Monday, December 10, 2007

White Stuff in Beijing


We had our first snowfall last night.

Luckily it wasn't a big dump of the white stuff, but enough to make it feel cold.

Unfortunately the sky was dreary looking otherwise I'm sure most people would have been in a more cheerful mood. Instead everyone just focused on commuting to work on time... or there abouts.

I managed to flag down a taxi quite quickly, but soon after there was a huge traffic jam on the roads. My driver tried to take a short cut I like to use when the fourth ring road is jammed. But then that side street was hardly moving.

He had to do a U-turn and take another route that was a bit further.

"It's not usually like this," he said referring to the short cut. I think he was afraid I would be angry.

It doesn't matter," I said.

About 35 minutes later we finally made it to my office.

The meter said 29RMB, but the driver felt bad about the longer route and said I could pay 25RMB instead.

"It doesn't matter, " replied. "It's more important that I get here safely."

I think he was pleased to hear this. But really, it's OK. He wasn't trying to take me for a ride.

After I got into the office it snowed a bit harder, but it didn't stick to the roads. By lunchtime it stopped snowing, but it was still cold.

Interestingly enough my commute home on the bus was a breeze.

Perhaps all the shock of the snow had worn off and people were back to driving as normal.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

on a recent visit to beijing i was really surpirised by the courteous manners of the taxi drivers. they are polite, honest and dont expect tips. they give good impressions to new comers to this city.