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Post by questa on Sept 14, 2013 7:35:45 GMT
Another ‘bump’ as I catch up on old threads…
The scariest time I have had in my travels involved a taxi ride.
I arrived at Almaty, Kazakhstan, from Istanbul at 3am. Common sense should have told me to wait inside the airport building until it got busy in the morning, but I had booked the night at a hotel and was keen to get some sleep.
Lonely Planet had warned about the taxis at the airport…many were just private cars with their owners on the take for more money. Then there was the report of a woman being robbed and beaten and left to die recently…
I scrutinised the cars there but couldn’t pick a difference so put my bags in the boot of one. The driver told me his friend would come along as well. No way! I grabbed my bags out and another man said he knew my hotel and would take me there, so I got in with him.
As we drove the 16 km to the city he turned nasty. Demanded to know if I had the fare, how much money I was carrying, what currency etc. When I refused to tell him, just told him he’d get his fare, he threatened to run me the few kilometers across the (rather porous) border into Kyrgistan and leave me there with no papers. He was a big thug of a man and I could believe him. When he found I had only US dollars, he drove to a moneychanger’s house and woke him up, and made him change the USD70 I was carrying to local currency. The moneychanger whispered to me “He is a bad man”, a point I had already arrived at.
At least we were in the city now, and I told him I had a meeting at the Australian Consulate next day and I really needed to get to the hotel. I said the Consul knew I was in Almaty as I had phoned from the Istanbul airport before take-off.
He finally found the hotel, and took off with my $70.
The hotel had lost my booking anyway and I slept in the foyer until the day staff arrived.
I never did find out if Australia even had a consulate in Almaty!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2013 10:48:14 GMT
At least we were in the city now, and I told him I had a meeting at the Australian Consulate next day and I really needed to get to the hotel. I said the Consul knew I was in Almaty as I had phoned from the Istanbul airport before take-off. Excellent! When they tried to pull the "you must buy this yellow fever pill" trick in Poipet, Cambodia, I told them that the Cambodian Embassy in Paris had told me to report any scams that I encountered so that they could take appropriate action. Somehow, my passport reappeared and I did not have to buy the ridiculous pill. "He is a bad man!" -- Priceless. They should find a way to work that into the MasterCard ads.
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Post by questa on Sept 14, 2013 10:53:47 GMT
I can laugh now, but I was running on adrenaline at the time.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2013 11:38:08 GMT
I abhor having to take a taxi in an unknown city/country late at night, but my real problems have always been in broad daylight.
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Post by htmb on Sept 14, 2013 20:14:19 GMT
I would prefer not to ever take a taxi, and these fascinating stories certainly justify my feelings.
Other than my first trip to Paris when my traveling companion argued unnecessarily with the driver as we traveled from CDG into central Paris, my worst experience was on New Years Eve in New Orleans. Riding in the cab was not my choice and the moment the driver took off I knew my gut feelings were accurate. He was flying high on something, and there was a strange bag on the floor of the front seat where I was sitting so I wouldn't have been surprised to find out he was also dealing.
Because there was already a passenger in the cab when we got in, we headed first to drop him off at a bar near the docks south of Canal Street. Afterwards, the driver turned the wrong way onto a three or four lane street and I shouted at him to make a u-turn as cars headed towards us. I doubt I even had a cell phone back then, so the thought of getting out of the cab with an elderly woman and a young child in tow, while crossing my mind, didn't seem like a good option given the area. Getting to the hotel in one piece was a relief, for sure.
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Post by fumobici on Sept 14, 2013 22:02:37 GMT
I had a friend back in the '70s who put himself through university driving taxi and he was only too happy to provide the travelling businessmen who made up the bulk of his fares with a gram of hashish or an introduction to a young woman of negotiable affection as well as valuable local knowledge of a more licit nature. But he drove as carefully and soberly as a judge and went on to a very successful and respectable life after graduation.
