Driving in India

The biggest shock upon arriving in India was not the people, or the smell, but the drive from the airport to our hotel. We arrived just after one in the morning to a prearranged pick up. The driver, after acknowledging we were the right people, barely spoke to us as we ran to catch up with him through the curving turns of the airport's passages. We arrived at the car and were promptly told that we didn't have seat belts. This would become a theme in India. It turns out that seat belts aren't required in the backseat and even drivers only put them on when they think the police may be nearby. Anyway, I digress. After locking ourselves into the death-mobile, we zoomed out of the parking lot, but not before our driver honked at every other vehicle within sight. Once on the streets, Indian driving rules took over. It didn't seem to matter which side of the street we were supposed to drive on, only which side was the most convenient for the driver (another theme). I can't even count the number of times a driver pulled into a roundabout without looking, or even worse, went the WRONG WAY around the roundabout because it was a bit quicker to get to their exit. Horns are used near constantly to warn drivers of your arrival behind them, passing, anger, annoyances, happiness, and possibly every other feeling known to man. Cows are quickly swerved around and people and bicycles narrowly avoided (I'm talking less than an inch from hitting everything, sometimes less). The biggest cars always win, and chicken is a never ending game. Yes, driving in India (or being a passenger) is an experience.

In a space that looks to fit 3 people, Indians often cram up to 8! Alessa and I squeezed in with a few friends.

View from the back of an auto

Streets in India.

Our friends in the other Rickshaw.

Our last driver - he kept trying to convince us to go to his store- Only look, no buy!

Tips for travelers in India:
Always find out about how much your trip should cost if you are going in an auto or tuk tuk. Negotiate the price first, and only pay that price. If the driver won't come down to your price, tell them you'll find another driver. There will ALWAYS be someone willing to take you, as long as the price you name is reasonable enough. We usually asked our hotels how much we should pay to get from point to point, then expected to pay double as tourists. Although it sounds quite scary to drive in India, they know what they are doing. I only saw one minor accident where two motorcycles bumped each other's tires, yelled for a minute, then moved on. Trust the driver - he's still alive and it's his car.

Here's a little video of our last taxi ride on our way to the airport!