Today I am going to tell you a bit about the traffic in
Ahmedabad. I’m sure that most of you have heard of the population in Indian
cities. Well, obviously that affects the number of people on the road, but it
is not the same knowing it than seeing it! It’s not only the amount of people,
but also the fact that almost nobody would walk to go anywhere. If it is more
than a 10-minute walk, they would take the bike (meaning motorbike; here they
use cycle for bicycle), the car or a rickshaw.
All this petrol used is bad not only for the planet, but
also for our lungs. I am used to it now, but at the beginning, with the dust
and all the fumes, it was a bit harder to breathe and I felt like my nose was
dirty inside (quite weird). And you think “I would like to know how my lungs
are dealing with this”. I’m sure some of you are thinking about the cigarettes
I smoke… well, since I’m here (over two months now), I have just had a couple
of them… When I wrote the Spanish entry it had been only one… it increased a
tiny bit.
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| It is a bit far, but you can see a roundabout and some cars going towards the left (that is normal). You can also see a bike and a cycle going on the opposite direction. |
Moreover, we have to add the noise pollution, which is also
quite important. Here a red light is just a light, and a junction just an area
with more vehicles coming, and there are roundabouts, but they are not used all
the time. Very often you can even see cars on the opposite lane. You may be
wondering what all this have to do with noise pollution. Well, as everyone goes
the way they want and when they want to, they have to warn you, somehow, that
they are coming… and, for that, they honk. I want to pass a cycle? Honk. Nobody
is moving? Honk for 10 seconds. I am on the opposite lane and a pedestrian is
on my way? Honk. Sometimes you even wonder why they are honking. In fact, in
many vehicles you can see “Please honk” or similar sentences. So, if you ever
come, do not get annoyed by people honking at you, as they are just saying “Hi,
I’m here!”
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| Car going on the opposite direction (here you drive on your left, like in England... colonialism...). |
There are other rules that are not applied that much here.
For example, they don’t use the seat belt very often. In fact, they look at you
like you’re weird for doing so and, when they have a new car, they want to
remove that beeping sound you get when the driver is not using it. And now that
I mention new cars, here they keep the plastic on the seats for a couple of
months, what is not very comfortable when you at 40ºC. Also, they are often on
the phone, and just hide it a bit if they see the police.
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| A couple of people on a bike. I have seen up to four, but I don't have a picture of it. |
It is also very common to have a bike (motorbike). In fact,
many families use them. And by that I mean that you can see the father riding
it, with a little girl on his lap, the mother, behind (often sitting side-saddle)
and holding another kid, for example, or two people astride and the kid between
them. And no one wearing a helmet, of course.
And what happens if you get caught? Well, the policeman
would tell you how much you owe and that’s it. Who likes paperwork, anyway?
Well, I have not seen that, just heard of it, but the rest, I see it every day!
By the way, roads are not only for vehicles here. Also fruit
stalls, with the owner carrying them, and pedestrians enjoy them. Here, either
there is no pavement, or it’s covered with food stalls, or even they have trees
planted in the middle of them, so you just walk wherever you can. And crossing
the road is a real adventure, as they won’t stop unless you get in the middle.
So you just cross step by step and hope to survive.
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| A man in a roundabout with his food stall. |
That is all for today. I am not having much time lately, but
I can tell you that my next post would be either about transport (which I
already posted in Spanish) or about Gir forest… Until then, drive safe!
