SOLAR TAXI IN SOUTH KOREA02.06.2008

Tags: South Korea       Comments: 2

China is behind him and South Korea is his next destination, but Louis Palmer is having problems. The authorities have never seen a three-wheeled electric vehicle and don't want to give him a driver's licence. And then there's this ringing in his ear.

We managed the Chinese leg of the Solar Taxi World Tour well and we think back on our days in China with pride. It's amazing that everything worked out so smoothly. Well, almost everything. Despite intense discussions, we couldn't get the Solar Taxi onto the Great Wall of China.

SOLAR TAXI: FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF SOUTH KOREA

In South Korea though, I have a streak of bad luck that starts even before our plane lands. Something's wrong with the pressure balance in my right ear. There's a sharp pain and I can't hear anything except a ringing.

Next day I go to a doctor who diagnoses an ear infection caused by the fast pressure buildup. "Take these tablets and we'll see if it's better in a few days". My translator from the Embassy says, "Louis, it doesn't look good! I almost feel ill myself!"

Across South Korea in a truck?

I'm in bed with drops in my ear when my mobile phone rings. It's my customs agent, who introduces himself, "Jusr call me HM!", and says, "We'll bring the Solar Taxi to the Swiss Embassy in the truck tomorrow! Okay?" I have an uneasy sense of foreboding. "What? But I want to drive every metre, with solar power! Why do I need a truck?" "Sorry, but the authorities have just decided that you need a permit to drive the Solar Taxi in South Korea!"

I sit up in bed, my heart thumping in my sore ear and call Bernd, my importer. He says, "So far all the authorities have been looking forward to your arrival. Now they've noticed that the Solar Taxi has three wheels! Nobody in Korea has ever seen a vehicle like this before."

That evening I go to a "Swiss Happy Cheese Evening" at the house of Philipp Stalder from the Swiss Embassy. While the raclette melts, I strike up a conversation with another diplomat - Monsignor Stefano, in Seoul in the service of the Vatican. Well if I can't drive through Korea, I'll visit the Pope instead. "Monsignore, how hard would it be to visit the Pope in the Solar Taxi?" I ask. "Not too hard, if he's there!"

Next morning the mysterious "HM" is on the phone again. "Louis, I have bad news. Customs want payment. Would 70, 000 dollars be okay?" Then the Swiss Embassy calls. "Mr Palmer, please send us your insurance certificate immediately. It's going to be hard to get you a licence to drive in South Korea, but we'll keep trying!"

Earache, the ringing in my ear, and slowly but surely I'm becoming dizzy. I lie on my bed and sleep. Only a miracle can save us now.

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