Sunday, March 30, 2008

Buses, Trains, and Autorickshaws

Oh
the places you will go! And the ways that you will do it! With both familiar and unfamiliar modes of transportation in India, there is never a dull moment especially when a fraction of the 1.1 million inhabitants of this country travels along with you!

My adventures on the buses here so far mostly consists of three buses between Chandigarh and Sotla village in the Hoshiarpur region of Punjab. First bus between Chandigarh and Hoshiarpur, and then to Dosaraka, and then to Sotla. At the bus stand can usually find your bus by hearing the destination shouted by the ticket collector "Chandigarh, Chandigarh, Chandiga-arh!" Before the ticket collector asks for your ticket or the bus fare, non-travellers sometimes hop on with you, including vendors for pens and young girls holding a piece of paper instructing you to give them 15 rupees. Along the highway, buses ring out their distinctive horn as they speed along, with random breaks during long rides (6.5 hours, Chandigarh - New Delhi).

In crowded buses, I've seen a woman who boarded carrying a bright pink baby's walking. As she was left standing, she shoves this big contraption into the arms of a total stranger. He carried it until the end of her journey. One of the interns saw women who shove their own, precious live and kicking babies into the laps of strangers as well!

Train rides are another story, with my own experiences limited to overnight trains, I am only familiar with sleepers with bunks. Without pillows, we shiver seeking sleep. In the morning, around 6am, people walk through the narrow corridors announcing their wares "Cha-aaai, chaa-aaii, chaaa-aai". Other vendors hop on beckoning potential customers as they join the passengers from various stops. When we arrived in Rajasthan, we even had a couple musicians come in with their drums, playing lovely Rajasthani music and singing. Of course, they look for top bucks for their performance. People from other walks of life find their way to the trains as well including a couple with stumps for legs. I remember reading about those without legs and the groups of beggers who work together. I remember that I do not want to support this activity and that no mater how generous, I can never feed all the poor in India.

Autorickshaws are new for me. I was told they have similar in Thailand called tuk-tuks. Three wheeled "put-put" that runs on diesel, more like it. The drivers of the covered vehicle pulls a chain and it sparks to life loudly like a rusty lawnmower. We start to bargain and are always charged more that locals. They always pay 10 rupees, and they start trying to get our business with 100. After the destination we ask "kit-ne?" to get a price and bargain down until we pay close to the locals, when possible, depending on how far they have to go. In New Delhi it's not possible, but it is more reasonable in Chandigarh.

As for cycle rickshaws, I personally do not life to sit uncomfortably under intense sun and heat or during the night totally exposed to any dangers. The cycler is usually small and pedals hard as he carries the weight of the heavy cart and its passengers, sweating profusely.

I am off again as I type this in the computer room of our hostel in New Delhi. Tomorrow we depart for Agra where the Taj Mahal awaits. More on this later. . .

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

1.1 million? You mean 1.1 billion right?

That is really strange that mothers would put their babies in the laps of total strangers. But it really shows community, by how they can do that and total strangers gladly look after the baby while the mother rests.

The autorickshaw sounds need, if it were waterproof it would be super cheap to use around Vacouver.

I used to work sellying Dicky-Dee Ice-cream on those bicycles. I know how hard it is to push those things so I feel for those cycle rickshaw people. Imagine weighing only 80lbs and having to pedal a bicycle that weights 200lbs!

The Taj Mahal, is that the "real" Taj Mahal? As in the one in the USA is modeled after this one in India?

Please keep writing! The description is great!

~Robert