Gallery: dodging traffic around the world
Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
George Carlin
Sitting in the lobby of our hotel in Agra I was amused to eavesdrop on a conversation between another tourist seated nearby, an elderly English woman, and her guide. She had just arrived by road from Delhi and was insisting that never again would she travel by road in India; it was just too dangerous. Despite being right at the start of a tour planned around road travel she was imperative that the rest of the tour must be conducted by train or air, and that the guide should arrange this for her. We left the room before hearing the outcome of this conversation, but it left me bemused. For me, road journeys in India were, if unnerving, nevertheless among the great joys of travelling there.
While I would hate to drive in many of the countries we’ve visited, and have been known to grip my seat in the car from time to time, somehow I enjoy the excitement of being on these roads. The constant activity, the often deft weaving of vehicles of all kinds among and around each other. It’s so very different from driving in the UK (thankfully!)
In Delhi I shot some video footage from the back seat as we navigated the city’s traffic:
Elsewhere I have taken photos both from cars and from the roadside. Here for Debbie’s One Word Saturday theme of Busy (rather belatedly) are some of my favourites.
Traffic in Saigon / HCMC, Vietnam
[my feature photo was taken on the same road]
Night traffic on another road in Saigon / HCMC, Vietnam
Traffic by the Central Market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, made visiting the market something of a challenge!
This was where we had to master the South East Asian technique of simply walking out into the traffic at a steady pace and NOT STOPPING, however scary it looks!
The traffic on this road in rural Laos wouldn’t be too bad were it not for the road works!
More road works, this time near Quilotoa in Ecuador
Traffic near Times Square in New York City
Rush hour traffic in Nairobi, Kenya
Now back to that traffic in Delhi that I featured in my video
Delhi again, where motorbikes, tuk-tuks, handcarts, cars all jostle for space on the road!
It’s a bit less manic in Agra, but still busy
Donkeys, motorbikes and tuk-tuks share the City Palace Road in Udaipur
And to finish, a very different sort of traffic jam in rural Rajasthan!
42 Comments
equinoxio21
Very good. The worst “bike/moped” traffic I ever saw, even worse than Bangkok was in Leticia, Colombia, on the Amazon, at the border with Brazil and Peru. Sheer madness. 😉
Sarah Wilkie
That surprises me as we didn’t see any major traffic nightmares in the areas of colombia we visited, apart from far too many roadworks!
equinoxio21
Bogotá is a major traffic nightmare. And some of the roads to “tierra caliente” too on holidays.
Leticia was different. 95% mopeds and bikes…
Sarah Wilkie
I agree about the amount of traffic in Bogota, the jams were horrendous. But it didn’t feel like dangerous driving such as you get in many Asian and African countries. Maybe we didn’t go to the ‘right’ parts!
equinoxio21
Horrendous jams indeed. Last time we went we spent 3 hours on the highway on a 3 kms stretch. There’d been an accident.
IN West Africa, careless drivers were called “S’en fout la mort.” (Don’t give no sh.t about death!)
SoyBend
What a busy place! Agra looks more like my speed. Cool photo of the camels, Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, Agra is less manic – still busy but not totally mad! Glad you like the camels 😀
photobyjohnbo
When we get to high traffic cities, we let a local drive. Uber is a real help in some cities.
Sarah Wilkie
I agree, I wouldn’t drive in a busy city – we don’t even drive in central London! We prefer to use public transport in cities wherever possible 🙂
Rose
While I love road trips and driving, I’d have second thoughts about trying to drive in some of those conditions. It might take a long while to learn the rhythm of those roadways. As others mentioned that camel traffic jam would certainly be interesting to see.
Rose
Also I laughed at the George Carlin Quote, and it seems that all the slow ones drivers are in front of you and all the fast ones are right up too close behind you. 😄
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, that’s very true too Rose 😆 And I love road trips, but only when someone else is driving – my husband usually in the US and an experienced local in places like this!
Marie
I love the camels – don’t think I’ve ever seen so many together in one place!
Sarah Wilkie
We saw several large herds in Rajasthan, in the Thar Desert – people keep them for milk and meat as we do cows.
wetanddustyroads
We’d rather take back roads to avoid traffic … but I don’t think that’s even possible in Delhi 🙃. I much rather prefer traffic jams with sheep over a narrow dirt path somewhere on a farm (your camel traffic jam looks quite intimidating).
