April 20, 2014
February 1, 2014
How to drive with cows in the road
Driving is absolutely insane. If you can drive in India, you can drive anywhere is a common saying.
Rental agencies for foreigners do not exist, instead everything is chauffeurs or motor rickshaws. To chauffeur a car for the day costs roughly $30-50 bucks depending on how far you go, but they will drive you around the city all day and then park and wait as you tour, dine and shop.
Painted lane markers are sometimes on the road, but they serve no purpose, traffic is a game of stop and go as you jiffy and swerve to squeeze into any opening. Scooters, motorbikes and auto rickshaws fill in the gaps and everyone honks relentlessly as if it still holds some meaning. Even at a complete standstill, dozens of cars will honk when surely the cars ahead are experiencing the same agitation. Crosswalks do not exist, so to walk across the street is a game of Frogger come to life as you gauge speeds and sizes of swerving madmen. Jen jokes that a cruel punishment to foreigners would be to take them to the center of a 5 lane road and leave them there to fend for themselves. 20 minutes might pass before you see the inkling of an opening, so to cross, you must brave a raging river of metal and fumes.
Rental agencies for foreigners do not exist, instead everything is chauffeurs or motor rickshaws. To chauffeur a car for the day costs roughly $30-50 bucks depending on how far you go, but they will drive you around the city all day and then park and wait as you tour, dine and shop.
Painted lane markers are sometimes on the road, but they serve no purpose, traffic is a game of stop and go as you jiffy and swerve to squeeze into any opening. Scooters, motorbikes and auto rickshaws fill in the gaps and everyone honks relentlessly as if it still holds some meaning. Even at a complete standstill, dozens of cars will honk when surely the cars ahead are experiencing the same agitation. Crosswalks do not exist, so to walk across the street is a game of Frogger come to life as you gauge speeds and sizes of swerving madmen. Jen jokes that a cruel punishment to foreigners would be to take them to the center of a 5 lane road and leave them there to fend for themselves. 20 minutes might pass before you see the inkling of an opening, so to cross, you must brave a raging river of metal and fumes.
One advantage brave walkers have is that no one is going that fast, all city traffic is roughly 5-10 mph on average and faster areas are only due to openings in traffic. When driving in the city, you rarely stop because there are no stop lights or right angle street corners. Every intersection is a left curve and to go right you must make a u-turn of sorts.
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