Funny money

I have finally done all my overseas trips for 2010!  Although not entirely home and dry (still have few more meetings in London, and I'm writing this on a train back from a meeting south), life does instantly feel a little less hectic.  

This year, my overseas work travels ended on a high note with a very fruitful and fun time in Prague.  Those who have suffered my incessant moaning about teaching (not that I do much at all) will be surprised to find that this is one of my two annual teaching commitments that I actually quite look forward to - the varying European locations may have something to do with it.

Prague is one of my favourite European cities.  I have been twice for work, but both times I enjoyed and wished that Golf Boy had gone on the trip with me.  It's a great city with interesting history, beautiful architecture and superb music (especially jazz) scene; some areas are positively cosmopolitan.  There is still much of the previous Eastern European charm to the city, and there are few better ways to experience such 'charm' than encounters with the local taxi drivers.  What the taxi drivers know that we don't, is that armed with a wallet full of what looks like monopoly money in denominations of 100s and 1000s, even the best statistical and economic minds struggle to appreciate the real value of this 'funny money'.  During the day, there had been many journeys going between hotel and conference centre.  It was not until later in the evening, did we realise that we have been charged between 390 Kč (fixed fare with the official hotel taxi) and 800 Kč for the same journey.  On one occasion, my colleague, who reluctantly paid the driver 600 Kč queried the invisible ink on the receipt he was given.  The taxi driver misunderstood and thought he was questioning the fare, and after much protesting by shouting "it's the computer" (i.e. that's what the meter says) and "I don't understand", he simply grabbed the receipt, stuffed 200 Kč back into my colleague's hands and drove off!  

So, on my final night in Prague, as we were all staggering out of the evening gathering at 2 am, I was somehow nominated to be the one in charge of negotiations with the taxi driver.  Having always believed that I have the haggling gene in my blood, I was feeling quietly confident until I discovered that the whole square was deserted and there was only one lone taxi around, therefore obliterating any potential bargaining power I may have been able to muster.  I went up to the driver and asked what the fare would be - "approximately 300" he said with a grin; "300, yes?", I emphasised; "approximately, approximately", he insisted.  With my final attempt, I pulled out 300 Kč from my pocket and said that's all I have, he said "ok" and we all piled in.  When we got to the hotel he did the normal computer ritual and quite unsurprisingly, he turned round and said "computer says 381".