India(napolis) 500!

Let me get right to the point – the driving in India is insane! Maybe not quite at the same level as Egypt, but certainly more than China – and that’s saying a lot. It is particularly crazy in Agra, where the infrastructure isn’t as advanced as Delhi (i.e., one lane dirt roads are treated as 3 lane highways by drivers).

Imagine a two lane dirt road. There are no lane markers, traffic signals of any kind or sidewalks. Add in a mix of cars, buses and trucks with people piled in the back and sometimes on the roof. No one using their signals, weaving side to side, often times creating their own lanes, occasionally driving down the wrong side of the street. Sprinkle in bicycles, animals pulling carts, animals wandering randomly and motorcycles carrying up to 5 people (yes, we saw 5 people on a standard sized motorcycle). Mash the whole thing together with a continuous symphony of horns and pedestrians darting across the roads like Frogger. Even sitting in the backseat, Meg and I had to look away more than once…palms sweating.

Miraculously, everyone seemed to understand this system, and while there were many near collisions, we didn’t see any accidents. At one point, we asked Viki (our guide/driver) if he ever had white-knuckles. He didn’t understand that term, but even after explaining to him, he said no. He was always pretty relaxed. Ok then.

These video clips won’t do my description justice, but maybe it will at least give you a taste

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