Taxi Game

Taxis in Qingdao were unlike those in any other country I’ve ever been. Cab drivers avoided the hassle of dealing with foreigners. Sometimes a dozen cabs would drive right by us before would stop. Then, half the time they would refuse our fare when they found out where we wanted to go. I would show them the card with the address of our destination on it, and they would shake their heads. They all had GPS, but were rarely willing to leave the neighborhood. I asked Lily, the hotel clerk where we were staying, about it, and she said, “I know right! Qingdao taxis are so strange!”

None of that affected my daughter very much. She just loved that the taxis had video games in the seat backs, like on a airplane.