At Ahmedabad, a representative of St. Xavier was awaiting us. He had been there since 6 a.m., and it was now a little after 1. The ride to the college was in two vans, and our students were introduced to India’s roads. Words cannot describe the organized chaos of this traffic. Among other things noted from our van were the constant beeping of horns used as warning devices meaning that a vehicle is coming into the space of another with no intention of stopping or slowing, donkey-carts, bicycles, motorized rickshaws, busses, beggars, automobiles, cows, many trucks, including one rising high above the rest of the traffic filled with green melons and topped with a layer of humans, a camel cart, and much, much more. The other van had to pass an elephant.
One of the students even clearly held his breath was our van merged into solid streams of traffic coming from two other directions at a T-intersection with nothing more than a steady beeping from the horn merging into the constant clamor from other vehicles. We made it easily, clearing the truck by at least four inches and not running down the Vespa driver who was inexplicitly driving at about one-fourth the speed of the rest of the traffic. It did fit with our adventure theme.
It's my second time here, but the traffic is just as baffling as it was the first time. Love it.
No comments:
Post a Comment