Getting Around: Rickshaw Ride

Our first encounter with a rickshaw was on our first day in Beijing, right in the middle of the city. We had walked around the Egg... I mean the National Grand Theatre and Tiananmen Square the entire afternoon, looking for an elusive art gallery, and it was time to get back. We knew our hotel was not very far away, but seeing a few cabs parked along the road, we approached one. The taxi driver refused to take us to Capital Hotel, because it was rush hour and traffic was bad at that time. The driver pointed to a flimsy-looking rickshaw and asked us, how about taking that? We said, er... um... glanced at each other and declined with polite smiles. Even as we hurried away, the rickshaw rider pursued us for a while, calling after us, and Vivien turned to me. Do you want to, she asked. No! Do you?? I shot back. Wide, six-lane roads around Tiananmen; heavy traffic... a little bump from a bus or an impatient car from behind will send the rickshaw and all its occupants flying all the way to Russia or Korea. No, thanks, I'd rather be travelling in something more solid-looking during rush hour. At last, we managed to find a cab and paid 15 RMB (S$3.00) for the ride. Taxi tip: in this country, do pay the metered fare, don't waste time negotiating upfront. Cab drivers also do not expect tips and will even return you 1 RMB change.

As we were in a hurry to get away from that rickshaw in Beijing, we didn't take a pic of it. So I found this picture in the internet. That looks exactly like the little rickshaw which pursued us which we didn't want to take.

Two days later, we did hop happily and willingly into a rickshaw, but that was because it was part of the hutong tour we had paid for. More importantly, I saw no heavy traffic in the narrow hutong lanes which could possibly bump into us. The rickshaw took both of us comfortably, and our tour guide led the way on her bicycle. The hutong we visited was in the second ring of the city and did not look terribly old.

Colourful tourist rickshaws!

We didn't mind taking this rickshaw because it had a shelter
over it, unlike that little one we encountered a couple of days earlier!

We looked very comfortable!

During the hutong tour, and that's our botak rickshaw driver.

Our tour guide led the way on her bike

Our bald rickshaw driver and his rickshaw

At the end of the tour, it was time to pay up!