Monday, January 21, 2008
AutoRickshaw
Today there was a general strike by bus and lorry drivers. Our driver was told by his company not to drive today, so I had to find "alternate forms of transportation". I took one of the Auto's. I had thought they would be included in the strike as that is what I understood from the newspaper, but they were out in force I discovered (only after agreeing to an outrageous fare of 100RS from the apartment to the office. More on fares here . The trip was fairly uneventful, other than getting bounced all over the place. On the way home I had to find an auto on MG road. The going fare seemed to be 80RS, even though on the meter it is probably only 60, they just won't go for that with a westerner, or I cannot negotiate correctly. This guy was going downhill a fair bit of the way and was a speed demon. I was just glad no-one stepped out in front of us on the one clear(downhill) stretch of road as we were probably going 40-50 kilometers an hour and I'm sure his brakes wouldn't have stopped us that fast. But I made it home safe and sound, except for all of the exhaust I had to breathe in during the trip, god that was awful.
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For those who wonder what an auto-rickshaw is, here's how Ken described it in curryosity:
"Auto-rickshaws are like Tuk-tuks, if that helps: 3 wheeled vehicles with a bicycle-like front tire and barely room for 3 people behind the driver on a very hard seat. They run on diesel and kerosene, smell awful, and all the drivers go like maniacs. It would be a great addition to San Francisco."
Sounds fun, Bryan! Who-hoooo! Was the elevator man there today, or did he go on strike too, the elevator being a form of transport?
M
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