Taxi driver builds an army of foreign friends

Dou Keying's taxi looks a lot smarter than the average cab. The 51 year-old Beijinger has decorated his Citroen Elysee with little accessories - a St Mary pendant from

France hangs from his rearview mirror, a glass bottle of colorful stones from Spain lies next to the steering wheel and he sports a leather key ring with a Genghis

Khan print all the way from Mongolia. And behind each item is a foreign passenger who has taken a ride with Dou
Although he's only been working as taxi driver for three years, Dou prides himself as one of the most "foreigner-friendly" cabbies in Beijing despite speaking limited

English. "I'm an English taxi driver, No 1 in Beijing," he says in English to foreign visitors who jump in his cab and his friendly manner has won him new friends from

all over the world.
wholesale sunglasses for sale
Dou has four notebooks loaded with hundreds of messages and sketches from passengers originating from 56 different countries. And he often asks Chinese

English-speaking passengers to read him the messages. "They remind me of the ride with these nice people," said Dou, who sports a pair of US air force

sunglasses , also a gift.
On a page dated September 23, 2008, a passenger named Louise wrote: "Taxi drivers should be like you in NY where we come from! You are fun. You make the ride the best.

If you are a passenger, read this take him to lunch. Let him order for you - a treat!"
His new friends have also shared a snap shot with Dou. In his mobile phone are 100-plus photographs of Dou with passengers of different races, creeds and colors. And

he remembers every one of them.
cheap wholesale sunglasses
Dou's popularity among the foreign community is closely related to his ability to speak English. Dou, who received a high school education, learnt English in the cab

from Chinese passengers who can speak English and expats who can speak Chinese.
The first English phrase he learnt was "Happy New Year". This was on New Year's Day in 2006 when he asked four high school girls, who took his cab, to teach him

English. He offered 1 RMB per English sentence and took it off the price of their cab fare.
On a notebook the size of Post-it book, Dou writes English words and phrases and uses Chinese words to imitate their pronunciations. "This way I remember them quickly

and I'll try to use new words with passengers."
Not only does Dou chat with customers, he also entertains them. He keeps a variety of music CDs in his car including pop, classical or folk styles.
Couple of days ago, he picked up a Vietnamese couple from the Beijing Capital International Airport and on the way to hotel, Dou sang a Vietnam song that he learnt

from junior high school. The happy couple asked Dou to take them to Great Wall the second day. "We spent three days together having fun. They even invite me and my

wife to have Peking duck," he said.
low priced sunglass displays
"You must like what you do. When you are happy, your passengers are happy."With time, Dou has developed a stable customer base within the expat community. They call or

text-message Dou for pick-up services at home or at airports. They even introduce Dou to their friends. Some have become Dou's friends, bringing him gifts when they

return from their home country.
The result is friendship and profit. Dou said his monthly earning is double that of taxi drivers on average. He said he earned 7,000 RMB last month.
"English helps increase my income. And my foreign friends make my job interesting," he said."Whoever gets in my car is my friend."
sunglass accessories