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Post by htmb on Sept 14, 2013 22:14:00 GMT
If I had to guess, I'd have to say I doubt "my" NOLA taxi driver is still of this earth. I hope so, but the way he drove out of the French Quarter, following an ambulance with its lights and siren on and weaving through the pedestrian-clogged streets, plus the one-way street adventure later, would lead me to that conclusion.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 10, 2013 23:11:17 GMT
Another ‘bump’ as I catch up on old threads… Me too! He finally found the hotel, and took off with my $70. Sounds as though you got off cheap, under the circumstances. Question to all of you frequent travelers: do most airports or giant metropolitan bus & train depots have officially recognized taxis? The Mexico City bus stations do, & I think even some smaller cities. You buy a ticket from a booth inside the station, then go out to the official cab stand. "He is a bad man!" -- Priceless. They should find a way to work that into the MasterCard ads. ;D my worst experience was on New Years Eve in New Orleans. Riding in the cab was not my choice and the moment the driver took off I knew my gut feelings were accurate. He was flying high on something Htmb, if this happens to you again, yell "Stop!" If there's nothing of yours in the trunk, just take off. If you have something in the trunk, say "My pills! My pills!" in a panicky voice. Once you get your stuff, go. If the driver tries to detain you, shriek as loudly as you can. I've gotten out of lots of cabs because of bad driving, because the driver is messing with his phone, because he appeared drugged, or once, because the radio was too loud. If it seems safe, I usually tell them why I'm not continuing to ride with them. Also, if you're being taken to your house & you have any kind of a bad feeling, ask to be let off in some other, well lighted & well populated place.
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Post by htmb on Nov 11, 2013 2:20:38 GMT
Bixa, it was hard to know what to do. We were in the middle of a very unfamiliar area, ...industrial, dock area, I think.,...and I had a feisty, but elderly woman with me along with my 9 year old daughter. Believe me, I did do some screaming, " Turn around. This is a one way street! Turn around!" Once he got us near to where I could see the hotel in the distance (Hilton on the river and Canal St.) I had him stop and we got out. My older daughter, who knows NOLA, later told me we were in a pretty rough area.
That was a weird night. Older daughter got engaged (they later broke it off); the college age son of one of our friends was separated from his drinking buddies, stripped down, beaten, and left in an alley with no clothes (he recovered physically, but bad experience); and one acquaintances was hit by a random bullet fired in the air during the ringing in of the new year.
Other than the taxi on my first trip to Paris, and one on a trip from my local airport to my home, I've managed to completely avoid them ever since.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 11, 2013 4:37:07 GMT
I can imagine you're tempted to avoid NO from now on, too!
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Post by htmb on Nov 11, 2013 13:55:17 GMT
NOLA is also where I met OJ, his first wife and three little kids. I have lots of interesting memories of trips there, but I haven't had reason to return since the taxi ride.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2013 16:02:37 GMT
Well, I hope you won't let one stinking cabbie sour you on coming back HTMB!!! (Although,that does sound rather hairy.)
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Post by htmb on Nov 12, 2013 21:08:02 GMT
Not at all! I just haven't had reason to return.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2013 16:49:46 GMT
Well. we'll just have to find the proper lure....
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Post by htmb on Nov 14, 2013 21:41:23 GMT
He'd have to be incredibly special.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2016 14:25:59 GMT
With the advent of UBER in most major cities although, I am not sure of outside of the U.S. and even in the U.S.they are being hotly debated and controversial, I am wondering whether or not we will have UBER tales to tell. I am still "on the fence" about this service as I would hate to see the demise of the taxi cab system. I have an inkling that the tales will somehow not be as "colorful".
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Post by chexbres on Sept 26, 2016 19:34:31 GMT
casimira - nobody can beat United Cabs I'm against Uber, because I believe that it's just an invented need for something that already exists and functions well. I think Uber became popular because celebrities use it - and because people like to feel special - but it's not a perfect system, by any means.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2016 21:57:05 GMT
Hhhmm. Never seen this thread before. Interesting. Vancouver has a very good cab culture with several companies in tight competition. The vast majority of the drivers are from the Punjab, and they are very conscientious and honest and I honestly have no tales to tell, good or bad. There is no Uber in Vancouver, thankfully. I have issues with their entire business model.
