trip to Tianjin

4/10/2005 Sunday - Chris and I decided to head to the cultural Mecca of Tianjin. Chris got the name of two places to visit and we grabbed a taxi at the hotel. The doorman asked us if we wanted to go on the meter or off. Not knowing what was better, we went on the meter. The car was a Volkswagen Santana which is a small to midsize car. It's the standard size (maybe only size) taxi in Shanghai but here in TEDA, it's a big, expensive taxi. I say expensive because 5 RMB ($.60) will get you going in a small taxi but it takes 10 RMB ($1.20) to start in a Santana. TEDA is so small that most drivers don't even start the meter. They just charge you 5 RMB and that's it. If you have a far away destination, they will start the meter. For example, to get to the OCC (operation and control center for the light rail) from the hotel it takes 10 RMB in a small taxi or 15 RMB in a large one. Anyway, our drive into Tianjin was mostly benign. As we approached the city, it got more crowded and more dirty. That's the China I know and love! All of sudden, we had cars coming at us on a 4 lane highway. It was insane. Apparently the people than need to get from some place on the right side of the highway to the left side of the highway will just drive across the road, then proceed in the wrong direction to get where they are going. I guess it was nice that they all headed for the far left lane but damn, that's nuts!!! The driver complained a bit in Chinese then just laughed it off. TIC I guess. Luckily he's got mad skills and we got through the on coming traffic unscathed. As we got closer to the heart of the city, we noticed a building being demolished. The road snaked around the demolition site and we were now between the site and a new highway being built. It was like the road went from 4 lanes down to 2 and drove right through a construction site. When we came around the building, we noticed the sign said "Tomorrow Hotel". Chris joked about someone showing up with a reservation and expecting a room. I joked that the second line of the sign probably said "Will Be Demolished". <insert laughter here> Anyway, we got to our destination and the driver wanted to know if he should wait for us. We told him to go because we didn't know how long we would be there. Looking back, we should have had him wait. We paid 160 RMB ($20) including tolls for a one way trip. I remember PS hiring a car for the day to take him to Tianjin, drive him around the city then bring him back for 400 RMB. Again, we should have done that. Our destination was a shopping street. I think it's called the Golden Street. Not bad. Just a bunch of Chinese souvenirs. Kinda like Yuan Garden in Shanghai but much smaller, much cleaner and much newer. OK, not so much like Yuan Garden. We found some good deals the best of which being these scrolls on which this guy would write your name in either Chinese or English for 15 RMB. That's less than $2. I think the paper alone would cost more in the States. There was a guy from Arizona buying about 20 of them. He says every time he comes back his friends all want one. After that we headed to the local McDonald's so I could grab a quick snack. Shut up. It was 5PM and my sustenance so far comprised of a banana. After Mickey D's it was time to head home. We started looking for a big taxi. No luck. I saw a big Audi sitting front of a Chinese hotel. I asked the driver if he would take us to TEDA and he waved me off. Either he wasn't for hire or didn't want to make the trip. Chris noticed a small taxi but this one was gold instead of red like every other taxi around. This must make it better, right? We negotiated a price of 150 RMB since we knew how much it should cost. I didn't want her getting "lost" and charging us a fortune. Yes, the driver was a female. I haven't seen many female taxi drivers over here but they don't seem any worse than the male drivers. So I compact myself into the front seat with Chris in the back with our loot. The drive out of Tianjin seemed similar to the drive in but as we left town, the road didn't look the same. As it turns out, she decided to take the regular road instead of the new highway. There isn't much difference but there are a few more intersections on the regular road. As we got close to home, the driver asked me a question. Of course I didn't understand a freakin' word so I showed her the hotel card. She promptly stopped the car and got out. Notice I didn't say "she pulled over". That's because she didn't. By now Chris had noticed she didn't have her lights on. This is typical in China because they want to conserve power. On the surface that makes sense until you remember a little invention called the alternator. It charges the battery as you drive! Somebody should start putting those things in cars. I bet you'd make a mint. Anyway, lights off, Ms. Driver stops the car in the right lane and gets out. On the shoulder was a stopped taxi and we could have easily got in front of him. Up on the side of the road was another taxi that she went to for directions. Chris and I sat there waiting for the inevitable rear end collision that would send us to the best Chinese hospital in all of greater Tianjin. Luckily Ms. Driver returned while Chris and I were still whiplash-free. She proceeded down the road with a new sense of purpose. She was no longer a lost taxi driver but a woman with a plan and even a destination! Within a few kilometers, she got flustered and stopped the car. She started talking Chinese again and Chris was the first to figure out that she had missed the exit. You see on most of these roads, there are 3 - 4 lanes in each direction. Every so often there is a break in the divider where cars/trucks/bikes/pedestrians can cross over or even make U-turns. At this intersection though, there was actually an off ramp which connected to a bridge overhead. Now any normal, sane, reasonably conscious person capable of breathing without thinking about it would have driven to the next intersection and either turned around or got off and taken a different route. Do you think that happened? Come on dear reader, TIC! You smart folks are probably thinking you know what happened next. You're probably wrong. She didn't drive to the next intersection. She didn't even pop it in reverse and back up down the shoulder like I've seen on occasion in Europe or even America. No, she whipped a U-ey right in the middle of a 3 lane highway! I kid you not. So as we proceeded down the highway in the wrong direction with the lights off I secretly wondered why I wasn't shitting myself. We arrived at a the ramp after passing a few cars that didn't seem to care or maybe they didn't even notice us. Talk about scary! She whips another U-ey up the ramp and back into the normal flow of traffic. Since I'm writing this you know I lived and you'll have to trust there are no skid marks on the highway or in my drawers.