Not Now, I'm On The Phone.

While O has sworn off xe om (motorbike taxi, literally "hug machine") I still embrace them. They're more convenient (door-to-door service), faster (mainly because you can go through tiny alleys and the wrong way down the many one-way streets), and a little bit cheaper (though not a whole lot) than the regular taxis.

The drawbacks, of course, are breathing more exhaust fumes, exposure to the heat or rain, and the risk factor. Until now, I haven't seen many accidents, so I felt okay about the risk factor, especially since the guy who usually drives me isn't a speed demon. Last week, however, he was sick and sent a substitute who I believe must have studied under Mr. Toad. He zipped in and out of traffic, not hesitating to use the sidewalk when the street was jammed (in fairness, this is a common practice, not pretty when you're on the receiving end as a pedestrian). He also knows all the back alleys, and so was able to avoid all the most crowded intersections, thus delivering me to my destination in about half the time. All this is attended by constant near misses and wild evasive maneuvers.

But you get used to the near misses, and really you're not usually going fast enough to do much real harm. For example, the other day we were walking around downtown when we heard a loud crash. We looked up and saw that two motorbikes had collided and their drivers were lying on the pavement entangled with their machines. We were initially concerned, but the two quickly got up, and we noticed that one was still talking on his cellphone (everyone does it here). He kept talking as he brushed himself off and righted his bike, pausing only to hurl a few brief imprecations at the other driver before driving off, still talking. Must have been an important call.

Or not. A whole different relationship with cellphones here: they come first, always. In meetings, in the classroom (you have to be firm with the students about talking and texting during class), in the middle of a conversation or sales transaction, at the movies (they tend to crank the sound way up to drown out the people talking on their cellphones), the mobile rules.

Another thing we're getting used to. Sort of.

P.