Sarah Wilkie
Haha, no back roads in Delhi – or rather, no QUIET back roads 🤣🤣
Anne Sandler
First Sarah, I love the camel (dromedary) jam! Just look at their faces, they don’t like it! Traffic is everywhere. I once took a picture in Yosemite Valley where the traffic was gridlocked. I enjoyed your video and pictures!
Sarah Wilkie
You’re right of course Anne, these are more properly called dromedaries (although the Indians tended to call them camels if I remember rightly). But I think they look rather smug and pleased with themselves!
Anne Sandler
They do!
Mike and Kellye Hefner
Oh my goodness. I hardly want to drive around our small city where traffic can be awful at times by my standards. But driving, walking, pushing, scootering or whatever would terrify me in the cities you highlighted. I suppose their infrastructures just can’t keep up with the growing populations. Thanks for sharing your interesting insights, Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
I totally agree about driving in these places Kellye, I would never consider doing so! But walking is fine and being driven too, as long as you have a driver experienced in handling these conditions. YOu have to get around somehow if you want to see these places!
Mike and Kellye Hefner
True. I don’t mind if I have a good driver, and Mike does a great job on road trips, but he wouldn’t be able to handle those crowded streets.
Sarah Wilkie
No, you need a local driver in these countries!
grandmisadventures
haha, oh that quote is perfect! That should probably be a bumper sticker on every car. The camel traffic jam is my favorite 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, it could make a fun bumper sticker 🤣 Glad you liked the camels!
thehungrytravellers.blog
Great idea for a post, Sarah! I love it all…whether learning the techniques of driving in an unfamiliar style or just learning to cross the road (as you say) over here in South East Asia, it’s all part of the absolute joy of travelling to different cultures. As of now I’ve driven in 23 different countries, each of them requiring something different. India is the one country we’ve visited so far where I wouldn’t even contemplate driving. Everywhere else is fun….except UK where everybody is aggressive and rude and impatient! I am firmly of the opinion that whilst Brits aren’t the worst drivers in the world, they (we) are definitely the ones with the worst attitude.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Phil 😊 You’re much braver than us when it comes to driving abroad! We’ve only done so in a handful of countries – the US, Canada, Australia, Namibia. It’s partly being wary of traffic conditions but also the fact that only one of you really gets to enjoy the scenery etc. As for Brits, you could be right. Certainly we’ve found that, on the whole, US drivers are far more courteous 🙂
thehungrytravellers.blog
Everybody is!
Easymalc
This is enough to give a learner driver nightmares 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Absolutely 🤣🤣
Anonymous
I agree we have chaotic traffic here in India. The sheer population load is probably one of the reasons and of course the number of two wheelers on the road. Most people from less populated places find it challenging. I could actually relate to the traffic in Vietnam but that ride on the cyclo was too scary even for me!!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you for this thoughtful comment 🙂 You’re right of course about population size and two wheelers, but I think the other factor is a culturally different approach to driving, less focused on rules than we are in the West!
margaret21
A great evocative post. I’ll never forget my first morning in India, in Bengaluru. Your video is positively sedate in comparison. I absolutely knew I would die crossing the roads. Oddly, I got used to it pdq … and didn’t die.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Margaret 😊 Yes, it’s amazing how quickly we can adapt our behaviour to cope with these very different conditions – do as the locals do is always a good idea! We were surprised not to see more accidents on Indian roads but our excellent driver Mehar told us that although chaotic in appearance it works because everyone understands that there are no rules and rives accordingly 😀
margaret21
… whilst sounding their horns, loudly and constantly 😉
Sarah Wilkie
Very true 😀
bushboy
Excellent Sarah 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Brian 😊
Life...One Big Adventure
I wish you lived closer. I just finished a book about the slums of Mumbai and I could give it to you – All the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. You really evoked the chaos of India in your photos. Thanks for the memories. Mel
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you for the thought Mel – I’ll look out for that book 🙂
Amy
Traffic around the world, busy indeed! It reminds me the traffic in Cairo. I like how you wrap it up with he traffic jam of the last image. 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Oh yes, I know exactly what you mean about Cairo! If only I’d got around to scanning my old slides of our visit I might have had examples from there to share as well 😀