I've had many problems with taxi drivers in this country, but we're not going to talk about this. Maybe another time, but not today.
Today I'm going to tell you a few amusing stories that happened to me while riding taxis.
The first one happened to me a few years ago. I lived in Ploiesti and worked in Bucharest. I used to do some hard naveting with the maxi-taxi everyday and I would arrive back in Plo around 22:30 ~ 23:00 in the evening at Gara de Sud. Going home from Gara de Sud by bus would take me another 30 or 40 minutes because I would have to take one to downtown and a second one from downtown to home, so I used to ride taxis. One night when I arrived at Gara de Sud there was only one taxi parked in front of the station. One battered, rusty, way past retirement, disgustingly green Mercedes. The driver, an old, fat, dark skin gypsy. Well, it was late and it was the only cab in the parking lot, so I guess I didn't have much choice. He had the radio on and soon after we left the station it started playing Stand By Me. I started mumbling the song. The driver noticed and turned the volume up. And in the refrain he joined in and we both rode all the way home singing.
Totally surreal.
The second story happened a few weeks ago. I was going downtown to meet some friends at the karaoke bar. I took a cab here at Stefan Cel Mare. The driver was a young, early 30s guy. As soon as we left I noticed the strange music playing in the car. Surprise, surprise: Japanese music. J-Pop. Japanese silly pop music, sung by silly Japanese teenage girls. I was curious. I asked him if he really usually listen to Japanese music. He asked me how did I know it is Japanese. Well, I didn't say "duuh!" because I know that most people in this country believe that any Asian must be Chinese. So I told him that I am Japanese. And he told me that he's been to Japan for 3 months a few years ago.
The last one happened a couple of days ago. A friend of mine invited me to her place. I took a cab here on Stefan Cel Mare. The driver was a gypsy, mid 30s. He was listening to manele when I boarded the car but he switched it off and turned on the radio. Then on the radio it started playing George Michael - Careless Whisper. And the driver started singing along.
It's a pity that most taxi drivers are not like these. On the contrary, these are very rare cases. Maybe one day I will tell you the other side of riding taxis in Romania. The horror stories. But not today. Today I'm feeling good.
Today I'm going to tell you a few amusing stories that happened to me while riding taxis.
The first one happened to me a few years ago. I lived in Ploiesti and worked in Bucharest. I used to do some hard naveting with the maxi-taxi everyday and I would arrive back in Plo around 22:30 ~ 23:00 in the evening at Gara de Sud. Going home from Gara de Sud by bus would take me another 30 or 40 minutes because I would have to take one to downtown and a second one from downtown to home, so I used to ride taxis. One night when I arrived at Gara de Sud there was only one taxi parked in front of the station. One battered, rusty, way past retirement, disgustingly green Mercedes. The driver, an old, fat, dark skin gypsy. Well, it was late and it was the only cab in the parking lot, so I guess I didn't have much choice. He had the radio on and soon after we left the station it started playing Stand By Me. I started mumbling the song. The driver noticed and turned the volume up. And in the refrain he joined in and we both rode all the way home singing.
Totally surreal.
The second story happened a few weeks ago. I was going downtown to meet some friends at the karaoke bar. I took a cab here at Stefan Cel Mare. The driver was a young, early 30s guy. As soon as we left I noticed the strange music playing in the car. Surprise, surprise: Japanese music. J-Pop. Japanese silly pop music, sung by silly Japanese teenage girls. I was curious. I asked him if he really usually listen to Japanese music. He asked me how did I know it is Japanese. Well, I didn't say "duuh!" because I know that most people in this country believe that any Asian must be Chinese. So I told him that I am Japanese. And he told me that he's been to Japan for 3 months a few years ago.
The last one happened a couple of days ago. A friend of mine invited me to her place. I took a cab here on Stefan Cel Mare. The driver was a gypsy, mid 30s. He was listening to manele when I boarded the car but he switched it off and turned on the radio. Then on the radio it started playing George Michael - Careless Whisper. And the driver started singing along.
It's a pity that most taxi drivers are not like these. On the contrary, these are very rare cases. Maybe one day I will tell you the other side of riding taxis in Romania. The horror stories. But not today. Today I'm feeling good.
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