that he would pull something like he already had; take us to a remote place and ask for more money to take us back. It didn't seem unreasonable after our first cab driver of the day warned me that other people would try to scam me, and people are always warning me that people try to scam foreigners. So after awhile, I asked the nice ladies at the ice cream and souvenir stand, the ones who had shared their dried fruit with me and let me sit under their awning. They asked for the full story and I told it, and they said that maybe he asked for more money because of the toll. I asked if he should have known beforehand, and they agreed and said not to give him the extra. I asked if he would take us far away and demand more money, and their answer was the chinese equivalent of "oh please, you expect him to waste his time and gas trying to get a little bit more money out of you? That's way too much trouble!"
So in the end I went with the cab driver, told him that we were sticking with the original price, slept through the terrifying ride home, and parted ways with no hard feelings, I hope.