Trains, Rickshaws and MC Hammer Pants
I am definitely jetlagged because I had no problem getting up at 4am to head to the train station at 5am via taxi. Poor Pavan didn't get to sleep in at all with my shuffling around the place. Taxis around here bargain. There is no set fare and very few actually use their meter. It's cheap but as a foreigner you get ripped off quite a bit if you don't actually know how to haggle for cab prices. Two days of cabbing around and I have the hang of it. I have no problem walking away from them and luckily so far my ability to leave them standing in mid traffic has made them lower their fares to something more reasonable.
This morning it was a different story though. The cab driver asked "bargain?" when I got into the cab. I said "yes". He said "150 rupees" and I replied "Okay. Let's go." I was expecting a higher fare.
The train station is something out of... well, I don't know. It's simply crazy. As we approached traffic turned into mayhem. People carrying huge pieces of baggage were dodging in and out between cars and rickshaws in the dark. Rows of coolies (baggage carriers) and passangers (I assume they were waiting for trains) were lying in rows in front of the station. Rickshaw drivers approached anyone walking out of the station and someone came up to me immediately asking if I needed a ticket. He pointed me to the platform my train was to leave from and I pretty much got pushed along up the stairs by crowds of men. Got to the station and waited for half an hour for the train. Noticed that no train arrived by 6am, my departure time. So, I pulled out the ticket and checked it. It was dated for tomorrow at 6, not today. Fuck it.
On the way back my rickshaw driver almost got into a fistfight with another driver who was blocking his way. He took his glasses off and started yelling in Hindi, lightly slapping the side of his head. Thankfully there was a distraction, one of the wheels got stuck on a propane barbecue stand with an open flame. People pushed us over the bump and the thing leaned in a bit too close for my liking but before I could even react to the open flame heading for me, we were off and the driver was veering into oncoming traffic, a huge bus.
Got home and woke Pavan again. I was freezing and cuddled up to her until she had to go to work. Spent the remainder of the day in bed and finally dragged my ass out to the internet cafe. I'm achy and cold even in the heat of this place. There's a woman in ridiculous looking red MC Hammer pants and a pink shirt next to me. Wow.
Tomorrow I leave for the Pink City, Jaipur. For real this time.
This morning it was a different story though. The cab driver asked "bargain?" when I got into the cab. I said "yes". He said "150 rupees" and I replied "Okay. Let's go." I was expecting a higher fare.
The train station is something out of... well, I don't know. It's simply crazy. As we approached traffic turned into mayhem. People carrying huge pieces of baggage were dodging in and out between cars and rickshaws in the dark. Rows of coolies (baggage carriers) and passangers (I assume they were waiting for trains) were lying in rows in front of the station. Rickshaw drivers approached anyone walking out of the station and someone came up to me immediately asking if I needed a ticket. He pointed me to the platform my train was to leave from and I pretty much got pushed along up the stairs by crowds of men. Got to the station and waited for half an hour for the train. Noticed that no train arrived by 6am, my departure time. So, I pulled out the ticket and checked it. It was dated for tomorrow at 6, not today. Fuck it.
On the way back my rickshaw driver almost got into a fistfight with another driver who was blocking his way. He took his glasses off and started yelling in Hindi, lightly slapping the side of his head. Thankfully there was a distraction, one of the wheels got stuck on a propane barbecue stand with an open flame. People pushed us over the bump and the thing leaned in a bit too close for my liking but before I could even react to the open flame heading for me, we were off and the driver was veering into oncoming traffic, a huge bus.
Got home and woke Pavan again. I was freezing and cuddled up to her until she had to go to work. Spent the remainder of the day in bed and finally dragged my ass out to the internet cafe. I'm achy and cold even in the heat of this place. There's a woman in ridiculous looking red MC Hammer pants and a pink shirt next to me. Wow.
Tomorrow I leave for the Pink City, Jaipur. For real this time.
posted by LOTC at 6:15 AM
2 Comments:
It's 10 to 8 and the birds are chirping just outside the window...
hey! margaret cho was blogging from india and she saw a man in a three piece suit take a dump on the street while reading a magazine. please make sure to include such sightings in future entries.
it sounds awesome, hope all is well and you don't get the delhi belly.
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