British writer Nick Toczek was lost for words after a taxi driver charged him almost double the regular fare for a journey from Hong Kong International Airport to North Point while on his first overseas trip since the coronavirus pandemic hit three years ago.

The 72-year-old creative writing tutor who writes children’s poetry was booked for five days at an international school for workshops and arrived in the city on February 26. He was guided by an airport employee in uniform to a taxi and was told his trip to the Ibis Hotel in North Point would cost less than HK$400 (US$50).

Toczek told the Post he was shocked when the driver, who allegedly did not put on the meter, demanded HK$600 when they arrived at the hotel around 3pm.