Thursday, August 24, 2006
Wed – Aug 23
A warm, hazy day is emerging in bustling Beijing. I got up earlier to see if the commute would be easier. Breakfast is some cheese on saltines and I try some of the juices that I bought. I thought it was strawberry juice, but it tasted more like tomato (not one of my favorites). A closer look at the label revealed tomato, strawberry and carrots. Note to self, NEVER buy that again. I then pulled out a carrot, orange and something-I-didn’t-recognize that was really good.
As I wait in line for a cab at the lobby, I am beginning to put a pattern together of cab life. Most people get in the next cab in line, and are usually heading for the airport. When I ask to go to some other point in the city, most cabbies say they don’t know where it is. It takes me 3-4 cabs to get a driver willing to take me to my destination. That being said, I have now been in the city 5 days and find myself giving the cab drivers directions (via pointing and grunting) on where to go. Today, I had the cab driver re-trace the back route to the office and almost got there in 15 minutes. Unfortunately for me, Beijing’s traffic patterns with jug handles make New Jersey look like kids play and we overshot the building. It took us 30 minutes to double back. Somehow, I think that the cabbies just want the airport runs to get better fares.
As I wait in line for a cab at the lobby, I am beginning to put a pattern together of cab life. Most people get in the next cab in line, and are usually heading for the airport. When I ask to go to some other point in the city, most cabbies say they don’t know where it is. It takes me 3-4 cabs to get a driver willing to take me to my destination. That being said, I have now been in the city 5 days and find myself giving the cab drivers directions (via pointing and grunting) on where to go. Today, I had the cab driver re-trace the back route to the office and almost got there in 15 minutes. Unfortunately for me, Beijing’s traffic patterns with jug handles make New Jersey look like kids play and we overshot the building. It took us 30 minutes to double back. Somehow, I think that the cabbies just want the airport runs to get better fares.
