Meeting the new Big Jim Walker in Chicago

                                                  You don't tug on Super Man's cape.
                                                  You don't spit into the wind
                                                  You don't mess around with that old Lone Ranger
                                                  And you don't mess around with Jim.

 When I travel music is always a part of my experience.  I either hear a new song that stays in my memory with the trip or I have an old song in my head when I arrive and that becomes  my personal sound track. I first started to notice my habit of creating a sound track for a vacation when I took my first trip to Europe in 1999.   I went to France and was very excited about finally seeing Paris and Marseille.  While there every single day I heard the song Sex Bomb by Tom Jones.  It was playing on radios in taxi's.  It was playing in hotel lobbies.  It was playing in restaurants.  There was no escaping the song.  To this day when I look at my photos from that vacation I think of that song.  I bought a copy of a CD with the song on it during our layover in London on that trip.

Of course in Thailand I had the song One Night In Bangkok in my background sound track when I was in Bangkok.  When we moved on the Phuket I had the James Bond them from Man With The  Golden Gun in my head because that is where part of the movie was filmed.  I had a slight problem when I traveled  to Bratislava and Vienna with music.  I had Gladys Knight in my head singing License To Kill from the James Bond film everyday.   When I returned home and watched the movie I realized I had the wrong Timothy Dalton Bond movie in mind.  The one set in Vienna and Bratislava was The Living Daylights.  But it was for the best.  The theme by A-Ha is a lame theme and License To Kill fit the holiday much better anyway.  While my daughter Katie and I were in Nashville last November the song was Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes by George Jones.  There was so much country music history in the city it just seemed appropriate.

  In the early 1970's to me Jim Croce was "the man."  I loved his music.   From his sad love songs to his humorous story songs they all resonated with me.  When he died I felt as if I had lost friend.  But thanks to old vinyl, CD's and Alexa his music is still with me.    So when I visited Chicago in June 2018 I had his Bad Bad Leroy Brown song playing in my head for most of the trip.  However at the conclusion of the three day trip the sound track changed a little.  I did meet a man that I had best beware of just like Leroy Brown.   But he was taught a lesson just like Big Jim Walker from You Don't Mess Around With Jim.

We stayed at the beautiful Swissotel on Wacker Drive in Chicago.  It was a luxury hotel in a beautiful high rise.  We usually don't stay at over the top luxury hotels but this was a business trip for Mark and his convention was centered at the hotel.  We were on the 37th floor with a beautiful view of the Chicago River below us.

The Swissotel in Chicago

View from the 37th  floor of the Swissotel

There was a doorman at the front of the hotel and a line of taxi's parked in front of the hotel.  When you need a taxi the doorman signals the first taxi in line to drive up and pick you up.   It's very convenient and easy for both the customer and the taxi driver.  First taxi in line get the next passenger.   As we were preparing to go to the airport for our journey home we decided to use the taxi's in front of the hotel for the convenience.  However when we walked out with out luggage there had been a minor accident in the parking area and the doorman was dealing with the minor fender bender.  As we stood there looking around a taxi driver walked up to us and said to us "I am the next in line.  Let me help you with your luggage.  We followed him closely as we were not sure if he really was a legitimate taxi driver or not.  We kept one hand on our luggage.  We get to the curb and he picks up our luggage and puts it into his trunk.  Before he can close the hood of the trunk two other taxi drivers rush towards us yelling "Don't go with him.  Not honest.  Not honest.  Don't trust him."  I immediately asked what was wrong.  He said nothing was wrong and to ignore the other two men.  Then one of the men grabbed our luggage out of trunk and started to walk towards their taxi.  He in turn grabbed it back and threw it into his trunk again.  We were getting a little concerned by this point.   The other two taxi drivers told us he had not waited in line but saw us coming out with our luggage and moved in front of the taxi's that were already in line.   And they kept yelling "Don't trust him."   By this point I did not trust him.  So I went to take my luggage out of his trunk.   He told me "NO.   You are my customer.  I am taking you to the airport."    I said politely as possible that I chose to go with the taxi driver in the front of the line.  When he blocked me a second time from taking my luggage out of the trunk the two other taxi drives stepped forward and took it out for me.  Now here is where Big Jim Walker from the Jim Croce song comes into play.   He thought he was big Jim.  And he was a big man.  He shoved the other taxi drive into the street.  When he did this the second taxi driver raised his fist and  they both started yelling at each other.   But Big Jim was about to learn a lesson.  The three taxi drivers in line all worked together.  One took my luggage to their taxi.  The other two held the first taxi driver back from bothering us.  As we drove away our driver yelled out of his window "If you are still here when I get back I will f*ck you up!"    So just like Big Jim Walker in the song this man was taught a lesson.    And it gave us a great travel story to share.  I just wish we had made a video.

Next time - Take Uber.

As I am editing the photos from this trip Jim Croce is singing in the background.  He's bad bad Leroy Brown and You Don't Mess Around With Jim.

