- There were multiple times when I counted five lanes of traffic on a two-lane road. At one point these five vehicles were comprised of a motorcycle with three men on it, two cars, a load of sugar cane being pulled by a water buffalo, and a tractor (and of course four bicycles in between).
- We passed a Buddhist monastery. The monks were sitting outside in their orange robes texting.
- A tractor was bringing a load of wooden beams to a construction site. The weight was so heavy in the back that the tractor's two front wheels came four feet off the ground. Apparently the tractors in India are made with separate brakes on the back wheels so that if a driver finds himself in this situation, he can still change direction by braking one wheel at a time.
- There were thousands of cylindrical brown cakes piled in rows along the side of the road. When Chris asked what they were, our taxi driver said they were cow-dung patties...the cheapest form of fuel! i was infatuated with how resourceful the locals still are, and thought it was really neat until I saw the women actually forming the patties with their bare hands.
- A motorcycle drove parallel with us for a good minute, pointing his camera phone in our faces the whole time. Annoying or flattering?!
- It's extremely common for men to urinate in public in Mussoorie and the surrounding areas. It's so common place that it doesn't even phase me to walk five feet behind a guy with his back turned, "taking care of business." I was shocked, though, to see a group of men urinating on a multi-million dollar bank building in the middle of Delhi. Is no place sacred?!
- We listened to Punjabi music almost the entire ride, and it's official: I LOVE Punjabi music!
- School had just been let out, and a group of uniformed girls were getting their daily ride home...on a wagon pulled by a tractor. No school buses here.
- We got stuck at a railroad crossing. Now, for most Mid-Westerners this is a fairly common occurence. We get a little impatient, call the people that are expecting us to explain our tardiness, and eventually arrive on the other side to be on our way. Indian railroad crossings are (as evidenced by this blog post) something to write home about. Picture with me if you will: north-bound cars on one side of the tracks, south-bound cars on the other side of the tracks...and ALL empty spaces on both sides of the road are filled. As son as the train passes and the barricades lift, three lanes of north-bound traffic stare at three lanes of south-bound traffic...and we have a stalemate. Just picture it!
- I asked our taxi driver what one thing he would change about India if he could. First he said, "When you want to change a million things, how could you pick just one?!" Then he talked about how he would love to change the voting process, and what a hopeless feeling it is to go to the polls and know that every option you have is corrupt. Do you vote for the lesser of seven evils? Do you refuse to participate?
- The taxi driver asked if we could take care of the payment before we got to the airport so we wouldn't catch the attention of the police. Apparently when they see money, they like to line their pockets as well. It's a different world the authorities that are supposed to be enforcing the law attract the most suspicion.
1 comment:
Oh India! In the villages cow dung and straw is mixed into a paste and used for flooring and sometimes part of the wall. In a country with over a billion people...a little corruption helps folk to survive. heheheh. Enjoyed your post immensely!
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