India: Transportation tales

Every imaginable type of vehicle crowds the streets.

Our taxis from the airport.

My first introduction to India traffic was our taxi ride from the airport. It was dark and we had these old-fashioned looking cars. We take off down the highway and I quickly realize the driver is straddling the white lines. What I soon learned is that he wasn't the only one. In fact, I'm not sure I ever saw a vehicle in India that drove in the designated lanes. The constant honking, swerving, passing, etc. had me scared for my life the first day or two. But by the time I left, I had to admit that since everyone drives the same way and knows what to expect, the system works. And at least Indians use their horns to communicate and not just as a sign that they're angry. (In the end, I often thought I would die trying to walk across an intersection since the streets are crammed with traffic and obeying traffic lights is often optional. That turned out to be more of a risk than getting in a vehicle.)

Auto rickshaws

All six of us ride in an auto "Indian style."

My favorite — and most-used — vehicles were auto rickshaws. These are basically motorbikes with bigger frames. They look somewhat like a golf cart, and they are the "taxi" of choice in most places. They're all over, can navigate the crowded roads fairly easily and are cheap! (Of course, everything is cheap. But an auto rickshaw ride across Delhi was about the equivalent of $5 or less.) As with all vehicles there, Indians are adept at filling up these puppies to the brim. They would probably cram eight or more people in a space that Americans would say comfortably seats two or three. We did cram all six people of our group into one on a couple of occasions, but often we splurged for two rickshaws.

Real Indians show us how it's done.

One of my most amusing auto rickshaw moments came when I was on my own in Jaipur. I hired a rickshaw to drive me to the Monkey Temple. He waited for me while I made the trek up the hill and down, and then he drove me back to my hotel. On the way back, we were on a fairly open, empty road. He stopped and turned around to me and asked if I wanted to drive. Or, at least I'm pretty sure that's what he asked. He motioned me to the front, mimicked driving and said, "You drive tuk-tuk." (Tuk-tuk is another term used to describe auto rickshaws.) I said, "No, no." But he wasn't convinced. "Very easy," he said, which made me laugh because driving anything amid even a small amount of Indian traffic seemed like a death wish to me. He gave in and continued on.

Another interesting experience was my last day in Delhi. I had convinced my friend I could hail a rickshaw near my hotel and meet him at a marketplace, instead of him rickshawing across town first to pick me up. (This was after I had spent five days on my own, so I had no fear in dealing with one rickshaw driver.) My friend told me the night before that I should be able to get one who would agree to deliver me to Khan Market for Rs. 100 or less. This is actually more than any self-respecting Indian would pay for that ride, but since I was obviously a tourist (white skin!), no driver would give me an "Indian" price. The first guy I met offered the ride for Rs. 250, I believe. To which I looked at him incredulously and offered 80 or 100. He basically laughed at me. I said, "No, I was told it shouldn't be more than Rs. 100." He offered Rs. 200. So I walked away to head to another rickshaw. (There were about 10 in the area.) Once I started talking to the next driver, the first one yells over, "Okay, 100!"

Auto rickshaws were often decorated in various ways. Photos of Bollywood stars on the rearview mirrors were popular. The rickshaw I took to the Monkey Temple in Jaipur had black leather fringe, complete with white and red stars in the upholstery. And the rickshaw I took to Khan Market ended up having gigantic speakers in the back that were about half the size of the vehicle. The driver was very proud of them and tried to show them off to the American, I could tell. He pumped up the music as we cruised across Delhi to the point that I could feel the bass.

Cycle rickshaws
Cycle rickshaws are a little more rare these days as the autos have replaced them. But we took a couple cycle rickshaws for the experience. I felt particularly bad for the driver of the cycle rickshaw I was on in Jaipur because the poor old guy seemed to have trouble with the load. (And it was just me, so I'm going to say I was probably one of the lighter loads he carries.)

Long-distance taxi trip
The group took a long-distance taxi for a five-hour trip from Amritsar to Dharamsala, in the Himalayan foothills. This was probably my most terrifying ride ever. In the mountains, the roads were narrow and we were going pretty fast while turning corners and passing other cars. We had many hairpin turns, and we encountered a lot of big trucks. At some points, our driver was navigating these with his stick shift and horn while talking on his cellphone. But he did splendidly. At one point earlier in the trip, traffic had stopped, so our driver went the wrong way down a divided road. Others followed him, too. But we ended up getting flooded with cars going the other way and had to cross back over at the first opportunity.

Trains
Trains were another great way to get around India. We took a few, including one overnight train. Notably, though, we were always in a/c cars, meaning it wasn't as hot and the setup was more spacious than the general Indian train cars. Those cars were crammed shoulder-to-shoulder and must be pretty hot when it's 95 degrees Fahrenheit outside.

Other than my train scares (three canceled trains all during the portion of the trip when I was alone!), I thought it was a great system.

Oh yea, and the mice. I definitely saw a few mice aboard those trains, even in the a/c cars. And the thought of sharing quarters with a scurrying furry being was not comforting. Luckily, I did not see any during our overnight ride. (Yea, I'm sure they were around, but if I had seen one, I might not have slept much at all.)

Buses

Rooftop bus rides.

I had two overnight bus rides. The first was with the group as we traveled from Dharamsala back to Delhi. It looked like an American travel bus (reclining seats, etc.), except it was an old, outdated and dingy one. Most notably, with the way Indians drive, a bus is not the smoothest ride — and that makes it difficult to sleep. Also, these buses didn't have restrooms. We did have some pit stops at roadside eateries. Unfortunately, it was at night and dark, so the Indian toilet was pitch black. But we really had no choice.

My second overnight bus ride was a little cushier. I had booked it last minute after one of my trains was canceled. These seats reclined and had portions that popped up for your feet. And it was a little smoother and easier to sleep. Slightly.

My other long-distance bus ride was also in place of a canceled train ride. The bus ride started out normal. It had seats on the bottom and then a second level above with little compartments that families would crawl up into. I did notice partway through that we had people climbing onto the bus roof to ride up there (a common sight in India). And the farther we went, the more crowded the bus got. At some point long after all the seats had filled and people were standing in the aisle, a woman got on. I was sitting in a single sit on one side of the aisle. (There were single seats on my side and sets of three across the aisle.) I noticed the woman staring at me a bit. And after a few minutes, she just sat down next to me. That is, she decided to share my seat. So the rest of my trip was a bit cramped as I sat there thinking, "This is so weird. And probably somewhat typical here."

I had a hard time capturing the essence of the streets.
This makes the whole thing look much calmer than it is.