Two dollars!!!

just got home... its almost 6am!

I was downtown visiting the set of a film currently in production.  it was really cool! 

I decided to take a taxi home instead of taking a bus like normal, since i didn't want to have to wait for it to come and have to walk home from the bus stop...

I went to the spot where the 'cross harbor' taxis normally park and told the driver i wanted to go to kowloon.  if you take a regular taxi across the harbor you have to pay double the toll (so the driver can go back across after they drop you off...) -- a 'cross harbor taxi' (whether in an official spot or not, don't charge double the toll.

As i got into this taxi, i noticed the guy didn't have the 'out of order' sign the  cross harbor taxis usually display if they are not in an official spot....    so I tried to ask him whether or not he was a cross harbor one.... he was pretty old and  didn't speak english --  but wasn't going to wait to figure out what i was trying to ask him... he already started the meter and started driving down the block before I figured out how to ask him in mandarin how much i had to pay for the toll (luckily he was stopped at the first red light on the corner).

He answered in Chinese "it's $20" (which is double), so I realized he wasn't the right kind of taxi and i told him "sorry, I'm getting out."  he tried to say i couldn't but i didn't wait for his permission!  I got out and started walking back up the street to one of the cross harbor taxis (he was originally parked behind them, now we were a few car lengths ahead of them).

he opened the door and started yelling about me owing him the $16 base fare...  but i waved "no way!" to him and walked off -- he literally had driven 50' or less.  So I jumped into the next taxi and we started driving. 

Of course when the original driver saw I was in the taxi he started yelling as we drove by!  i thought "oh ok, whatever...'"

but I was really surprised when like two blocks down the street, he pulled up along next to us and was shouting and honking his horn!  We were going like 30-40 mph all the while.  He was shouting that I owed him money cause he started the meter!   I rolled down the window and started yelling back at him,  it was hilarious!  

Our 40 mph car-to-car conversation (shouting match) went something like this:

him: "hey! you owe me $16!"

me: "where did you take me? you only drove me two meters! I'm not going to pay!"

him: "$^&@%!"  

Thank god the driver of the taxi  I was in just started laughing and kept driving...  I apologized to him for the trouble and tried to explain to him how the guy started driving w/o waiting to figure out what I was trying to ask him.   When he dropped me off he was like "next time be careful, those old guys get very angry!"

ok bed time. another busy day tomorrow.  i've got a bunch of anniversary party pictures uploaded, i'll put them public tomorrow, i promise. ;-)