Before coming to Russia, one thing I was warned about was the "gypsy cab" phenomenon. Basically in Russia a lot of not-actually-cabs will pick people up flagging down a cab. Often in big cities these guys are involved in some illegal trade and can get you into trouble, or charge exorbitant prices... or whatever. But they really only exist in big city nightmares, and Vladivostok isn't a big city at all.
The public transportation shuts down here at about 10pm. There aren't very many cab companies around and it's always a long wait if you call for one. So the normal thing to do here is to stand on the side of the road with your arm out and wait for somebody to pull over. They aren't gypsy cabs at all really - they're just normal people driving about at night on no particular time schedule who are willing to stop and pick people up. They'll roll down their window and ask where you're going. You'll tell them and name your price. Usually we ask if they'll take us to the school for 100 rubles (about $3.00). If we're going somewhere downtown from downtown we'll sometimes find someone who will take us for free. I think it's a pretty effective transportation system, especially in a place where not very many people have cars and the heavily relied-upon public transportation isn't running. For you worry-worts out there: I've never flagged down a car on my own, only in a group. Partly because I don't trust my Russian to haggle down the price, but also because it's always smartest to travel in packs, especially in a foreign city.
So the other night when our Russian friends went to catch a car Jordan and I used the English phrase "catch a car" to describe what they were doing. They loved it. It really is a fun thing to say... so they practiced over and over... "catch a car, catch a car, catch a car..." it was quite entertaining. However, it was one of those classic moments I have here where Russians are so excited to learn English that I never really learn Russian. I'm still not sure how to say the equivalent phrase of "catch a car" in Russian. All I know is that if you stick your arm out into the road eventually some nice Russian will come along and take you and your friend wherever you want to go for cheaper than a taxi will. Thank you Russia.
The public transportation shuts down here at about 10pm. There aren't very many cab companies around and it's always a long wait if you call for one. So the normal thing to do here is to stand on the side of the road with your arm out and wait for somebody to pull over. They aren't gypsy cabs at all really - they're just normal people driving about at night on no particular time schedule who are willing to stop and pick people up. They'll roll down their window and ask where you're going. You'll tell them and name your price. Usually we ask if they'll take us to the school for 100 rubles (about $3.00). If we're going somewhere downtown from downtown we'll sometimes find someone who will take us for free. I think it's a pretty effective transportation system, especially in a place where not very many people have cars and the heavily relied-upon public transportation isn't running. For you worry-worts out there: I've never flagged down a car on my own, only in a group. Partly because I don't trust my Russian to haggle down the price, but also because it's always smartest to travel in packs, especially in a foreign city.
So the other night when our Russian friends went to catch a car Jordan and I used the English phrase "catch a car" to describe what they were doing. They loved it. It really is a fun thing to say... so they practiced over and over... "catch a car, catch a car, catch a car..." it was quite entertaining. However, it was one of those classic moments I have here where Russians are so excited to learn English that I never really learn Russian. I'm still not sure how to say the equivalent phrase of "catch a car" in Russian. All I know is that if you stick your arm out into the road eventually some nice Russian will come along and take you and your friend wherever you want to go for cheaper than a taxi will. Thank you Russia.
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