So sorry, but we have been without internet access for three days. Hopefully, future Hotels have better access. Here is our latest account:
Sitting in our hotel in Jaipur, on the “Palace Tour” in one of three cities in the State of Rajasthan, I am grateful to be on solid ground. Only Indians can drive here as any non local would require years of experience to navigate the streets and highways here.
Driving around Delhi was no picnic but the 5 hour drive to Jaipur trumps anything you could imagine. There are driving lanes, but are completely ignored. Each vehicle is maneuvering the roads with a contingent of cars, trucks, buses, motorized and people-driven rickshaws, bicycles, animals (cows, donkeys, pigs, goats, dogs and even an elephant). People dashing in and out as horns blared as we ride in utter disbelief that there aren’t more accidents everywhere. The only way I keep my sanity is to close my eyes. But as we stop and start and I dare to peek through a clenched hand, there is an open truck carrying a load of hay only inches in front of our car, and we are going 50 MPH.
In remembering the freeway signs in Los Angeles that continually remind us to “click it or ticket,” the absurdity of that here is striking as motorcycles carry women holding onto their babies, people hanging out of small, three-wheel motorized taxis and everyone is just trying to get to their destination as fast as possible.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, we headed out for Jaipur on our 3 day tour of the Palace cities in the largely Hindu State of Rajasthan. How I longed for the sanity of driving back in Los Angeles. While some of the distance was on 4 lane highways (part of a series of new toll roads that were being constructed for the Commonwealth games next year), much of the 5 and 6 hour days long drives were on two-way, undivided roads. Oftentimes, the roads had room for only one car and each vehicle had to move onto the shoulders to pass.
Our very skilled driver, Praveen, took us on the most harrowing of rides imaginable and I am happy to say we are relaxing in our hotel room as I write this account. Try to picture going 60 MPH in the back seat of a race-car driver’s car passing hundreds of trucks, cars and every other mode of transportation that you can think of just inches apart. Then in seconds you are staring at on-coming traffic and cars are literally driving in between your lane and on-coming traffic. Of course cows may be crossing the road and we switch to the wrong side, but our driver offers comforting words that he does this all the time.
L.A. traffic, where are you? Linda and Stan
Sitting in our hotel in Jaipur, on the “Palace Tour” in one of three cities in the State of Rajasthan, I am grateful to be on solid ground. Only Indians can drive here as any non local would require years of experience to navigate the streets and highways here.
Driving around Delhi was no picnic but the 5 hour drive to Jaipur trumps anything you could imagine. There are driving lanes, but are completely ignored. Each vehicle is maneuvering the roads with a contingent of cars, trucks, buses, motorized and people-driven rickshaws, bicycles, animals (cows, donkeys, pigs, goats, dogs and even an elephant). People dashing in and out as horns blared as we ride in utter disbelief that there aren’t more accidents everywhere. The only way I keep my sanity is to close my eyes. But as we stop and start and I dare to peek through a clenched hand, there is an open truck carrying a load of hay only inches in front of our car, and we are going 50 MPH.
In remembering the freeway signs in Los Angeles that continually remind us to “click it or ticket,” the absurdity of that here is striking as motorcycles carry women holding onto their babies, people hanging out of small, three-wheel motorized taxis and everyone is just trying to get to their destination as fast as possible.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, we headed out for Jaipur on our 3 day tour of the Palace cities in the largely Hindu State of Rajasthan. How I longed for the sanity of driving back in Los Angeles. While some of the distance was on 4 lane highways (part of a series of new toll roads that were being constructed for the Commonwealth games next year), much of the 5 and 6 hour days long drives were on two-way, undivided roads. Oftentimes, the roads had room for only one car and each vehicle had to move onto the shoulders to pass.
Our very skilled driver, Praveen, took us on the most harrowing of rides imaginable and I am happy to say we are relaxing in our hotel room as I write this account. Try to picture going 60 MPH in the back seat of a race-car driver’s car passing hundreds of trucks, cars and every other mode of transportation that you can think of just inches apart. Then in seconds you are staring at on-coming traffic and cars are literally driving in between your lane and on-coming traffic. Of course cows may be crossing the road and we switch to the wrong side, but our driver offers comforting words that he does this all the time.
L.A. traffic, where are you? Linda and Stan
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