Bad Day on the Road

Bad things really do come in threes.

On Friday morning I came out of my apartment just before 8am to catch a taxi. But outside my complex there was already a big traffic jam. I wondered what that was all about.

I walked up half a block and tried to catch a cab, but they either already had a customer, or they refused to pick anyone up. I asked one what was going on, but I didn't understand what he was saying. Another one said the same thing.

So I walked further up hoping to catch another cab in another direction, but no such luck. I ended up walking so far that I could catch the 101 bus to work. Except that I just missed the bus.

Luckily the next one came not too long afterwards and I sent a text message my colleague at work saying I'd be late.

The traffic wasn't bad at all and I made it work just 15 minutes late. I wondered what all the fuss was about.

Then after work I headed down to Yonganli, where the Silk Market is, to have a quick meeting with someone and grab a bite to eat. I then took the subway back up to Dongzhimen to take the 614 bus home.

Again I just missed it.

But as it had to do a giant loop around the second ring road (basically a U-turn) and turn left, I thought I could catch the bus again at the next stop.

However, because of construction nearby, the bus stop was moved further away. Much further than I thought. And the bus zoomed past me again and I gave up trying to catch it.

So I thought I'd forget about getting cheap bus ride home and take a cab.

The driver started making some strange turns and then I asked him where he was going. Apparently he misheard me and so we had to do another giant loop back to where I started in the first place.

After we got back on track, he missed a turn and we were going west instead of east. I tried to tel him where to go, but he accused me of trying to get him into a car accident.

I was so annoyed with him that I demanded to be let out of the cab, paying him of course.

Then I got into another one who was surprised the previous driver took me in this direction, as he had to do a U-turn to get back to where we needed to go.

I finally made it home, and hoped I wouldn't encounter a commuting day like that again.