The drive to the hotel from Pudong Airport in Shanghai took about 50 minutes. The route covered a combination of highways, collectors and side streets. The driver kindly let me plug my iPod into his cigarette lighter so I could recharge it. He seemed friendly enough engaging my wife in active conversation or as active as her mandarin would permit.
The scenery along the drive would not be too unfamiliar to most Torontonians. Except for a few more signs in Chinese, the highways, cars, and buildings were more similar than not. Driving habits would be familiar to those visiting Italy. Many of the “rules of the road” are merely guidelines offering suggested practices. Keeping within one’s lane is rarely followed, staying to
one’s side of the road only when impractical to do otherwise. Traffic lights, interesting but purely informational. A honking horn announces your presents, not some potential collision. I’m willing to adopt the view these driving habits are reflections of the new style and openness in China, less governed by the traditional rules. I’m sure some equilibrium will be found at some point. Fortunately, people drive slowly.
On arriving at the hotel the driver offered to charge us 350CNY but almost immediately revised that sum when he saw “The Look” on my wife’s face. He accepted 200CNY which is what our advanced research had suggested was the usual rate. However, 200CNY was still more than what the meter reported (145) which the driver claimed was broken.
We checked in and a bell hop accompanied us to our room. Fortunately it was he that opened the door as those already occupying the room saw him first. A quick retreat to the front desk got us another room. This time I insisted on having the bellhop go first into the room. Going forward I will always hire a bellhop. Of course such a “system failure” can only leave one with the feeling that anyone could come into your room at any time.
There are two train stations in Shanghai (may be more), and while we thought we had clarified which one we wanted to go to, the driver proceeded in the wrong direction. Linda pointed this out and we eventually got there. It was important that we knew where we were going. This time the meter worked. 22CNY (about 3$) for a 20 minute ride.
All the people we have been very friendly, but they’ll try to rip you off just the same. Knowing what is suppose to be is the best protection.
A friend of mine was telling me about one of those unforeseen side effects of introducing new technology. When cellphones were introduced to farmers in India they were able to call in and get current prices for their crops before buyers came to visit. They had never been able to do this and were at the merci of the buyer’s good will. This knowledge put them in a better bargaining position. Knowledge is power.
Leave a Reply