Transport of the Foreign Kind...

I just refound this thought process I had drafted about 4 years ago... thought it was sharable!

5 years ago I visited the continent of Asia... staying in India and Thailand.

Having been to Asia several times in the past, the cultral experiences most recieve when visiting a foreign country were'nt really as evident to me as the may have been the next person. One thing however that did astonish me and to be honest send me at times into a diabolical life threatning panic as well as extreme hysterics was the traffic.

Through this blog i hope to give you a glimps of my experience, yet I can never portray to you the sheer enjoyment one will encounter when travelling in Asia.

Beggining at the bottom of the transport chain (although there is no real order)

Bicycles -
There are so many bikes in india... everyone seems to ride a bike or at least try to ride one. The bikes they ride are really old ones with buckled handlebars and dodgey tires. They dont have footpaths either, and the bikes dont ride anywhere near the side of the road (you cant really call it a road though its more of an area) instead they dominate with a mind of their own, just dwadling through trafic.

Motorbikes -
You couldnt really call them motorbikes they are more of a scooter/moped type thing. Seem to think they own the road aswell as all the other vehciles. Are really noisy and zip in and out of traffic.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/IMG_1648.jpg

Rickshaws -
These are people running with little carts behind them. It's like they are something out of the 19th century. I didnt actually get to go in any while I was there, all up I think they just looked a bit too dodgey. The drivers are called Rickshaw Wallers (spelling?) and they have little bells which they ring to let you know they are out looking for business. They also have rickshaws pulled by bicycles which are slightly better as its not a frail old man pulling you along with his bare hands, but its still pretty hard labour.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/IMG_1635.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/IMG_1660-1.jpg

Tuktuks -
motorbikes with a half enclosed roof things but no sides. Drive really fast for what it is. The drivers get sick of sitting behing cars so they squeeze through although they are about the same size as a car. Tuktuk drivers use their hands out the side of the vehicle as like indicators. There was one point in Bangkok where we were waiting behing a car for a pedestrian at a crossing and our tuktuk just overtook the car and drove straight through the crossing. Unbelievable!!!
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/tuktuk.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/IMG_1664.jpg

Taxis -
Thai taxis are air-coned which is a great relife when you are constantly in the humid stuffyness of outdoor Bangkok. They also rip you off especially if you are WHITE! and the metres that the use for calculating money are so ilegit. They drive in the middle of the lanes on the motorway like over the cats eyes and not just while passing but constantly, they also dont indicate which isnt a biggy but when your on a motorway travelling at 125 KMph its like um excuse me please indicate when changing lanes!!! They also sway from side to side across the road and within the lanes that they are in. When changing lanes they do it at bizzare angles, ignoring a smooth transition from lane to lane. Reasonably cheap when you dont get ripped off, it cost us 165Bhat from the airport which converts to about $6.50 for a 45 minute drive.

Indian taxis are a whole different ball game...
In India they still drive Embassador Classics, they are everywhere in all different colours. The Taxis are bright yellow and look hilareously ancient. They are much worse then Thai taxis, mainly due to the Road Code - Rule 1: There are no rules.

There are no lanes on the road making navigation slightly difficult, and on what could be a road that has 2 lanes going both ways there could be 5 lanes going one way and 1 going the other.
They all HONK rediculously and beep ferociously at each other but especially the rickshaws, bikes and Autos (Indian Tuktuks) because they are bigger and stronger on the road. I counted once about 20 honks in 1 minute! and that wasnt in rush hour, and the horns are really loud and the drivers dont just beep them once but several times in a row. Again the dont indicate or have any sense of straightness. There are no seatbelts, making the journey a whole lot more exciting.