(Another) Beijing Taxi Experience

Another interesting Beijing taxi experience yesterday. There was a butcher knife sticking out from the dashboard in this taxi driver's car. It was my friend who saw the handle sticking out and told me that there was a knife. I thought he was joking. I couldn't see it from where I sat; it just wasn't in my line of vision. So when I saw it, I was like, am I seeing right?! Looks like a black knife handle but what would a knife be doing there. “Should I ask him?” I asked my friend, he said, “sure” (His eyes were saying, "please do"). It actually looked like he might’ve just brought the butcher knife, and while driving took it out to look at it. And while looking at it, it slips through in between a gap by the dashboard, and now couldn’t get it out.

So I asked, "what was a knife doing there?" The driver, took it out (wasn’t stuck after all).

"Oh, it just felt right to put it there," he said.

Apparently he bought it for protection (yes, a butcher knife), and also to thaw ice from his car during winter. It had a zig-zag blade on one side, which I guessed was for thawing ice. Multi-purpose butcher knife, it can even help with opening a bottle of beer. He said other drivers put their knife by the door, but he felt it just suited it better where it was in the dashboard. I failed to asks, what if a passenger riding beside him was the psycho!

The taxi driver also showed us his pepper spray; wow, didn’t even know they had it here. Didn’t even know taxi drivers where so well prepared and well armed from being ambushed by Beijing roadside hooligans!