While getting a bus across the tarmac at Bangalore airport the driver stopped in front of our plane on an essentially empty tarmac and started honking his horn before driving an additional 20 metres and letting us off. I’m not sure if he really expected the plane to move out of the way but you have to admire his delusion.
Showing posts with label bus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bus. Show all posts
Monday, 26 February 2007
India Transport
There are various methods of transport in India ranging from suicidal to suicidal.
1. Walking
2. Motorbike
3. Rickshaw (auto or bike)
4. Car
5. Taxi (distinct from private cars as the drivers seem to have death wishes)
6. Government bus
7. Private Bus (deluxe or semi-deluxe)
8. Volvo (coach)
9. Train
Walking is perhaps the most hazardous transport medium if you’re near a road and the one least undertaken by middle class Indians. There are no such things as pedestrian crossings, sure they are painted on the road but if you are to use one you’d be painted on the road, then painted around by the traffic police. I recently had to cross a busy road and after waiting several minutes for a break in the traffic I almost went back to ask the soothsayer when the next break in traffic would be.
Auto Rickshaws are fantastic concept, most of the time when you want to use a taxi you only need two seats or maybe three so why waste money dragging around additional seats and a boot when it’s not necessary. So the rickshaw is the answer, a three wheeled yellow and black bird cage powered by a lawnmower engine. They can be very scary depending on the driver you have managed to flag down and negotiate either the activation of the meter or a charge you’re both happy with. Rickshaw drivers basically hurl their vehicle through every gap in the traffic they can find. I’m sure several times I’ve been in one that’s somehow managed to occupy another vehicles space time somehow without having an accident.
The rickshaw drivers for reasons only known to themselves mount their side mirrors on the inside of the cab, orientated so that the only thing they can see is the back seat. The mirrors also frequently have written on them “Objects in the mirror appear closer than they are” which strikes me as terribly useless because by the time an object you would like to see in your mirrors is visible it has crushed through the back wall of your vehicle.
A bus provides exactly n – 5 inches of leg room, where n is the distance between hip and knee. A semi deluxe or deluxe bus are really the same thing but when you book the tickets you’re told that the bus is deluxe and yet when it arrives it’s clearly semi. On top of that the deluxe is really a misnomer as the bus is really not deluxe but tolerable. I suggest redefining the classes are tolerable and barely tolerable.
A Volvo bus is wonderful and is equivalent to our coach class. Though it usually involves deafening Bollywood movie, but headphones or ear plugs reduce that to a racket.
In all the transport options only the train is safe and then only if you aren’t taking the class that involves hanging out of the train. In many cases without a molecule of your body inside the actual train as your are literally hanging off someone else.
Space is an important concept, Dr Karl said that of all forms of transport a 747 has the smallest amount of space per person. He obviously hasn’t seen the Indian transport packing solution. Frequently I have seen cars, bikes or rickshaws loaded to the roof with people. A small 5 seater car can easily contain 11 people if packed properly, two people per front seat (including the driver seat) and 5 people squished on the back seat and two additional kids peeking out the boot. In the same manner 8 people + a driver can be fitted in to an auto, a device designed to take 2 in a semblance of comfort.
1. Walking
2. Motorbike
3. Rickshaw (auto or bike)
4. Car
5. Taxi (distinct from private cars as the drivers seem to have death wishes)
6. Government bus
7. Private Bus (deluxe or semi-deluxe)
8. Volvo (coach)
9. Train
Walking is perhaps the most hazardous transport medium if you’re near a road and the one least undertaken by middle class Indians. There are no such things as pedestrian crossings, sure they are painted on the road but if you are to use one you’d be painted on the road, then painted around by the traffic police. I recently had to cross a busy road and after waiting several minutes for a break in the traffic I almost went back to ask the soothsayer when the next break in traffic would be.
Auto Rickshaws are fantastic concept, most of the time when you want to use a taxi you only need two seats or maybe three so why waste money dragging around additional seats and a boot when it’s not necessary. So the rickshaw is the answer, a three wheeled yellow and black bird cage powered by a lawnmower engine. They can be very scary depending on the driver you have managed to flag down and negotiate either the activation of the meter or a charge you’re both happy with. Rickshaw drivers basically hurl their vehicle through every gap in the traffic they can find. I’m sure several times I’ve been in one that’s somehow managed to occupy another vehicles space time somehow without having an accident.
The rickshaw drivers for reasons only known to themselves mount their side mirrors on the inside of the cab, orientated so that the only thing they can see is the back seat. The mirrors also frequently have written on them “Objects in the mirror appear closer than they are” which strikes me as terribly useless because by the time an object you would like to see in your mirrors is visible it has crushed through the back wall of your vehicle.
A bus provides exactly n – 5 inches of leg room, where n is the distance between hip and knee. A semi deluxe or deluxe bus are really the same thing but when you book the tickets you’re told that the bus is deluxe and yet when it arrives it’s clearly semi. On top of that the deluxe is really a misnomer as the bus is really not deluxe but tolerable. I suggest redefining the classes are tolerable and barely tolerable.
A Volvo bus is wonderful and is equivalent to our coach class. Though it usually involves deafening Bollywood movie, but headphones or ear plugs reduce that to a racket.
In all the transport options only the train is safe and then only if you aren’t taking the class that involves hanging out of the train. In many cases without a molecule of your body inside the actual train as your are literally hanging off someone else.
