Taxi

Day 89
Well like in most of the world, Shanghai has taxis! Here in Shanghai there is a special ranking system that allows the passengers to know whether they will be spending 5 minutes or 20 minutes in the taxi for the same destination. It has nothing to do with the driver trying to get more money; it just means that he’s bad. The ranking system uses “stars” to help determine the best from the helpless. 5 stars= The Unicorn. Rarely seen, and are lucky to ride in one, he probably knows a bit of English and can drive through Shanghai with their eyes closed. 4 stars= The All Star. Just like the 5 star, there aren’t that many and they know their way around and very dependable. 3 stars= The B Student. Not yet an all star but still shows flashes of brilliance on the road, reliable but may not be the smoothest driver. 2 stars= The IKEA of taxis. Shows that they can hang with the big dogs sometimes, but lacks in quality sometimes. 1 star= Guy who got moved from the mailroom to the office. He just got promoted and wants to prove himself but still has a lot to learn. No stars= The Temp. He will either do an okay job or just totally mess up. There is a chance that it will be okay, but prepare for the worst.
Well I have seen the unicorn, and it is beautiful. According to my wise friend Geoff, I will have 7 years of bad luck because I did not get in the taxi when I had a chance. I saw the taxi start to roll up to me as my bus was right behind it. I considered taking the taxi just to say that I rode the Unicorn, but I didn’t and I regret it. So stay away from me for the next 7 years, or help me find a Unicorn again. Just today I had the joy of getting into a taxi and seeing that there was in fact zero stars. I told the driver where I wanted to go and when he repeated it I could see his eyes go to the far left and up, clearly he was thinking but had no idea where it was. I had to tell him where to go and even that could not help him from jerking the car back and forth like I was on a carnival ride. So there you go, that should help you in your journey when you’re in Shanghai, look for the Unicorn.