Conversation with a Taxi Driver
When I arrived in Romania for the first time ever, I had landed in Otopeni Airport (since renamed as Aeroportul International Henri Coanda) in Bucureşti and encountered what was to become the very first of many similar conversations I would have with taxi drivers all over Romania. No matter the judetel, no matter the town, most taxi conversations sound something like this first one. And, particularly, if you are near any train station or another airport, you can expect to finally have this exact conversation yourself.
Download full Taxi MP3. Many thanks to acclivity for the background atmosphere sample.
April 1st, 2006 at 10:37 am
This is more or less the speech they give you at Gara de Nord station even if they see you’re a Romanian. They just take out the “american dollars” part.And in Timisoara, but you get it only from the gipsy cabs in front of the station and around Piata Operei.
I’m proud to say the taxi drivers in my town won’t do that to you :)
April 1st, 2006 at 1:31 pm
I have to admit you’re right about the taxi drivers pestering just about everyone at the Gara or Airport. But they won’t go quite so far with natives as they do with Americans (or perceived Americans). They just won’t let you be… even following you around.
Taxis in Timisoara are ruthlessly corrupt and I really detest the taxi culture there.
I think I was once in a Gypsy taxi! He didn’t look the part, to be honest. He looked the quintessential Roman. But he acted like one, complete with overly friendly chatter, extremely loud manele, and excessive charges at the end of the ride.
April 1st, 2006 at 6:18 pm
have felt your pain as well…
April 1st, 2006 at 6:19 pm
And if the tag wouldn’t be broekn, it would read OTHERS have felt your pain :)
April 1st, 2006 at 6:49 pm
Haha, I remember that well! In fact, the specifics of the “twenty dollars” dialogue reminds of another taxi experience in Bulgaria…
I’ve been telling friends and family about this taxi issue for about a year or something… finally decided just to record it for everyone else!
April 1st, 2006 at 10:19 pm
I think you can hear such conversation everywhere ;) (except the cities, where taxi system is more or less organized, with taxometers). Taxi drivers are the most unwelcoming people to foreigners and the most reckless drivers
April 2nd, 2006 at 7:34 am
just as i thought – to be authentic, the taximetrist HAS to offer “pretty girls.” and you delivered – right on cue. amazing.
on a side note, moldova WAS wonderful. i just had a couple of extra cultural adventures. i truly loved my visit there – people were warm, friendly and generous to me as a visitor.
April 2nd, 2006 at 11:51 am
cherolex, you make a good point
…but! Bucuresti *is* a big city and regulated with meters, et cetera. This is more the kind of behavior I would associate with… je ne sais quoi… thirdworldism? Suffice to say, it’s one area where Romania is lagging behind in it’s development. (And so are a few of the neighbors, frankly.)
This serves as a smiling notification to those of us from the northern part of the other hemisphere. You’ve been warned, mon ami Quebecois.
mamaliga, I have recently begun to think about this issue and so I think I agree with you. Clearly, it is must have service offering for any self-respecting cabbie, da? Aham, asa e! Too bad, though…
April 8th, 2006 at 11:41 am
You should see how they treat you when you come to gara de nord and you are carrying a troller bag.
Airport? Airport? Cheap ride to the airport for you, miss!
I mean, YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE AIRPORT if you have a troller.
April 8th, 2006 at 3:58 pm
This post has been removed by the author.
April 8th, 2006 at 4:03 pm
Clar! Recently, I was advising a fellow against bringing wheeled luggage to Romania because his Americaness would be broadcast with much amplification… bringing with it the assorted sundry responses of taxi drivers and pickpockets…
You must need a taxi because that thing won’t wheel much of anywhere. And since you “didn’t know that” then you must not be from aici. And, uh, all straine need the airport, so… er… yeah…
But, the key part is, did he speak to you in English?! Heh.
My main backpack is a clever beast. It’s got an extendable handle and rollerblade wheels, but everything is essentially hidden to the point where no one notices. Unless it’s a rare instance where that is how I want to use it (and then I’m glad I paid extra for such a nice bag).
Let’s be honest, though. If you REALLY want to appear local at the gara, just stuff 9,000 kilos of oddly-shaped gear into some plastic (or wicker!) bags and carry them 8 at a time in each hand… while fumezi Carpati.. fara filtru..
April 8th, 2006 at 10:49 pm
Hahahaha.
