The police officer told me it would take over an hour to walk to the train station, and I had luggage, so I walked to the nearest intersection hoping to find a cab.
Instead, there were two motor bike taxis.
One of them came up to me, and tried to get me to go with him.
I pointed at my suitcase and looked confused, as if to say, there's no way you're going to fit that!
He gestured at the little footwell on his moped.
No, that's fine thanks, and kept walking.
Another 20 metres down the road, and with a better view of the intersection, and still no proper taxis in sight.
Oh well! It'll be an experience.
How much? Two.
OK.
I held on precariously as he drove all over the road, on the long trip to the train station.
I figured there was no point getting tense, so instead I just held on, tried to mimic his movements (e.g. leaning into the corners), and tried to focus on the scenery.
We went past a nice big park and some office buildings on the northern side of the city, heading East.
Then we turned North and it started to get a bit more gritty.
At one stage, there were three buses coming at us from every direction. It looked like they were going to hit us, but I figured there was nothing I could do, so just held my breath and waited.
They stopped JUST before us.
After that, the experience actually became fun in a hysterical kind of way. It felt like we were invincible, weaving in and out of the traffic. Kind of like riding the motorbike on the farm, or playing a racing game on the computer, except not having the controls in my hands.
Finally we got to the station. At first I thought the newish looking shops were the station, but it was actually a big communist-style building across a big dusty plaza on the other side.
Gave him a 100 Yuan bill, but he didn't have change, so we to'd and fro'd until I agreed to go to a nearby stand and buy something to get change. As usual, they inspected the 100 Y bill, then gave me my bottle of water and some change.
Gave the driver a 20 and made my way to the station.
Instead, there were two motor bike taxis.
One of them came up to me, and tried to get me to go with him.
I pointed at my suitcase and looked confused, as if to say, there's no way you're going to fit that!
He gestured at the little footwell on his moped.
No, that's fine thanks, and kept walking.
Another 20 metres down the road, and with a better view of the intersection, and still no proper taxis in sight.
Oh well! It'll be an experience.
How much? Two.
OK.
I held on precariously as he drove all over the road, on the long trip to the train station.
I figured there was no point getting tense, so instead I just held on, tried to mimic his movements (e.g. leaning into the corners), and tried to focus on the scenery.
We went past a nice big park and some office buildings on the northern side of the city, heading East.
Then we turned North and it started to get a bit more gritty.
At one stage, there were three buses coming at us from every direction. It looked like they were going to hit us, but I figured there was nothing I could do, so just held my breath and waited.
They stopped JUST before us.
After that, the experience actually became fun in a hysterical kind of way. It felt like we were invincible, weaving in and out of the traffic. Kind of like riding the motorbike on the farm, or playing a racing game on the computer, except not having the controls in my hands.
Finally we got to the station. At first I thought the newish looking shops were the station, but it was actually a big communist-style building across a big dusty plaza on the other side.
Gave him a 100 Yuan bill, but he didn't have change, so we to'd and fro'd until I agreed to go to a nearby stand and buy something to get change. As usual, they inspected the 100 Y bill, then gave me my bottle of water and some change.
Gave the driver a 20 and made my way to the station.
My moped taxi
Labels: 2009, China, Lost Passport, Travel, Xian
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