On the first free weekend, two weeks ago, we decided to go to
Aurangabad. We visited the Ellora caves, shopped a bit and also went to the silk factory. It was a great times overall with great food.
One of the most memorable moments was my "rickshaw incident!" Before I explain what happened, let me set the scene for you...
I personally think India is at the top of the list for the worst
traffic ever! If you honk your horn, it serves as a warning to everyone near you and you can then proceed erratically into which ever lane of traffic you choose, regardless of the position of the other cars around you. The mentality is, you honked so they were all forewarned. Everywhere you go, every street you hit is just a constant mass of honking chaos twenty-four hours a day. That’s the problem - it never stops! People rarely follow street lights or traffic rules. So you are at an advantage if you are either in a rickshaw or a motor bike. Every tiny or big vehicle on the road is barely held together by pieces of welded metal and completely packed with people. The
population and road conditions don't help either. I can't forget the motorbikes that ride straight down the sidewalk, honking for pedestrians to move out of the way! It's a definite mess.
Back to my rickshaw experience...
To return to the hotel we decided to take a rickshaw back. The group was separated into two different rickshaws. Keeping the traffic situation in mind... the two rickshaws were driving side by side and we were not moving so i started taking pictures from my rickshaw of the whole situation. We were literally in the middle of the intersection bumperto bumper. Since we were not moving, I decided to take a picture of the other group in the neighboring rickshaw. As I am taking my picture my rickshaw decides to move forward so my hand was caught in between the two rickshaws! My camera falls o the ground. If yo know me well enough my pictures are my prized possessions. Not the least bit concerned about my arm, I started to scream at the driver to either stop or pick up my camera. I was ready to jump out of the rickshaw to get my camera. I guess he understoond and gracefully leaned over to the floor and got the camera, handed it to me and said, "Please keep your hands inside Ma'am" lol! I sat back in my seat still in amazement at what just happened. Everyone else was asking about my arm.
This was a case of riding a roller coaster ride with out a seat belt! My hand/arm are fine, No need to worry about that. I can't believe I was that concerned about my camera. I didn't realize how meaning the pictures I have taken truly are to me.
Lesson learned. No more taking pictures in a moving rickshaw in India traffic. No more.
