Taken for a ride in China
December 6, 2007
Yes, I was taken for a ride, literally and figuratively, my first hour in China. A taxi ride from Pudong airport to downtown Shanghai, about 50 kilometers, ended up costing me 1280 yuan - about $200 give or take. It was my own fault for not checking before I got in the cab, but I was really steamed halfway through the ride. However, there were two people - a driver and another person in the front seat. He was pleasant, charged me 900 then another 380 yuan, and let me practice my Chinese on him. At the end of the ride I said the price was very high and that I wanted a refund of 250 yuan, but a) the original driver had driven off and b) he seemed to not understand what I was saying. Imagine that!
I did get receipts indicating that I’d paid 1280 yuan, so perhaps I can expense it? Seems an excessive price to expense, but I may end up having to write it off my own taxes as an unreimbursed business expense. This is what Dave Ramsey would call ’stupid tax’. Yes, I was a bit tired after 24 hours of travel, and wasn’t thinking 100% straight, but it was still my fault.
I took a few pictures from the cab. When I get the off the camera I’ll post them on flickr.
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December 6th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Wow, things sure have changed from when I was there in the mid-80’s. Everything was dirt cheap back then, and you could get an even bigger discount by trading in your American dollars for Ren Min Bi on the black market. Do they still have those pedicabs in Shanghai, or is everything 100% motorized now?
One place I highly reccomend you visit while you’re there is the Peace Hotel (http://www.shanghaipeacehotel.com/indexe.htm). Back then it was the only place in town to hear live jazz. I’m sure there are quite a few now though.
Anyway, sorry to hear you had such an expensive ride, but hopefully your employers will be sympathetic - after all, they sent you over there without arranging transportation for you, so you did the best you could I’m sure.
Take care and enjoy!
Zaijian!
December 7th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Hi Mike,
welcome to the edging-toward-capitalism PRC.
Seriously, though - why did you not opt for the Pudong Airport - downtown Shanghai 400 km/h train trip? I would have snapped up that opportunity had it come my way.
Any particular reason?