Yesterday (I am so good at titles...)

So, remember how last week I said I wanted to go to the Osho Ashram or the race track on Sunday? Well, when I stepped outside at 10.30am yesterday morning, after a copious brunch, I was met with a wall of heat. So, instead of going to either one of those places, or even dragging my PC outside to amuse myself, I retreated to my beautifully air-conditioned room and surfed and wrote fanfic until 3pm. At that point I figured I really ought to do something, so I decided to go shopping around the SGS Mall, and, to make it cheaper, take a rickshaw to get there.

This, by the way, is what an Indian rickshaw looks like these days:


(Image copyright Muhammad Mahdi Karim)

I was told by the hotel that I could expect to pay 40-50 rupees for the trip, but when I asked my chosen driver before leaving how much, he told me 150. I didn't argue. I guess I could have, but honestly I would feel bad about it. 150 rupees works out to about €2.50 for a 15-20 minute trip, which, let's face it, is nothing. The fact is, 150 rupees won't even buy me a bottle of coke, whereas it can feed his kid for at least a day. So yeah, I didn't argue.

Anyway, the ride was remarkably unintimidating. I've been told that rickshaws are not for the faint of heart, but honestly, I didn't feel the least bit unsafe. The noise is incredible, though. Not from the rickshaw itself, but since it's open on all sides, you're treated to the full symphony of the Pune roads. And what a symphony it is! I'm starting to get the impression that people here use the horn like any other means of communication, to express anger, happiness, amusement, disgust, etc. It's really something! Anyway, we got to the mall without difficulty, and I spent a couple of hours wandering around, first on the surrounding streets and then, when that got too hot, inside the mall. One thing I've noticed, which is nice, is that, while some people may look at you, it's purely out of curiosity. They look at you the same way they might look at an unusual dog or bird, curious because it's out of the ordinary, but not hugely interested beyond that. I can see why, too - you virtually never see any non-Indian people on the streets, ever. No white people, black people, Chinese, no one but Indians. No one, including the stall holders, bothered me, but they were happy to talk to me if I talked to them.

I've learned that apparently, growing up in Brussels is excellent training for navigating the streets of India: Road users there have about the same amount of respect for the traffic code as they do here. So, in spite of the warnings I received, I find I'm actually about to navigate the roads fairly competently. As in Brussels, there seem to be two basic rules that should always be observed by the pedestrian: 1) Show no fear (even with the five scooters bearing down on you), and 2) always stand your ground - don't stop once you've started. Everything else is optional.

When I wanted to go home, I learned something else: Apparently, rickshaw drivers don't make a point of learning the names of the big hotels in the city. I asked several drivers and none of them had any idea what I was talking about, in spite of it being the biggest, newest hotel in Pune. I finally found one guy willing to take me on, and we stopped for directions along the way. I was a tad worried when we almost ended up on the Pune-Mumbai motorway, but we managed in the end. Though now I have a little supply of hotel business cards with the address on in my various bags, just in case...