!!! there goes today's lunch money...

This morning, at approximately 8.10am, while most of you were still sleeping soundly,

WE GOT FINED.

Yes, in the land where there seem to be no traffic rules, we apparently violated two:
1. Crossing the road when there was a red man
2. Not crossing within the demarcated pedestrian crossing (the zebra crossing lines)

We were completely perplexed when the traffic police started shouting after us. Were we not supposed to walk along that path? We walk along it every morning! And it’s a pedestrian path… or so we think, because there’s a little man drawn on the road. (and I’m always tempted to draw in eyes, nose and a mouth onto his little blank white face)
But no… apparently just behind us we’d missed a little vertical crossing.

Which isn’t even a road by the way. It’s a bicycle path.
(ok i tried to draw it out but blogger doesn't recognise it so i give up)


We have obviously not attained Chinawomen status yet, able to navigate the streets without regard for traffic rules and yet not get fined. and we were basically really suay to cross when there was a traffic police watching the junction, whom we didn’t notice cos we were running late for work. We were rather amused at first

butbutbut how is it we got fined in china when we're so much more law-abiding than the locals??!!! so unfair!! pam wanted to show him the cut on her leg from a bicycle that rushed past her yesterday but i told her she cldn't or she might be booked for trying to seduce her way out of a fine. Which was only 10rmb each anyway. The policeman said it was usually $50 but he’d be lenient since we were foreigners and had good attitude (I guess cos we didn’t get into a shouting match with him like the locals would)… then just don’t fine us lah!! Made us even later for work!

[he was rubbing it in too. "oh you're from singapore? aren't traffic laws very strict there? do you'll still have canings? what do you'll get caned for? have any of your friends been caned?" helloo... just cos we get caught jaywalking overseas doesn't mean all our friends back home are professional drug traffickers! although of course some of my more annoying friends probably DO deserve a caning... hmmm]


So the more we thought about it the more cheesed off we felt and the more we jaywalked the rest of the way and scowled and muttered at all the bikes and cars that kept cutting into our path when it was a green man.

Why do I always seem to have run-ins with foreign police? I'm a good girl I am!

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<-- big horizontal crossing
<-- little vertical crossing
<-- anal policeman who wldn't even let 3 poor foreign interns off. i bet he gets commission for each fining