THURSDAY-Taxi Ride

Probably the nicest taxi drive we've ever experienced. The car was fast, smooth, and quiet. A lot like the driver. He was great and had his radio tuned low to a station that played a mix of reggae, African, Indian, and Middle Eastern tunes.

Motorcycles and scooters are very popular and thankfully they're all Asian and European models with blissfully quiet engines and exhaust. Must have been 10 times the number you see in the US. These drivers are apparently accorded the dotted line portion of the road to drive on provided they do so at twice the posted speed limit.

This purposely wreckless behavior is not just tolerated, but appears to be enjoyed by everyone as the motorcyclists will beep to ask car drivers for more room while passing at break neck speed and everyone issues each other a jaunty wave as this manuver is executed. Driving the dotted line surely results in all the two-wheelers beating the traffic jams to work, and also solidifies these cyclist's claim on having balls like church bells.

We were surprised to see that almost all the cars on the road were only a few years old. There was only one car you could call 'old' that passed us. Most were nearly new, small, and clean. Lots of Mercedes, Peugots, Renalts, Citroen, and a couple others i just didn't recognize. With the exception of a single Toyota Yaris, there were no 'American' cars on the road.

Oh, and check this out; when's the last time you saw ash trays in a car in the US, let alone in each

of the doors?