Got Tuk Tuk, can travel

Getting around in the Shunyi bubble, excuse me suburb, can be quite a task. The distances are short but too long to walk. Taking a taxi everywhere works but it is so much work! First you have to find one, then you have to try to explain where you are going, then you have to pay – every time – and then going back home again - you have to do it all over again!

I managed to borrow a bike from a friend of a friend and though my butt is hurting (I thought a bigger saddle would cushion a big butt like mine!) it is a pleasure to swish around the neighborhood, especially when the weather is as nice as it has been the past week with clear, blue skies and warming sun.

Shopping has been difficult though, there is only so much that fits into my little bike basket and this weekend, when the kids will start their sport activities; would I have to suck it up and take taxis everywhere again? Nah….

Of course, in China, there is every bike imaginable available and now, they have stepped it up; moved in to the 21^st century if you will, now, there are electric bikes! Of course I could get a cycle rickshaw and drive the kids around but why, when there are electric tuk tuks?!  This morning, the wonderful driver Mr. Li took me to Birdie Electric in Houshayu, the local place to go to find what I was looking for.

Mr. Birdie himself helped out and quickly introduced me to the latest model; the electric motorbike that is faster, stronger, bigger and safer (?) than any other model and is also almost 600RMB more expensive than what I had in mind. When I told him that my friend (that I’ve never met but once heard of) bought theirs for 3100RMB he quickly steered me in the right direction…the area in the back of the shop with less fancy, not as fast and strong bikes….and then proceeded to look through his records, called someone and started talking to this person fast and excitedly, in Chinese of course. Suddenly he hands me the phone, nodding the head, encouraging me to take it and talk to…someone….

“Eh…hello….ni hao?”,  I ask softly into the phone and is met by a man’s voice with a strong German accent.

“Jaaa, Mr. Birdie changed battery supplier, now stronger batteries, that’s why price more expensive than before.”

“Ooookkkkk”, I answer into the phone to this complete stranger who is now suddenly my ally in my quest to buy transportation for me and my family, “is he a good guy, is Mr. Birdie reliable?”

“Jaaaa, very good man. If you have problem, go back and he will repair. No problem, mei wenti.”

Ok, mei wenti. I needed an extra seat on the back to avoid kids fighting and within two hours Mr. Birdie delivered. Giving me not only a fully charged battery for free but also a lock, a rain coat and a bicycle pump, all included. Mei wenti.