My kinda taxis!

Something nice about China’s smaller cities is the option of the ‘in-between’ transport hire – the motor trishaw. I call them the Scooty.

These fancy little open taxis usually hang around train and bus stations to ferry people through winding small little off-the-map streets to their homes.

These motor trishaws have zero suspension, go at 30km/h, and make cute littke honk honk sounds whenever they try to squeeze between lorries and taxis. Yes, as if the big guys give a hoot.

Choosing this form of transport somehow also gives me a small sense of noble satisfaction that I’m doing something to help the small guys make money, and especially very old men who have been doing this job for eons.

So all in all, preferred mode of transport. Only one thing I didn’t quite realise until a few days ago….

This ‘uncle’ agreed to take me from the Long Distance Bus Station 长途客站 to the Light Rail station. Only problem was: the fastest way to get there would be to get on a highway, but one that’s going in the OPPOSITE direction. Here we go:

… and then:

we fly right by a huge truck!

The pictures here don’t do much justice to this harrowing experience. But trust me, when I was in that little scooty, I was practically seeing my life starting to flash past me. As I grabbed whatever rod/rail/cushion I could lay my hands on, Uncle Hero was zipping by these mammoth trucks like in a Tom & Jerry episode.

Anyway, we got out of the highway *hallelujah!*.

But then, there was Part 2.  Scooty finally revealed its biggest value point: it can take the shortest routes by riding on (muddy and rocky) paths which cars cannot get on. Lo and behold, I found myself buzzing right through a garbage dumping ground. *hallelujah again*

So finally through fumes and faeces, I arrive at my destination. Uncle smiles at me and asks for his 7 RMB.

I gladly paid him (because it was over), and scurried off to jump on the modern air-conditioned light rail.

 

But will I take another ride again? Hell yeah! 🙂