India - Day Two
We leave the hotel in time for Delhi rush hour although I don't really notice the difference. The traffic is still chaotic as far as I could see. The law of the jungle applies and people just seem to know how to survive.
The drive is 260 kilometres or 162 miles and it takes us around 4 hours, but it’s never boring. All along the highway we see strange sights; vehicles travelling the wrong way towards us; trucks and four wheel drives with people crammed in; open box trailers with water buffalo and people sharing a ride; and cows strolling down the middle of the road as everyone carefully drives around them. The cow, is, after all a sacred animal in India!
As we get closer to Jaipur we see camels pulling wagons and pigs roaming freely around the streets. There’s an odd mix of peasant lifestyle alongside the new cyber cities that are springing up. India has long been a favoured destination for outsourcing business processes such as software development and call centres.
When we hit Jaipur, our driver decides to take a short cut to avoid the traffic. I don't know the exact route we took and I'd have got lost if he'd left us there. But it’s like going back in time. Rubbish is everywhere. Cows, pigs and dogs roam the small crowded streets. People walk through and around the small lakes that form on all the streets following the earlier rain. Apparently the drainage is broken or non-existent so the water has nowhere to go. When it's mixed with the open sewers the results are disgusting.
Seeing pigs wallowing in the open sewer channels and eating and drinking whatever flows there way is disgusting. And as we turn into an even narrower street I glance to my left to see someone about to cut the head off a live chicken. Not a scene for the faint hearted!
When we leave the back streets our driver takes us to a gorgeous fabric and tailor shop which sells the finest cloths that they turn into hand made garments overnight. The owners put on a flamboyant personal demonstration of their finest fabrics. The way they handle and throw the rolls of brilliantly coloured cottons and silks around is pure showmanship. Then we visit a jewellers workshop/showroom admiring the craftsmanship of the gems and amazing pieces they've created. Jaipur is after all, known as the gem capital of India for good reason.
There were so many sights that to western eyes seemed bizarre. We've only been here 2 days but it seems longer because everything is so full-on.
Our driver told us that to drive in India you need 4 things;
Good horn
Good brakes
Good heart
Good luck
The way he drives I’m glad he seems to have all four!