'The Taxi Driver Club'

Have you not heard of it? I am amazed! for it is an international unpublished, non-membership club for Taxi Drivers everywhere!!
I must go back on that comment, without bias, for the Black Cab Taxi
Drivers of London fame, are an elite of their own and that is meant as the highest compliment and with regard.

The Chinese people are always asking me if I find them different, or if I had suffered from a cultural shock upon arrival or some such comment.
The truth is, that besides the pollution and my run in with half naked babies, there wasn't any earth shattering experiences.

I am not sure if this will be a compliment to either nation, but the behavior of the middle eastern society, from where I come, Israel, is very
akin to that of the Chinese.

I pause here a moment to elaborate more fully on my comparison and to draw your attention to the aforementioned club. Have you ever travelled to New York? Whether you have or haven't I am sure that you know from other travellers, that when you climb into a yellow cab in New York, you more often than not will have a driver who is a new immigrant, has only smattering of English as well as no idea of the address you wish to alight at!!

In Israel, a day would not go by with my not having to lose my 'cool' with
a driver in my own hometown, about putting on the meter, or overcharging for a short fare, or refusing to take me - the list is endless.

In Eastern Europe, we were driven more than once in the extended route, so that they could up the fare and of course only realising what had happened upon comparison with others.

For a country that has the Olympic swarm descending upon them in under 150 days, there taxi force, that is front line customer/visitor relations, is appalling! Not only as I have commented before in a previous blog, they can't read, they are aggressive, rude, standoffish (could be the chinese language tones) and are quite happy to refuse to take you if they have no idea where you are going, or unprepared to make an effort!!

Bear in mind that a cellular phone or telephone number of the place you are hoping to end up in as if you are lucky enough to get a helpful driver, he will phone to check on the address. Holding on tightly to your seat, as a show of protest that you are not getting out, as you have been trying to hail down a cab in rush hour, for the last 20 minutes! or make a show of writing down their number and a pretense of calling their cab company to complain.

If all else fails, get out or be thrown out! as I was this week, after raising my voice without remorse at the taxi driver, for driving slower than a snail! Even though he was unable to understand my language as I was complaining in a mixture of hebrew and english, my tone and manner managed to upset him and he stopped sharply at the side of the road, closed the meter and gestured for me to leave his cab.

Well, it felt like I was back home in Jerusalem/Tel Aviv for a brief moment as I pounded my way down the sidewalk not to be any later than
I was already due to his impossible driving.