Taxi!

News from Bogota this week was that one of our friends, Irma, was taken on the paseo millonario, or millionaire’s joyride. Now, before visions of leer jets and complimentary martinis become too vivid in your mind, allow me to explain that this joyride occurs when you get into a dodgy taxi and get robbed. Usually they switch you into another vehicle at gunpoint, and then take you to an ATM so you can withdraw all your money and give it to them. The 'millionaire' part makes more sense when you consider that a million Colombian pesos is about A$500, so it’s not that hard to make (or lose) that much money.

Our friend lost about 600,000 pesos, (about A$300). Of course, far worse than losing the money is the trauma of the thing. I never got taken on a paseo, but I did get robbed and it’s a horrible feeling – that constant replay going on in your head and the ‘what if?' What if I’d caught a bus? What if I’d been five minutes earlier, or later? What if I’d been a black belt karate expert and beaten several shades of bejesus out of that hijueputa who stole my money (whose face you’ve completely forgotten btw)? One of the things that doesn’t cross your mind is, ‘where were the police?’ In Sydney we still have the idea that crime doesn’t pay, but there it so obviously does, it’s up to you to reduce the risks. Do not carry large amounts of cash around, or your credit/debit cards. If you need a taxi, call one of the taxi companies. Don’t leave yourself exposed, or as the locals say, no des papaya.

And in case any Colombians are reading this, and want to slam me for painting a negative picture of their country, I’m talking specifically about Bogota here, which is a big city and the same kind of stuff happens in massive cities all over the world. But Sydney for the most part is very different; the cab drivers still take all your money, but it’s completely legal. And the dangers are different here. In a broader sense, living in a ‘safer’ city was one of the things I was really looking forward to coming back here. Now I'm not sure how much of an impact it makes. Nothing more to say about it for now, except that I'm thinking about it. A lot.