It was an eye opening trip this time. It was a well-deserved break for me. I met my good friend who was on a business trip in Guangzhou. He brought me around the city and we did some shopping. It is simply an amazing city. Although rather messy and traffic very chaotic, the city is bustling with life. Now I can comprehend what is meant by "strong domestic demand...despite the financial tsunami", often quoted to describe the 3rd largest economy in the world.
I took a public bus from Baiyun International Airport to the railway station downtown. I tried to flag a cab without much success after that. After a while, a man rode up to me in a 3-wheeled scooter. He offered to take me to my destination. Since I was totally unfamiliar with Guangzhou, I sought his help to locate the hotel. He took a while to verify where the hotel was. Then, he quoted me RMB25. I agreed without hesitation. It was about 5km from where we were. He took my large luggage and strapped it on a platform fitted to his scooter. Then here we went. The ride was both scary and exhilarating. We went through highway, back lanes, against traffic and illegal turns. At one point, the machine started choking along the highway. The uncle had to stop and check on the petrol tank. He shook the scooter a bit and checked on a few items. He then appeared to behave suspiciously, peering continuously left and right. I was still sitting. I started to get a little worried, wondering if there was any ulterior motive. Memories of people telling me that Guangzhou's crime rate is high started flashing in my mind. I thought he had accomplice and he deliberately stopped his scooter in the middle of a highway to mug me. Anyway, after less than 5 minutes, he managed to re-start his engine and we moved on again. It was a 20-min ride to my hotel and finally I arrived safe and sound. Phew! I asked him how much again and this time he said RMB30. I just gave him without question. I was just thankful I was safe. The ride was like a James Bond ride on a took took van in Thailand!
