This week I’ve been practicing taking the bus! Sounds easy right? When every sign is in Chinese characters, and the place names are unrecognisable to my ears, it is really not!
During my first week I took taxis to most places. I mastered calling a taxi during my first few days here. However, everyone warns me that because I am a foreigner, taxi drivers may try and go the long way round to the destination or charge me extra. I have quickly made note of how much a journey should cost so I know how much I should roughly pay. For example, earlier in the week I took a taxi one way and it cost me the equivalent of £2.00, on the way back it was £1.20! Despite the fact that I don’t like the idea of being charged extra, it’s only 80p and the taxi driver definitely needs it more than I do!
The taxis seem really cheap to me, but for the locals here, they are expensive. They usually cost the equivalent of around £1.50 - £2.00 for a journey, from 20 to 40 minutes (depending on traffic). But when I realised a bus ticket was the equivalent of 10p … I thought I should take the bus!
The buses are always crowded and it can be uncomfortable at times. Watching Chinese people’s reactions to my presence on a bus is priceless. I’m sure they must think, ‘what is she doing here?’ This is not really a tourist city so seeing a Westerner on a bus must be pretty uncommon! When Natalia (the Russian girl I met during my first week) takes the bus with me, people are even more surprised at seeing two foreigners together on the same bus!
They are currently building an underground system here that should be opened next year. Other teachers keep telling me that it is worth buying an e-bike! I really don’t trust myself or others! Although I must admit it is fun to be a passenger on them, I could never drive one myself!
The traffic in this city is just ridiculous! There is traffic at all hours of the day and night. Don’t even attempt to be on the road during rush hours! I didn’t know the meaning of ‘busy’ until I came here. I didn’t know the meaning of ‘too many people’ until I came here. Think of the amount of people Christmas shopping a week before Christmas day. That is what this city is like 24/7!
I still can’t get over how massive and packed with people this city is. There are around 12 million people living here in this city! In the Henan province alone there are around 100 million people!!!
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