The only cute taxi tale I have to tell happened in Paris. I took a cab from the Gare du Nord to my hotel. When the driver found out I was an actor, he showed me his vast array of autographs from stars like Miou Miou, and he wanted to know If I would leave him one. I demurred.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2016 0:01:10 GMT
casimira - nobody can beat United Cabs I'm against Uber, because I believe that it's just an invented need for something that already exists and functions well. I think Uber became popular because celebrities use it - and because people like to feel special - but it's not a perfect system, by any means. Yes, United Cabs are a NOLA cultural institution. White Fleet Cab Co. was another one but I haven't seen any of them around in awhile. It was the only cab that the late great James Booker would use. I can only imagine the tales those drivers had to tell. The UBER clientele does seem rather elitist to me but, people who use them regularly swear by them and also the convenience of using credit cards and is available on their apps. (in fact, you can't use them unless you have their app which pisses me off). Good for you Lizzy. A nice feather in your cap!!
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 8, 2016 23:45:57 GMT
I have decided to recount the Oaxaca Fickle Finger of Fate Taxi Scam. (First published on Thorn Tree, Mexico Branch, in 2013.)
Yesterday in Oaxaca, we hailed a cab passing in front of our hotel, an older vehicle in poorer condition, driven by an older man.
Usually, I prefer to sit in the front passenger seat, but didn't do so this time because there was a small tool chest occupying that space. I got in the back with my wife. It was uncomfortable, as the front passenger seat back was inclined rearward and the seat as far back as it could go. The taxista got out and did something in the front passenger side, which didn't relieve the crowding in the rear. He indicated to me to open the rear right door (I think). At that moment, he grimaced and held up his left hand to show that he'd caught his finger in the door. (I was mystified how that could happen when opening the door.
Despite this apparently severe injury (which sickened us) he still wanted to take us to our destination. We were disheartened and didn't want to continue. He told us not to worry, it was an accident, "no pasa nada." During the ride he made no sounds of pain. His finger truly looked broken, although the skin was unbroken and there was no blood.
He put either his radio mike or cell phone between his left shoulder and chin and talked at length with someone, about where we were going, the finger accident and arranging treatment at "una clínica particular."
He didn't seem to have very good knowledge of some of even the major streets. I had to direct him.
When we arrived at our destination, he was very careful to pull over and directed us to exit to the left in order not to be hit by oncoming vehicles!
When we started to pay him the fare, $40 pesos, he asked for $3000 pesos "para la curacíon". Up to this point, we believed that it was a real and very distressing accident, Now doubts entered. Nevertheless, we told him that we don't carry that much money, but we gave him $500 pesos, he took it, looked thoughtful, nodded and drove off.
We crossed the street and entered the restaurant in a truly down mood. We weren't sure if it was a real injury, or a scam to get money from gullible tourists like us. We speculate that he already had an old finger injury and was using it to get extra income, but we can't say for sure. In either case, it was really upsetting for us and quite possibly very painful for the taxista.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2016 17:23:36 GMT
Hmmm. For some strange reason, I found myself in quite a few taxis of Oaxaca recently, but I was able to convince a Spanish speaking local woman to sit in the front seat each time, even if I as Señor Hombre would normally have claimed that position with two women behind. She seemed to brilliantly tame each driver and we always arrived at our destination for a reasonable fee.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Nov 9, 2016 19:10:49 GMT
Hmmm. For some strange reason, I found myself in quite a few taxis of Oaxaca recently, but I was able to convince a Spanish speaking local woman to sit in the front seat each time, even if I as Señor Hombre would normally have claimed that position with two women behind. She seemed to brilliantly tame each driver and we always arrived at our destination for a reasonable fee. She is, after all, a commanding figure.
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