Wild Taxi Rides in China 7/08

Jumping into taxis was like jumping onto the wild mouse ride at an amusement park. It helped if you closed your eyes. No one wanted to ride in the front seat - your life would flash before your eyes as the taxi driver veered his machine this way and that, ignoring lane markings and most traffic signals. (Plus the person in the front seat had to "communicate" with the driver - a sticky situation to begin with as driver and passenger used hand signals, notes and head nodding to talk with each other.) More than once, innocent pedestrians would leap out of the taxi's path with mere seconds to spare. I usually hunched down in the back of the taxi, (Did I tell you that there are NO seatbelts in the back? The law only requires them in the front seat.) trying to carry on a normal conversation (wondering if the driver was listening to us because maybe he spoke English after all!) over the beating of my heart, involuntarily gasping when my eyes strayed out the windows or the driver blared his horn. One of our guides informed us that honking is illegal in the city - I guess no one told the taxi drivers.