Yes!
Best. Cab. Ride. Ever.
It snowed maybe six inches this evening, which my friend Dylan (here for three or four years now) told me was the most he's seen at one time south of Seoul. Big, fat, wet, flaky stuff, perfect for making snowmen--and wiping out taxi cabs.
After having dinner with a friend, I tried to meet up with some coworkers. Due to the snowfall, and the lack of snow tires in this country, it took twenty five minutes instead of the usual seven. When I finally found a cab, and persuaded him to go where I wanted to go (instead of wherever it was he suggested), the guy drove maybe fifteen kilometers an hour until we hit a big logjam of cars about two kilometers away from where I wanted to be. So, he took a shortcut. We came upon a car spinning its tires, attempting to climb a 30 degree incline. The cabbie dutifully got out and started yelling at the driver of the car in front of us to kick it up a notch (or something to that effect). The driver got out, conversed with my cabbie for a few minutes, appropriately angled his vehicle, and then got back in his car and floored it. He plowed head on into a car coming down the hill, and both drivers proceeded to begin pummeling each other (once they ensured that the other was not paralyzed, natch). My cabbie (the guy personally responsible for conceptualizing this accident) got back in the car and rested his head on the steering wheel and swore a whole bunch. Then, he stuck his head out of the window and screamed something. The two drivers of the damaged cars obligingly moved their wrecks off of the road. My cabbie then let out a banshee-esque wail and stepped on the gas. The Elantra barely made it to the top of the hill, which transformed into a one-lane one-way Mario Kart track which forced him to pull the E-brake and scream like a kamikaze pilot in order to not smash into the retaining wall. I don't know how he executed that turn, but when I opened my eyes we were stopped, safely situated at the top of the incline, through the hairpin turn. I know this sounds ridiculous (or completely unintelligible) but dear god, that was the best bit of driving I have ever witnessed, televised or otherwise. He was literally panting, and when he looked up at me he had this psychotic grin on his face. He yelled "OKAY!" and off we went. The fare was 2.5 times as much as usual, but considering it took five times longer than normal, I was happy to pay what the meter stipulated. My legs were wobbly for an hour afterwards. Awesome.
It snowed maybe six inches this evening, which my friend Dylan (here for three or four years now) told me was the most he's seen at one time south of Seoul. Big, fat, wet, flaky stuff, perfect for making snowmen--and wiping out taxi cabs.
After having dinner with a friend, I tried to meet up with some coworkers. Due to the snowfall, and the lack of snow tires in this country, it took twenty five minutes instead of the usual seven. When I finally found a cab, and persuaded him to go where I wanted to go (instead of wherever it was he suggested), the guy drove maybe fifteen kilometers an hour until we hit a big logjam of cars about two kilometers away from where I wanted to be. So, he took a shortcut. We came upon a car spinning its tires, attempting to climb a 30 degree incline. The cabbie dutifully got out and started yelling at the driver of the car in front of us to kick it up a notch (or something to that effect). The driver got out, conversed with my cabbie for a few minutes, appropriately angled his vehicle, and then got back in his car and floored it. He plowed head on into a car coming down the hill, and both drivers proceeded to begin pummeling each other (once they ensured that the other was not paralyzed, natch). My cabbie (the guy personally responsible for conceptualizing this accident) got back in the car and rested his head on the steering wheel and swore a whole bunch. Then, he stuck his head out of the window and screamed something. The two drivers of the damaged cars obligingly moved their wrecks off of the road. My cabbie then let out a banshee-esque wail and stepped on the gas. The Elantra barely made it to the top of the hill, which transformed into a one-lane one-way Mario Kart track which forced him to pull the E-brake and scream like a kamikaze pilot in order to not smash into the retaining wall. I don't know how he executed that turn, but when I opened my eyes we were stopped, safely situated at the top of the incline, through the hairpin turn. I know this sounds ridiculous (or completely unintelligible) but dear god, that was the best bit of driving I have ever witnessed, televised or otherwise. He was literally panting, and when he looked up at me he had this psychotic grin on his face. He yelled "OKAY!" and off we went. The fare was 2.5 times as much as usual, but considering it took five times longer than normal, I was happy to pay what the meter stipulated. My legs were wobbly for an hour afterwards. Awesome.
posted by Matthew at 4:32 AM
1 Comments:
That is terrifying.
But also pretty fucking cool cause it makes for a fabulous story. Well done, Matt, putting yourself in such hilarious peril!
Unsuccessful seagway...
Have you ever come across this? http://www.venganza.org/
everytime i accidently type in an incomplete URL this pops up... am i alone with this occurrence, or is there a wonderful conspiracy? Either way - I like it.
Post a Comment
<< Home