That's So China: Taxi or Formula One?

I'm usually a cheapskate about transportation here and insist on taking buses whenever possible, but we were running late, so we took a taxi to church. You never quite know what you are getting yourself into when you get a taxi here. The drivers range from the rare careful driver, to the more common race-car-driver-wanna-be. Today was one of the latter. He grunted when I told him the directions, which I've found to be a sign of a fast driver, and, sure enough, he sped through red lights most of the way (Moral dilemma: When you're late for church, is it okay to hope the driver runs red lights?). We're so used to this kind of thing that none of us flinch or even notice anymore when breaking the traffic laws. I don't even cringe when driving in the path of an oncoming bus. All to be expected here.

This guy, however, was notable because he had been smoking before he picked us up, and so he thoughtfully held his cigarette out the window with his left hand while he steered and changed gears with his right. It sounds impressive, but the prize for the most skillful taxi driver I've experienced goes to the guy who used his left hand to talk on his cell phone, while his right hand held his wallet, and still managed to steer and shift gears. Imagine the admiration I felt when this same driver shot the gap to pass a long line of cars, and just made it back into the right lane in time to avoid the oncoming traffic.

I do have other favorite rides, though, that are on the other end of the spectrum. There's the chatty woman driver, I've ridden with her twice, who when I tell her directions, repeats them over and over, asks me for confirmation, and thanks me profusely. She says a whole lot of other things to me, while I nod and pretend like I understand her. Another guy I've ridden with more than once played easy-listening music and drove at an even, leisurely pace, obeying all traffic rules. I felt like I'd just had a good 15 minutes of meditation after getting out of his cab. Of course, I must have jinxed it by telling him, "See you again," because I haven't seen him since. Another memorable driver hacked and spit out the window with great gusto for most of the drive. This skill still enables the driver to use both hands to maneuver the car, so all in all I considered it a good ride.

So, whether it's driving with one hand, sqeaking through an intersection by just missing the cross traffic, or hocking a juicy loogie, I have to hand it to the taxi drivers here: they're one talented bunch.