Daegu Diary: Taxi men: different day, same story

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

DAEGU, South Korea: I told you about these Daegu taxi men, Seems I'm not the only one with an issue.

I went to the Athletes' Village last night after the competition to have a word with a friend and ended up being witness to a near crime.

There I was minding my good ol' business when a taxi pulled up at my feet, the occupants clearly enraged.

A man I later found out was a member of the Kenyan delegation jumped out with his female companion, both obviously annoyed by something.

The taxi man was smiling, but that changed when the Kenyan told him that he would only pay the charge he normally does for the trip he had just taken.

"Take your money," the Kenyan offered (maybe offer is a kind word). "I am not paying a cent more. You took us around the world and we told you exactly where to go."

The taxi man was having none of it and must have hurled a few 'bad words' in his native tongue.

"I don't care whatever you're saying, I don't care, take the money, call the police do whatever, and I'll kick your aif you upset me anymore," the Kenyan fumed.

This was exciting stuff!

no opinion

Until, of course, I was dragged into the argument for my 'opinion'. I had none ... . In the end, the police were called in and the Kenyan had his way.

His argument: he normally pays a certain amount for the trip and that the taxi man tried to make a quick dollar by extending the trip.

"He was on the phone for seven minutes asking for direction with the metre running while we were there telling him where to go. Why do you need to call for directions if you have a navigation system? I am not a fool," the Kenyan raged.

On a different note, this has been the most testing championships that I have covered ... . It's a matter of fatigue, really. Perhaps because I came into Daegu extremely tired and in need of rest.

Sleep has been stalking and assaulting me for the past few days, sneaking up on me at all odd times. I can't see a seat and not fall asleep (laughs). And I'm not alone. The trips to the stadium and back have become less noisy as my colleagues, too, have fallen prey to this viral sickness ... sleep.

I've noticed that the brand names FILA and FUBU (remember those) are very popular here. I haven't seen one of those back home for ages, but every other Korean kid seems to be wearing one ... go figure.

Well, today is the day I beat Anthony Foster in the media 800m ... . I'll tell you all about it next time.