Quick Overview of Trip and Commentary on Indian/Nepali Driving

Wow, hard to believe that my first organized tour is officially over. The experience was unforgettable, but I'm also relieved that I finally have some time to myself. I will always remember my Indian/Nepali adventure. I wish that I had a few more days here but I'm also excited to get to Bangkok.

Take-aways

I definitely recommend the Intrepid Delhi to Kathmandu trip. It was a nice way to ease into traveling halfway across the world. I also would not recommend traveling alone as a single white female in India. Nepal is a bit easier, but still.

Now that the first organized tour is over, some of my trip take aways include - being able to walk directly into oncoming traffic (in order to cross the street)

without praying mercifully that I won't be hit; the smell of shit no longer fazes me; the sight of shit no longer fazes me; and, I can navigate nameless streets with thousands of lookalike shops (in Kathmandu - all selling pashminas, chunky wool hats and fake North Face gear) and successfully make my way back to my hotel. Okay, there are a lot more take aways than that, but those were the first to come to mind.

India and Nepal are very similar countries (at least in some respects), but I found Nepal a lot more enjoyable. It was also a hell of a lot cleaner. I don't want to reinforce stereotypes here, but it's true. It's not that the people in India are dirty, it's just that the streets there are lined with cows, bulls, goats and dogs. Seriously. There are so many animals by the side of the road - or standing in the middle of the road - that it's a miracle that the streets aren't covered with roadkill. They aren't. They are only littered with feces.

While it's common to see a poor raccoon or squirrel the sad victim of speeding drivers in Canada, you won't find anything like that here. Indians are the craziest - and I mean the craziest - drivers I have ever seen; however, they are superbly able to navigate all obstacles. Win-win for the holy cows and for the Hindus that worship them.

*I will try to post a video of Indian driving at some point. It's also funny to note the different norms regarding the use of the car horn in Nepal and especially in India. Whereas in Canada it is seen as rude to honk someone, here it is a way of life; something that is tolerated and even

encouraged.

In India, streets often only have 2 lanes - one for each direction. Therefore, lane hosting oncoming traffic often becomes the passing lane. in my eyes, driving here becomes one scary game of chicken. In order to reduce the number of collisions, the horn is used to say 'I'm here, I'm behind you, and I'm going to pass you. So, slow down so I can weave into oncoming traffic and then cut you off without getting hit'. To reinforce the normative nature of continuous honking, most trucks have "please use horn" written on them.

Traffic on the Streets

In addition to the cows, goats, dogs, pedestrians (and water buffalo in Nepal), the streets also are used by cars, vans, Tata trucks (see above pics), motorbikes, regular bikes, auto rickshaws, and cycle rickshaws. Now imagine four 'vehicles', and a cow for good measure, trying to navigate one lane of traffic. And I hear that driving in Vietnam is even more ridiculous! Oh joy.

*these pictures aren't mine. I have some great ones, but I haven't had a chance to upload them yet.