Wednesday, November 9, 2011

#TransportationIssues


Flash forward: Thankfully these past 2.5 months have paid off, and I can finally say I feel somewhat comfortable getting around India. I can call a taxi, hail a rickshaw, navigate a train station, and (sometimes) navigate the neighborhood. I actually felt somewhat comfortable in Delhi, the city of 14 million. That's a pretty big step for me personally, because in the US I'm pretty addicted to my GPS. In fact, I don't actually feel comfortable driving long distances without it. Which is pretty embarrassing to admit, maybe I should work on that. So of course, since I finally felt comfortable, its time for me to move to a new city... 

Day 2 in Jaipur, rickshaw issues. Stand-by for a much needed rant. 

Why on earth would you tell someone you know where you're going, when CLEARLY you don't? This morning I reached my limit, after I spent 1.5 hours (yes, HOURS) in a rickshaw trying to get from the guesthouse to the NGO, easily a 20 minute journey. This is what I don't understand: why would a driver willingly agree to drive around in circles asking shopkeepers off the street the right directions? Am I supposed to pay him for this? I mean, he thinks so, but as a transportation 'expert' (as explained earlier), i know better.  Here are my solutions: either the rickshaws get some GPS systems (definitely not happening) ORRR they get some street signs for the roads in India. The second seems like a pretty good idea to me. I will say, it is pretty confusing not having road signs, but if your advertised profession is driving someone around the city, I personally think you should have a good handle on where you're going. Anyways, after finally finding the NGO (thanks to the many shopkeepers and other drivers we asked along the way) the driver demanded I pay double for the ride because 'we were driving for a very long time'.Well DUH we were driving around for a long time, you didn't know where you were! Maf ke-ji-yeee (my bad, in Hindi) I shouldn't have agreed to pay by the meter, but hell no rickshaw man, I'm not paying for that time you got me lost, and made me late. My argumentative side got the best of me, and the small bit of Hindi I know helped me to not pay the rickshaw driver. It also caused a bit of a crowd, and a small scene outside the gates of my NGO... oops. 


After our little altercation, my next instinct was to cower inside, and run away from the people that watched me argue my way out of an unfair wage. Thank God the people at BMVSS are like the rest of India, and don't really care about time because at this point, I was almost an hour late. Actually, when I told Pankaj (my new best friend and technician I'm shadowing) my epic travel story, he just laughed at me, told me to wash my hands, and help him with his mold. Typical India, you just never know what to expect. 

2 comments:

  1. I hope you are not traveling alone....be careful!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great suggestions I enjoy these articles very much. Usability is a very powerful side in my view
    klip

    ReplyDelete