Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Luxury Taxi???

I was invited to iftar yesterday. After waiting an hour for a bus, I realized I’d be late, so I went to the taxi stand.

‘You want taxi?’

I was, of course, standing by the taxi stand because I was hoping that a yacht would sail by.

I told the driver where I was going. ‘How much?’ I asked.

‘Regular meter taxi.’

So I got in.

I make this trip often, and the fare is always around €2. Half way to my destination, the meter read €10.

‘I’ll get out here. The fare should have been around €2. What is this?’ I handed the driver €10 and started to get out.

The driver said, ‘This luxury taxi.’

‘This is a Chevy. Chevy’s cost less than the Toyotas the regular taxis use.’

The driver handed me back €5, turned off the meter, and said he’d take me to my destination.

‘My boss get meter charge much more than regular taxi. I sorry. My boss big cheater, not me. Yesterday I take people to from Clock Tower to City Centre for €20.’

So I ended up paying €5 for a €2 taxi ride, but I thanked the driver for his honesty.

I arrived about half an hour before iftar. My host, knowing I’m not a Muslim, had one of his servants give me a cup of tea. Finally, it was iftar, and I went to wash my hands. By the time I’d finished, iftar, consisting of three dates and three sips of water, was over. My host was praying.

‘Where you go?’ he asked after he’d finished praying.

I made my excuses, then we sat down to a dinner of normal fare: rice, chicken, and goat stew. Nothing special for Ramadan, but still very nice.