Indian Transportation

Having travelled the way the locals do for the last two weeks in India I now feel equipped to write a novel on the subject. No need to panic though, I'll just give you a few observations...

My Intrepid trip is a Basix option, which roughly translated means no air con, local buses (no air con), and very few frills. However I feel that I have been able to get a handle on the 'real' India, or at least that is what I tell myself as I look in scorn (read envy) at the tourists whizzing past our over packed bus in their air conned private vehicle. It has also meant that I have a new found understanding of fear.

My modes of transportation so far have ranged from camel (OK, that doesn't really count as it was not on the main road), cycle rickshaw, auto rickshaw/tuk tuk, motorbike, bus, roof of bus, and finally taxi. Each of them has their own elements of fun and fear. We have discovered that as a group we are almost as good as the locals at squeezing into tuk tuks, our record so far is 9 plus driver (a few more than the 3 it is designed for). However our attempts to blend in always fail, and the sight of so many white bodies hanging off a moving vehicle creates endless amusement for the local population. There is also the constant fear that an overhanging limb may be taken off by a passing cow/bike/car/bus. The sight of a bus being within a foot of your face is also a little nerve wracking, particularly given the poor state of repair many of them are in.

Bus travel in and of itself also offers some nerve wracking experiences. We have been lucky enough to always have seats for our long distance hauls (the longest of which was 8 hours, six of which went by with out a toilet stop!), the downside of sitting however is that those standing can stare down at you to their hearts content - which they do! The buses also believe that speed is the best approach in all situations, whether that be trying to squeeze through a gap before a truck, scare roaming cows off the road, or hurry someone's disembarkment. This has lead to a few white knuckles as I swear two wheels have left the road as the bus tips sideways. On the whole I've decided that travelling on the roof top is more enjoyable - an opportunity I have only had once, on a 45 minute weave through a mountain pass from Ajmer to Pushka. The sight of 5 westerners on top of the bus (particularly 3 women) was just to much for those on the side of the road to cope with, but the fresh air was a welcome change from the pleasant aroma long distance buses create inside.

This afternoon I made use of a cyclo-rickshaw for the first time (no motorised vehicles are allowed in the streets around the Taj Mahal to cut back on pollution), and that just made me feel guilty. The grandfather that was struggling to peddle Fiona and I along the streets was probably only a third of our weights combined, and at times we were hardly moving. Yet the wiry old guide was still able to keep up a constant argument for the benefits of the Taj, his brother's shop, using him as a guide tomorrow...

Scariest of all though had to be the long distance taxi ride. A few of us had succumbed to the inevitable Indian tummy issues whilst in Pushkar and decided that a bus ride with no control over toilet stops may not have been a sanitary option. So we chipped in together to get to Jaipur by taxi. I made the fatal mistake of sitting in the front seat! The scariest thing about being on the roads in India - actually seeing what is happening in front of you!

But the long trips on the road are coming to an end for me. Our last two long hauls are by train, to Varanassi tomorrow and then a few days later to Calcutta. The question that remains now... what are the budget domestic flights like? I still have one of those remaining to get me back to Delhi. They may be a story on their own!