Magazine stand in a market
Wow. So recording breaking heat is really something. The temperatures have been as high as 47 degrees Celsius (close 120 Fahrenheit) in Delhi. I’m not really sure how to describe that kind of heat since Minnesotans have nothing to relate it to. But I’ll try.
You know it’s hot when. . .
The butter melts like ice
The ends of your hair are crispy with salt at the end of the day from sweat
Your eyeballs feel like they might shrivel up so much that they’ll fall out
You wake up in the middle of the night, go to the freezer for a liter of water and snuggle up with it as thought it were a teddy bear, then go back to sleep
Despite this heat I have been out in the city quite a bit and have even been south of Delhi150km to see the Taj Mahal (more on that later). This means that I have experienced the death-defying feat that is commonly known as “driving” around here. Absolutely incredible! You simply MUST turn off your “we’re going to die, oh my god, my life is flashing before my eyes!” instinct, or else you would overdose on the adrenalin. I have made a comprehensive list of the “vehicles” that I have seen on the typical Indian highway between Delhi and Agra. It includes: camels, goats, dogs, cows, hogs, bikes, cripples, children, motor bikes, bicycle rickshaws, tractors, lorries, cars, buses, monkeys, rickshaws and a handful of unidentified moving objects. Some of the more notable things are the people on bikes who catch up to a big truck and grab onto the edge to be pulled along for free OR the people trailing after the bus in traffic to climb up the ladder on the outside of the back so they can perch on top of the bus OR four full, real size people (no children) on a single motorbike.
In spite of this chaos, I have recorded the blue and white official road signs that I saw on the way to Agra. In fact, I have created a short quiz.
Which of the following signs did not seem hilarious:
a) Lane driving is Safe driving
b) Do not overload car
c) Keep a safe following distance
d) Merging traffic ahead- Go slow
e) NONE OF THE ABOVE
I am traveling with a Planning major and so she has offered insight that Americans have concluded that the most efficient way of running traffic is to regulate it and so we thrive on the infrastructure of traffic lights and painted arrows on the pavement and cops etc. However, not all cultures have reached that same conclusion and clearly India has opted to let the “first come, first serve” mentality rule the streets. I have to say that there are so many people out and about going places that it must work to a certain extent.
I think I have begun to understand the language of the road a little bit. For example, all of the trucks have painted on the back of them “blow horn” – kind of odd. Except that consider this translation—“Beeep” = I’m here, please be aware of my presence and “Beep, beep” = I’m here AND I’m coming through and have no intention of stopping for you. This last one is particularly useful when you are a vehicle who has chosen to travel into on-coming traffic on the “wrong” side of a divided highway. Yup, I’m definitely in India!
You know it’s hot when. . .
The butter melts like ice
The ends of your hair are crispy with salt at the end of the day from sweat
Your eyeballs feel like they might shrivel up so much that they’ll fall out
You wake up in the middle of the night, go to the freezer for a liter of water and snuggle up with it as thought it were a teddy bear, then go back to sleep
Despite this heat I have been out in the city quite a bit and have even been south of Delhi150km to see the Taj Mahal (more on that later). This means that I have experienced the death-defying feat that is commonly known as “driving” around here. Absolutely incredible! You simply MUST turn off your “we’re going to die, oh my god, my life is flashing before my eyes!” instinct, or else you would overdose on the adrenalin. I have made a comprehensive list of the “vehicles” that I have seen on the typical Indian highway between Delhi and Agra. It includes: camels, goats, dogs, cows, hogs, bikes, cripples, children, motor bikes, bicycle rickshaws, tractors, lorries, cars, buses, monkeys, rickshaws and a handful of unidentified moving objects. Some of the more notable things are the people on bikes who catch up to a big truck and grab onto the edge to be pulled along for free OR the people trailing after the bus in traffic to climb up the ladder on the outside of the back so they can perch on top of the bus OR four full, real size people (no children) on a single motorbike.
In spite of this chaos, I have recorded the blue and white official road signs that I saw on the way to Agra. In fact, I have created a short quiz.
Which of the following signs did not seem hilarious:
a) Lane driving is Safe driving
b) Do not overload car
c) Keep a safe following distance
d) Merging traffic ahead- Go slow
e) NONE OF THE ABOVE
I am traveling with a Planning major and so she has offered insight that Americans have concluded that the most efficient way of running traffic is to regulate it and so we thrive on the infrastructure of traffic lights and painted arrows on the pavement and cops etc. However, not all cultures have reached that same conclusion and clearly India has opted to let the “first come, first serve” mentality rule the streets. I have to say that there are so many people out and about going places that it must work to a certain extent.
I think I have begun to understand the language of the road a little bit. For example, all of the trucks have painted on the back of them “blow horn” – kind of odd. Except that consider this translation—“Beeep” = I’m here, please be aware of my presence and “Beep, beep” = I’m here AND I’m coming through and have no intention of stopping for you. This last one is particularly useful when you are a vehicle who has chosen to travel into on-coming traffic on the “wrong” side of a divided highway. Yup, I’m definitely in India!
No comments:
Post a Comment