October 21 - Arriving Shenzhen: Sometimes Things Go Wrong

Cliff's Note Summary:  Fun flight to Shenzhen but upon arrival, I got snookered (ok, "tricked" if you don't like my word) by a fake taxi driver and it cost me maybe 20-25 bucks extra.  If you want my excuses and the details, read on -- if you just want to laugh, and are convinced it could never happen to you -- just move on to the next posting! No humans were harmed -- even my ego isn't bruised.  Life happens and sometimes it "ain't" all positive.

First the positive:  Tiger Air has been very good to me.  I've already reported that on my flight from Bali to Singapore, sitting in seat 5C, I enjoyed a wonderfully informative flight when my seatmate happily kept the conversation going -- allowing me to learn much about her life, religion, and work (30 something, holds a Doctorate in Education, is a practicing Buddhist, and is a teacher in Malaysia (in Juhor Bahur, a place I'd never heard of -- just over the border out of Singapore).

Good fortune was with me again on Tiger Air from Singapore to Shenzhen when I happen to again be seated again in 5C -- and my seatmate was a 26 year old Muslim Indian. He similarly opened the door into some of his life (degree in commerce, fascinated by stories of American business tycoons (Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan, Vanderbilt -- he knew each of their stories), he decided his possible ticket to success would be in learning the Chinese language so he enrolled in a university in Hangzhou just to learn Chinese -- and he has now begun a business of assisting/brokering/handling logistics on Chinese factory orders for Indian businessmen -- and living in Guangzhou.

For those of you who have followed my blogs, you know that I thrive on these contacts -- even though they always serve to humble me about how little I know about everything, especially geography, cultures, and religions.

Anyway -- great, fun flights except that the one from Singapore to Shenzhen was weather delayed a couple of hours and we ended up arriving around 1:00am. I bid farewell to my fellow traveler (who was going to stay in the rail station until the first train to Guangzhou at around 6am) and set out to walk to my hotel which I had plotted to be less than 1/2 mile.

As I was headed to the door, a smartly dressed, handsome Chinese man approached me with “taxi?” – of course I know better than fall for such approaches but in this case I inexpictably decided to confirm that my hotel was walking distance by showing him my booking.com confirmation. With the use of his phone to translate, he explained that my hotel was near the “old” Shenzhen airport – not the new one where I had just arrived. A quick check of my maps.me app on the phone convinced me he was right – and so additional, challenged communication led me to understand my hotel was a drive, not a walk away. By this time, I was willingly walking with him – and when I asked about the distance and fare, he said “meter.” Convinced he was a metered taxi, I had been baited to follow along – though my suspicions were fighting against my tiredness when I saw his unmarked, though nice/new, car – and on high alert when I saw no meter. When I asked price, he said 280 RMB – and, in my tired ignorance of the moment and having come from Bali where even 50,000 is really only $3.65 USD – I had to get my currency converter app out to do the math and realize he had just quoted me $44.00 USD.

What do to now? We were away from the airport, it was 1:00 something in the morning and I had no idea whether we were really headed to my hotel. I decided now wasn't a good time to pick a fight – though I did mutter “too much” a few times and watched the maps.me app to make sure we were headed to what I thought was my hotel. For those of you who have only traveled where you can read signs and have your map apps readily accessible, you'd think “no big deal.” Let me tell you – it is a big deal when nothing is familiar and the streets are empty at 1:00 in the morning! But hey, wasn't I just writing in my last post about how much I enjoy this “adventure” part of traveling here. Well, I had just arrived and the adventure had begun.

Now I knew the name of my hotel was Jinjiang Inn – but when he stopped, this is all I could see -- but keep in mind it was dark -- photo was taken in daylight.

I directed him to drive into the driveway -- and a bunch of Chinese language came out that seemed to be saying that he couldn't.  I got out -- got my backpack and handed him 200 RMB (about $31USD) as he continued to ask for 280.  I just walked toward the entrance hoping it was the correct hotel and watching to see if he was following.  He didn't.

What should have the trip cost?  I have no idea.  While it was the correct hotel, the desk clerk spoke no English.  Everything went smoothly on checkin -- total cost for my 3 nights - 570 RMB (about $30 a night).  I was delighed when I found my very adequate and clean room with excellent wifi connection.  I slept well and will soon forget about the extra dollars the first part of this adventure cost.  You see -- some things I learn from my seat mates and the people I meet -- other things I learn from the mistakes I make and the people I meet when I make them.  Let the adventure continue!