Well not quite, he's 17 I think... but on Sunday I was volunteered to take the grandson of the family out for the day... fully at my own expense... it was a lovely gesture for them to express through me and my wallet. I was touched.I didn't really mind, I like the boy, Manoj... he has a nice full face smile and has been very helpful in the hotel for the last few weeks. We got in the taxi at 7am sharp and set off to Kumbalghar Fort around two and a half hours drive away. At this point I have to take a moment to describe the driving in India, never before in my life have I experienced such a puerile, reckless, unempathetic and downright selfish subspecies of humanity that can compare to the Indian driver... and as I have seen no women behind the wheel I have to assume this refers only to men. Without exception, when an Indian man gets behind the wheel of a car they automatically turn into a 14 year with a new racing game... that is an incredibly stupid 14 year old.... on no level can their driving be defended... they overtake on the inside on normal roads... overtaking on blind bends at high speed seems the preferred overtaking point (preferably on a rocky mountain road... that's the jackpot).... if they miss their turning, not to worry, just pull a u turn and drive full speed the wrong way... and it seems the speed limit holds whether your driving on the correct side of the road or not (and you are well within your rights to hoot furiously at any oncoming traffic)... chicken seems to be a common pursuit with the losing driver having too brake violently and eat gravel (this happened at least 14 times in this day)... they are (and sorry if you are offended) fucking morons behind the wheel... it would be hilarious if it wasn't so fricking dangerous. Anyhows, Kumbalghar was pretty and big and fort-like (see the photos in following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cosimo-roams/sets/72157623313916455/).
Next, via some equally ridiculous driving (I literally, and I am not joking, wished for us to crash head on with countless vehicles in order to teach both our dr
iver and theirs a valuable lesson.. and this has nothing to do with the fact that I've quit smoking... honest!), we made it to Ranakpur, a stunning Jain Temple... many hundreds of years old (I did my reading up on this one) carved out of one piece of marble (that's a lie), it has no walls... just marble columns (that's true) and was pretty stunning, and very temple like... again see photos in following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cosimo-roams/sets/72157623313913803/).So that was Sunday, this is Monday and tomorrow is Tuesday... which is my departure day. Cannot wait, I'll be arriving in Mumbai on Wednesday morning... this'll be the start of part two of my travels I think...
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Well, exciting..! What's your plans after mumbai? You can go on and on about the traffic in India which is indeed unique, but I tell you, You'll miss it. Everything seems so sensible over here. Sometimes I wish someone would overtake on a blind corner and honk a lot... Just to get the feeling again...
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming you're talking about that feeling when you tense up and think about those you love just as you enter a 15% chance of death/maiming situation... in that case yes, I'm sure I'll miss it lots and lots! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm spending two night in Mumbai... not going to do much just walk around and see what I see... then off to Goa, think I'm going to head to Palolem immediately then spend a week or so around there (following your advice of course) then down to Kerala! Woo Hoo!! Hows Europe treating you both? Where you at?