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A 24 hour train ride later, we arrived at Beijing West Railway Station safe and sound! First order of action, find a taxi to Victor and RiAnn's house. They suggested this mode of transportation b/c the closest MTR is 20 minutes away from the station, but they also warned us that getting a taxi would not be easy b/c there are 20 million people in Beijing, but only 70,000 taxis. No worries, we were up for the challenge! RiAnn had already emailed me directions and said it should cost around 100 yuan ($16). I Google Translated the directions so I was feeling confident we'd be good with the language barrier. However, we didn't exchange any dollars for yuan before we left HK b/c we figured there would be an ATM at the station. Little did we know, once you pass through immigration you're directed straight outside and you can only get back in w/ a departing ticket. So much for that idea.
Outside of Beijing West was a little intimidating. People were everywhere! As we walked by everyone would stop what they were doing, point and stare. John and I weren't bothered by it, but Raelynd was a little uneasy. I told her that we are foreigners here and if the Chinese like to stare we better get use to it. Later RiAnn would tell us that it was b/c John and Raelynd have light hair and light eyes. Most people in China never travel outside of China so it is rare for them to see someone with light hair and eyes. She said they are considered "Golden Children" and not to be surprised when someone asks to take a picture with them. Crazy!
Eventually we saw a bank, phew! Now that we had some yuan, it was taxi hailing time. However, it wasn't possible from the front of Beijing West b/c there was fencing between the road and the station. We could see side walks across the street, but couldn't' figure out how to get there. The road was actually a 4 lane highway and there was no cross walks in sight. How do people leave this place??? We could already tell that Beijing was not going to be as easy as Hong Kong, lol. We headed towards the buses figuring there's got to be an opening b/c they have to pull into somewhere. Sure enough there was...and a sidewalk was on the other side.
We hurried over to post up and begin our taxi search. We saw one! John starts waving and whistling, but the taxi just goes on by us. There's another! Again...it doesn't stop. RiAnn was obviously right and there are too many people and not enough taxis (even though both taxis were empty...hmm). We could see another taxi from a distance and....third times a charm!! I showed the driver our translated directions and he immediately responds in English, "Yes, I take you for 280 yuan." Uh….no. RiAnn told me it would be around 100 yuan, so this guy was trying to take us for a ride (pun intended). We told him no thanks and walked away. He then started saying, "Ok ok, 250 yuan." Again, we say no. Him again, "200 yuan." Us again, "No." Then I say, " You have a meter right?? We want to go by the meter." After a pause he says, "Ok." Wow.
We all piled in the taxi and started on our way. Do you remember when I told you that the taxi drivers in HK are straight bonkers? I take that back. Beijing taxi drivers are more than bonkers…they are more than crazy…they are seriously mentally ill! Lanes don't matter here. Neither does the speed limit, nor the traffic lights or basically any kind of traffic rules at all. And it's not organized chaos…it is complete disorder and confusion. Victor explained it to me. He said, "China up until about a decade ago was a bicycle country. There were barely any cars. So, they drive their cars like they use to ride their bicycles." It was pretty nuts to think that I've had my license longer than most of the population in Beijing!
Beijing Lesson 1: If you take a taxi DON'T pay attention b/c you will freak out. And if you get car sick, don't bother, ha!
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Jade Skidmore
non-member comment
Driving a car like a bike?
What a neat concept. I wonder how he know that's how people drove. I also had no idea they didn't have cars until somewhat recent times. It's do big so one would just assume.