Driving in India

I've been driving around a lot lately. It feels good to get back behind the wheel since I never dared to do it in India. I still can't believe some of my European friends roamed around on scooters there, no matter if it was in the quieter parts of town. That takes guts!

I'm adding an image of the last car I rode in from Ahmedabad city to Mumbai's international airport. We took the expressway through and through, but not once did the driver think to look back at his blind spot. Some drivers go as far as taping their side mirrors against the window or removing them altogether. Meh, it's just a showpiece right?

And this below shot was taken in Ahmedabad, I thought it was cute. The driver's barefoot and seems to be quite comfortable. I liked the rickshaw drivers in that city. They all had a chip on their shoulders but treated me extra nicely as the NRI. Sometimes I'd think I was blending in with my Gujarati but as soon as they'd read out the cab fare to me, I'd get stuck and ask them to read out the amount in English (I only know my Gujarati numbers up to 15). And the ones that spent the drive wondering get all happy to figure it out with an "I knew it! You're from foreign!"

While I'm at it, here are some other random vehicle shots I took in India:

This one was taken in Bangalore. The bike driver is in a mundu (similar to a dhoti, sarong or lunghi) worn commonly in Southern India. I wasn't quite sure so I decided to zoom in and yep, he too is driving barefoot.

This was in Bangalore as well. I always fretted for the kids (and sometimes infants!), but I guess it helps them grow up fearless in the long run...

Below is a traffic jam our bus was stuck in on a southern India mountain range. I think the whole mess was cleared up within 45 minutes. The guys walking around were drivers voluntarily strategizing with others over what the next move should be. Traffic patrollers, who needs 'em?

And here's a shot from our last stop in Rajasthan. Accidents were waiting to happen everywhere. It was one of the toughest areas to be in as a pedestrian, nobody stops for you. We opted to get into rickshaws just to get us from one side to the other.

I snapped this shot through a car window in Delhi. The motorcycle traffic was insane there. And yet there were numerous cyclists bravely transporting heavy goods without even flinching at the sound of the car honks.

Here's another shot from Rajasthan. It was a common image during our Gujarat to Rajasthan commute. I don't recall seeing any public buses running. So locals hitchhike whenever they can, it beat walking in the dry heat.

We noticed several animal road kills on the same ride. These cows made their presence known, as did camels, and are usually safe. But I saw a lot of injured peacocks, dogs and goats on the sides of the road.

I love this shot. I took in Ahmedabad. If I were to title this it'd be "Me Against the World!"

More to come gradually!