How many people can you stuff inside a London taxicab? I didn't expect to find the answer to that question when I traveled to the United Kingdom with five of my friends in 2005. But I now know the answer is at least six plus a driver.
We had just watched the show "The Producers" and decided to head to another part of town to get something to eat. We hailed a traditional London taxi and the driver told us we had too many people. He said he could only take four people. Three in the back and one in the front. He said it was illegal for him to take more and he suggested we call a second cab. My friends finally convinced him that they were all small and that all six of us could cram inside. Since I was the tallest in the group, I got the front seat. My five friends all stuffed themselves into the backseat.
When we were all in, the driver asked us where we wanted to go. Someone (probably not me) said
"We just want to go to a nice restaurant. Do you know one?"
Of course he did. And we headed out to an unknown restaurant. After what seemed like an hour, but was probably only about 15 minutes he pulled up outside a very non-descript looking building. He told us to take the steps to the basement to get to the restaurant.
We had our doubts, but we climbed down the narrow dark stairs and, sure enough, there was a Vietnamese Restaurant. It's looked okay so we got a table which is where we took this photo.
Roberto, Elaine, Melissa, Steve, Alicia and Lourdes at a Vietnamese restaurant in London
Surprisingly, the restaurant was excellent. And having Vietnamese food was an unexpected treat. Maybe not as good as I found 15 years later in Vietnam, but it was still very good.
While the ride to the restaurant was memorable. The ride back to the hotel was not. We took two taxis. Stuffing seven people inside a London taxi is a one-time experience.
Notes
I went back to the UK in 2017 to shoot an episode of the TV show "Peruanos en el Mundo" in Scotland. We spent our time in Edinburg, which was amazing thanks to our wonderful hosts Mercedes and David Cohen. I've linked that program below.
My first trip to London in 1984 was very brief. I mention it briefly in the radio interview linked below. The part about London is at 13:40.
Dates of Travel
- March, 1984
- August, 2005
- August, 2017
Places Visited
- London, England
- Edinburg, Scotland
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