                 

Tuk Tuks - not only in Southeast Asia

Tuk Tuk's and traffic in Chiang Mai

  
When I think of tuk tuk's I immediately think of large Southeast Asian cities with lots of traffic and tiny little tuk tuk's weaving in and out of the traffic to transport tourists quickly to a special destination.  I took my first tuk tuk ride while I was in Bangkok, and yes it was  large southeast Asian city with lots of traffic.   The guide books all said to be careful of tuk tuks.  They over charge.  They are expensive when compared to using a bus or a tram.  I did not find them all that expensive in Bangkok.  Once I assured the driver I did not want to visit the tiger sanctuary or any other tourist trap on his list it was a pleasant and quick way to get to my chosen destination.  Mark and I used tuk tuks' several times while in Bangkok.  We found it fun to zoom through the busy traffic blocked streets.  And the breeze blowing through the tuk tuk was a welcome relief to the heat in Bangkok.

Mark and I in Bangkok in the back of a tuk tuk

After leaving Bangkok we visited the city of Chiang Mai.  We decided to hire a driver with a taxi in Chiang Mai instead of using tuk tuk's.  Our driver was a very nice lady named Ebon.  We spent an entire day with her for only $45.  She was delightful and showed us many interesting places and taught us a lot about the city of Chiang Mai and surrounding area's outside of the city.  We met her at the airport when we arrived in Chiang Mai.  She drove us from the airport to our hotel and gave us her business card to use if we were interesting in hiring her the next day.  After our day with Ebon we decided we would spend the rest of our time in Chiang Mai on foot visiting the many side streets, temples and shops. As we walked the streets we say many tuk tuk drivers parked along the streets.   Each tuk tuk we passed called out to us "Tuk tuk?"  After a day of hearing "Tuk tuk?" at least a hudred times I started to find it humorous.  We saw one last tuk tuk driver on a very hot afternoon and as he called out to us I responded with a friendly laugh "No. No tuk tuk's today".   I was looking back at the driver and was not watching my step very well.  Mark had walked on ahead of me.  I slipped on a curb and had a very bad fall right in front of the tuk tuk.  I called to Mark ahead of me frantically.  I knew something was wrong and I could not get up on my feet.  I had broken my ankle.  I looked back at the tuk tuk driver I had just said "No" to hoping for a ride.  I must have made him angry when I said "No tuk tuk" the first time, as he just looked at me and started up his tuk tuk and drove away.   Mark helped me to my feet and I realized I could not walk back to our hotel.  Luckily we were able to flag down another tuk tuk and he took us safely back to our hotel.

After leaving Chiang Mai we flew to Phuket and stayed in the city of Patong.  I had no issue hiring tuk tuk's in Patong.  My foot was very swollen and it was painful walking.  At this time I thought it was just a sprain.  I did not find out it was actually broken until I returned home and went to the emergency room four days later.  Four days of tuk tuk rides in Phuket gave us the chance to see the variety of different tuk tuk designs in the city.  Some had fancy lights inside the cabin that blinked on and off.  One had a Winnie the Pooh decor which I found amusing.

A Winnie The Pook Tuk Tuk in Patong

We traveled to Portugal in June 2015.  The last thing I expected to see was a tuk tuk.  We were not in Southeast Asia.  We were in Western Europe.  We took a day trip from Cascais to the city of Sintra.  We had been in Sintra in 2009 for a day also but did not get the chance to really explore the city.  We made the big mistake of walking to the Castle of the Moors our first time in Sintra.  We had wanted to see the Castle so when we saw a sign pointing to the trail to walk to the castle we thought it would be a good idea.  We did not really research this very well.  The sign made it look like just a brief hike.  In reality the Castle of the Moors is on a very high hill way above the city.  We spent our entire day climbing the hill to the castle and we too tired afterwards to really explore any of the city itself.

Castle of the Moors - high above the city of Sintra

When we were at the Castle of the Moors in 2009 we were able to see the beautiful Pena Palace located above the castle on an even higher hill.  We did not have the time or energy to visit it that day.  So on our return trip in 2015 we planned to take explore the many side streets and alleys of Sintra and then take a bus up the hill to visit the Pena Palace.  As we explored Sintra we walked past a tuk tuk stand.  What kind of sorcery was this?  Tuk tuk's in Portugal?  We also noticed that the drivers of the tuk tuk's were very attractive young men.  

We were enticed to take a tuk tuk

So it was decided.  We would hire a tuk tuk to take us to the Pena Palace.  It was a bit more expensive than the tuk tuk's in Thailand.  But it was worth the price.  We had a very pleasant driver who took us to the palace and showed us quite a few beautiful over looks on the way to the top of the hill.  It was a lot easier and more fun than the long climb we had on our first visit.

Pena Palace

Our driver was not only pleasant and a good guide but he was also a very attractive young man which made the day all the more pleasant for these two "older" gay men.   At the end of our trip I asked the driver if we could take a photo.  His thought I meant for him to take a photo of Mark and I together.  When I explained that I wanted a photo with him he kind of blushed, smiled and said of course.  

Our friendly tuk tuk driver in Sintra

So if your in Sintra take my advice.  Do not follow the sign to the walking trail to the Castle of the Moors or the Pena Palace.

Hire a tuk tuk instead.