We're back home and clearly, we got lazy about this whole blog business. I was writing to a friend of mine about our drive to Agra and thought I would post what I wrote here, since it's pretty much what I would have said in the blog:
we got lazy and didn't finish our blog. it's too bad, too, because i
had a really funny blog entry i was going to write next called "the
horn hierarchy" about driving in india. the roads of india are insane
and you'd think there's no order to it all, but there is. order can be
seen if you know where to look. i was able to work out this "horn
hierarchy" as i was calling it... auto-rickshaws are low on the list,
cars slightly higher, animal-driven carts and animals on their own are
lower on the list... at the top of the list are insane government
buses. they are huge, drive fast, and stop for nobody.
we had this insane driver taking us to the taj mahal who did not know
his place on the horn hierarchy. i was joking with howie that this
particular driver was under the impression that his was a "horn of
divine right" giving some kind of special status on the horn
hierarchy. he would honk at vehicles he had no right to honk at and
when they didn't yield, he'd totally stare them down as we drove past.
at once point, someone cut him off or did something he didn't approve
of. our driver tried to push the guy into the center divider, zoomed
in front of him and cut him off until the guy was forced to stop. our
driver got out of the car to go back and yell at him. ROAD RAGE!
while he was out of the car, howie was like, "you know it's bad when
indian drivers are looking at him like he's crazy!"
eventually, my dad was able to convince him that we were in no rush and
the guy slowed down. phew! later on in the drive, i really had to pee
and there was nowhere to stop. we asked, "where do all these people go
to the bathroom?" he said, "in the ditch on the side of the road."
sure enough, every few minutes, there was another person going to the
bathroom on the side of the road. well, when in rome...
POTTY EMERGENCY! i hopped out of the car and made howie come with me
to hold up a coat to give me at least a little privacy. what i hadn't
thought about was the fact that people weren't just going pee in those
ditches. talk about absolutely disgusting!!! despite my pee panic, i
was thankfully able to navigate my way around some filthy stuff.
seriously gross.
the rest of the drive was much more enjoyable since i was no longer
worried that we would crash or that i would pee my pants. i was at
peace and free to contemplate how ten people could fit in a single
auto-rickshaw, how a family of four could fit on a scooter, how a camel
could pull a cart the size of a house, and how much better india would
be if they'd invest in a couple million compost toilets.