I bought a troller a couple of years ago, while I was traveling extensively abroad. It’s very useful when you have 2-week long trips. At some point I thought it would be a good idea to take it to Constanta while visiting my parents because I had to walk a lot from the train station to their house. After a couple of times, though, I gave up. Facing the taxi drivers (some in English, some in Romanian) was much too much.
But I still see them harassing troller-people, while I carry my backpack and ignore them. :)
April 20th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
I just spent a good part of the afternoon reading through your blog. It brings back memories of Romania for me since we lived in Bucharest for 5 years from 99-94. I’ll be back regularly to see what’s new. I especially love your photos!
May 25th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
[...] Earlier I introduced my American friends to the talented hip-hop artists B.U.G Mafia which I believe it the most accessible, most marketable band in Romania (even if the record companies are quite bright enough to capitalize on it). Indeed, the review I posted on this very blog has been seeing a lot of search engine traffic from folks living all over Europe who are looking to learn more about baiatii nostri. [...]
July 19th, 2006 at 2:53 pm
[...] At some point, we started the marathon timer to intiate a hurried quest in search of the best kebab in all of Romania. Our efforts were aided by the fact that I already knew how to find the place. We jumped into a cab and headed towards parcul central, yammering in English all the while expressly in order to draw the curious eyes of our taximetrist. [...]
March 22nd, 2007 at 4:49 pm
[...] my very first trip to Romania, I had picked up a rental car at the airport after battling with taxi drivers. I hit the highway and noticed all the scantily-clad, beautiful women lined up for hitch-hiking [...]
May 1st, 2007 at 2:02 pm
calling for a cab in bucuresti is very important.
try one of those numbers on the cabs, talk to the annoying operators, try to be polite to them, even though the treat you like dirt, but pay less, no manele, and no rude gipsy to talk really loud and over-friendly…
and… i have to say… about what you say in your blog… so true…sadly.
July 8th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
[...] the airport, my first contact was with Romanian taxi drivers whom I shook off until the rental car arrived. I climbed inside and left the terminal in search of [...]
August 8th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Constanta railway station has the same problem, but far more ugly. There is a group of illegal black market taxi drivers who hover around the station and pester anyone who does not look Romanian. To add gravitas to their “$20″ offer they might even take your bag and put it into the car (which is not a yellow taxi car). A group of 8 of us turned up at the station and we were literally swarmed by them. They took one of the bags and I forceably had to take it out of their car. We managed to get to the mini bus (we were heading back from Mamaia and needed to get to Bucharest) but the driver refused to take us claiming that there was no space.
Strangely, the “drivers” seemed to know about this before the bus was even full. After we watched countless Romanians board the bus AFTER we had been told that there was no room, we saw one of the “drivers” shaking hands with the bus driver and handing him some notes. We quickly found two yellow cabs (who were not pestering us) and asked them how much to Bucharest. We ended up paying 25 euros each which isn’t bad considering the fact that we just wanted to get out of there. The next bus could have left 3 hours later and we didn’t fancy sharing our evening with those guys.
We were told at the hotel later that these drivers can be EXTREMELY dangerous. There are countless horror stories of obscene overcharging, physical intimidation and much worse. They have a few of the official bus drivers in their pockets and I implore anyone who reads this NEVER to get into one of these cars. The blatant lack of infrastructure in Romania, especially along the coast, will only serve as a deterrent to tourists and and visitors. Until someone does something about these people Romania will not be taken seriously as a viable or safe holiday destination.
I’ll save the gastroenteritis part of my holiday for another post….
August 18th, 2007 at 12:05 am
I am recently hosting an exchange student from Romania, but strange to me, she is very reserved barely share her families and romanian cultures, I wish it is not just language barrier. Sometimes can be frustrating we wanted to get to know more of her or how the teen age cultures in Constanti she seems dress differently and her ways.
any input are welcome to educate me more so can understan her cultures
September 15th, 2007 at 6:51 am
omg….
i love this blog….i visited RO and thought i would die in a taxi…..then i thought i would kill the driver for the price he wanted me to pay…grrr
i am an american…and i will be back in RO very soon…
i need help!
i need american/english speaking friendlys….i have NO idea where to go or what to do…
HELP
May 7th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
The supposed driver has such a good accent. I think it’s actually staged but I do not deny that they may act very close to that.
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:54 pm
luxury minibus hire…
[...]Romer!can – Dispatches from an American in Romania (was Transylvania)[...]…