Sliding Doors and Sliding Phones

I've been pretty lucky so far that I haven't lost my wallet in the crowds here (knock on virtual wood). Pickpockets love crowds and there are crowds in China. I have had a mobile phone lifted but I think it fell out of my pocket in a taxi. More about that in a minute. James Fallows blog today is about his most unfortunate experience of being pick pocketed on Beijing's subway yesterday. His experience highlights the dangers of packed subways and the common technique of gangs of pickpockets crowding around the subway doors to force riders who are trying to get off to transit what I call "the wedge". As the evil-doers block the doors passengers get squeezed between gang members and valuables start disappearing. I keep my wallet in my front pocket and my hand on it as I elbow through the phalanx of jerks (wangba).

As Mr. Fallows recounts in his post his stolen credit card was used minutes later at a Starbucks in Beijing - before he could call his credit card company. This is not the first place I would expect a pickpocket to head to after a heist. Maybe his nerves needed calming.

Back to my mobile phone. I've actually lost two phones in Shanghai, both of which had my contact information on the back. Neither of them were returned. I think they slid out of my trouser pockets in taxis because the VW taxis in Shanghai are built so that long-legged passengers have their knees up in the air and their pockets thus pointed downwards. I've had coins slide out of my pockets in this situation and some I've been able to recover. The other thing I've noticed is that the back seats in taxis are sloped backwards and covered with slick, tight, white cotton covers. There is also usually a one-inch gap between the seat bottom and the back - making a perfect trap for coins, phones and other detritus sliding around in taxis. It all seems so contrived.

An explanation is in order for those of you in the States. Phones here in China have SIM cards in them and as long as you move the SIM card from phone to phone one can use any phone. Its not like in the States where someone else's phone is useless once deactivated. A $200 mobile phone in China can easily be sold and used by anyone that has a SIM card - the phone itself cannot be deactivated.

The only solution to the taxi phone traps in Shanghai are phones with non-skid surfaces that will cling to ones pockets. I'm thinking Velcro.