Transportation Tidbits

I think I've mentioned before that taxis are plentiful, here in Cairo, but I don't think I have told you about what happens when they apply their brakes. You see, because there are so many taxis everywhere, taxi drivers do whatever they can to make their taxi more appealing to customers. One such method, which sounds like it is the most common method, is to hook up some really low quality music to the brakes so that every time the taxi slows down, it plays music outside of the car. I guess this is probably to let people know that a taxi is nearby, in much the same way as ice cream truck drivers in North America play music when they drive around the neighborhood trying to woo children. The funny part to this story is that the music that is usually played is some sad rendition of 'It's a Small World'. The music quality is so tinny and high that I didn't even realize what song this was until last week.

Speaking of taxis, while I was riding in one today, the driver showed me a bunch of small notes that totaled 50 pounds. He motioned that he wanted a 50 pound note in exchange for this smaller change. Happy to break my 50 pounds into smaller notes, I obliged and pulled out a crisp new 50 pound note from my wallet and handed it to him. As he handed me his money, he took mine and exchanged the 50 pound note with a 50 piaster note (which is the Egyptian equivalent of cents). He then proceeded to accuse me of giving him only 50 piasters instead of 50 pounds. This was an obvious scam that he had pulled on a number of unlucky tourists in the past, but it wasn't going to work on me. I took his 50 piasters, looked at him with raised eyebrows, laughed and threw it into his pile of change while shaking my head. He shrugged his shoulders like, "Oh well, maybe next time I'll trick them," and kept on driving. I promptly got out and paid for the trip (he also tried to rip me off with the fee as well!). It seems that some people aren't as accommodating as the rest!

Speaking of unaccommodating transportation people, a minibus driver hit me today while I was biking home!! He smashed right into the side of my bike and knocked me off of it. The impact bent the fender around my wheel so that my tire wouldn’t even rotate anymore. The driver gave me a slightly apologetic wave and took off. In order to get home I had to bend the fender back with my hands. Now the wheel wobbles as I ride around, as if it were left in the sun for too long and started warping from the heat. No worries, though. I left the scene of the accident free from any injuries.