I’ve had many memorable experiences involving taxi drivers over the time but today beats them all! 😀

This afternoon I was running late, so jumped In a cab to get to a very important meeting I had scheduled.  I get in, tell him where to go, he looks at me and straight up asks me ‘你会开车吗’ ‘Can you drive?’.  I have had cabbies ask me this before and I always say ‘yes I can drive, but I don’t want to drive in Changchun- It’s just too dangerous!’

Many foreigners complain about taxi drivers messing them around, taking them the wrong way, causing problems, not understanding them etc…  My opinion on this is that you have to engage with the driver, chat with him if you can,  tell him exactly where to go, don’t leave anything to chance.  I’ve had some of the most interesesting conversations with taxi drivers, like in any country, a complete fountain of local gossip – you want to know something ask a driver.   I have never had a problem doing things this way, even in different cities. 

If you say nothing, you probably will be taken the long way as the taxi driver will assume you dont know the city (stupid rich foreigner syndrome) and can get more money from you! The taxi drivers at the airport will try to trick you because that’s what they do, so take the coach (its just as fast) or negotiate beforehand for the total price (including tolls, make sure the whole car is yours, not just a seat!) 80 yuan is a good price. 

 Also,  If you give him a piece of paper with an address on it because you can’t communicate with the driver then its very high that you’re end up paying a little more (the same applies for giving him your phone to talk to someone),  honestly I dont blame the cabbies here, I would probably do the same thing If I was in their position to make a little more cash!    

 This time though the cabbbie was persistent and kept on offering so I reluctantly accepted his proposition (and when will I get another opportunity like this!), he pulled up and we swapped seats.  I have to say It was really fun to be a taxi driver for a few minutes, but doing this as a job may not be so much fun. Actually driving the Jetta wasn’t so hard, just  I’m not used to driving on the right-hand side side of the road.  I took it down round Culture Square, Xi’an Street, negotiated People’s Square and pulled up at Chongqing Road.

It’s fun to be able to use the horn all the time, overtake anywhere, ignore traffic signs and traffic laws – however I still would never buy a vehicle in Changchun.

 The cabbie sitting next to me was giving a commentary of the different cars we were passing, asking me for my opinion on them and telling me the price.

 He told me that Land Rover’s cost 70wan or 45K pounds , we then passed an Audi Q7, he said its costs 138 wan/ 1,380,000 yuan  or about 90K pounds – I’ve seen lots of these in Changchun, I seem to see one every day.  Where they get that sort of cash from I can only guess!  

 In think as a general rule Chinese people value social status highly, ‘To be rich is to be glorious’ said Deng Xiaoping  and they sure like to show their status to others, whether this be through the clothes they wear, the car they drive, whether they have a pet dog, whether their child goes to the most expensive school – you name it.  Some people are like this in the UK too, but in Changchun I think many, many people are materialistic – especially those new to money, its as if they need to announce ‘they have made it’ to the rest of society.  Just eaves dropping on peoples conversations you get to understand that it’s all many people ever talk about, It certainly is very important.

It’s a little different from the UK, in that Changchun has a very small middle class – there are super wealthy and the working class but this big gap in the middle, which is gradually increasing.  

I read about the gap between rich and poor in the UK increasing, but here the gap between the haves and have nots is massive.  When you see such cars and people collecting 3 Jiao plastic bottles side by side, It really makes you wonder how can things keep on going like this?  I think the gap is growing.