bc magazine

This picture is of a Toulouse taxi driver stealing my bag and passport! As a traveller, there are few things worse than watching someone steal your passport and see it disappear into the distance.

I had flown into the city to watch the Rugby World Cup match between Japan and Samoa it’s a ‘pretty’ city. Lots of wide tree-lined streets decorated with cafes offering outdoor seating – vastly different in feel and look to narrow streets of Hong Kong. A pleasant change of pace.

The rugby has been great, the atmosphere at stadiums passionate and friendly as fans from across the globe have flown in to support their teams.

To-steal though applies across the city, and the country for that matter. The lovely hostel I stayed at is ‘proud’ she only raised her rates by 10 per cent. When other hotels were doubling or tripling theirs. (In Marseille, some hostels had increased 6fold – charging between 115 and 300Euro (HK$950 -HK$2,450)for a dormitory bed!

Many of the bars and restaurants in cities hosting games have local prices and ‘rugby fan’ prices as they hope you won’t notice the difference… And for a country that prides itself on the quality of its food and wine that they still allow smoking and vaping in restaurants and cafes is ‘disappointing’. To have the flavours of your tasty, and not cheap, meal or the notes of a glass of wine destroyed by a cloud of cigarette or vape smoke gets frustrating fast.

As much as I hate their exploitative policies Uber has thrived because their drivers have in many countries made using a ‘taxi service’ an enjoyable and stress-free experience.

The many bad apples among taxi drivers, sadly including Hong Kong, having destroyed the simple convenience of using a taxi years ago

At To-steal airport I showed the driver my hotel, he quoted 15 Euros. Set the amount in the meter and drove off. Less than 100m later he was telling he wanted an extra 35 Euros (HK$350).

I told him to stop the car and let me off. And started to video his demands for more money. Whereupon he stopped the car sharply, turning around and punched me in the face as he tried to grab my phone and stop me filming. My phone flew across the car as he started driving again screaming in French.

He stopped the taxi again screaming get out, and fearful of being attacked again. I got out and went to the back to get my bag, only to have him drive off into the distance with my passport and bag.

The French police found my bag and passport. The city itself seems to have no regulation or complaint mechanisms as according to the city office they are private companies.

The rugby and the overseas fans have been great, but France, can go fuck itself!