Chauffer’s ride is stretch for dirt roads

ALEX DEMARBAN

October 02, 2008 at 9:38AM AKST

A remote Alaska town without a bar, clothing store or even a road out just got its first limousine.

The gleaming stretch Cadillac with polished chrome hubcaps and mahogany paneling stands out like a gold tooth in Bethel, where beat-up trucks roil up clouds of dust on only 20 miles of road and tight booze restrictions means there’s little night life.

But James Pak, a former Bethel cab driver, thinks he can make money because people are eager to live the high life, even it comes in one-hour, $110 increments.

“They want to feel like royal family,” Pak said.

An L.A. jewelry distributor in a past life, Pak opened his doors for business in mid-September, throwing on shiny duds to drive around clients. He bought the gray 2003 limo from a cosmetic surgeon in L.A., he said. It cost more than $100,000, including $5,000 to ship it to Bethel by barge this summer.

“First time limo in Bethel,” said Pak proudly.

The limousine might be the only one in Western Alaska, said Mark Springer, chair of Bethel’s transportation and public safety commission.

The large swath of the state, inaccessible by road, is home to scores of Native villages where double-digit unemployment is the norm. Cars are expensive because they must be barged or flown in and many people travel by four wheelers and snow machines.

The limousine idea seems doomed to failure at first glance.

Transportation costs means the price of everything is high and families have little disposable income – especially in recent months as gas has soared to more than $6 a gallon. People often get by catching fish, caribou and moose. Style isn’t the first thing on many people’s minds.  

Life in Bethel, a predominably Yup’ik community with 5,900 people, can be stressful for some. But that’s exactly why the limo is a good idea, said Pak.

With no movie theaters, bars or arcades, he launched Bethel Airport Limousine Service to lift spirits and give people something fun to do. The ride isn’t too pricey if clients – there’s seating for six – split the cost. It’s $60 each half hour.

Since Bethel’s never had a luxury limo, city code is being revised to spell out guidelines for Pak and future operators, said Mark Springer, chair of the public safety and transportation commission. The transportation inspector recently issued Pak a temporary limo permit.

Springer doesn’t think a limo in Bethel is such a strange idea.

“We’ve had discos,” he said. “We’ve had gathering places in the past. This is just a natural extension of that.”

Business was going along OK a few days after launching Bethel Airport Limousine Service, said Pak. He had chauffeured at least three groups each day.

One couple celebrated their anniversary with a ride to a restaurant. The lady said it was the best night she’d ever had in Bethel, Pak said.

Groups of teens have also rented the limo. They feel proud, waving out the window and shouting at friends.

“When they take the car, they feel something different,” he said.

For entertainment, the car can’t be beat.

Dressed to impress
Even at 46 years old, Pak looks like he jumped out of a catalogue when he chauffeurs clients. During a recent ride, he sported Nautica sunglasses, pinstripe slacks and a silk tie beneath a sweater vest. He smelled like freshly applied cologne.  

Pak purchased the clothes in Los Angeles, where he was a wholesale jewelry distributor in the 1990s. Money saved from that venture helped him buy the car, he said.

He and his family moved to Bethel – where there’s a prominent Korean population – a few years after he was robbed at gun point on an interstate highway in L.A. in 1999. He left Alaska for a spell but returned last year, driving a cab until hatching plans for the limo venture in January.

As a cab driver, he learned that charters are popular. Some of the demand comes from  villagers who come to Bethel for hospital services or other reasons. In the village, they rarely ride in cars, let alone nice ones, he said.

“For them, Bethel is New York City,” he said.       

During the ride, his cell phone jingled twice with potential customers. One group had a party of eight. Too big. He asked the other caller to ring him later.  

Where did the people want to go?

“Anywhere,” said Pak. “Just drive around.”

As the car virtually floated over Bethel’s bumpy roads, a clutch of kids shuffling along the shoulder gave chase. A fisherman pulling a skiff off the Kuskokwim River raised a thumb. Cab drivers shouted greetings from their cars.

This being rural Alaska, there are a few car rules.

    • Shoes off. In Bethel, they’re often caked in mud. Cloth slippers – provided in mahogany drawers beneath the leather seats – are mandatory.  

    • No booze. Alcoholic drinks can’t be sold in Bethel, and Pak isn’t providing them. There’s a crystal carafe behind a roll door, but it contains water. Passengers can bring soda pop or juice drinks and chill them in a hidden refrigerator and freezer.  

    • No smoking.

Despite the rules, the limo is still a party on wheels.  

Riders can open the sunroof, crank the booming stereo system and flash a portable strobe light. They can sing along on a karaoke set-up with thousands of options, including Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock and Roll.” They can follow the words on a drop-down television or watch movies on the DVD player.

More fun is coming. Pak bought a white stretch Hummer that’s arriving on the barge. That seats eight and comes with a lighted disco floor.  

Alex DeMarban can be reached at 907-348-2444 or 800-770-9830, ext. 444.