“Mam,” explined my driver Swami, with pride, “this is new road since four years.” (Mis amigas españolas…esa gramática no es correcta). Great, I thought, a nice straight road so we can move along a bit faster today. Twisty pot holed, narrow dusty traffic packed roads were beginning to lose their charm for me.
Tolled roads are new to this part of India but the rules differ from our efficient E15 in Valencia (or any motorway I’ve been on, anywhere!).
Overtake? Just pick a side - any one will do as long as you honk loudly enough.
Pedestrians, cows even goats cross our path. Vehicles join this motorway by cutting across the traffic. Some of the strangest sights included – whole families speeding along on the one motorbike; kids on bicycles with friends on the back, an elderly man pushing his bike which is laden horizontally with long sugar cane, auto rickshaws (yellow and black open sided “taxis”) bulging with passengers (wonder if there is an upper limit on number of passengers and does the insurance cover for this?!). May I now point out that the above (with rickshaw excepted) were travelling IN THE WRONG DIRECTION and coming towards our car!
Signposting doesn’t seem to have caught up with this ´new´ road, so even capable Swami got it wrong at times ( I guessed he may have got a bit lost when we ran out of motorway and bounced along a narrow crater filled road and crossed over a railway track). And Swami´s reaction to all this (and my horrified gasps from the rear seat!)? He just laughs. Thankfully he has quick reactions and ABS!
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