Space is an important concept, Dr Karl said that of all forms of transport a 747 has the smallest amount of space per person. He obviously hasn’t seen the Indian transport packing solution. Frequently I have seen cars, bikes or rickshaws loaded to the roof with people. A small 5 seater car can easily contain 11 people if packed properly, two people per front seat (including the driver seat) and 5 people squished on the back seat and two additional kids peeking out the boot. In the same manner 8 people + a driver can be fitted in to an auto, a device designed to take 2 in a semblance of comfort.
Thursday, 1 February 2007
19th of January
Mark and I decided that the mountains around Shimla were too far away to easily climb. Mainly because to get to them we would have to take a bus or a taxi, and after Mark ended several hundred kilometres from his destination because a taxi driver didn’t realise that that there were three towns within several hundred kilometres of each other we were going via foot. So we decided to go to a town called Manali.
Unfortunately the only way to Manali is taxi or bus thus violating the above paragraph. There are several classes of bus in India, starting from the public bus then semi deluxe, deluxe and finally Volvo (regardless of actuall manufacturer). The last would equate to coach in Australia, the first being some kind of hell spawned ride that is horrifying to be stuck on. We could only get a so called deluxe bus to Manali as the Volvo’s run from Delhi. When our bus arrived it was clear that it was only deluxe in comparison to the public busses. The major advantage was another few inches of leg room (still insufficient for me) and the seats in sets of two rather than 3 and 2 as in a public bus. The ride to Manali was 10 hours long and I assure you it sure felt like 10 hous.
The roads in India as I have previously mentioned are pretty abysmal (that is straight from the abyss) and our bus driver seemed determined for us to be aware of how hard it is to stay on them as he threw the bus around every corner on the road. Learning from my last trip I had bought some ondancetron, which is a very potent anti-nauseant. I took my dose and started to feel at least some relief from the horrendous cornering, unfortunately many of the Indians on the bus were not similarly medicated and demonstrated this by vomiting spectacularly from the window down the side of the bus. I provided several of the bus occupants with said drug to which there was rapid relief thus gaining myself an orange. I guess you could call it my first paid medical work.
Arriving in Manali night we looked at a few hotels and crashed in the first that we found had two beds in the bedroom, since it is low season we never have any problems finding accommodation.
Unfortunately the only way to Manali is taxi or bus thus violating the above paragraph. There are several classes of bus in India, starting from the public bus then semi deluxe, deluxe and finally Volvo (regardless of actuall manufacturer). The last would equate to coach in Australia, the first being some kind of hell spawned ride that is horrifying to be stuck on. We could only get a so called deluxe bus to Manali as the Volvo’s run from Delhi. When our bus arrived it was clear that it was only deluxe in comparison to the public busses. The major advantage was another few inches of leg room (still insufficient for me) and the seats in sets of two rather than 3 and 2 as in a public bus. The ride to Manali was 10 hours long and I assure you it sure felt like 10 hous.
The roads in India as I have previously mentioned are pretty abysmal (that is straight from the abyss) and our bus driver seemed determined for us to be aware of how hard it is to stay on them as he threw the bus around every corner on the road. Learning from my last trip I had bought some ondancetron, which is a very potent anti-nauseant. I took my dose and started to feel at least some relief from the horrendous cornering, unfortunately many of the Indians on the bus were not similarly medicated and demonstrated this by vomiting spectacularly from the window down the side of the bus. I provided several of the bus occupants with said drug to which there was rapid relief thus gaining myself an orange. I guess you could call it my first paid medical work.
Arriving in Manali night we looked at a few hotels and crashed in the first that we found had two beds in the bedroom, since it is low season we never have any problems finding accommodation.
Tuesday, 26 December 2006
14th of December
After missing the bus to Shimla at 0630 we caught one to Chandigarh then caught a bus to Shimla. It would be more precise to say we caught a bus for 30 metres and then were stuck in a bus strike for about 1.5 hours.
During the time we waited and during the subsequent journey a nice couple played some music from their laptop. It turns out that Indian music sounds no better when played really badly from cheap speakers than when inflicted from a good stereo system.
I thought riding on a bus from Delhi to Chanders was bad, that was a relatively wide road with over taking lanes. The road from Chanders to Shimla was anything but nice. A narrow road composed of one lane in either direction with cars, buses and trucks regularly overtaking each other on the wrong side of the road. Not only was the road narrow, it was sided with a cliff and a cliff. One rising to the heavens and the other falling down like the pits of kaz’hadum. I must confess I closed my eyes more than once and held my breath while we squeezed between a bus or truck and a cliff face. I don't think it made the bus any thinner but it didn't seem to do any harm either.
During the time we waited and during the subsequent journey a nice couple played some music from their laptop. It turns out that Indian music sounds no better when played really badly from cheap speakers than when inflicted from a good stereo system.
I thought riding on a bus from Delhi to Chanders was bad, that was a relatively wide road with over taking lanes. The road from Chanders to Shimla was anything but nice. A narrow road composed of one lane in either direction with cars, buses and trucks regularly overtaking each other on the wrong side of the road. Not only was the road narrow, it was sided with a cliff and a cliff. One rising to the heavens and the other falling down like the pits of kaz’hadum. I must confess I closed my eyes more than once and held my breath while we squeezed between a bus or truck and a cliff face. I don't think it made the bus any thinner but it didn't seem to do any harm either.
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