So we had been told by the taxi driver yesterday not to get a taxi from where we were, but to hop on any bus (the taxis would charge an arm and a leg because we were in a popular place for tourists).
We did as instructed and tried to get on a bus, but found that we needed a card and could not pay with cash. A guy who had helped us earlier find our swimming pool talked to the driver and told us to just duck under the bar that would not move unless we used a card and we got onto the bus for a free ride, going we didn't know where.
We rode the bus until it stopped and the driver said this was the end of the line. So we started to try and get a taxi. As is our custom, we began to walk in the direction we wanted to go while trying to hail a cab, but a man stopped us and told us to go back and get on another bus. He didn't want us walking and we figured he might have a good reason, so we went to try and get on a second bus going who knows where.
It turned out that we needed a card for that bus also.
A man sitting up front used his card to get us in and we paid him the 25 cents it cost for the ride.
Now I was starting to feel like we had lots of friends!
This bus started driving in areas we'd never seen, but we had verified before getting onto it that it would take us to the "centre" of town.
Now on our first day here we found out that asking to be taken to the centre is open to many different kinds of interpretation. We later learned on the tour bus that the center is constantly changing.
When we recognized where we were and the bus seemed to start heading back in the direction we came from, we hopped off and walked in the correct direction in hopes of finding a cab.
It was actually easier to get a taxi then other times we've tried to get home. Apparently not every driver in the city feels like driving to our neck of the woods.
We got home safe and I remembered that we had said a couple days ago that we should try taking the bus.
Well, we got our bus adventure and were the only foreigners on those buses.
Also, my dutch blood was satiated knowing that we saved at least $15 by not taking a taxi the whole way!
We did as instructed and tried to get on a bus, but found that we needed a card and could not pay with cash. A guy who had helped us earlier find our swimming pool talked to the driver and told us to just duck under the bar that would not move unless we used a card and we got onto the bus for a free ride, going we didn't know where.
We rode the bus until it stopped and the driver said this was the end of the line. So we started to try and get a taxi. As is our custom, we began to walk in the direction we wanted to go while trying to hail a cab, but a man stopped us and told us to go back and get on another bus. He didn't want us walking and we figured he might have a good reason, so we went to try and get on a second bus going who knows where.
It turned out that we needed a card for that bus also.
A man sitting up front used his card to get us in and we paid him the 25 cents it cost for the ride.
Now I was starting to feel like we had lots of friends!
This bus started driving in areas we'd never seen, but we had verified before getting onto it that it would take us to the "centre" of town.
Now on our first day here we found out that asking to be taken to the centre is open to many different kinds of interpretation. We later learned on the tour bus that the center is constantly changing.
When we recognized where we were and the bus seemed to start heading back in the direction we came from, we hopped off and walked in the correct direction in hopes of finding a cab.
It was actually easier to get a taxi then other times we've tried to get home. Apparently not every driver in the city feels like driving to our neck of the woods.
We got home safe and I remembered that we had said a couple days ago that we should try taking the bus.
Well, we got our bus adventure and were the only foreigners on those buses.
Also, my dutch blood was satiated knowing that we saved at least $15 by not taking a taxi the whole way!
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