Here's a new one...

My weekly adventure which I actually look forward to is going to the markets at Gudalupe. I haven't been for a while since either we've been away or because I've been unwell because of allergies and headaches of the like.


But today was the first time in almost 2 weeks that I've gone back to do my weekly shopping.


I'm accompanied by our helper, anyways, after buying our fish, vegetables and fruits for the week, as we often do, we catch a taxi home.


REWIND - now most people know I'm a foreigner because well one I stick out like a sore thumb even if I don't think I do and secondly I'm the only one who actually has a smash bag (like an eski that is compact) to put my fish in. For obvious reasons that I like my produce fresh, so obviously being that it is a wet market it's what one does to prevent the produce fresh and cool. Well that's what I use to do back home anyhow.


So with that in mind, that means that what ever is wet or smelly is kept in that smash bag - mainly fish :P 


Ok so here we are in our taxi, why am I surprised when this happens...the taxi driver asks 'Do you have fish there' - the smash bag was on my helper's lap and of course she said yes and then he asked if there was any fish on the plastic bag on the floor and she said no. Obviously I got the message that he didn't want anything to be leaking on his semi-rotten, NON-AIRCONDITIONED BUT ADVERTISED AIRCONDITIONED TAXI. He said that there should be an extra P50 on the fare because he can smell the fish and it will ruin his car (that is the first I've ever heard of this right royal BULLSHET). Anyways, my helper insisted that all the fish in the smash bag doesn't leak and if it does, it'll leak on her (which it wouldn't by the way). I told her to not worry and told the taxi driver 'Ako na lang ang bahala basta ihatid mo kami sa bahay namin'.


So obviously we pulled up at our condo and gave him the fare as it was metered P70. Then he looked at me and said 'where's the extra'. I took out my perfume and sprayed it in the taxi and I kindly said with a smile 'There you go Manong, I sprayed my expensive perfume to make your bulok, rusty, non-airconditioned, dirty car...you must think I'm stupid to fall for that bullshit you gave me - I'm a foreigner, not an IDIOT!' with that I slammed the door and told the guard to make sure they get his plate number and I've explained the story to them. They told me that he shouldn't have done that in the first place, that it was illegal to extort (well unfortunately no one here pays too much attention to breaking that law) that he was an idiot! Well I knew that anyway...


Seriously, where do they get these taxi drivers from? I haven't travelled much but I'm sure that there's no other like Filipino Taxi Drivers!