King Kab

I attended a workshop yesterday in the middle of the afternoon. This workshop was all the way on the other side of Shanghai's inner circle. This would mean crossing over the river and passing the downtown area. I was running a little late but wasn't too concerned since it started with lunch.

When I first stepped into the cab, I noticed it's appearance. In the cabs here, all seats are covered with a very white cloth - which this one had. The standard door molding was a light gray. This one had turned to a brown/ black from longtime wear and tear. In addition, there was a piece of duct tape by my foot, right by the door. Creatively, the duct tape was painted red to match the frame. I decided to sit a little closer to the center of the car.

I call this man the King Kab. He not only got me to the other side of town in under 20 minutes, I left the cab intact. There were some moments where I felt like I needed to whip out my inhaler like Albert Brenneman in Hitch. The good decision I made to up my life insurance also crossed my mind. Just to put it in perspective, it usually takes me 25 minutes to get to work, this location was at least 2.5 times further. King Kab would start turning into a lane when the car in the other lane was halfway up to his vehicle. This allowed the other driver to give me the "*$&% look", like I had control of the wheel. In addition to King Kab's expert driving skills, he was also able to "groom" himself by 'brushing' his moustache with two coins. A few times, he started singing to the tunes on the radio - an upcoming China Idol. I don't think the rides at Six Flags was as fun as this one.